American Idol
Reviews

Last week on American Idol, Michael Lynche, a.k.a. "Big Mike," moved Kara to tears with a performance that was, up until last night, the best of the season by any measure.

Siobhan Magnus gave him a run for his money with "Paint It, Black" Tuesday, however, running away with the competition on this Rolling Stones-themed American-Idol eve.

Early favorite Crystal Bowersox turned in a serviceable and folksy version of "You Can't Always Get What You Want," but on this night, she was playing second fiddle at best.

The men? Michael Lynche was his typical, solid self, while Aaron Kelly really stepped up. Tim Urban's reggae version of "Under My Thumb" may have been his last on Idol.

It may be too early to call this a three-horse race between Crystal, Siobhan and Mike, but that's what it looks like now. None of the remaining Top 12 performances matched theirs.

We have no idea who is going home, but that's not a compliment ... there are plenty of prime candidates to pack their bags. As Rolling Stones fans, we expected more from some.

Continue Reading...

There was good news and there was bad news on American Idol last night.

First, the good: Michael Lynche put on the best performance of the season. He didn't just bring the crowd to its feet with a rendition of "This Woman's Work," he brought Kara DioGuardi to tears. It was actually very sweet to watch her explain the reasons why.

But aside from Casey James, who gave us a decently safe version of a Keith Urban single, can you imagine any guys going far this season?

We have no idea who is going home this week, but that's not a compliment. Most men were equally mediocre.

Poor Andrew Garcia might be eliminated because the judges have brought up his "Straight Up" remix so many times that he has no idea what to do. He seems more focused on a unique arrangement than on actual, solid singing.

Aaron Kelly, Tim Urban, Alex Lambert? They're all trying, but none are particularly memorable.

Continue Reading...

The top eight women took to the stage tonight, but you'll forgive us if we only focus on two below, right?

Crystal Bowersox and Siobhan Magnus have officially separated themselves from the pack.

Do we even need to go into detail with the former? She showed off a new, quasi rocker side this week by strumming an electric guitar. Just like the male favorite, Casey James, did last Tuesday. We hate to quote Kara, but it really is easy to see what kind of artist Crystal would be - and we'd totally purchase her CD!

Magnus, meanwhile, is different from Bowersox in that we have no clue what she'll do from week to week. But she exhibits a maturity and a confidence far beyond her years.

Not to mention a versatile, impressive voice. These two women also possess unique looks and attitudes that are refreshing for the American Idol stage.

Continue Reading...

It looks like Simon Cowell, as usual, was right.

Prior to season nine, our favorite judge said a woman would win American Idol. It's still early, but Crystal Bowersox and company did nothing to prove him wrong last night.

Arriving straight from a hospital bed, but not playing any sympathy card, Bowersox led a strong contingent of female contestants, at least half of which outperformed any guy from the evening before.

We could absolutely see Crystal winning this competition... or Lilly Scott... or Michelle Delamor... or even women that struggled a bit last night, such as Didi Benami.

How many men can you say that about at the moment?

Continue Reading...

Granted, the male semifinalists on American Idol were taken by surprise this week and told they were switching nights with the women due to a medical emergency (feel better, Crystal Bowersox!).

But it's hard to make that an excuse for so many poor performances, considering this was the second consecutive week that many of the men simply didn't impress.

Unless you count Jermaine Sellers impressing on viewers that he "knows God." We loved Simon's response to that reason for why Sellers thinks he won't be voted off: there's no reason for anyone to call in then, right?

A few men stood out (in a good way). Lee DeWyze, pictured above, really does sound like he could be on the radio right now.

And the judges might like to say this is a singing competition, but that doesn't mean Casey James and his electric guitar don't have an advantage over others.

Continue Reading...

A few notes from the first night of live performances for the men on American Idol:

• The show needs to ditch the "joke" that Kara has a crush on Casey James. It led to Ryan's funniest line ever (regarding the HR meeting), but it's far more creepy and inappropriate than funny.
• If the judges didn't like Tyler Grady's 1970s gimmick (and neither do we), why did they select him? We had the same reaction the night before when the panel critiqued the quiet, acoustic-based women for playing songs true to who they were.
• Tim Urban? Sorry, man. But... ouch. Our eardrums are still hurting.
• Another question for the judges: Do you want contestants to mix up a song or don't you? Yes, Todrick Hall went to the extreme last night, but give the guy credit for trying.

Still, complaints about the judging panel aside, the simple fact is that few men stood out last night.

Continue Reading...

After the first night of American Idol live performances, we feel the need to remind the judges of something:

You chose these semifinalists!

Almost half of the women selected by Simon and company (Didi Benami, Lilly Scott, Crystal Bowersox, etc.) impressed with their guitar-playing and quiet vocals. In the mold of Taylor Swift, these aren't performers that are gonna blow you out of your seat.

Yet Cowell kept insisting that the contestants do exactly that. Everyone wants to see first-rate auditions, but the judges seemed to be asking for versions of songs that the semifinalists they chose simply weren't capable of.

It's early, of course, and there's plenty of directions in which this season will go. It was just bothersome that Simon didn't appreciate the singers last night for who they were.

Continue Reading...

This installment of American Idol was drawn out more than most episodes of The Bachelor.

Ryan spent more time ominously building suspense via voiceovers than the contestants spent singing. In the end, at least, seven semifinalists were announced.

Do any of these have the potential to go all the way? We think so. The seven singers we'll see on live shows starting next week are:

Continue Reading...

Group day? More like whoops day!

(Sorry, see what a mess of contestants, all crammed together before we're too familiar with any of them in particular, can do.)

We're never big fans of this Hollywood edition of American Idol because it's played more for drama than vocal talent. It was kind of interesting to see one group ("Destiny's Wild") accuse another of stealing their idea... but it really wasn't because there was never any actual confrontation between the groups and because all members of both made it through any way.

We did love the backflip, though. Todrick Hall may be quite entertaining this season if kept around.

This annual experiment can also be grating because so many contestants treat their assignments - learn a song/routine in 12 hours - like the most stressful, life-altering events of their life.

That's why it was refreshing to hear Simon cut off a singer that talked profoundly about all her group had gone through and refer to her whining as "rubbish." We may have high-fived the TV when this happened.

Continue Reading...

Quick, give Ellen DeGeneres a grade as American Idol judge. What did you think of her debut performance this week?

The TV Fanatic staff is already a big fan of the comedia, but we thought she was outstanding. She made us laugh when she had contestants moving all around the stage before telling them all they were through - but she also made it clear she was not gonna be Paula Abdul 2.0.

Ellen told one guy his routine "scared" her. She made it clear she didn't like another very much, but managed to temper her criticism by acknowledging the singer was clearly nervous.

We look forward to a season of funny one-liners and straightforward critiques from her. Best of all? She sat back and focused on the singers. There were no contrived antics, nothing that cried out for attention or diverted attention from the people on stage.

As for the contestants themselves?

Continue Reading...