http://www.lite959.com

Did Idol Gives Back really run 30 minutes over the 2 hour scheduled programming? Well there were many highlights in this emotional show tonight.

Annie Lennox singing (Universal Child). The clip they showed was heart breaking – a young African girl with AIDS. They showed another segment with the same girl looking very healthy after responding to the medicine. Very powerful. Annie Lennox was unable to attend the event – she was stranded in London. However her taped performance was very touching.

Jeff Beck/Joss Stone “I Put A Spell on You” accompanied by the Jubilation Choir

Sir Elton John performing “Your Song”

Carrie Underwood “Change” Carrie’s heartfelt performance was flawless. She’s donating 36 cents from every ticket sold to her concert to Save The Children.

Mary J. Blige and her all-star band ” (Orianthi, Randy Jackson, Travis Barker, and Steve Vai) performing “Stairway to Heaven”.

Wanda Sykes – very funny segment about the contestants being voted off and having to sing.

Disappointments

Black Eyed Peas “Rock That Body” This song didn’t fit the evening’s theme at all!

Top 12 performance “Keeping That Dream Alive” (lipsynched – of course)

Jonah Hill and Russell Brand – not very funny

George Lopez – not funny either

Really was moved with the segments on the trips the judges, Ryan, David Cook and Elliott Yamin made to Africa and parts of America that need help so badly. There is a lot of suffering – some of it close to home. Simon announced -the show raised over 15 million dollars. Very impressive.

This year they did eliminate a contestant. However, I don’t think it works when they run an emotional two hour special charity show and then at the end – send someone home. The results show should run another night. Even the “dim the lights” moments with Ryan seemed so pointless. I was so caught up in the wonderful entertainment, heart wrenching segments and inspiring stories that I just didn’t care who was going home. However, the bottom 3 were Casey, Aaron and Tim. Aaron was sent back to the couches first. Then we learned Casey was safe and Tim was going home. Well he had a good run at it and improved over the last few weeks but really he had no business being in the Top 12. Tim was still smiling at the end of the show even though the producers didn’t allow him to sing.

Next week the Top 6 are going country. Shania Twain is the mentor and the Idols are singing her songs!

Tonight’s theme is songs of inspiration for the Idol Gives Back Special . Alicia Keys mentors the contestants this week.

Casey James opened the show with Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop”. As soon as Casey started singing it sounded off. We know Casey can play the guitar but the singing this week was just okay. I really can’t remember what Casey sings from week to week they all blend together and sound the same. “Jealous Guy” from Beatles night has been the only memorable performance from him. I think he really needs to step up his game before it’s too late.

Lee DeWyze sang “The Boxer” (Simon and Garfunkel). I love this song and his emotional rendition made me want to hear more. Lee’s raspy vocals were a perfect fit for this classic song.

Tim Urban performed the Goo Goo Doll’s “Better Day’s”. Oh Tim – is this the week you leave? I hope so. I didn’t like this performance at all. Alicia likes Tim though!

Aaron Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly” (R Kelly) had some nice moments . Young Aaron is a gifted vocalist but his delivery week after week seems so shaky. I disagree with Kara that he finally took off- I thought the song had the potential to but never succeeded. Sadly Aaron sang a song I was hoping we wouldn’t hear again on the Idol stage.

Siobhan Magnus sang “When You Believe” (Whitney/Mariah). Wow Siobhan has an amazing vocal instrument. Song choice was a bit strange but the vocals were stunning. The judges totally panned her from Randy’s “It was just okay to me” to Simon’s “It’s a shame”. Messy and old fashioned were also mentioned!! Totally disagree with everyone but Ellen. I think Siobhan really shone tonight . I enjoy that she’s defending her song choices to the judges – good for her! Butterflies and all!

Michael Lynche performed “Hero” (Chad Kroeger). I really like some of Michael’s performances (“This Women’s Work” being the highlight) then others are kind of underwhelming. This was one of those weeks where it was good but nothing special. Orchestra really drowned out the end of the performance. Good but not great. In this season that can mean being in the top 3 or 4 every week.

