I was surprised by American Idol last night.  While two of my favorite contestants (Alex & Lilly) have been eliminated, the Rolling Stones tribute show was actually pretty good last night.  Not everyone agrees on the best performances however.  People magazine says that Siobhan was the best last night with her rendition of “Paint It Black.”  I thought that song was an obvious choice for her and yeah, she hit a ridiculous high note.  Just because you can, doesn’t mean that you should.  I thought it was overly dramatic, but I still like her.  I think the writer, Mary T. Kelly at Salon.com has the hots for DiDi Benami:  “She came off as rough, tough, soft, sexy and no-nonsense. Her voice was strong, she sang with emotion and I believed her.” I agree with Ms. Kelly.  Didi’s “Play with Fire” was sultry and kinda psychotic.  I liked it too and no, I don’t have the hots for DiDi.  I did however, think it was her best performance to date.  Surprisingly for me, Lee Dewyze stole my heart last night.  He sang “Beast of Burden” with vulnerability and sweetness.  I know he’s a bit of a rocker guy, but to hear that he’s just a regular Joe working paycheck to paycheck at a paint store and then sing, “Am I hard enough? Am I rough enough? Am I rich enough?” it pulled my heartstrings a bit.  What’s crazy is that the judges didn’t go for it.  I thought it was great.  I called five times for him last night.

Other strong performances were, of course, Casey James and Crystal Bowersox.  Casey walloped on the guitar in a kick ass version of the bluesy rock song “It’s All Over Now.”  Oh baby, I’m not over you yet.  I thought it was sexy. Sexy. Damn.  I’d go see him in a live show (in a small venue however) and not just because he’s good looking.  I actually think he’s entertaining, a good singer, and plays guitar really well.  Same with Crystal.  Maybe they should tour together.  Crystal sang “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”  I think she’s beyond Idol.  I agree with Kara, Crystal just makes performing look easy and effortless.  I hope she gets what she wants.  She clearly deserves it in my book.

All the judges and writers who comment about the show loved Aaron’s version of “Angie.”  I don’t like him and nothing is going to change that except for him getting older.  So let’s just click and move on.  Andrew Garcia did a good job with “Give Me Shelter.”  I still think that if he got off his mellowed-out meds, he’d be a much better performer.  This was actually the first time that I voted for him (but he only got one call).

Everyone else was ok, but didn’t make me go “Wow!”. Michael Lynche sang “Miss You” in a funky, jazz interpretation.  I still think that he’d be great in a classy jazz lounge setting.  You know those date nights when you get dressed up and go to a fancy dinner and you hear that the nice hotel has music late.  That’s where I see him.  He’s good. It would be a great date night ender.  But that’s all (sorry Jason).  Cute Katie (who should have been out last week and I will resent her forever for beating Lilly to the Top 12) did a fairly good job with “Wild Horses.”  It didn’t move me and she can sing, but I just found it ordinary.  Paige is another one who can sing really well, but I just didn’t buy that she’s really a “Honky Tonk Woman.”  I was just sitting there going, “Really?  Honky Tonk?  Wouldn’t have thought that.

That leaves us with Lacey and Tim.  Lacey performed “Ruby Tuesday.”  I didn’t hate the performance, but I hated what she was wearing!  OMG what was that?  A single shouldered, black and white striped t-shirt with a gauzy bodice over it?  WTH?  Who ever said that she could wear that on stage should lose their job.  Ah and poor sweet, 1 in 10, puppy eyed Tim Urban.  He tried.  Really tried to do a Jason Mrazy, reggae version of “Under My Thumb.”  Good attempt.  REALLY missed the mark.  I loved Ellen’s comment, “I felt like I was at a resort drinking a Pina Colada.” Yup, Ms. Kelly, I agree again, that pretty much summed it up.

Well, I think for sure Tim and Lacey are on the block tonight.  I’ll be here watching Idol with wine.  Cheers friends!

Related posts:

1. Idol Thursdays: Getting to the Top 12 This week the guys were much better than the girls. ...
2. Idol Thursday: Girls rule, boys don’t I’m having some serious tacky TV overload right now –...
3. Idol Thursdays: clear out the clowns It’s this time of year when I really feel like...
4. Idiot’s Guide for Idol Contestants Okay, look…I can’t sing.  Well, I can just not well. ...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.