We tuned in Tuesday night to see the Top seven perform inspirational songs with one of the greatest artists out there, Alicia Keys. Here’s what we found…
Casey, “Don’t Stop Believin’ About Tomorrow”
Emmy: Hey, what do you know Casey is with his guitar once again. Shocker.
Obviously Casey is doing super good, but he had to throw in that mini guitar solo. I feel the need to remind Casey that this is not Guitar Idol.
I think Casey got a spray tan this week. He looks more tan.
Ellen said that Casey had good guitar performing…maybe I need to remind her that it’s AMERICAN Idol not GUITAR Idol.
I can’t believe the judges are critiquing Casey. They used to love him to pieces and the Kara joke. But maybe they are having to nail it down more so they are telling the people to be better than great.
Maddie:Casey does, undeniably, have talent, but his performances are starting to blend together in my mind.
Tonight’s “inspirational” performance was no different. While his guitar playing was solid and his voice fit the song, he was, as all four of the judges agreed, the same as he always is. Every week, never fail, Casey gets up on stage with a guitar and tries to impress the audience with how fast he can play it while half singing along.
And, OK, to his credit, he will occasionally change how he wears his hair. But other than the surprise of whether his long (and Kara thinks lovely) blonde locks will sit on his shoulders or be tied in a ponytail, he’s always just more of the same.

Lee, “The Boxer”
E: I feel so bad that Andrew is gone because that was Lee’s buddy. I hope that Andrew’s leaving won’t hurt his performance because Lee has been on a roll. Even though it seems as if Lee’s performance will be a little more slow tonight, he should do pretty good. Lee shows more emotion and happiness when the song is a little faster.
Best performance by far! I love you  were Ellen and Simon’s comments, “Even though we are two in; you were the best performance of the night.”
Lee is a little bit overwhelmed by  all the  positive comments the judges gave him. Lee has this competition down!
M: The past few weeks, I’ve felt like Lee’s choice of bigger songs that highlight the raspy edge to his voice have both been positive and negative: His success with those songs have helped him gain the judges’ praise and America’s votes, of course, but at the same time, they haven’t showcased his ability to emotionally connect to a song.
Until, that is, tonight.
Tonight, Lee showed America not only that his voice can handle a slower and heavier song, but he showed that he can connect to such a powerful song, as well.
It was definitely a moment — and the best of the night.
Tim

E: Tim was acting  immature when they were showing the previews before he performed. Choking Aaron is not funny…even though I don’t like Aaron–even though he got a golden ticket at Disney World at the American Idol Experience.
Something tells me Tim is going to do good tonight. This new hair cut has done wonders for him.
I’m not going to lie I actually really likes this performance. I think it fits Tim very well. Even though I do agree with Kara on how it sounded commercial.
M: From the moment when Tim first opened his mouth to start singing the Goo Goo Doll classic, I winced.
And I didn’t stop wincing.
Tim went completely backward from his last two weeks of being — dare I say it — good. Because this week, he was definitely NOT good. Every last note was off-key, and the fingernails-on-a-chalkboard sound of his voice belting in the microphone only left me wanting to turn the TV to mute.
So if Tim really is the “Idol” soup of the day as Ellen suggested, I hated this week’s soup of the day. Actually, I despised it, considering that I haven’t liked it for a single week so far — even last week’s semi-success. After all, that one was Adam’s fault, anyway.
Aaron, “I Believe I Can Fly”
E: Oh Aaron, you picked a way too big a song again. It’s time for you to get out. Aaron has been stuck in this hole for a while. He hasn’t really changed since the beginning of the competition and I wonder if he even will if he moves forward.
When you see Aaron from afar his head looks really big… I know how random that is but really think of it. I mean the guy looks like a fish and now his head is too big for his body. Maybe it was how he was dressed.
M:Aside from a few pitch problems here and there, Aaron actually performed the song fairly well.
Fairly being the key word, of course; the arrangement was mediocre, and he did have a slightly rough beginning.
I know what Simon meant by differentiating America’s love for Aaron’s perseverance and personality and what America should think about his actual talent. While the performance itself was shaky in comparison to his past performances and others of the night — namely, Lee’s — America still loves Aaron. He’s cute, he’s sweet and he’s probably going to survive elimination night tomorrow.