Crystal Bowersox closed the show with “People Get Ready” (Impressions). Crystal left the guitar and piano behind this week and opened her performance accapella. It was a beautiful and sensitive rendition and her emotional connection to Curtis Mayfield’s song was apparent from the opening notes. Crystal’s natural ability to sell a song have been consistent week after week. Her song ended in tears – her Dad was in the audience for the first time. Very moving performance -tears were in my eyes too.

Overall, I thought there were some beautiful heartfelt performances tonight. Really enjoyed Alicia Keys and thought she was a good mentor. However it lacked some of the tough honesty that Adam gave last week that a few of the contestants really needed.

Top 3

Crystal Bowersox
Lee DeWyze
Siobhan Magnus

Bottom 3

Tim Urban
Aaron Kelly
Casey James

The judges confirmed on Larry King there will be a contestant eliminated tomorrow night – I’m hoping Tim will finally be packing his bags.

Tomorrow night will be a 2 hour special Idol Gives Back. Performances from Sir Elton John, Carrie Underwood, Annie Lennox (if she is able to fly from London), Alicia Keys, Jeff Beck, Daughtry, Mariah Carey, Pink, Miley Cyrus and more. Charities being supported – United Nations Foundation, Malaria No More and Children’s Health Fund.

Last week Michael Lynche got the Judges’ Save so tonight two contestants leave the competition. Ryan finally announced votes this week – the first time since the semi-finals. 34 million votes were cast Tuesday night. The Top 9 then performed an Elvis group medley that was the cheesiest Auto-tuned performance yet. Ugh – stop with the lip syncing Idol!

Ford commercial “Reach For The Sun”. Where was Crystal?

Ryan has Aaron, Casey and Andrew stand in center stage and abruptly announces Andrew is eliminated. He performs a very nice rendition of James Morrison “You Give Me”. Andrew you seem like a nice guy but this was long overdue.

Elliot Yamin and Kara DioGuardi went to Angola for next week’s “Idol Gives Back”. Very moving footage of them in a school dormitory.

Brooke White returns to the Idol stage. Singing “If I Can Dream” with web series star Justin Gaston. It’s a free download on ITunes and I think I’ll pass.

Back to the results. Aaron and Casey are safe. I am surprised that Aaron will be back next week. The remaining Idols – Crystal, Siobhan, Katie, Lee, Michael and Tim go to center stage. Crystal, Siobhan and Lee are safe and return to the couch. Katie, Michael and Tim must wait until after the next performance to hear who will be eliminated.

Last night’s mentor Adam Lambert performs his hit “Whataya Want From Me”. I really love this new arrangement and the laser light vortex extravaganza was amazing. He is a truly gifted vocalist and thrilling performer. As Ryan said “Now, that’s a performance!” I’m okay with this one hour bloated results show after watching this.

Katie, Michael and Tim return to the stage. Ryan sends Tim back to the couches – he is safe. Again! Ryan confirms that Michael was never in the Bottom 3, however Katie is leaving this week. She performs an emotional but shaky “Let It Be”. No shocking elimination’s tonight – however Katie certainly had improved the past few weeks. Tim’s turn must be coming soon!

Next week “Idol Gives Back” and the theme is “Inspirational Songs”. Mentor – the very talented Alicia Keyes. Thursday night in a two hour Idol gives Back show – performances from Sir Elton John, Mary J. Blige, Carrie Underwood, Black Eyed Peas, Annie Lennox, and Jeff Beck.

Mentor: Season 8 Runner-up Adam Lambert

The Idols flew to Vegas last weekend to see Cirque Du Soleil’s “Viva Elvis” and meet this week’s mentor Adam Lambert. After working with the Idols all afternoon he missed a Muse concert and returned to LA with a migraine. I’m hoping that isn’t any indication on what this weeks performance show will bring.

Adam thought all the contestants had great voices and talent but told them they had to “wake-up” and he wants there to be a lot more energy for their Elvis themed performances. Ryan seems very goofy tonight – is it because the Glee kids are in the audience tonight. What’s the matter with him!

