We’ve Been Urshered

Tonight is R&B night, with a splash of old-school and a little Motown. I kind of like the more open theme, and I kind of like Usher as a mentor, so all in all, it is a kind-of-like night.

1. Siobhan Magnus		“Through The Fire” by Chaka Khan - Wow, this was NOT good.  I have never heard her off pitch like this– I wouldn’t expect that from her.  And I am a little mad at the judges who are saying “we have to remember she has done well every other week”  We aren’t judging every other week.  We as viewers can do that ourselves.  The judges need to focus on this performance, and it wasn’t good, so don’t justify it.  I don’t mean to pick on Siobhan here, I’m picking on the judges.  Ok rant over.
02. Casey James		“Hold On” by Sam and Dave – I love the band and singers on the stage.  And I think he is just getting betterweek after week.  Also he is getting hawter week after week.  Woo.  All of a sudden he is a contender!  Go Casey!
03. Michael Lynche	+1/2	“Ready For Love” by India.Arie – OOO, this is awesome – sitting behind the judges, singing india.arie (a first for Idol, I think?) And clearly, Kara lost cool points for not knowing the wonders of india.arie…honestly, Kara.  Love the song, like the performance, ok vocal.
04. Didi Benami		“What Becomes of a Brokenhearted” – Eh, there were parts that were pretty nice, and there were parts that were blah.  It wasn’t fantastic, but it wasn’t bad, either.
05. Tim Urban		“Sweet Love” by Anita Baker – Oh geez, here we go again.  If this guy survives another week, I will stop watching.  Not really, but I will really start to whine.  This was so bad, so robotic, zero emotion, and bad vocal skills.  Blah
06. Andrew Garcia		“Forever” by Chris Brown – I liked the arrangement, and thought the song was a good choice for him.  It sounded like he wasn’t playing the right guitar chords at the beginning, and I thought his vocals weren’t that great.  However, it is much better than the last few weeks for him, and now I actually feel a bit of promise.
07. Katie Stevens		“Chain of Fools” by Aretha Franklin  – Big song for a little girl, but it was not half bad.  I mean this song has been performed many times on this stage, and it is definitely not the best one.  However, I was expecting a trainwreck, and it was far from that.  Good for her for putting forth a decent vocal.
08. Lee Dewyze		“Treat Her Like A Lady” by The Cornelius Brothers – I love love love his voice.  He still doesn’t quite have the charisma of a rockstar, but the boy needs a band, dammit!  That said, the vocal was awesome!  The song was a great choice for him.  Go, Lee!
09. Crystal Bowersox		“Midnight Train to Georgia” by Gladys Knight – Changing it up, Crystal!  I loved the piano, and this was an awesome song choice for her!  I loved the look, I loved the change–noticable enough, but still infused with crystal-ness.  That said, I have to agree with Simon that she was concentrating too hard on the piano-playing.
10. Aaron Kelly		“Aint No Sunshine” by Bill Withers – It is tough not to compare with Kris’s version from last year, with which he obviously can’t compare.  But it could have been worse.  I think because of his pimp spot, he should pull through.

So, best tonight?  Lee, for sure, followed closely by Crystal and maybe Casey in a distant third?

Worst tonight, Tim Urban, obviously.  Followed closely by Siobhan, who was awful tonight.  She might even make a surprise bottom 3 appearance because of her dead-man’s spot.

Everyone else fell somewhere in the middle.