American Idol 9: Finals Week 10 Performances, Tuesday May 18, 2010

This week, the contestants each must sing two songs to be judged on.  As usual for this stage of the competition, the contestants get to pick any song of his or her choosing, and the judges pick the second song.  Tonight, it is crucial for each contestant to give it his or her all and to leave the audience with a memorable lasting impression in order to get those fan votes.

(1) Casey James sang "OK, It's Alright with Me" by Eric Hutchinson (2008).  We agree with the judges in that Casey sang the song well enough, but it really isn't a song that wins competitions.  The judges go on and on about the "wow factor," but tonight each contestant really does need to wow the audience in order to make the fans leap out of their chairs to want to vote for him or her.  Not a bad vocal, but choosing a blah song won't help him at all.  Grade: B

(2) Crystal Bowersox sang "Come to My Window" by Melissa Etheridge (1993).  Some good moments from Crystal on this Etheridge classic, but spotty overall for us.  Often, it felt more like shouting than singing.  Still, unless there is a gross miscarriage of justice, Crystal should sail through to the finale.  Grade: B

(3) Lee DeWyze sang "Simple Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd (1973).  Lee gave the best performance of the first round, no question.  We didn't love it to the same extent that the judges did, but it was clearly head and shoulders above what Casey and Crystal did.  Nice vocal with just a few bum notes, and just as with the other contestants, it was a song that Lee should be singing.  However, Lee simply did it better.  Grade: B+

(4) Casey James sang "Daughters" by John Mayer (2003).  For the judges' choice, Randy and Kara chose this ballad from Mayer's Heavier Things album.  We're not sure why the judges felt that Casey's own choice was too low key for this competition, and then they gave him this sleepy ditty to perform.  We think Casey is in serious trouble after these two dull songs.  Grade: B

(5) Crystal Bowersox sang "Maybe I'm Amazed" by Paul McCartney (1970).  Ellen's choice was a pleasant surprise because it isn't something we would have automatically associated with Crystal's strengths.  However, this was exactly what Ellen had in mind in order for Crystal to show a different side to herself.  Crystal performed the song well, and didn't even change the male-centered lyrics.  We did see more shades to Crystal's voice than we had before in this competition, and Crystal was able to show that she has a pretty singing voice and can perform without her guitar and still rock the house and be memorable.  Grade: B+

(6) Lee DeWyze sang "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen (1984).  Flanked by a choir of background singers, Lee gave a soaring performance of this classic song.  Not perfect by any means, but more than enough to ensure a place for him the finale.  Lee brought the audience to its feet and clearly had the biggest impact of the night.  Grade: A-

Overall, a great night, but we feel that it is pretty easy to predict who will end up in the final 2.  Setting potential fanbases aside, we feel that, based on tonight's performances, the contestants who should go through to the final round are Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze.

Who will the final 2 actually be?  Find out tomorrow at 9pm eastern.

American Idol 9: Finals Week 10 Results, Wednesday May 19, 2010

As expected, America made the easy and correct choice based on last night's performances and sent both Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze to the finals.  Crystal has been pretty consistently good throughout the season.  While Lee has his off weeks, he was an early favorite of ours, and when he was firing on all cylinders, he was the best male vocalist and performer of the season.  If Siobhan couldn't have been in the finale with Crystal, Lee would have been our second choice.

Next Tuesday, the action takes place in the giant Nokia Theater for the finale, and by next week at this time, we'll know who the winner of Season 9 is.  Or do we already know?