Crystal Bowersox opens the show with “Saved”. Adam’s advice to Crystal was to play the electric guitar this week. Crystal does and she gives another energetic, polished performance. Wow – let’s just hand her the Idol crown now.

Andrew sings “Hound Dog”. Adam thought the song was boring and wanted him to do more. Unfortunately, Andrew didn’t do too much more with it and it failed miserably. I think this is the end of the road for Andrew. Nothing worked tonight.

Tim Urban’s “I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You”. Adam revealed that this would have been the song he chose to sing. He loved Tim’s version and suggested he end the song in his head voice. Okay this is better than some of his other performances and Tim’s definitely picking the right songs for his limited vocal range. It wasn’t bad at all just kind of bland. Kind of wish we heard Adam sing instead.

Lee DeWyze performed ” A Little Less Conversation”. Adam wanted him to really connect with the audience. He pointed to Andrew’s face “there’s nothing going on there”. Lee definitely took Adam’s advice and showed more enthusiasm. Lee has been really smart about song choices and he’s really involving the audience with every performance. Loved the vocals too!

Aaron Kelly’s followed with “Blue Suede Shoes” Adam’s advice to Aaron was to “grab it” and give it more energy. Exactly what has been missing from Aaron’s performances! It really was an improvement and he looked like he was having fun. Not sure he’s in the same league as some of the others but this was so much better than last week.

Siobhan Magnus sings “Suspicious Minds”. Adam thought she had a great voice but the performance was a bit “sleepy”. He wanted her to speed up the rhythm. Siobhan looks gorgeous tonight and I’m hoping for a return to her exciting powerhouse performances. Wow this is awful – what the heck happened? Kind of a mess but those end notes were kind of awesome.

Michael Lynche sang “In the Ghetto”. Michael could have been voted off last week and the judge’s saved him. Really glad they did because his understated performance was simply beautiful.

Katie Stevens performs “Baby, What You Want Me To Do”. Adam wanted Katie to really show her frustration with the judges by getting throatier – sell it. And she did – wow not the best vocals of the night but she gave a really confident and sassy performance. I really enjoyed this.

Casey James closed the evening with “Lawdy, Miss Clawdy”. Adam wanted Casey to show more dynamics in this performance and Casey agreed. However good vocals aside this was a real letdown for a final performance. Good but safe and agree with Simon a missed opportunity to close the show with something thrilling.

Overall Adam gave valuable advice, constructive criticism and really specific to each contestant. Miley’s advice from a few weeks ago paled in comparison. Unfortunately not all of the contestants followed Adam’s advice. Was it a great night of Elvis music? Not really, however there certainly were a few highlights.

Top 3

Crystal Bowersox “Saved”

Lee DeWyze “A Little Less Conversation”

Michael Lynche “In The Ghetto”

Bottom 3

Andrew Garcia “Hound Dog”

Aaron Kelly “Blue Suede Shoes”

Siobhan Magnus “Suspicious Minds”　

After using the Judge’s Save last week 2 contestants will be going home tomorrow night. My picks – Andrew and Aaron.

Results show tomorrow night – Season 7 Brooke White returns to the Idol stage to perform “If I Can Dream”. This week’s mentor Adam Lambert will perform his hit single “Whataya Want from Me”.

Ryan announces that the producers have warned him – shocking results. This could be an interesting hour then.

Yeah the cheesy group song is back but still lipsyncing ugh! Lots of good Beatles songs!

Idols are going on a trip soon! The Ford Commercial is ultra cool – love it this week. Billy Preston’s “Will It Go Round in Circles”. Lots of fun.

Ryan gets to the results. He has the only 3 girls left in the Top 9 go to center stage. He asks the audience if this is the bottom 3 for the night. Of course not! And Crystal is safe and followed by Siobhan and Katie. Katie is not in the bottom 3 this week. We then get Jason Derulo, Kara’s prodigy. Lots of fire and special effects and I’m liking his single “In My Head” better than the two songs last week from Usher and Diddy.

