just something I've been meaning to get posted

deja vu?

I think the simplest way to describe how I'm feeling right now is:

It's been one of those years,

again.

Actually, it was worse than that. There was only one panti-throwing moment all season long and not enough moments that made me go SQUWEEE to cover for the lack of those moments (and if I recall that one moment did NOT come from one of my faves!).

There are only a couple things that I can say about this season. First of all, we weren't socked with a crappy rainbow fluffy puppies poopin pots of gold shit for a coronation song. Nope, they were too lazy to go there so they had the kids pick out their own coronation song which will be a cover of some other artist's work. Great, not even something of their very own. Thanks Idol. I'm not sure what's worse. Well, actually the covers will have been tried and true (ish) so that might actually be marginally better. They should have let them pick one of the songs they'd already written for themselves. That would have been the truest test as to who the real artist is. Secondly, the season went fast. I cannot BELIEVE how fast we've gotten to the finale. Unfortunately, it was fairly predictable the entire way through. It was much like reading a novel for the 3rd or 4th time, you're not going to find too much more that surprises you. The entire season feels like it was more or less a warm up for a Lee/Crystal finale and I will not be surprised if it hit the lowest ratings (lower than last year) ever.

This year was so bad and so predictable that the betting sites that I visit for the odds pretty much quit giving odds on everyone weeks ago and had only had the one event available, Crystal Bowersox for the win. For weeks they'd been calling a female winner and that it would be her. That is until last week, when Lee pulled out a couple of amazing performances. The very next day, the event closed on the one site and went to a Lee DeWyze for the win event. Was I shocked when it happened? Nope. Not even slightly. Let me remind you:

To say that I was surprised, is a complete understatement. He surpassed expectations and then some. In fact, in my opinion, he edged out Crystal and won the night. Damn I hated having to admit that but ya know, I'd rather have to admit that with my other favorite than the one I want to see gone. The judges SUTAed him good and proper.

To show you what kind of year we had, ZabaSearch didn't even BOTHER tracking things and as at this point not posted their predictions.

Here's the way the winner's Map looked as of this posting. I think Hawaii and Alaska are still voting, however I don't think either are going to make much of a difference at this point.

Crystal has a 22 state win with an 18 state loss while Lee's numbers are reversed. This really does not mean a bloody thing at all as we saw what happened last year when Adam was 8 states in the lead. Plus the Maps have been wrong before.

As you recall, last year I said the Chart was absolutely accurate from season 4 on as to whom the winner would be. This is the way this year's chart looks. According to this Lee's won the whole thing.

At this point, the only way I see Crystal winning this (even though she had the superior performances this week, in my honest opinion) is if the Idol machine decides that there is no way in hell that they want a Caucasian male winning this for a 3rd year in a row.

On today's Ellen

Jim Cantiello's 60 Seconds and some other good stuff

Jim Cantiello's 60 Seconds:

MTV Shows

Link to this week's Something Pitchy show. (ok guys, why bother giving a code to embed and not have available to all regions??)


Bonus! This year's Top 2:

Double Bonus! Check out the cameo by Nigel Barker (America's Next Top Model judge and photographer):

A somewhat redeeming night

Is it me or did there seem to be fewer fans in the hometown visit clips this year? The last few years the crowds were humongous. We got to see the family, the parade, meeting the mayor, ballgames, etc. This year it feels like the producers just want to get it done and over with. Yeah I know it's been a pretty lame year, but do you really have to rush them off like that? The only thing I can think of is maybe that since this has been such a lack luster year, that it's highly possible that there WASN'T the crowds as per usual and the editors simply didn't have enough to cut together a decent enough package for each of them. Then again, maybe they're just saving the primo stuff for Results night filler. It's possible, as they only have 2 guests that they announced for the week. Gotta have SOMETHING to kill the hour with.

The Map and the Charts (as well as the Dial Idol Hard Graphs, something I don't normally bother posting) are all in agreement this week, which is an oddity in and of itself. If the results go according to these sources (as well as the Vegas odds), there shouldn't be any surprise at all this week and we'll be having the finale that everyone has been seeing coming for weeks. However, this is Idol and we all know that sometimes they skew things just a tad.

