AI9: Top 11 Perform

For some odd reason (probably because she was available), Miley Cyrus was the American Idol mentor this week. She's 17, younger than most of the contestants, and while she's been working most of her life, she's basically a Disney product. What kind of mentorship could she offer? From what I could tell, it was mostly in the area of stage presence, how to respond to your audience, things like that. As it turns out, this year's contestants really need an education in that area, so I suppose she wasn't that bad a choice.

The theme this week was Songs that have been #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, a ranking that started in 1958. You'd expect them to choose songs that were done, say, after they were born, but most of them stuck to songs from the 60s and 70s. Odd.

Take Lee DeWyze, for example. He was up first, and he sang a song I remember from when I was in high school in 1967: "The Letter" by the Box Tops. They made the news this month when their former lead singer, Alex Chilton, died. He was my age. I recognized his name - as a song title from Rock Band 2. Anyway, Lee sang fairly well; he didn't waver off-key the way he has other weeks. He did the song in a jazzy-bluesy style with trumpets and saxophones. (I was impressed by the way that microphones had been attached to the bells of the trumpets.) I thought it was a creditable performance. Randy said he "knocked it out of the box." Kara said he's raised the bar for himself. Simon, however, was (unpleasantly) surprised that he chose that song; he thought the performance was "corny." He still doesn't think Lee has defined himself as a contemporary recording artist.

The long-suffering Paige Miles bought herself a ticket home with a dreadfully weak performance of "Against All Odds" by Phil Collins. (Apparently Mariah Carey covered it at some point. I didn't know that.) It was an abysmally bad song choice for her. She was still recovering from the laryngitis that affected her last week, and she could barely whisper the song. Almost every note was off key. Randy flat-out told her it was terrible. Ellen decided to accentuate the positive: Paige didn't fall down in her very high heels, and she looked good. Kara thinks she stopped competing - it was the worst vocal she'd ever heard from her, possibly the worst of the season. Simon asked Paige how she felt about it. She recognized that she had pitch problems. He said this song may have just killed her chances. He's right. I'll be amazed if Paige survives this vote.

Tim Urban chose a song I'd never heard before - "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" by Queen. It sounded like an Elvis song. Tim, wearing white sneakers, danced around the stage, sliding across the floor, and he even went off into the audience. All the theatrics he did couldn't save his performance, though. He reminded me of a robot; there was no connection with the song. Randy thought the vocals were so boring. It was like bad karaoke. Ellen thought it sounded like an audition for High School Musical. Kara said little girls will love it, but he didn't do much with the song. Simon thought that the sliding around the stage distracted from the song, which was in his opinion why Tim must have done it - so that people wouldn't realize how bad the singing was. He didn't think Tim was really taking part in the competition any more.

Little Aaron Kelly told us that he has a tiny crush on Miley. He did one of her songs, "The Climb", during Hollywood Week. (I don't think we got to hear it. I have a note of Haeley Vaughn performing it.) He had managed to catch the laryngitis that was going around, compounding that with tonsillitis, and he wasn't up to his usual vocal capacity. He still managed to do a decent job with Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing." I don't especially like the song, and I didn't really like his performance - he just stood there, and he didn't do anything different with the song. A few of his notes were off key, but that could have been the laryngitis. Randy commented on the pitchiness and laryngitis, but he liked it. Ellen thought it was a perfect song choice. Kara agreed that it was a good song choice. She wants more stage presence from him. Simon thought it was very brave. He thought the song choice was old-fashioned.

Crystal Bowersox showed once again that she's the one to beat with her performance of the Janis Joplin standard "Me and Bobby McGee." It wasn't my favorite performance of hers, but it was still superb. She had her dreadlocks piled up on top of her head and wore a long cotton-gauze dress - something I might have worn back when the song was new, in the 60s. During her session with Miley, she had Miley sign her guitar (making some remark about how she's having strong women musicians sign it - I wouldn't have put Miley in that class, but I'm not young any more, either). Randy loved it. “That's what it's about. She's what it's about.” Kara thought she smiled more this week than she did last week. She asked Crystal if she'd ever consider putting the guitar down. Crystal said she has big plans for next week. Simon said he wouldn't change anything about her performance. He thought she was as good as Pink (who has covered that song, too). He said her only gimmick was a carpet she'd stood on to perform. She and Ryan then sat down on the carpet (about 3 x 6, I'd guess) which I hadn't even noticed until that point.