Season 7 runner-up David Archuleta returns to the Idol stage and performs “Imagine”. Wow David’s voice has matured and I had forgotten how pitch perfect his vocals were. That was beautiful. He still seems so young and innocent when he talks to Ryan. David admits he still gets nervous performing in front of the judges. Well they had to have loved that performance.

Ryan gets the boys to line up on the stage. Lee DeWyze on one side with Casey and Tim. Michael, Aaron and Andrew in another group. Ryan asks Ellen which group had the lowest amount of votes? Poor Ellen she thinks Michael’s group and she’s right. Tonight’s bottom 3! The only surprise is Tim isn’t in the bottom 3 and Michael is. Ryan sends Aaron back to the couch. Wow I thought for sure he would say Michael was safe.

Rihanna performs her new single “Rock Star 101″ (what happened to singing “Te Amo”). This seems like a self-indulgent mess.

Michael and Andrew are tonight’s bottom 2. Ryan says Andrew is safe and Michael is the least amount of votes. Will the judges save him? He sings a passionate rendition of “This Woman’s Work” one of his best performances of the season. Michael’s wife is in tears. The judges really look like they are considering this for once. Simon announces they will save Big Mike which means 2 contestants go home next week. The only thing shocking about this is Michael was almost eliminated and Tim was not even in the bottom 3. The judges save is gone now for the rest of the season. Thank goodness – I have never liked it.

Next week in a 90 minute performance show the remaining 9 contestants will be mentored by Season 9 runner-up Adam Lambert! If the season seems to be a little bland so far count on Adam to make it interesting. Can’t wait!

No mentor tonight. Kind of disappointing I thought there would be a surprise guest – Sir Paul McCartney? He was in LA last week so it wasn’t too far fetched. Sir Paul sent his good wishes to the Idols via video instead. I am really looking forward to tonight’s show – what an amazing catalogue of songs to choose from!

Aaron Kelly opened the show with “The Long and Winding Road”. Oh Aaron you look like such a nice guy but that was rough. And boring. I agree with Kara we need to see a different side of this guy. Not a good song choice at all for him and a very tentative performance at this stage of the game.

Katie Stevens followed with “Let It Be”. I am not a big fan of Katie – but her interpretation was beautiful. Very believable and the vocals were stunning.

Andrew Garcia performed “Can’t Buy Me Love”. Good song choice but the performance was just okay for me. Maybe it was the arrangement and Simon was right the band was overpowering him.

Michael Lynche’s “Eleanor Rigby” was a very smart song choice. However, I loved David Cook’s version so much more in Season 7. Michael’s got the smooth vocals for sure but his performance was just over the top for me. However -Don came out of his office to hear him sing – he loved it and so did the audience.

Crystal Bowersox – “Come Together”. Crystal is sick this week with a cold – it doesn’t matter she still is amazing and sings better than just about everyone else – every single week. I loved the didgeridoo that accompanied her.

Tim Urban’s “All My Loving” was surprisingly…good. He picked the right song for his limited vocal range, had the right look and the girls are going to be texting him votes all night.

Casey James’ acoustic “Jealous Guy” was the highlight of the evening for me. He’s been consistent every week. Tonight his sensitive and passionate performance was really thrilling.

Siobhan Magnus – “Across The Universe”. She’s a gifted vocalists and her rendition was an emotional experience. I liked we saw a different side to her this week.

Lee DeWyze closed the show with “Hey Jude”. Okay not the impeccable vocals we heard last week but very fun especially with the bagpipe player. Yikes – crazy, gutsy performance. Lee looked like he was oozing confidence on the Idol stage. Loved it and a great way to end the night.

Tonight was one of the best performance shows of the season. No one was really bad and there were more than a few very memorable performances. It was a very enjoyable two hours. The judges – different story. Simon is unable to finish his critique – especially Kara is always interrupting him. Please be quiet Kara – you say enough already. Randy telling Tim he is in a category of his own and will judge him on a “Tim Performance” Ouch that was really mean! Thank goodness Ellen is there. She keeps her comments short and to the point.