I'm going to lump both performances for each contestant into one entry, just to make it easy on me. I'm kind of under the weather and not really feeling like writing this in the first place, but I know I'll feel bad about not posting something if I just crawl into bed without doing it. I mean, I've managed to write all season for goodness sakes and I'm not about to let a silly little cold keep me from getting this done.

Casey
(Ok It's Alright With Me by Eric Hutchinson) I wasn't familiar with the song at showtime. I thought he did an ok job with it. Nothing to really write home about. The nice short notes pretty much hid that vibrato of his. Upon finding a copy of the original, I'd have to say he just phoned this one in. Shoot, he didn't even bother phoning it... he texted it in. It completely lacked the energy of the original. To be honest, Lee would have done better justice to this song. The judges tossed Casey under the bus for this one.

(Daughters by John Mayer) This was judges choice picked by Kara and Randy. I'm not a John Mayer fan. Never have been and doubt I ever will be so I'm not even going to fake liking this one. Nope. Not at all. It's pretty bad that the judges all but admit they picked it because it has a limited range and it "fit like a glove". Ok. It was the better choice, but I still didn't like it. The judges, for the majority, liked him better for the second song.

This week Casey had 3 wins and 18 losses for a total of -15. This is down 15 states from last week. He is the ONLY contestant listed in red. Third spot. Last on the list. Dial Idol is that sure that he's gone this week. If you recall, they haven't listed a contestant in red all season. Singing first and practically smoke signalling in his performances didn't help matters. I'm wondering if he realizes that he doesn't really want to win this thing. Then again, I suspect the next one up is feeling the same.

Crystal

(Come to My Window by Melissa Etheridge) This one was ok for her voice, but something was a tad off. I don't know if it was the vocal or the arrangement. It may have helped her if she'd just sang it straight as written. Even Kara was marginally correct in that she should have just done it as an acoustic. I know that the judges harp on originality, but something needed tweaking there. The judges liked her but didn't exactly love her this time around.

(Maybe I'm Amazed by Paul McCartney) Can someone explain to me why in God's green earth the best judge's pick this time around was made by the judge who has nothing to do with the music industry????? She's not a producer, singer, arranger, writer or any kind of musician... yet she made the most amazing choice for her charge. Kudos for no instrument as well as not changing the lyric to make it more gender appropriate. Kudos for not compromising, much. I can't wait for the studio version of this one. The judges really liked her, but again didn't love her.

This week she won 12 states and lost 3 for a total of 9 states. Crystal slipped 3 states from last week. She's listed on the chart as a solid 2 and in green. By all rights, she shouldn't be leaving this week at all. However, if the judges want a sausagefest (which I'm pretty sure they don't because we've had 2 years of that) then she'll be the one kicked to the curb. Why her? Because she wasn't in the pimp spot and her performance was just the same ol same ol Crystal. Like I told a friend of mine in Facebook, it's hard to improve something that needs little if no improvement. This makes it hard on Crystal because she has nowhere to really go at this point and as a result can't show progress or growth of any kind, she's already as good as she'll get. Maybe, she's realized that she doesn't want to win nearly as bad as she thought?

Lee

(Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd) This was a brilliant pick for his voice. All these weeks and I still don't think we've seen the best he has to give us yet. I will not be shocked if that moment comes right on finale night. One or all of the songs he'll be doing will be just that. He got a hella lotta SUTA from the judges but it was pretty much deserved so you won't hear me argue. Then again both of my faves make up 2/3 of the Top 3 so either way I've at least picked one finale placer for the year. Can't complain with that.

(Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen) When I saw this choice, my heart fell. Why? Because I did not believe Lee could pull this one off. I was cursing Simon for a terrible choice because surely this would trip Lee up and put Casey into the finale. The best rendition of this song that was ever performed on that stage was done by Jason Castro. I even told Chicagolady that Lee was going to have to really surprise me with this one because I wasn't really holding out any hope that the pimp spot was going to save him even with a good first performance. To say that I was surprised, is a complete understatement. He surpassed expectations and then some. In fact, in my opinion, he edged out Crystal and won the night. Damn I hated having to admit that but ya know, I'd rather have to admit that with my other favorite than the one I want to see gone. The judges SUTAed him good and proper.

Lee won a staggering 22 states this week and lost 2 for a total of 20. This is up 8 states over last week. As much as I suspect a good many of those votes are due to the pimp spot, I suspect he would have pulled almost as many if he'd sung in any of the other positions. He is listed firmly in a first place green position on the Chart. There is no way in hell he's going anywhere this week. If he is sent home, it'll be an absolute shock.

