I owe Simon Cowell an apology for doubting his song choice for Lee because man, I was so wrong. Simon may have just won the competition for him. The Top 3 performed tonight on American Idol and they all deserve some props for exceptional singing. They each sang two songs, the first a song of their own choosing and the second, a judges pick.
Casey James was up first and his song was “OK Alright With Me” and the vocals were really good but the song choice was bland. He needed to step it up tonight and I felt let down by that performance. The judges all agreed that it wasn’t a good song choice but the vocals were ok. Kara and Randy chose the worst song of the night with “Daughters” by John Mayer. They really did him an injustice here. He slowed the song down and I felt he had emotion with it and the vocals were perfect but it lacked what Simon calls the ‘wow’ factor. Randy said it fit him like a glove; Ellen thinks a lot of people will vote for him; Kara said it showed his more artistic side and Simon said it was a better choice than the first one but was lazy and he blames Kara and Randy for that. I think he got screwed with that stupid pick.
Crystal Bowersox chose “Come To My Window” and I wasn’t impressed with this either. I don’t like the harmonica around her neck because it takes away from her performance. Her vocals were ok but definitely didn’t blow me away. The judges all agree that they didn’t like the arrangement but Simon did say that he likes the fact that she doesn’t compromise who she is as an artist. Ellen picked “Maybe I’m Amazed” by Paul McCartney and she really came back strong with this one. She had powerful vocals just like Janis Joplin because that is the kind of artist she wants to be. Randy says someone else who’s in it to win it; Ellen was hoping she would do it like that; Kara liked that she showed part of her voice we hadn’t heard before and Simon thought she had soul.
Lee Dewyze really brought it tonight and we saw someone who gave it all he had to try and make it into the finals. His first song was “Simple Man” and I thought why is he singing Skynard but now I know lol. He hit it out of the park. The judges all praised him and Kara said round 1 goes to Lee while Simon said he crushed the other two. Simon chose “Hallelujah” and defended himself with his choice by saying we haven’t heard this the way Lee is going to sing it and he was so right. Lee had his ‘moment’ and it was amazing and for the first time this season I got chills. Randy said it was unbelievable; Ellen thought it was stunning; Kara said he was the heart of the show this season and owned the night; Simon was very proud of him and said he proved he was a fantastic singer.
I will be so sad to see Casey James leave tomorrow night. How do you feel about these Top 3?