American Idol: 9 to 8

Its Beatles week on American Idol, a theme sure to raise the ire of this old Beatles fan, but the show turned out to be kind of meh. Listed from worst to best below, the order of performances kind of went that way. My opinions of some of the singers turned around, making this a kind of bizarro Idol.

9. Andrew Garcia sang Can't Buy Me Love. Just as I, in a way, criticize Crystal Bowersox for being too consistent, I have to knock Andrew for his inconsistency. Last week he was only under Lee DeWyze in greatness. this week, though it was hard to pick the worst, he did slaughter that song. I give him props for trying to recapture the peppy spirit of the early Beatles, but I don't see that it's right to distort, er, change the melody of a song the way he did. Simon called him a wedding singer.

8. Katie Stevens singing Let it Bleed, a dull and predictable choice made me and the judges switch places. They loved her. I hated her. Other bloggers were going on about how great her voice sounded. I thought it was strained and shrill. Her version of this song was heavy, draggy, and schmaltzy.

7. Aaron Kelly sang Long and Winding Road. It's interesting that the youngest singers don't get the Beatles' lightness. Partly it was the lightness of their voices that made almost maudlin songs pass. Aaron sang this like an old fashioned crooner; I kept thinking Perry Como. It was all wrong. The judges agreed with me that it was boring. I think Andrew and Katie will be in the bottom 3, and probably Aaron as well.

6. Tim Urban came up a notch with his rendition of All My Loving. Here is a young performer who does get the Beatles' spirit. This song was the right choice for him. The judges agreed with me that he was much better than last week.

5. Michael Lynche as usual got high praise from the judges. They generally loved his dramatic version of Eleanor Rigby, but of course I'm not so sure. It wasn't bad. I especially liked his use of falsetto, but can you make this song too dramatic? Yep. Mike was over the top.

4. Siobhan Magnus partially redeemed herself with this quiet and delicate version of Across the Universe. She had to prove that she could be restrained and that she doesn't have to end every song with a scream. This song also showed off the greatness of her voice. But I thought she was too restrained. I also didn't like her heartfelt tears of emotion during the judging. Didi went home.

3. Surprise. I am not putting Lee DeWyze in first place this week. But I did love his joyous rendition of Hey Jude, not my favorite Beatles song. But he made me love it. He was better than the Beatles. (You will note that I am trying to be objective here.) He gets points down for the practical joke of the bagpiper, and, his vocals were a hair less than perfect. The judges loved him, but Simon agreed about the bagpipes.

2. Casey James surprisingly chose Jealous Guy, a late John Lennon song that I haven't heard in many years. I just listened to John Lennon's version, and I have to say that Casey did very well, but it gave me a dose of John Lennon grief. He was smart to pick something less familiar that he could give a blusey spin to. The judges thought it was the best performance of the night so far.

1. This time Crystal Bowersox killed with a great version of a great song, Come Together. I, along with the judges loved her confident and spirited rendition of this song, and Simon noted her smiles and warmth.

We will be down to 8 finalists this week. Our American Idol contest starts the week we go down to six. Starting the Thursday after the final six are announced, you get to vote each week for the contestant you think will be eliminated next. Weekly prizes are awarded by drawing from all the right guesses, and this year there will be 3 grand prizes. We are giving away ipod shuffles to the three winners who have had the most right guesses. So vote every week. We take entries by email or in person at the library up to 6pm on Wednesdays (before the results show). Only Niles cardholders are eligible for prizes.