So who goes home?

The judges have been calling it a girl's year all season long. Yet we only have one girl left. Assume that she's the shoe in for a finale position as that's what we've been steered herded towards this entire time. This leaves a fight for the last remaining spot between the two guys and Lee had an amazing night while Casey was thrown to the wolves. This gives Lee that last spot and Casey sent home. However, let's assume Lee ain't going anywhere because of the pimp spot and performances. This means the last spot is a toss up between Casey and Crystal. Although this wasn't her absolute best night, she still sang rings around Casey easily with one lung tied behind her back. The odds are still calling Crystal the winner of it all (as of yesterday at least, they've closed the pages out like they do every Tuesday and won't reopen them until later this morning so I'm not certain how Tuesday's performances factor in yet). The Maps show her in firm second and the Chart backs it up. What if they're all wrong and VFTW actually DID their job? What if they managed to break up what everyone's been saying is the unavoidable finale match up? If they call Casey safe first, we'll know we lost Crystal and it's yet another sausagefest.

A couple of interesting items:

01) Simon has the rights to that Leonard Cohen song. Rumor is he acquired them shortly after Jason performed Hallelujah on the show.

02) According to the Maps, not one of the kids won their home state this week in the voting. Crystal won Lee's state, Lee won Casey's and Casey won Crystal's.

EDIT 8:16PM: The site where I usually get the odds for the kids has changed its event. For the last several weeks, it stopped putting all the odds up and simply had a Crystal to win event. This has been changed to a Lee to win event . His odds which were listed at a +236 in the beginning of May (payout of $236 for every hundred you put down on him), have now risen thanks to this week's performances. It's no longer viable to put money down on him as you'd need to put down $225 to break even. On another site, Crystal's odds fell and now she's just breaking even. Casey's odds are the lowest he's ever had. Vegas is basically saying Casey doesn't have a chance in hell at making the finale. However, if you have money to burn... drop a C-note on him because if he wins anyhow the payout will be over $3000 if you move now.

Jim Cantiello's 60 Seconds and Something Pitchy

Sorry for the delay, I'd been waiting for 60 seconds to show up as a link on Rickey's blog and it never arrived this past week. I checked 3 times and never saw it so I had to do some digging.

Jim Cantiello's 60 Seconds

MTV Shows

Something Pitchy. Sorry about the link but the video says it's not available for me to embed in this region. *sigh* This just aint my week. Odd because it's been allowed before....

demand a refund!

I'm seriously at a loss for words. It's pretty bad when the duets outshine most of the solo acts.

Matinee only, no drink/no snacks, dont bother waiting on the ending credits and definitely don't go back again.

What was that? It's part of my rating system. This week's theme was songs from the movies and I have a rating system for movies which I feel is appropriate to apply to the performances. If it's a good movie, I may rate it "evening rates, drinks only". Awesome movies are "evening rates, drinks and snacks AND I'd go back to see it again with the same rates". In other words, they're damn well worth the money of the ticket and all the trappings. If I declare a movie "matinee only", it's okay. Just not really all that and I could have waited for it to drop on DVD. Well, you get the idea. Now apply that to that rating and you'll have my thoughts of the Top4 performances. Hey, at least I didn't rate it the same as I did Mars Attacks ( that was "holy cow I'm glad I didn't waste my money never again will I watch it please for God's sake someone burn my eyes out and pierce my eardrums" ). Yeah, I thought that movie was THAT bad.

The first list that came out was a rather limited selection of songs but they ended up opening it up to several more really great tunes. Do you think anyone could pick a decent song and have a break out performance? Nope. Don't get me wrong, there was a couple songs that had the potential for being "Moments" for the contestant that was singing them, but they just did not step up enough.

Only one is in the green this week. A couple are neck and neck in the Maps. You can see who had the better performances. I forgot to check the odds this week, mostly because they're really slow getting them posted these days so I'm not certain where anyone stands at this point. Most days they simply have the wagers up as to whether or not Crystal will win. Surely the season isn't THAT predictable, is it? EDITED 05/12/2010 @ 8:13pm : They're still only putting up the one set of odds, whether or not Crystal will win. At this point you need to put up $158 to just break even. If you bet AGAINST her, $100 will get you $135.

