And the semifinals are coming to their blessed conclusion. I never quite remember how much this stage sucks, relative to the first and third stages of the show.
Lee Dewyze, "Fireflies" (Owl City) [on guitar]
A bit thin, but fun. A good start after The Night Of A Thousand Dirges.
...and to think I was worried about Ellen turning Idol into a one-woman comedy show. I should have been more concerned about Kara.
Alex Lambert, "Trouble" (Ray LaMontagne) [on guitar]
Oh, so that's who Alex is. He's this season's John Stevens. Different genre, but... he's a skinny white kid who sings in a throwback style and charms enough of the audience to stay on even though he's hopelessly out of his depth.
Tim Urban, "Hallelujah" (Leonard Cohen) [on guitar]
A mediocre sing-along take on one of the most-covered songs in the history of ever. Especially after the Jason Castro version... swing and a miss.
Andrew Garcia, "Genie in a Bottle" (Christina Aguilera) [on guitar]
This is reminiscent of the Something for Kate version, but I seriously doubt he's heard that one. Anyway. S'okay. Not great.
Casey James, "You'll Think of Me" (Keith Urban) [on guitar. Every single boy is playing guitar.]
Eh. S'okay. I admit I'm not familiar with the song, but it didn't wow me, and by this point I'm expecting Casey to wow me.
Aaron Kelly, "I'm Already There" (Lonestar) [NO guitar! Just singing! What a novel concept!]
Oh, good. A performance that unambiguously sucks. I was starting to wonder how I'd manage to make any predictions tonight. That was pitchier than a canoe in a hurricane.
Todrick Hall, "Somebody to Love" (Queen)
...I wanted to like that. I really, really wanted to like that. But... he still hasn't quite worked it out yet. (Granted, Queen is tough, and abridging it that drastically doesn't help at all.)
Michael Lynche, "This Woman's Work" (Kate Bush)
Okay, that had no business working, but it did. A few shaky spots, but still... best performance of the night.
(What on earth is up with Kara tonight? Did she stumble on Paula's stash of painkillers?)
Well, anyway, I'm voting for Michael. If there's any justice, Aaron will be heading home with either Alex or Tim. Probably Tim. (And I'm expecting Paige and Katelyn to join them.)
Posted by Shmuel at March 10, 2010 10:02 PM