Lee Vs. Crystal: Who is your Next American Idol?

I totally enjoyed tonight's final performances, and mostly because BOTH Lee and Crystal are just that darn good. I am truly a fan of both and think they will both make fine winners. Reminds me of the David vs. David face off....either of them could have won, and both Davids are both bestselling recording and touring artists today. I think the same will happen for Lee and Crystal. The rest of the Top 10? Not so sure. Are Big Mike or Siobahn the next Daughtry or Jennifer Hudson that will surprise us in 6 or 12 month's time? I don't think so......but I love surprises :)

I also think Crystal had the distinct fashion disadvantage. Lee was cool and collected in his usual (but drab) ensemble of black, grey and brown cotton but Crystal actually had to descend a set of stairs -- while singing -- in high heels. THAT is a true accomplishment!

I will rank tonight's performances in order of my favorite to least favorite....but before I do that, I have to give props to Ellen! She was in fine comedic form tonight.....OMG I LOL several times during the show (OK I am TXTING too much ths dys SRY). Started when she told Lee that she "couldn't be any prouder [of him] than if she had birthed him herself" which cracked me up. She then told the audience that all the wardrobe changes...."it's crazier than a Cher concert in here!" which I had noticed myself. Finally, she told Crystal that if she makes a record, "I'll buy it....if you go on tour, I will buy a ticket....if you make a salad, I will eat it...." Just some of Ellen's funniest stuff all season. Is she back for next season? Anyone know?

So, on to the performances. My favorite tonight, and I know I'm probably not in the majority here, was Lee's cover of REM's "Everybody Hurts." Haunting beautiful song that Lee obviously really connected with, and a totally retro choice....I don't think that song gets heavy airplay on even retro stations. I also recall the song back in the day as being more depressing than Lee delivered it....I was uplifted by his version! Loved his vocals, and given that this song was on the radio in 1993, Lee was all of 7 years old at the time, so he likely has no real personal connection to the song, but was able to make on after the producers picked it for him. Bravo Lee!

My second favorite performance tonight was Crystal's show-closing "Up to the Mountain." I must admit, I didn't get as goose-pimply or teary as the judges apparently did during this song but I appreciate Crystal's connection and exquisite vocals. I think the song is in her wheelhouse (to borrow an overused Randyism) but I don't think it's current enough to connect with. She is a star, there is no doubt, and had a gift going back to a young and tender age.

Third favorite tonight, for me, was Lee's reprise of his "Boxer" performance. I think he won over a lot of new fans with this song that week, and fans old and new were not disappointed to hear this tonight. Love, Love, Love it and agree with the judges that tonight was even better than the first time. Heart you Lee!

Following this, I would have to say that Crystals' reprise of "Me and Bobby McGee" comes 4th. Like Lee, fans loved this song the first time Crystal sang it, but in Lee's defense, I don't know how many NEW fans she won from this song tonight that weren't already won the first time around. It's a great song and totally the kind of music she could be successful commercially at singing,but she has not seen the kind of momentum that Lee has.

My bottom two performances tonight were - you guessed it if you are doing the math -- are split between both Lee and Crystal. I can't believe that I am actually going to write this publicly on this blog, but I am a little disappointed that there is no original song this year! What, the national recession has hit Idol? No money to pay songwriters anymore? Not enough staff to mount a national songwriting competition? What? As limp as many of the Idol coronation songs have been over the years, they have been original songs that have defined that season of Idol, and served as a bookmark of sorts...even though many aren't GREAT songs there are some that actually are, and all of them serve as passable passports into pop music for the Idol winners. So, I was wanting an original song.

Lee's performance of U2's "Beautiful Day" (personal fav) was pretty good, but who can really cover Bono? (Well, David Cook did a good job with "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" in the Season 7 finale, and the duet "One" by Elliot Yamin with Mary J. Blige in the Season 5 finale was all kinds of wonderful.....) but Lee tonight was not a Winner with this song. I don't understand, it's a COVER....and not something that I can connect to with Lee....I truly don't get the decision here to have covers be the winner's new release. I, for one, no matter how good it is will not buy/download Lee's cover of U2's song.....I am still wrapping my mind around this....