Lee (Kiss From a Rose by Seal): Good choice, should have worked, but didn't. It was a meh performance, definitely not squeal-worthy. I certainly hope Mr Foxx took that artist t-shirt away from him because this was definitely not all that. He was definitely off key almost as often as he was on. Top things all off, he sang first. This is usually the kiss of death. Randy was right, Lee really needed to rock this out. I don't think he could handle Bon Jovi, but then I'm really particular as to how Bon Jovi is covered because I ~love~ his music. Bryan Adams would have been an awesome choice for him. This week he won 12 states, and lost none. He's the only one who didn't lose any states. He slipped 2 states from last week. Not really bad considering he was in the pimp spot last week and opened this week. I really don't believe he's in danger this time around, to be honest. I think we all know who more than likely is going to hit the B2 this time around. If he ends up in B2, it'll be because that damned site pulled Casey outta the fire again.

Mike (Will You Be There by Michael Jackson): Perfect choice and again, should have worked. However, those lower notes simply weren't there for him. I'm really surprised Mr Foxx didn't ask him to take it up a half to a full step to help adjust it to a better part of Mike's range. Then the higher notes would have fallen into his falsetto and we would have had a "Moment". Even with the 6 voice choir behind him, I felt nothing for this song. It's a real shame because usually it gives me chills. Mike won 2 states and lost 6 for a total of -4 this week, down 3 states from last week. He's definitely in danger this time around too.

Crystal/Lee Duet (Falling Slowly by the Frames): This was my favorite performance of the night. Still nothing to squeal over, because the song itself was dreadfully dull. I thought the same about the song last year when Kris sang it. The duetting kinda saves the piece. Lee's singing was much better in this song than in his solo and I think this is what may have helped him get the numbers that he did.

Casey (Mrs Robinson by Simon and Garfunkel): Dear heavens. They keep going on about cougars liking him and it's taken this long for Kara to get it so everyone's not hassling her about her behavior at his audition.... and he picks THIS SONG??? *face palm* (repeat as necessary) Simon was right, this song lacked the substance necessary for this stage of the game. I'm surprised they didn't harp on the vibrato again this week. He won 2 states, lost 2 and dropped 7 states from last week. He's in danger this week too.

Crystal (I'm All Right by Kenny Loggins): Good choice. It actually made me laugh because she took a fun song, roughed it up and made it into a big ol FU to the judges and her critics. I'm diggin this version for sure. They pointed out her boyfriend's dancing (and the people on the Idol cameras didn't think to get a shot of it???? Shame on you guys!!). Wanna bet it looked alot like this?

He strikes me as the kinda guy to dance just that way. For that matter, I bet she does too. What would have been funnier (although I'm sure it would have lost her a bunch of votes because the choice would have seemed extremely presumptuous) is if she performed Queen's Gimme the Prize from the movie Highlander. She won 13 states but lost 1 so she's tied with Lee with 12 states won. She's up one state from last week and is the only one listed in green on the Chart. Her performance is the only reason why we stayed through the whole movie and didn't add a "better yet, leave early... demand a refund AND report them to the BBB" to the rating.

Casey/Mike duet (Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman by Bryan Adams): Good, not great. My 3rd favorite performance this week behind Crystal's solo and her duet with Lee.

Ranking the performances, I'd have to say they went like this (well for me):

Crystal

Crystal/Lee duet: By the barest margin because it's a dull song AND I love the FU vibe she gave her solo number

Casey/Mike duet

Lee

Mike

Casey (these last two a distant distant 5th and 6th)

So who belongs in the B2?

What? It aint obvious?

Casey: A blah performance with subject matter that he shouldn't have touched with a 50 foot pole considering who is on the judging panel. He should have been gone last week.

Mike: A performance that should have been one of his best that ended up leaving many cold. This one should have been gone weeks ago. Only thing that may save him is that duet on the end in the pimp spot.

However, remember what happened last year. We had 2 really great performers do a friggin AWESOME performance. Totally knocked it out of the park... homerunsville. The other group, not so hot. Their performance really kinda sucked. The one of this grouping had a bad solo performance too. Who went home? One out of the awesome duet.... one of the ones we were SURE was going to make it to at least Top3, if not Top2. This has me a trifle worried to say the least. If one of the ones I picked for B2 go home, it won't be so much of a shock. However, if that same thing from last year happens this year.... we may lose a favorite. Worst yet will be if we end up with another sausagefest for a third year running.