Bottom 3

Aaron Kelly

Andrew Garcia

Tim Urban – okay he’s overstayed his welcome by at least 5 weeks. Sadly he won’t be leaving tomorrow night.

Going home – Andrew Garcia.

Tomorrow night on the results show Rihanna performs her new single “Te Amo”, Derulo sings “In My Head” and David Archuleta will reprise his version of “Imagine”.

Next week Adam Lambert mentors the Top 8 and performs his hit “Whataya Want From Me”. Adam to mentor the Idols? Brilliant choice.

Tonight’s show opened with a “Clash of the Titans” tie-in to American Idol. It was a stretch and I didn’t get it. Season 2 Idol winner Reuben Studdard performed “Don’t Make ‘Em Like U No More”. Wow Reuben looks and sounds amazing. Beautiful smooth vocals. He and Clay Aiken are going on tour this summer.

The contestants do not perform a group number this week. There is a Ford commercial – Kung Fu Fighting – not the highlight of the show. Ryan also fails to mention how many votes were cast this Tuesday. Again!

Now for the results. Lee is safe (he better be) Casey is also safe – no surprise there. Before we find out Aaron’s fate -Ryan and the judges argue about singing about love when only 16. If we had a 30 minute results show we wouldn’t have to listen to this. Yikes! Horrible waste of time – Aaron is safe. Siobhan and Katie stand up – Siobhan is safe (thank you!) and Katie returns again to the Bottom 3.

Justin Bieber is in the audience. He pre-taped a performance that will be on Idol at a later date. Usher performs (pre-recorded) his new single “OMG”. Like the dancing. Will.i.am joins Usher and I still like the dancing best.

Ryan returns with the results – Didi joins Katie in the bottom 3. Michael is safe of course, Crystal is safe too. Andrew and Tim stand – Tim is still smiling and laughing and is sent to the bottom 3 too. Ryan announces that Katie has survived another week and she returns to the couch. Didi and Tim are the bottom 2.

Diddy – Dirty Laundry perform “Hello Good Morning”. I think I am following the wrong reality show because I like the dancing better. Okay it’s over – I just want to know who’s going home. It’s Didi. Tim will return to sing the Beatles next week. This won’t be good. Didi is allowed to perform for the Judge’s Save but let’s face it they are not even seriously considering it. Didi’s “Rhiannon” is lovely but doesn’t save her from elimination. Lots of tears follow – bye Didi. Will see you on Monday’s Letterman where you will sound amazing.

So the past 3 weeks – 3 girls have gone. Not too shocking that Didi left after her performance last night. However it is very surprising that Tim is still in the competition. Next Tuesday the Top 9 Idol contestants sing from the Lennon/McCartney songbook.

Theme: Soul and R&B

After last weeks horrible performance show I’m expecting big things from Usher. The list of songs available to the contestants have amazing possibilities – what can go wrong?

Siobhan Magnus – “Through The Fire” (Chaka Khan) Wow within the first few seconds I knew this wasn’t going to go well. What the heck happened to one of my favourite contestants? Song choice was really disappointing and there were a lot of bad notes. Everything seemed off for Siobhan tonight. Judges were all in agreement this was not a good performance. Siobhan looked so deflated when she left the stage.

Casey James – “Hold On I’m Comin’” (Sam & Dave) Wonderful performance from Casey. He always looks likes he’s enjoying himself up on stage. The vocals were good and I loved his guitar solo. Ryan notes this song has never been heard on Idol before. Great song choice Casey! I’m kind of agreeing with Kara that we need to see more from him – good but safe.

Michael Lynche -”Ready For Love” (India.Arie) Michael performed in front of the seated audience (behind the judges). Very intimate and tender performance. I don’t know that he’s someone I would pay to see but every other week he surprises me with an emotional delivery that I really enjoy.

