This theme has ALWAYS been good in the past. Everyone did great with it last season, and everyone did amazing with it in Season 5. These season's contestants just aren't very good.
Seriously. I want Season 8 back!! I want to hear Matt on piano. Or Adam wail at me again. Or Allison asking for someone to watch over her. Or even Kris making every girl in America melt with his crooning voice. Undoubtedly, last year's Rat Pack week totally wiped the floor with tonight’s effort.
I mean, if this was my first time watching the show, it would be my last! I have seen and heard much better from high school kids. This season is such a sad little wreck.
One good thing I got out of this episode: Harry Connick Jr. was an incredible mentor. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been upset to see these mentors sign on to do the show and then put absolutely no effort into their jobs. Harry was a worker. He was a vocal teacher, he helped with interpretation, he wrote the arrangement, he brought his band on board, and then he played piano for every single one of the Idol contestants. Bravo, sir.
Now, let’s go to the rankings!
Blue Skies
I thought the performance was really weak until Randy said he didn't like it, and then I decided it must've been kind of good. Haha. NOT! Well, just when I thought Casey was static with his guitar, he looked positively lost without it. Really. Without his guitar, all of Casey’s weaknesses were laid bare. Notwithstanding the fact that the range of the song kept pushing Casey to the edge he wasn’t ready for, he still managed to fall out of the key several times. I never heard him sound so off-pitch. He strained on some of the high notes and his vibrato was all over the place in that performance. Sad. I was really pulling for a Top 3 finish for him, but I don't think this worked out for him AT ALL. “At least you held some notes!” Yes, Casey, that was the only good thing Kara could say. That you could hold out notes. Yikes.
Fly Me To The Moon
While his performance lacked a certain degree of charisma and swagger, I thought his vocals were mostly decent and unoffensive. But for a Top 5 week? I thought it simply wasn’t up to par. It started out shaky and he got better towards the end but his southern twang made every single note sound out of place and his lower register was a little muddled. DICTION, Aaron! I want to hear the lyrics and the notes. Geez. Now, on the plus side? I thought the arrangement totally worked in his favor and the mid tempo swing gave his performance the rhythm he desperately needed to somehow be memorable for once. And that's that!
Summer Wind
This, to me, was another good, but not great, performance from Bowersox. I liked that she gave a subdued performance to an arrangement that pushed her farther out of her element than she had been so far. Vocally, there were a couple of pitch issues in the middle and the band drowned her out a bit, but her phrasing, I thought, was really good. However, two weeks in a row that she was not up to par with what she used to do. It all suddenly lacked that certain greatness and it's starting to become a habit. I don't know. Maybe her flaws are starting to show up as a singer? Oh well, it is what it is.
The Way You Look Tonight
The cheese! It's dripping all over AGAIN! Haha. Ok. Big Mike was mediocre, as always, but let's all face it, this was probably one of the better performances tonight. I thought he was the most comfortable performer on the stage and he turned in his usual spotless vocal performance, with all the physical mannerisms. I really thought he pulled it this week. It was generic but serviceable than the others. I was confused by Kara's comment though, "That's Big Mike - that's what he does." Huh? As opposed to whom? Haha.
That' Life
SeriousLEE. Haha. Ok. I just really need to get that out of the way. Anyway, I thought that Lee’s song selection worked perfectly for him and will probably help him out more in the long run because of one simple point. With this performance, Lee finally broke through one of his personal glass ceilings: He was emoting! Lee is all grown up! Haha. I felt that he had made a genuine connection to the material. Now, vocally, it was still not perfect but he held his notes without grunting them, which was another feat for him. I'd say for someone completely out of his element, he did really well. To me, if there is one person who can stop Crystal Bowersox… it’s Lee Dewyze.
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