Jim Cantiello's 60 Seconds and other stuff

Jim Cantiello's 60 Seconds

MTV Shows

Normund Gentle on the Wendy Williams show

normund 5 @ Yahoo! Video

3 Adults, a kid and a goat

This should have been a good night for all of them. I mean we're dipping into Frank Sinatra's catalog for goodness sakes! Not saying that his stuff is easy, because some of it isn't. However, there are a good number of songs that are singable by anyone that can sustain a decent note. Well we certainly found out tonight who can and who cannot accomplish this.

This week's mentor was Harry Connick Jr., an accomplished crooner in his own right. No, there aren't too many songs of his that I actually enjoy but I cannot deny that he has a beautiful voice and I would happily sit and listen to him sing all night so long as he remembered to sing A Wink and a Smile at the end of the night. *swoons briefly*

Not only did Harry mentor this week, but he also accompanied them on stage as their piano player. Top things all off, he wrote "supportive arrangements". What this tells me is that all that the kids really did this week is pick the songs and learn what they were told. They were practically HANDED decent performances. All they had to do is learn it and work on stage presence. Do you think they accomplished this? Some, not all.

This week the Chart's a bit funky so we'll just leave the screen cap of it off and save the room (I've saved it incase DI decides to pull some of their usual stuff and mark the chart after the program). All are listed at 1-5 in yellow but not one of them has a B3 notation. The Maps were a mess too, but not so bad. A couple surprises on the loser Map. I'd like to say the winner Map had a surprise too, but I read some other sites out there before coming in here so it's not so much a shock to me as it will be to the casual viewer.

Aaron (Fly Me to the Moon): I wanna know exactly what show Ellen was listening to tonight? I'm sorry, but in certain parts of the song his country sound was bloody obvious. This was not as good as they said it was. He did try, but that's about it. His odds are up substantially from last week, this is only due to his strong showing from last week. I won't be surprised to see them dip again this week. He had 3 wins and 2 losses for a total of 1 state won. This is up 3 states from last week but I don't think this will be enough to keep him out of the B3 this week. He's listed 3rd on the chart.

Casey (Blue Skies): This wasn't good. Not at all. His voice just cannot handle this genre. He did not own this even in the slightest and unfortunately the nerves just magnified the vibratto that diehard fans have been hearing all year long. Let's just put it this way, this performance was so dreadful that that nefarious site changed its posterchild by the time he was finished singing (they HAD picked Mike after last week's elimination due to his cheese factor). They must have been really voting their fingers off, or the Casey Cougars went into overdrive because he managed to grab 7 wins and NO losses (the ONLY contestant to not lose any on the one Map) putting him up 2 states over last week. The Chart has him listed dead last though. His odds have slightly risen this week which is a surprise because we knew what the theme was going to be before the show ended last week and this definitely isn't in his wheelhouse.

Crystal (Summer Wind): My goodness she cleans up nice. That was a lovely gown on her! Loved the little interaction between her and Harry at the piano. So very playful and really set the mood for the song. This was very nicely done, although not one of her stronger performances. I'm gonna slap Randy if he uses "it's too sleepy" on a number whose original was rather sleepy too. Stupid shit. Kara had this one nailed correctly. She had spark, sass, and the swing necessary to carry the song. As for Simon, she needed to sing the arrangement as it was given. If Harry jazzed it up, it's not Crystal's fault. Ok, so it wasn't a great pick. Don't harp on something she had no control over. They are right though. This is two weeks with standard Crystal performances. She's gonna need to wow us next week if she wants to win this. This week she had 12 wins and 1 loss for a total of 11. This is down one state from last week. Her odds have been drooping a little since last week. I'm wondering if Vegas is still seeing a girl as the winner or if they are thinking that we'll have another darkhorse winner. She's listed in 4th on the chart. Although she's listed so low, I do not believe she's actually in danger due to the number of states won. I would not be surprised if they split them in 2 groups of 2 and have her pick who belongs in the same group as her. Gosh I hope I'm wrong.

