For Certain Reasons

Yes, I watch American Idol.  And yes, I have opinions.

Elimination Recap:

Unlike with the guys, I think America got it right enough.  Janell Wheeler had a really bad performance, and Ashley Rodriguez was just too boring.  Her attitude after her elimination was terrible too - I know that's to be expected to some extent, but she looked like she was ready to kill someone.  Oh well.

The Judges:

Randy Jackson - Did anybody watch the Olympics?  They were pretty good. 

Kara Dioguardi - Her behavior is getting increasingly bizarre, and it's not even fun to watch.  She also rewarded a bad performance with praise only because the contestant followed her own advice...lame.

Simon Cowell - There were a couple of moments where Simon was truly the voice of reason, and I totally agree with his ranking of the top two performers.

Ellen Degeneres - Fairly steady, Ellen did seem to slip into agreeing with Randy and Kara a little too much, which I don't think is a good thing.

The Contestants, Worst to Best:

Michelle Delamor - Last week, she was attractive yet boring with a pretty good vocal.  This time she was just bad.  I didn't think it was possible to make a Creed song worse, but MAN was I wrong. 

Lacey Brown - I still don't get it.  "It" here means what the judges saw in her this time that they didn't see when they last eliminated her.  Whoever finished in 13th on the girls side should be righteously angry.

Haeley Vaugh - Ouch.  Terrible song choice.  There's a lot I like about her voice, but a Miley Cyrus song - at least the way she performed it - didn't do her any favors.

Didi Benami - There are worst nights to find yourself in 7th place than last night, as I though the girls really started getting stronger from this point.  Again, I think the judges were a little too harsh on Didi, but I think she could be in trouble.

Katelyn Epperly - Not a great performance from, I believe, the most marketable girl of the bunch.  Bad choice of song - I kept wanting her to be singing Alicia Keys "Empire State of Mind," which has a melody a little reminiscent of the Coldplay song she did pick, but with way more wow factor.  I'm afraid she could be in trouble too - not good for (still) my darkhorse pick.

Paige Miles - That was a really great vocal last night - Kelly Clarkson is definitely in her wheelhouse.  Unfortunately, she was just dwarfed by some amazing performances.

Katie Stevens - Her precociousness is still creating a likeability gap for me, but she had another great vocal last night.  I'm not sure what to make of her.
 
Siobhan Magnus - So weird, and yet so talented.  I share Simon's perplexed attitude here, but her raw talent is fantastic.

Lilly Scott - Now we're talking.  I'm a little shocked that this girl hasn't been signed already to a company like SubPop.  If she rocks a Moog at any point during the competition, I think she'll have to be my favorite.  Really great performance.

Crystal Bowersox - The great paradox of American Idol for me is that I love watching and armchair critiquing the vocal talent, but the style is rarely for me.  I can't think of a single performance I would actually have on my MP3 player.  That is to say, I couldn't think of a single performance, as in past tense, because Crystal's song last night was flat out amazing.  Seriously.   If that's what going to the hospital does for a vocal performance, somebody get me to the E.R. STAT.  A season finale performance, to say the least.

Overall Impression

There were some star-making performances last night, for sure.  For point of reference, I would put best-performing guy Michael Lynche in 8th place on this list.