I Will Review

I thought this week will be Teen Idols or something like that. Disney Channel shit. What happened? They even had the epitome of Teen Bubblegum Pop as their mentor: Miley Cyrus. I was looking forward to Andrew Garcia doing a Jonas Brothers acoustic and Didi Benami taking on Selena Gomez and The Scene. Shucks. >.< style="font-weight: bold;">Billboard #1 Hits. Back up a bit. Wasn't this the semi-finals theme, too? Okay, that was Billboard Top 100. So what's the difference? One hundred and sixteen years of Billboard number one songs versus one hundred and sixteen years of songs in the Billboard Top 100. It is as vague as it can be. I really wish they stuck with the Teen Idols idea. It would've been more interesting... if not entertaining.

I will run the risk of saying this over and over so I'll just say it here... Of all the songs, why this one? Seriously, 116 years of songs sure is a huge range but why couldn't they pick that ONE SONG they know heart and soul? I'd rather choose from a LOT than from a limited list, say for example songs by a certain artist. As Idol goes on, the importance of song choice only gets emphasized. Sometimes, it saves a contestant. He might not sing it very well, but there's an off-chance that there's another contestant who picked a worse song but sounded better technically. Lacey was saved by "Kiss Me". But it's also the same for the opposite. Song choice can kill you. You can be the best singer but the wrong choice of song might make you sound bad or indulgent.

Lee DeWyze, The Letter
Previous Idol rockers have done this song in the past: Bo Bice, Constantine Maroulis (in Hollywood Round AI4) and Chris Daughtry in his AI5 audition. Lee went with a big band, bluesy arrangement which I kind of like. The dude still gives me Danny Gokey flashbacks but I am in love with his voice. Miley commented that he needed a bit more personality [to fill up the stage] but with Lee, you can squeeze a little more but not a whole lot. He's more of a grassroots, intimate performer than taking on a "huge stage".

Paige Miles, Against All Odds
Trivia: What are the 3 most sung songs in American Idol history? Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me and I Have Nothing with six, and -- you guessed it, this song with seven. Rule one of Idol is to NEVER attempt a song that is bigger than you('ll ever be). Paige can definitely sing but this is just plain terrible. I do like the preview with the piano more than the performance itself. She was all over the place, she just couldn't find the notes. Again, 116 years of song. You pick this. And the Mariah Carey version, no less. Fail, Paige. FAIL. And oh, Kara... this is NOT the worst vocal performance of the season so far. That honor goes to Tim Urban and Apologize. And speaking of the devil...

Tim Urban, Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Timmy, worst time to attempt a Queen song. I am in my Tony Vincent, WWRY zone right now. Seriously, what is he still doing here? Can you honestly tell me that there were no better singers than him when they had to bring someone back? To be fair, he had no bum notes during this performance. But the performance itself... WTF? I have no words. If [and I hope] Tim goes home tomorrow, I want him to do a duet with Joe Jonas tomorrow.

Aaron Kelly, I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing
This is another staple song for American Idol. And personally, I have a love affair with this song. It seems so easy with Aaron. He can sing anything and do okay on it. The quality of his voice is awesome. He knows how to pick a song that works for him. But yeah, he does need to show that he's in this to win it not just singing for America.

Crystal Bowersox, Bobby McGee
Let me just say it, JOPLIN! Last season, they wanted Allison to do Janis Joplin; I disagree 115%. THIS is how Joplin should be attempted. And it was a VERY successful attempt. This here, my friends, is KNOWING THYSELF. Seriously, Crystal should receive a bye to the top 5.

Michael Lynch, When A Man Loves A Woman
I don't know what it is but I like Big Mike. Simon said it himself, the guy has mad charisma. He easily takes command of the stage with his voice and presence. And you can feel that it's genuine. Although I agree with what the judges said that this performance did seem a bit indulgent. Too much of the good thing. But still, compared to the others -- this is good.

Andrew Garcia, I Heard it Through the Grapevine
I am so sorry, fangirls, but I just don't get him. This is an example of hype backfiring. Is he singing the song or reciting the words? There is almost no melody, the song is too low for him. Wrong song choice. It was just awful.

Katie Stevens, Big Girls Don't Cry
By far, the newest song to be ever sung on an Idol stage by a current contestant. But Katie is the resident old soul. I sort of get the "young it up" comments but what if Katie is really just an old soul? Let's face it, songs then are so much better than the songs now. Trying to make her sing songs she might not like is not good advise. And with Katie, any song sounds old. To be fair, this is my favorite Katie performance so far and I am so glad she's not wearing something out of a beauty pageant.

Casey James, Power of Love
Every time he performs, he looks a little deer caught in the headlights-ish. And for some reason, the guitars look tiny with him. Whatever, he's hot. And he has a hot voice. But Casey, let go a bit more.

Didi Benami, You're No Good
I had to giggle at the irony of the song. Was it for the other contestants or herself? Or both? When Lacey was voted off, I thought those "wanting to be somebody they're not" were gone. Hello, Didi took Lacey's spot apparently. She said she doesn't want to be boxed in to a genre. But what if that genre works the best with what she has? Why not make the song work for her? I don't think she gets it. She is more indie than mainstream. She needs to realize that and work with it if she wants to stay.

Siobhan Magnus, Superstition
It's Miss "to-beat" in the competition. She's loud and low-key at the same time, really. She's a totally different person when she's performing. When she's not... she... talks... so... slowly. Seriously, does she know how good she is? One complaint though: the screech. Yeah, it worked for Adam but after that, this might get a little old a bit sooner than it did last season.

It's a very disappointing night. At least if they stayed with the Teen Idols theme, they have a legitimate excuse for suckage. I can count with one hand the marginally good "teen idol" songs of today. But with Billboard #1s? No excuse for a crappy song.

Miley Cyrus did a good job as mentor, surprisingly. My advise to her, QUIT DISNEY CHANNEL. NOW. She looks too old and [dare I say it] too good for them now. She has a totally different image than what Disney would like to sell. I hope she doesn't go the Dakota Fanning route -- start early and never seem to grow out of it.

Who's going home? Either Paige or Tim. But I'd rather go with Tim... going home, I mean. Can you imagine a 50-city tour that will kick off with him? [I skipped Sarver and Megan last year so yeah, what do I know, right? LMAO.] Between him and Paige, I do like Paige. She can sing and she can bring it.