Mike (The Way You Look Tonight): Damn. This song was perfect for his voice. If he doesn't go into R&B after this, then he certainly NEEDS to go into the standards and follow Harry's footsteps because this was awesome. Everyone knows who my faves are this year and it kills me to have to say this, but Mike out sang one of them and almost got the other as well. This was his moment. the judges loved him. Now for the bad news and there's quite a bit. His odds dropped from last week (which was odd because if any of them would have a great night, it'd be Mike). The nefarious site dropped him like a hot rock as their posterchild right after Casey sang. Why? Because Casey was that bad and they felt Mike was too boring. Top things all off, he won only 1 state and lost 2 for a total of -1. The good news? He's up 2 states from last week and he's listed in 2nd on the Chart. He's in danger this week and it really sucks because this was one of his best performances to date IMHO.

Lee (That's Life): Ahh Lee. My second favorite of the season. Holy shit that was HAWT! There haven't been too many moments this season where I got into fangirly-squealing mode. This was one of them. I was so into the performance, I didn't even notice Harry's organ until well after the performance was done. Go figure it was hanging out in plain sight and I never bloody noticed. Oh lookit that.... you need 2 hands for that organ too. It took 4 times through the video to notice that. I am looking forward to the studio version of this one. I hope he put just a touch more growl to a few of the notes. *fans self* Although I loved Mike's performance, it didn't get me the way Lee's did. His odds have been slipping a bit but I don't think Vegas anticipated Lee taking off with this genre at all. He's listed first on the Chart. There were 15 states won and one loss putting him at 14 states won for the week, up 11 states from last week. The real test will come next week as we all know that Lee only seems to get these numbers on the nights he has the pimp spot. If he can hang on to 1/2 to 3/4 of those states next week when he may be singing mid-pack, we may have a definite contender.

This is how I'd rate them this week:

Lee
Mike
Crystal (shocked that I put her here? I am!)
Aaron
Casey

So who goes home?

Aaron: If he goes it's because his youth couldnt carry the genre believably. His vocal wasn't atrocious, but it wasn't great either. Singing in first didn't help him. If he squeaks by, we can thank Rickey dot org for their work on his Vote for the First program which tries to help those singing in the deadly first spot get through another week.

Casey: According to the Maps, Casey won't be here. I'm just placing him here because based upon performance this week he DESERVES to be here and DESERVES to be eliminated.

However, I'm afraid his place will be taken by:

Mike: Why? He lost support of a group that, like it or not, does manage to make a difference in the vote numbers. Top things off, he's over stayed his welcome. It won't make a bloody bit of difference that this was one of his best performances to date.

Jim Cantiello's 60 Seconds and other stuff

Jim Cantiello's 60 Seconds

MTV Shows

Something Pitchy



and for a bonus, my favorite Ford Commercial for this season so far

ford 6r @ Yahoo! Video

American Idol's Talk Dirty to Me

VH1 TV Shows Music Videos Celebrity Photos News & Gossip

It was a Twainweck!

Looking at the choices of songs available, this week had some really good potential to being a great week. There are some really fun songs in her song book like Party For Two (change it up, use Mark McGrath's version!), Up! or Rock This Country just to name a few. I'd mention Man I Feel Like A Woman, but it's just not in Crystal's personality, Siobhan's voice is all wrong for it and the guys... well they aint Adam.

What did we get? The girls dipped into Shania's second album (which contains exactly 2 songs that I enjoy and neither performed this week were them), Lee and Aaron chose from album 3 (and managed to pick 2 of the 3 songs on that album that I absolutely abhor), Mike grabbed from the 4th album and Casey chose a song from her greatest hits album (how the fk can it be a greatest hit when it didn't make the cut on the other albums??? ). I didn't even know Mike's or Casey's off the top of my head (even though I see both sitting in my music files, go figure). Then again, considering that Shania's stuff was streamed ad naseum at the one chat site I belonged to (because she was the site owner's absolute fave), it's no wonder I'm not fond of much of it.

Needless to say, it's a damned good thing I did not bring the bottle of Sangria upstairs to my viewing area, because it would have been empty within the hour. Heck, it wouldn't have made it to the 30 minute mark. Ok, ok, in all fairness I'm not much of a country music kinda gal. My idea of "good" country music usually starts around 2003 and my idea of "old" country music is anything just prior to that. The older the song, the less likely I'm going to like it. Especially if they do any funky vocal gymnastics with their voice (which Shania does every now and again..).