Didi Benami – “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted” (Jimmy Ruffin) I’m speechless. What a mess from start to finish and Didi didn’t you promise us a few weeks ago with no more tears. Yikes she massacred this song.

Tim Urban – “Sweet Love” (Anita Baker) There was nothing sweet about this performance – why is he still on the show? His vacant stare in the camera makes me cringe. However, the young girls will be loving this again and I doubt he will be leaving tomorrow night.

Andrew Garcia “Forever” (Chris Brown) I had completely given up on Andrew the past few weeks however he came back this week surprisingly good. I loved his rendition of this song – seated with his acoustic guitar he looked and sounded more confident than we have seen since Hollywood week.

Katie Stevens “Chain Of Fools” (Aretha Franklin) Katie really tries hard each week to be good. This week the vocals were so much better. However, Katie seemed so unbelievable singing Aretha. Fantasia sang this in Season 3 and it was thrilling. Katie’s version will be forgettable.

Lee DeWyze “Treat Her Like A Lady” (Cornelius Brothers) Every week I am amazed at how much I love Lee’s voice but song choice and his tentative stage presence have held him back. Usher completely called him on this and told him to believe in himself – that Lee has an incredible voice. Tonight he did look like he belonged on the Idol stage and those vocals were stellar. This was a solid vocal performance that left me wanting more!

Crystal Bowersox “Midnight Train To Georgia” (Gladys Knight and the Pips) Crystal was amazing tonight. Again. Usher thought she should abandon the guitar and play the piano. She admitted that the was her surprise this week. Crystal started her performance at the piano and then she stood up and her vocals soared. It was a definite goose-bump moment for me. Crystal’s natural ability to sell a song and her smart song choices have been consistent week after week. I haven’t been disappointed yet.

Aaron Kelly “Ain’t No Sunshine” (Bill Withers) Kris Allen performed this song last year and his polished rendition was immaculate. Sadly, Aaron’s lower register was very weak and although it came together near the end it still was underwhelming. Usher gave Aaron some great advice – I’m not sure he followed it.

Very entertaining show and for the most part I thought Usher was a very good mentor to the Idols. He seemed spot on with Lee and Crystal and they had the best performances of the night. The new “Behind the Scenes” of the contestants after they perform was interesting. I could have missed seeing Siobhan and Didi though – that was very sad. The AI stylists have been working overtime- the Idols looked amazing tonight.

Top 3

Lee DeWyze

Crystal Bowersox

Michael Lynche

Bottom 3

Didi Benami

Tim Urban

Siobhan Magnus

Going home should be Tim but I think there will be a lot of tears and Didi will be packing her bags.

Usher will perform on the results show singing his new single “OMG” from his album Raymond vs. Raymond. Diddy and Season 2 winner Ruben Studdard will also sing on the Idol Stage.

Show opens with the Idols performing Wham!’s “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” Some of the contestants look very uncomfortable with the group singing or maybe it’s the cheesy choreography. It’s lip-synching again. Please have the contestants sing live! The dancing is interesting too this week. Is it me or does this song never end.

Love the Ford commercial – “Our Time Now” – very clever – sometimes the highlight of the results show is the Ford commercial. Kind of sad.

Unless I missed it Ryan hasn’t announced how many votes have been cast Tuesday night. He gets to the results and Siobhan is safe. Lee and Casey will be going on the lucrative Top 10 Idol tour as well. However Paige is in the bottom 3 again this week. Tim will be joining her. No surprise here.

Up next Miley Cyrus singing her new single “When I Look At You”. Not a big fan of Miley’s vocal abilities. She’s got tons of enthusiasm and personality though.

Back to the results – Aaron, Didi, Michael and Crystal will all be going on tour this summer – of course. However in the only surprise of the evening Katie is in the Bottom 3 and Andrew Garcia is safe!! Ryan immediately tells Katie she can return to the safe seats and Paige and Tim are bottom 2.

Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato perform “Make A Wave” and this is dreadful. Please don’t ever make me listen to that again.

