American Idol: 9 to 7

We are nearing the final six and the start of our American Idol contest because, thanks to the judge's save, two performers will be going home this week. And it's Elvis week. America surprised me last week by kicking Michael Lynche to the curb. They showed good taste and made the right, if surprising, choice, but Big Mike might have redeemed himself this week. Let's see. Here are my picks in order, worst to last.

1. Last week, broken record that I am, I predicted that Andrew Garcia would be going home. I was almost right; he came in next to last. This time I'll be amazed if his heinous rendition of Hound Dog doesn't send him packing. By the way, I thought Adam Lambert made a great mentor. He was obviously and rightly unimpressed with Andrew. His comment "it's boring" was to the point.

2. Aaron Kelly tried, but running around the stage like a junior Elvis impersonator can't have helped him. He sounded good when he slowed down the second half of Blue Suede Shoes, but the contrast between his teeny tiny self and the King did him no good.

3. One of the things that spells danger for American Idol contestants is lack of consistency. Casey James is the poster boy for that. Last week I thought he gave the best performance. This week, his Lawdy Miss Clawdy (never heard of it) was dreadful. He was stiff as usual and had a really stupid grin pasted on his face. His singing lacked rhythm, and his voice was drowned out by the band.

4. Tim Urban is likely to stay around for a bit, and his singing Can't Help Falling in Love won't hurt him. But I think he did no justice to this song, one of my all time favorites and one of the most beautiful songs ever written. All you have to do is sing the notes and lyrics to sound good, and that is all that Tim did. Zero to hero? Please Simon.

5. I'm getting tired of Siobhan Magnus, and I think she may be a dark horse for going home this week. She is the opposite of Casey James in that she is consistently a woman who sings slowly and dramatically, a one trick pony. That said, she did a credible job with Suspicious Minds, and I loved her outfit.

6. I can't help liking Katie Stevens, and I love the song Baby What You Want Me to Do. Katie gave it her R&B all, head bob included, and that was quite good enough for me. It's likely that she'll be in the bottom three. In contrast with Siobhan though, her costume was a train wreck. She should wear more dresses.

7. Crystal Bowersox gave her usual excellent performance. Critics are beginning to say that she is in the Daughtry danger zone, a performer who is taken for granted and in danger of being voted off too soon. I rate her slightly down this week because I didn't buy her rock and roll growls on Saved. I liked the fancy electric guitar and the girl chorus.

8. It's Big Mike comeback week at American Idol. Michael Lynche's sincere and moving performance of In the Ghetto wasn't cheesy at all, but perfect. It was my all-time favorite of his performances.

9. What more can I say about Lee DeWyze? That his version of Conversation was better than Elvis'? Well it was. This man has a musical career ahead of him no matter what happens.