Finally, I know I am in small company, but Crystal's performance of "Black Velvet" just didn't work for me. Honestly I truly don't like that song, and cringed when Ryan announced it. Maybe I had finale performance fatigue, or maybe after nine seasons I am truly jaded, but I don't know....the judges did cause they clearly loved her....but me, it wasn't painful, but it wasn't a defining moment for me.

So, did you enjoy the finale? Did it meet your expectations? Who do you think will win? And who do you think deserves to win?

Lee and Crystal Sail Into Idol Finale

As predicted, blond-haired southern guitar playin' Casey James was sent home tonight on American Idol. Casey ended up lasting far longer than I had predicted, and certainly longer than I thought possible based on his shirtless audition (which we got to see again tonight). I do think he was pretty good but I'm not sure his third-place finish will rival those of ....wait, let's see the previous Idol 3rd place finishers: Nikki MicKibbin, Kimberly Locke, Melinda Doolittle, Syesha Mercado.....Jasmine Trias....Vonzell Solomon .....uuuuhhhhh....doesn't look good for
Casey! Seems there is a curse on the 3rd place finish!

His hometown visit was sweet, though, and I can't recall seeing an autographed dog nor half the hilarities I witnessed on that visit....some crazy folk in Texas! Good luck Casey! His sing out song was sweet. Was that his little sister? Neice? Neighbor? Seemed planned and comfortable so I don't think Casey blindsided her, and I don't think that adorable little girl was a stranger he plucked from the audience. No worries!

Meanwhile we were also treated to hometown visit footage from Crystal and Lee. Now, my hometown was actually about 30 miles from Toledo, so those were my old stomping grounds, and when Crystal talked about Northwest Ohio, she talked to me, and I loved seeing her groundedness and love for her hometown and roots. Tons o' people turned out! Dad was so proud. I liked her original song a lot and loved that they played it during her montage (why wouldn't they?) She represents so many bar singers who are talented and just need a break. I, for one, am glad she went out for AI.....no matter what happens, it's changed her world tremendously and her son's too.

Lee's footage from Chicago and Mt. Prospect, Illinois was amazing, and not just because I live here! Wow, the downtown affair (which my husband witnessed), the Wrigley pitch, the First Grade Teacher Giving A Speech About Me, the tearful and emotional paint store reunion....Lee showed himself in this footage to truly be Everyman, and one who was not at all entitled or demanding, but just grateful for the opportunity. His vocals at the racetrack sounded great, too. I think he is the only one of the three I would purchase....just saying....

There are split views in the idol sphere....either they are really pimping Lee to win, or they are setting the stage for a Crystal victory by pimping Lee so much. Recall how in Season 7 there was massive David Archuleta press and hype all season, while David Cook quietly made his mark....the top 3 and finale shows they really praised Cook, almost to even the playing field. Crystal has been a top performer from the very beginning, so they may be trying to create drama. Is Crystal a shoe-in? Or does Lee have a chance at the title? This is a great article from my hometown Chicago Sun-Times ....

I love the hometown visit footage, but I have to be honest: the other highlight of tonight's show for me was Justin Beiber's performance AAAccck, I know....a teenybopper? But in self-defense, I am the parent of kids ages 8, 10 and 13....so you can imagine that I had heard this name before (and likely unknowingly financed a download or two) and was terribly curious to see what the gist was. I was honestly impressed by his musicianship and talent. What a cutie! He was far less raunchy than Justin Garland, the act who got to appear before him who was supposedly 'discovered' on You Tube. Hmmm.

Can't believe that Season 9 comes to a close next week. I can't really even make a prediction right now....I honestly thought the playing field was even between Carrie and Bo and between Jordan and Blake......I have no internal radar on such matters! But I can tell you that I'm happy with both. I think Lee has grown the most and has the biggest commercial appeal for me, but I have trouble discounting Crystal because she is a great musician and vocalist. She is maybe more comfortable than Lee, and didn't show the growth that he did, which could hurt her. I really don't know, but I predict a DeWyze victory!