Michael Lynche chose "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge, another song from the 1960s. I thought it was a good choice for him, but later Ellen told him it was a safe choice, and I can see why she'd say that. He didn't really have to stretch to perform it; it fits his style so perfectly. During his session with Miley, she told him she was in love with him, and he hugged her, picking her up off the floor. It was cute. This wasn't my favorite performance by Big Mike, and the judges agreed. Kara said technically it was good, but it was a bit boring and loungy at times, overindulgent, and she lost her connection with him. But she still loves him. Simon said it was almost too much. He would have just had Michael and a piano on stage, not all those string players, etc. He said Kara was right; it was loungy. (I like that description.)

Andrew Garcia chose "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye (I remember it by Gladys Knight and the Pips, too), and it was the wrong choice. In his session with Miley, she made him put his guitar down, because she thought he was hiding behind it. She might have been on the right track, but unfortunately, Andrew doesn't know how to move around a stage without a guitar to hold onto. One hand clung to the microphone, the other made odd gesticulations that were probably supposed to have something to do with the song, but didn't. His voice was thin and weak. Randy said “It wasn't good, man.” Wrong song choice. Didn't work. Ellen agreed. They all love each other, but... Kara called attention to those movements with his hands. Simon thinks they just overrated his moment (“Straight Up”) and maybe he just isn't that great. He sucked the life out of that song and made himself really, really corny. In my opinion, if Paige doesn't end up going home this week, it'll probably be Andrew.

Katie Stevens went against her usual type and chose a song from the 21st century (as my son pointed out) - "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie. Her beginning was actually pretty good, but she was a little sharp all the way through the chorus. This was a good song for her, though. Randy picked up that she was sharp, but he was pleased that she picked a younger song and a younger outfit. Ellen thought it was her best performance so far. Kara asked Simon if he still thought she was country. Kara thinks this – pop with R&B leanings – is the place where she belongs. Simon thought her meeting Miley was the best thing that could happen to her.

My favorite eye candy Casey James chose "The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis and the News. He was still cute, but he hit a few off-key notes and the performance wasn't all that exciting. He said he was going to own the stage more than last week, but he basically just stood there strumming his guitar. Randy wasn't a fan of the song choice, but thought Casey did it well. Ellen thought it was the best vocal of the night. (But then, she's not a musician, is she?) Kara thinks he's ready to make an album. He gets better and better. He's in the zone. And she is a musician, supposedly, so what's her excuse? Simon thought it was old-fashioned; he did an identical version to the original. No effort, no originality, nothing different.

Didi Benami chose "You're No Good" by Linda Ronstadt, and my first thought was, oh no, this is much too big a song for her. And it really was. She was off key throughout the song, as if she couldn't really hear the accompaniment. She attempted to be sultry, flirting with the string-bass player and moving around the stage. It didn't quite work. Randy loved the idea of it, but it was too pitchy – she never quite hit the pitch right. Ellen didn't think it was the right song choice. Kara thought Didi was playing a character. Simon thought there was an irony to Didi screeching out “You're No Good” over and over again... Didi said she had a good time, though.

The evening finished on a high (screeched) note, with Siobhan Magnus. Our Cape Cod girl chose "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder, and she did it extremely well. Those sky-high notes have become her trademark. Randy thought she was fearless. Simon was grumpy, and I couldn't figure out why.

In fact, I give top marks to Siobhan. I think hers was the best performance of the evening. Crystal Bowersox was also good. And that was about it for outstanding performances.

Down in the cellar, however, it's crowded. Paige Miles was the weakest, but Tim Urban and Andrew Garcia are right there with her. It's going to end up being a popularity contest. Which of these three has the biggest fan base? I guess we'll find out tonight.