Ryan returns to the results and Paige has the lowest votes this week. Simon tells Paige they will not even consider the Judges Save. Seemed brutal but really I hate this feature – it makes the contestants seem so desperate. Half the time the judges aren’t even listening to the contestants. Paige sings “All Right Now” – much better than the performance the night before. I love that the contestants can sing a song from the previous weeks for their farewell performance.

No surprising results however, Tim has to go next week. This can’t go on much longer – right? Next weeks theme – Soul and R&B – yes!!! Mentor for the Idols – Usher!! Much better. I-Tunes has the song selection up – amazing choices. Yes – next week is going to be better!

Last week after the results show, Fox sent out a press release with this week’s theme – Teen Idols. During the weekend there was a change and the theme is – Billboard Number One Hits with Miley Cyrus as the mentor. Yikes – Miley the 17 year old Disney darling giving the Idols advice on singing! Okay! Hopefully this won’t be the trainwreck I think it will be.

Lee DeWyze opened the show with the Boxtop’s “The Letter”. (The Boxtop’s lead singer Alex Chilton died this week.) Miley told Lee he lacks stage presence – she was right about that. Lee did look a bit more comfortable this week except for the dancing – kind of Las Vegas style. However, the vocals were very good.

Paige Miles “Against All Odds” – Phil Collins. Remember Scott Savol’s horrible performance of this song in Season 4 – this was worse. Paige you will not be making the tour.

Tim Urban “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” – Queen. Just when you think it can’t get worse Tim performs. No words for this performance – except stop singing now.

Aaron Kelly – “I Don’t Want to Miss A Thing” – Aerosmith. Aaron’s got tonsillitis this week. (Paige had it last week). He’s obviously struggling – very limited vocal range. I like Aaron though – he seems to be trying hard each week.

Crystal Bowersox – “Me and Bobby McGee” – Janis Joplin. Thank goodness for Crystal – I loved this performance. Judges are saying it’s not her best but it’s so far ahead of anything else so far tonight. Ellen commented on her personality and to respond to the audience they love her. I think Crystal comes across as very shy. I agree with Simon – wouldn’t change a thing about this performance.

Michael Lynche – “When A Man Loves A Woman” – Percy Sledge. Nice smooth vocals and confident performance that connects with the audience. Falsetto again at the end of the song. Everything works this week but I agree with Kara on the over-indulgent thing – less could be more with Michael.

Andrew Garcia performs “Heard It Through the Grapevine” Marvin Gaye. Ugh – robotic performance. Nothing worked this week – tentative stage presence , unimpressive vocals. Andrew has had week’s of poor song choices and disappointing performances. His time is up.

Katie Stevens sings “Big Girl’s Don’t Cry” – Fergie. Great song choice, sounded better and looked like she was having fun. Better – still not great.

Casey James – “Power Of Love”- Huey Lewis and the News. Casey gave a very solid performance tonight – one of his best so far. Don’t like this song and never wanted to hear it again but Casey made it work.

Didi Benami “You’re No Good” – Linda Ronstadt. Love this song – but the arrangement was really off to me. Not liking the vocals either. Very disappointing – this could have been really good for Didi. I love her unique vocals but she has been very inconsistent so far.

Siobahn Magnus closed the show with Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition”. Siobahn sounded really good again, very comfortable on the stage compared to most of the other contestants. Siobhan is always interesting… however the last note – not so good this week. Other than that it was wonderful.

Top 3 Performances

Crystal Bowersox

Siobahn Magnus

Michael Lynche

(Casey and Lee were close to Michael)

Sadly this was a very disappointing show. The stakes are high this week for the competitors – only the Top 10 go on tour. As Simon pointed out – you miss out on the money if you go home this week. I would send 3 competitors packing after tonight – Andrew, Tim and Paige.

Who’s going home – I think Paige will be leaving tomorrow night.

Results show – Miley Cyrus will perform “When I Look At You” along with Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato singing “Make A Wave”. Why are they making these results show so long?

Usher will mentor the Idols next week.