Top Three: Hallelujah Lee!

Wow, tonight's show was a real fight to the finish IMO....I enjoyed each performance and can't wait for more hometown footage tomorrow and the announcement of our finale performers!

I know you're shocked, but my favorite tonight was Lee, my hometown boy! His personal choice of "Simple Man" (Lynryd Skynryd) didn't thrill me at first only because I didn't know the song, but Lee delivered it beautifully and his connection to the lyric really showed through. He seemed more comfortable than ever (perhaps like Ryan suggested, that hometown visit did change him!) and I loved to see him smile. Simon says he crushed it....I agree! But the second song, Simon's choice of the show-closing "Hallelujah" was an Idol moment....it's not up there with Fantasia's "Summertime" or Carrie Underwood's "Alone" but it definitely makes the list. I think it a bit unfair that he got orchestral backing and a choir.....who decided that? Simon? And I also think it's a bit contradictory to call out the contestants for choosing songs that have already been done well by previous Idol performers, only to trot out a song that Jason Castro slayed 2 seasons ago.....but....Lee did put his own spin on it and it might end up being the first (and only?) track I purchase from iTunes this season. Well done!! I think I saw Simon start to shed a tear.....Kara was very convincing when she said that Lee has grown the most during the season.

No one can argue that Crystal is a strong Idol contestant, but she has been from the very beginning. Contrary to Kara's assessment of Lee's upward growth over the season, Crystal has been Stable Mable and that may be her downfall. Tonight's performances were both vintage Crystal, and held no surprises. Her choice of Melissa Etheridge's "Come to My Window" was excellent....I was a little distracted by how the mouth harp got in the way of her singing when she wasn't playing it, and I agree that her vocals didn't have the power nor the raspiness of the original, but I liked it and give Crystal credit. Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed" was a bit of a bolder choice for her from Ellen, and while it is an incredible song, I agreed with Kara that it got away from her a little but her vocals were still awesome, earning her the first standing "O" of the night. I think it's a Crystal-Lee match-up for the finale, as predicted!

Meanwhile Casey, to his credit, held his own. I perused the Idolsphere this morning well in advance of tonight's show and was surprised to read, on many fronts, that many bloggers felt it was an even playing field heading into tonight's show. I couldn't disagree more...I think Casey was the weakest link heading into tonight's show and remains so at this writing. He chose an unknown song (Eric Hutchinson's song "Okay, It's Alright With Me") to open the show and while I really dug the song and thought it showed Casey's fun and easygoing side, the judges really didn't like it at all. I thought that was a bit harsh. I've said all season I haven't connected with Casey and this song I thought showed me what he might record post-Idol. And then he trotted out John Mayer's "Daughters" as requested by Randy and Kara and I got a new glimpse of Casey. I LOVE this song, so I figured I would like Casey singing it, and I was right....and we can all agree that Casey is the best guitar player Idol has ever seen. But I have to agree with Kara that it wasn't the "moment" Casey needed...laid-back song and nothing to really break out of, and indeed, a limp guitar solo (which I still think was pretty good). Casey, Casey.....you've come along a little too late I'm afraid. You were enjoyable for me, but you were outsung and outperformed by Crystal and Lee.

What do you think? Did Casey fight to the finish? Did you like the song choices? And did you think Lee was totally pimped as I did?

Big Mike Says Big Goodbye

Boy they really had us sweatin' at Casa Idolmama wondering if Lee was safe tonight! With Casey safe, we were a little nervous. I also have to admit that I wondered about the foreshadowing of Daughtry as a performer on tonight's show, and if it meant that front runner Crystal might be in danger. (Daughtry was voted out at 4th on his season despite being a fan favorite, and you can see why!). Happily, Lee will indeed journey back home this week to Mt. Prospect, Illinois as a Top 3 contestant.

