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?