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.....