We tuned in on Tuesday night to hear both the contestants try out the music from one of the 20th century’s most famous musicians — the one and only Elvis Presley himself — and advice from one of “Idol”‘s most famous contestants — the one and only Adam Lambert. And here’s what we’ve found…
Overall
M: Can I just say that Adam was the perfect choice for this week’s mentor? Not only is he the only past contestant bold enough to rock an Elvis hairdo for the performances, but he’s also probably one of the few past contestants with enough stage presence to save “Idol” from its falling ratings. I hope that America tuned in this week, too; after all, another loss to “Dancing With the Stars” just might result in me losing faith in the American public’s taste in good television.
Crystal performed good tonight. She brought out the electric guitar for something different and the different was good. I mean this is Crystal with the gospel and the blues, rythm-ness to it. It is was a good Crystal performance. Crystal has a good voice and her stage presence is nice and as much as I like Crystal, I want to see something different from her. I know that the electric guitar was different but there has to be more.
M: Adam was right on in his evaluation of this front-runner: Crystal is 100 percent authentic. Her voice, as always, sounded honest and natural as she belted the Elvis song. And, as Ellen said, I feel like a broken record, but she was just good. What else is there to say?
Oh, I know: I like her guitar. Yeah. Sparkles are cool.
But spectacle comments aside, Garcia’s performance was vocally sound, as his usually are, but I did feel a lack of spark in the performance that Adam noticed in his rehearsal. It was enjoyable as far as performances go, but like Kara and Randy pointed out, Garcia didn’t go far enough to blow us away.
It’s ELVIS, for God’s sake. To sing the song the way that he did, Garcia needed to knock it out of the park, and Garcia didn’t. I hope that America gives him another chance, though; if he goes home, it would a) make me mad, as I’m still a fan, and b) crush Lee.
So maybe America will like his new glasses more than I do — anything to get this poor kid votes.
But miraculously, this was another week that was not terrible for Tim. Somehow over the rainbow, Tim wasn’t bad. As he sang his rendition of an Elvis classic, Tim’s voice actually managed to sound soothing.
I know! Soothing! Tim Urban?! What is wrong with the world?
Well, since I’m still convinced that he’s lacking in any talent musically whatsoever, I’ll blame his temporary success on his mentor. Adam, you’re too good — because no matter what, Tim is not responsible for what happened on that stage. No. Way.
I agree with Simon. I would not want to see Lee skipping around the stage. That might look like a kindergarten recess.
M: Aaron! Once again, Aaron’s overall performance — in other words, his vocal — was stellar. But once again, Aaron’s song choice, however, was not stellar.
I feel bad for the poor kid, but what can you do? He keeps picking the wrong songs. Picking two past “Idol” hits in a row was a big enough mistake, but this week, Aaron even admitted to the camera that he wasn’t comfortable with his song choice.
And it showed. Although his performance was technically sound, it had a certain unnatural feeling to it that is beginning to become an Aaron cliche. And last time I checked, having a regularly bad choice of song isn’t usually the best sign in terms of your chances of winning the show. But just sayin’.
M: Why am I not surprised that Siobhan is enough of an Elvis fan to do a report on him in sixth grade?
But freaky contestants’ past school projects aside, Siobhan’s performance was definitely decent, but I couldn’t help but notice that she was rocking the Glambert vibe this week. The big hair, the white outfit, the walking down the stairs, the big finish: Every bit of the performance breathed of an Adam wanna-be. And for someone who prides herself on being different, it’s a little hypocritical, and I can’t respect a wanna-be, freak or no freak.
Big Mike
E: Well when they show Big Mike and Adam his song didn’t sound that good. So maybe he fixed it up a lot after meeting with Adam.
M: While I’m still of the humble opinion that Mike’s murder of the best Beatles song ever written wasn’t worth wasting the judges’ save, I have to admit that Mike’s — or rather Siobhan’s — song choice was spot-on this week. The performance was technically perfect, but it still didn’t stick out to me more than any of his previous sleepy performances. He lacked spark, as he does every week.
So, Mike, I wish that you had gone home last week when America voted you the most unpopular of the week, but since the judges chose to give you another shot, you’re safe for sure. After all, any of Mike’s fans that didn’t bother to vote this week will be voting three times as hard to get him through in a week that could arguably be the season’s most difficult with an additional contestant going home. Hey, if it worked for Matt Giraud, it’ll work for Mike, too.
It’s official Miss Katie, you think you are Miley Cyrus. Yup that’s all I can conclude so have a good Tuesday night.
Not surprisingly, Simon had to disagree, but I have a theory that half of what he says is pre-decided for ratings, anyway, so I just ignored him.
Casey
M: The Hits: Lee, Crystal
The Misses: Garcia, Aaron, Casey
-Emmy Lindfors and Maddie Conway