The Maps and Chart are in total disagreement in one of the performers so Lord knows what's going to happen. I've already told hubby to brace for his favorite to be booted and I'm bracing for one of mine to be gone. Yeah, I know what the odds say regarding to my favorites and I also know how poorly the one did. Also cannot deny that the singing positions didn't help matters any.

Lee (You're Still the One): Hate the song. It's almost as bad as listening to Unchained Melody (the only song I hate more than this one). Lee does NOT have the voice for this type of song at all. He really needed to pick one of the more uptempo ones because he simply cannot sustain the notes properly. He also needs to work at completing the phrases. I think someone spiked the judges Coke and with every "good job" comment, I began to see what kind of night this was going to be. Oh, and Simon's right, Lee tends to pull a face now and again... kinda like Kris did last year. His odds are slipping a tad but every betting site is still calling for a Lee/Crystal finale (even though none of them believe he'll actually win it). He's rated a 2-6 on the Chart and listed next to last. He won 3 states this week, but this is the same he's won for the last 3 weeks. This is not the time in the competition to have a less than stellar showing. Singing first didn't help him much either.

Mike (It Only Hurts When I Breathe): Actually, this song was almost tolerable in a man's voice. Almost. The judges really need to start reading this blog because I was calling for Mike to do Luther Vandross for how long now?? And to just NOW make the connection (and it wasn't even a judge with a music background which really makes me wonder how qualified they really truly are)??? This week he won 1 state and lost 4. This puts him at a -3 for the week and DOWN 7 states from last week. Talk about your crash and burn. His odds are up mildly but none of the betting sites have him more than mid-pack. He's listed in dead last on the Chart. There will be no surprise if he's in the B3 and less of a shock if he's sent home (sorry hubby).

Casey (Don't): This was one of Casey's finer performances. He definitely needs more performances like this way. It's a shame he hadn't been singing like this all season because he surely would have been one of the front runners. Lee's gotta watch his back because if he's not careful, Bucky Young Ace Covington Casey will be the one waltzing into the finals ahead of him. I can't wait to hear the studio version of this one. His odds have slipped somewhat, but I'm hoping this performance brings them back up a bit and pushes them higher. He won 5 states this week, putting him 5 states higher than last week. The difference is that he sung first last week with a meh performance and this week he was mid-pack with a very good performance. The Chart has him listed 3rd. I'll be pretty surprised if he ends up in the B3 this week.

Crystal (No One Needs to Know Right Now): Good going, Ryan, point out Shania's white white teeth to the one contestant that has been needing help in that area. Really fkn smooth buddy. This was a standard Crystal performance, but not as memorable as some of the others have been. It was a good pick for her voice though. It was great to hear her upper register, but she doesn't exactly have the power up there as she does in her mid-range and you tend to lose something when she hits those higher notes. Not a favorite performance for the judges this week either. It was kinda odd not getting the praise as usual, it almost felt like a de-pimping of sorts so that it doesn't look like she's running away with the competition (which she pretty much is doing). Her odds have held even for a day or so but I suspect they'll go up even more. She won 13 states and lost 1 for a total of 12 states this week. This is down 4 states from last week but then last week was a pimp spot for her and they always tend to go up a bit when a contestant sings there. She's rated a 1-6 on the Chart and for the first time in weeks isn't listed in green NOR listed as first place. This week, according to the Maps, she's as good as safe. However, if the Chart turns out to be right, she could actually make a trip to the B3. Do I think this will happen, no. But the possibility is there.

Aaron (You've Got a Way): This should have been in his wheelhouse as he has that powerful voice for ballads like this. Should have been. Forget the fact that I hate this song as much as the one Lee chose. He was pitchy in areas and fell completely out of key several times. This was not good at all and I believe that once the judges view it back, they'll hear it too. However, thanks to the 3rd degree burns my colon (lower and upper) received from the SUTA that was blasted at him (so crispy even George Hamilton would look pale in comparison), I'm not so certain he'll be going anywhere this week. He's kinda in a weird place right now (Aaron, not George). For ya see, the megablast of SUTA only effected the Chart and not the Maps. On the Chart, he's listed in first and is the only one listed in green (albeit he still has a B3 label). However, on the Maps, he won 2 states and lost 4 for a total of -2. This is down 4 whole states since last week. So what do we believe? The judges, Chart and the next to last singing position? Or the Maps? All have known to be wrong.

