We can all breathe a sigh of relief now as the Top Ten guys performed so much better for week 2 of American Idol Season 9.
Idol pulled a switcheroo on us and the guys performed tonight because Crystal Bowersox was taken to the hospital this morning due to an illness. She is set to perform Wednesday. Some websites are reporting her illness was due to having Type I diabetes. No official word on her condition has been released.
Big Mike Lynche was up first and sang “This is a Man’s World” by James Brown. He went to a performing arts high school and is big into theatre. I thought he stepped up this week and gave a stunning performance. Randy gave him a standing ovation and all the judges agreed he chose the right song for himself.
John Park – explained that English is his second language. He sang “Gravity” by John Mayer and I thought it was much better than last week. The judges didn’t agree however and Simon said that John’s group Purple Haze would get their singer back this week.
Casey James – you all know I love me some Casey. He sang “I Don’t Wanna Be” by Gavin Degraw and even though there were some pitchy places in the song, it was still a good act. He plays a mean electric guitar but I think he should stick to his southern rock because like Simon said, he had no grit and I do agree with that. He can still serenade me anytime.
Alex Lambert – bad case of the nerves. He threw up before singing last week but faired better this go around. His song was John Legend’s “Everybody Knows” and I wasn’t impressed. His voice sounded weird and it just wasn’t right for me. The judges disagreed and all said they liked it and Kara said he had a great tone and a recordable voice. I didn’t get it at all.
Todrick Hall – most people will not agree with me but I liked his version of Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got to do With It”. He can sing and perform well and I thought the judges were much too harsh on the guy. They want the contestants to change the songs and make them their own which is what Todrick does but then he gets blasted for it. I doubt he will be around next week but I’m hoping he gets the votes.
Jermaine Sellers – He may not have a great voice but he can always break out into comedy. I loved his onesie and when he asked Simon to go to church with him and then Simon agreed? I was laughing. He sang Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” which was not a good choice. If you are gonna take on the great Marvin Gaye, you better have the goods to back it up. That is one of the most popular pop songs of all times and he couldn’t deliver it. Simon said he watered it down. I do like this kid and hope he is around another week.
Andrew Garcia is the big disappointment of the week. I was expecting so much more from this guy but his song “You Give Me Something” by James Morrison was way off. He hasn’t picked the right song in two weeks and Simon thinks this is a problem. Perhaps he should do some of that break dancing on stage next week to add to his performance.
Aaron Kelly has the tween vote for sure but his rendition of “My Girl” by the temptations was way too old fashioned. This guy needs to pick a style that is modern and relevant to today’s culture and go with it. It was all over the place for me and he needs to step it up next week. He did show much more confidence with this piece but that is not enough to win.
Tim Urban – What a mess. I feel sorry for this guy because he doesn’t have what it takes to be a singer. I agree with Ellen, he would be great on the cast of Glee. Simon however takes a totally different approach and praises Tim. He likes his attitude and thought he was much better than last week. Simon, you got this one wrong. He may have a good attitude but the guy doesn’t deserve to be in the competition.
Lee Dewyze was by far the best of the night. I loved his song “Lips of an Angel” by Hinder. He did have some pitch problems especially on the chorus but the guy is a rocker and he can jam. I am impressed with him the most and starting to think he is the one to beat.
What guys did you think stepped up this week and made the necessary improvements to stay in the competition?