Photo: Lee circa 2002. Lee DeWyze (center) takes a photo with Mt. Prospect Paint owner Bill Lagattolla (left) and present day manager Mike Binek (right) eight years ago. (Tribune photo by Phil Velasquez). (See other photos of Lee and his hometown of Mt. Prospect IL here.)

Fantasia, for those of you who missed Season 3, was a powerhouse to be reckoned with, in musicality, in personality, and in stage presence....well, in just about everything. Her career as I understand has been a little rocky post-Idol, and her last appearance on Idol ("Bore Me") was a little shocking (although remains one of my favorite performances and is in heavy Idolmama iPod rotation). I thought she was good tonight, staying true. Good luck to you in the rest of your career!

Likewise, I am a Bon Jovi fan although they are an aging lot....felt my own wrinkles watching them. Wondered if my guitar-loving 10 year old son found them at all relevant and I'm not sure. Why were they on tonight? That is the question...somewhat random 19/Fuller promotion that we aren't aware of. (?)

The Crystal/Mike bottom 2 match up left little mystery as to who was going home. Thankfully, Mike held his own with grace (while his wife totally fell apart) and his exit performance was lovely but reminded me of why I would never endorse him as the American Idol, just not my style.

Hate the Top 4 elimination, glad that it is behind us, and look forward to hometown visits from our top 3: Casey (Texas y'all), Crystal (small town Ohio) and Lee (suburban Illinois).

Was the right person eliminated? Did you enjoy Fantasia and/or Bon Jovi? And do you think the Ford commercials are necessary???

Top Four Go To the Movies

Where has the time gone?! When the ads for So You Think You Can Dance start appearing, you know we are nearing the end of the season of Idol. The finale is just two weeks from tonight, and I can't believe it. And I also can't imagine that anything short of a tsunami in Chicago will stop the finale from being a Crystal/Lee match-up, as well it should be.

Take Big Mike, for example. I really, really feel for the guy that his dream for the last 12 months has been to make the Top 3 on this Season's Idol and he has darn near come close! And he desperately wants those TeeVee cameras to roll into his home town of St. Petersburg, FL next week and paint his town red. But, his performance tonight of Micheal Jackson's "Will You Be There" (from the Free Willy soundtrack....ummm.....okay!) was a little flat for me...and I agreed with Kara that I really wanted the lovey dovey Mike to come back since that worked waaaay better. I'm not sure Mike's dream will come true....

...Likewise for Casey, who mysteriously chose "Mrs. Cougar" (I mean "Mrs. Robinson") for his cinema performance....I was watching just really wanting him to look into the camera, at least, and connect with ME but he never did. Lovely song, great looking guy, and sung with some conviction....and a very cool retro feel, and it was intimate, but with all of that said, I just really didn't love it. I still lack a connection with Casey! After all this time! And that is a problem.

Meanwhile, the Crystal/Lee Show was in full swing. Lee opened the show with "Kiss From a Rose", a song I agree might have been a poor choice given the vast options available.....but I still loved it, Lee has swagger and growl and unpolished-ness and humility and a tenderness that I just really like. Period. I will buy his CD!

Crystal's take on Kenny Loggin's "I'm Alright" was vintage Crystal...smooth, confident, solid. And from Caddyshack! Strange movie selections tonight, no?

Highlights of the night were the duets! Terrific! The Crystal/Lee rendition of the gorgeous "Falling Slowly" was incredible....I was only a little bit distracted by the spinning camera angles and the fact that I don't know about Lee, but I knew that Crystal's boyfriend was sitting in the audience. Dueling guitars indeed! Likewise, the Casey/Mike duet was surprisingly good....I was still thinking about Matt Giraud's performance of the same song in Season 8, the one that earned him the first ever Judge's Save and I thought Mike and Casey actually did it better :)

So what did you think? Is there any chance that Mike or Casey will make it to the finale? Did you think Jamie Foxx was (once again) a good mentor? And how much would you pay for tickets to the finale? Someone tossed out the $5K number to me today and I thought that was waaaaaaay high.....I suggested $300 tops.....