Siobhan, “When You Believe”
E: Siobhan is starting to scare me. I mean when they showed her doing that weird thing with her hands I was a little freaked out. What is she putting a voo doo curse on me or something?
From her and Alicia’s moment together it looks like she will be hitting a high note..super…not. It’s going to be high and loud and ANNOYING. Those high notes ruin the song for me. I mean Siobhan and her weirdness in a bad way already ruins it but just those notes kill the song.
I still don’t get why that blogger on Comcast always puts her second even with the nights that she has fallen.
Yeah not a lot of praises for Siobhan. She’s not all perfect like they used to say.
Also I am loving Simon’s comments tonight. They aren’t leaves Simon…they’re butterflies.
Also why do they always give Siobhan a very long time to defend herself. Why can’t they just shut her off like they do for Tim–because her voice is slow and she thinks too much and just destroys my brain. Sorry Siobhan.
M: OK, instead of commenting on Siobhan’s mediocre performance, I have to comment on her outfit: Who dresses her? Does she dress herself? Based on her fashion choices on the show thus far, it wouldn’t surprise me — but if she does, then THAT is definitely the biggest mistake that “Idol” has made… ever.
Because this week, she looked like a peacock. Seriously. She had feathers in her hair and butterflies on her arms that looked, in my opinion, more like feathers (or leaves, as Simon suggested).
And maybe her outfit would make more sense if this week’s theme involved dressing up like animals, but this week is Idol Gives Back, a week that calls for being inspirational.
And last time I checked, peacocks aren’t really that inspirational. Maybe they are on the planet where Siobhan was born, but not on earth, they’re not.
Big Mike
E: I still don’t like you and I don’t think I ever will. I am a stubborn Swede who usually doesn’t change her mind.
Big Mike’s whispering is boring me and now he goes fast and just bores, bores, bores me. His voice bores me and his antics bother me. He acts like he’s falling over the railing but no he’s not. I want to yell at him, “NO NO NO! You are not falling over a railing. You are pretending to and being a real idiot about it.”
The guitar was pointless–he needs to stop using the guitar. He needs to stop singing. Let’s hope bottom three and out…but I guess not this week.
There was nothing inspirational about it. It was all about Spider Man…someone Big Mike will never ever be.
M: Just like Casey, Big Mike brought the same old, same old to the “Idol” stage tonight. It was OK, but it wasn’t great.
I’ll agree with Simon in saying that he sang the song well, but I also agree with Simon that singing a song about Spider Man is a little bit shallow for a week that focuses on charity — after all, Spider Man and his movies may have made a lot of money, but that revenue was for corporate gain, not for charitable givings.
Crystal

E: After the media leaked that Crystal was thinking of leaving due to missing her son, I have a feeling that out of anger or something she will rock it…once again for the seventh time this season.
Broken record please start playing.
I like how she started off with just her voice and then brought in the instruments. She really connected with the song and even shed a tear at the end.
M: At first, when Crystal stepped up to the microphone without her guitar to start singing the song acapella, I was at least slightly nervous for how her performance would turn out. After all, we’ve rarely seen her sing without her guitar, and the last time that she did drop the guitar for a seat on the piano bench, Simon questioned whether or not she was true to herself.
But I needn’t have worried. Crystal continues to get stronger and stronger as a performer week after week after week, and interestingly enough, her slight break down into tears at the end of the song added more to her performance than less. She felt the song, and we felt the emotions in her performance, as well.
E: The Hits: Lee 🙂 and Crystal
The Misses: Big Mike, Siobhan, Aaron
M: The Hits: Lee and Crystal
The Misses: Siobhan, Tim
–Emmy Lindfors and Maddie Conway