Harry Connick Jr. Brings Swing to Final 5

I have a new crush! Oohh, Harry Connick Jr. just won my heart tonight with his appearance on Idol. Best. Big. Band. Night. Ever. Still laughing about his Shania comment: "Was she working up in here? I don't think so". LOL He said that because last week the contestants sang Shania Twain songs....she had composed and performed them all.

This week, not only did he give vocal coaching to the contestants as Shania did, he also arranged each song for them AND performed with them on stage, neither of which she did. WOW. So smooth, so talented, so musical, and funny, too.
(Flickr Photo by Wendy Piersall (@eMom)'s )

Giving photo credit as due:

Random thought: Can anyone tell me why Simon only kissed the one visiting Sinatra sister for the monogrammed kerchief? I thought that was very odd....

My satellite was having digital recording issues tonight (in basically clear weather!) so my recording was less than perfect....lots of cutting out of song and video but I did see most of it. I thought it was a fun night overall, and that everyone did well....no obvious stinkers. You might recall that at this point in previous seasons (top 5), each singer performed 2 songs! Did you wonder why each one tonight did only one? I did.....I think it's because HCJr. had enough work and personality to fill the dead space...and perhaps there were more commercial fillers to close a revenue gap? Your thoughts??

Back to the show, I know that we do have to cut someone, and I think it should {gasp} be Casey. I know he was out of his element, but still...many, many Idol contestants have been out of their elements at various points in the competition, even at this Top 5 level, and have managed to make a better showing than Casey, which makes me lose steam for him. His take on "Blue Skies" was kinda hard for me to buy, and wasn't his best vocal. Loved the purple shirt, though, and his pre-performance story about his friend back home who wanted him to gig out locally tonight (not knowing he was busy!) was totally funny. Might be the end of the road for Casey, although I think his future as a print model might be very bright! (singing print model? Hmmm...)

I didn't think that Aaron's rendition of "Fly Me to the Moon" was all that great, but it was playful and fun. It was definitely flat in places. Ellen was her usual funny self with her comment that she "thought the piano was a little pitchy." I'm sorry, but in all of her usual drunken stupor, Paula was never that funny! And then Kara went and called Aaron "Honey" in her remarks, which isn't usually said in a complimentary way.

My middle spot goes to Mike. I haven't been a rabid fan, and this week leaves me neutral. Mike's wheelhouse (if I may borrow your word, Randy) is love songs, so Mike was in the zone with "The Way You Look Tonight", one of the greatest love songs ever, and I actually thought his vocals were quite good. The lip licking distracts me! A tremendous song that is tough to argue with and I think Mike is probably safe this week.

Top 2 tonight were Crystal and Lee. First of all, Crystal looked amazing! Loved the gown, loved the confidence. "Summer Wind" also has special meaning for Idolmama, although from what I gather Crystal and I probably have different associations of this song. I pretty much lost all judges comments on this one from satellite failure but I did hear Simon say that he expects better from her and then she talked back. I think she is safe....but needs to stay in control!

Lee, Lee, Lee. We knew it was going to be good when HCJr. admitted to you that his WIFE thinks you are HOT. Okay, Lee the last time I checked was when HCJr was married to a Victoria's Secret MODEL.....so you HAVE to be feeling good with that news, no? Plus Harry admitted that he dug you, so you are IN. Lee's "That's Life had a Billy Joel feel to me....rough and organic and just delightful.

Luckily it takes more than a compliment like that to make someone stand out. Sure, Lee was as always a bit pitchy and breathy, and of course, like Ellen I was distracted by Harry's organ. But Lee went out and delivered very much in a David Cook way....I don't think he needed quite the pep talk that Kara gave him but whatever works. Judges are clearly pulling for a Crystal-Lee showdown which will be a tough one to call.

So, did you dig Harry Connick Jr. as much as I did? Did you see who I believe to be Katy Seagal in the audience? And do you think this was the best big band night ever?