Siobhan (Any Man of Mine) Ok. So I stand corrected. I listened to the original on this one and actually do like it. It would have been nicer if my fave had sung it though (woulda made another great message for the boyfriend). Ummm Si, honey, adding attitude does not give you license to screech like a cat in heat, darlin. Just because you have the power in your voice, doesn't always mean you should actually use it. Take a lesson from Crystal, less is more... bigger isn't always better. Even Shania didn't look pleased. Does this look like a happy camper? No, I think not. If you don't believe me, rewatch the video of Si singing. Better yet, pull up the link, keep it on pause until it gets fully loaded and then move the slider over to the last 1:34 to see the full reaction (this way you can spare your eardrums the torture). The girl to Shania's left, the expression pretty much says it all. I can't believe they SUTAed her too. Granted she was in the pimp spot but damn, we've seen them rip apart people in that position before. This week she won 8 states (Texas musta only liked her for her cattle calling skills) and is up one state from last week. Her odds are still dropping. She's listed in 4th on the Chart. Working for her? That damnedable site has her as the new poster child. *sigh* We'll have a couple more weeks at least of her.

So who goes?

If you don't have that spare X Chromosome, you're screwed this week. The betting sites are still calling for a female winner even with just the two girls in the competition and the Maps show that they pretty much whipped most of the boys collective asses. Casey being the only exception.

So who goes?

Personally, I think everyone needs to be shoved out the door and just crown Crystal already. Although after this week's showing I wouldn't give her a full crown , but a small tiara instead.
Then again, many were saying the same thing about Adam last year and look what happened. But on the other hand, Crystal doesn't leap completely out of the box like Adam did continually.

Dammit already... who goes?

Here's how it breaks down:

Lee: Only pretty good in the judges eyes this week and he sang first. He's shown no real growth for nearly a month on the Maps. It won't be a surprise if he hits the B3, but it will be a bit of a shock if he gets the boot considering how the betting odds have been looking for him. He should still be good for a couple more weeks, but without the save... it's anyone's game now. Unfortunately, I think Lee needs another wake-up call.

Mike: Singing second with a meh performance. Falling odds and a HUGE loss of states plus a bottom listing? Everything's working against him this week. It'll be a near miracle if he lasts. He's already out lasted Matt G's save record. I really think that save was wasted on Mike because he doesn't seem to have the fan base to keep him in here. A B3 is more than likely in the cards and I won't be surprised if he's finally shown the door as he's overstayed his welcome.

Aaron: Yeah, granted he's listed in green and the one in green never seems to go. However, one cannot ignore the Maps (which means that something might be glitchy in the Chart) and the fact he lost more states than he won. You also cannot ignore the fact his odds keep dropping and they're the lowest of the bunch (bet $100 now and if he wins you'll be $6800 richer).

Casey: Simply because he has a penis (well, we think he does at least... hey Kara, can you confirm this yet?). If he goes, it'll be a shocker, but it'll be because it was too little too late.

Siobhan: Ok so the Maps have her in second not too far behind Crystal and the Chart has her in mid-pack. However, it cannot be ignored that her odds are right up there with Michael's and Casey's (or should we say down there?) and after that caterwauling, she deserves to be tossed out. Not that I think it's even an option with that number of states won, but a girl can dream...right?

Betting sites B2: Aaron with any of the following Michael, Casey or Siobhan (all 3 tied) with Aaron as good as gone.

Chart: Lee and Michael with either going or any of the others listed

Maps: Aaron and Michael with Michael having the worst numbers.

Only constants in these 3 sources I use? Michael and Aaron.

Jim Cantiello's 60 seconds & other stuff

Jim Cantiello's 60 Seconds

MTV Shows

Something's Pitchy

Jim Canteillo recap

MTV Shows

His article is here.

slightly inspired

EDIT: 4:43pm for additional notes. These are listed in red or green depending on the rising or falling odds of the contestant...

Seven kids came in this week with the theme of songs that inspire. Yes, we're back to the Idol Gives Back week again. I'm so glad we don't pay for this because I would have been demanding 6/7 of my money back. Ok, being nice maybe 4.5/7 of a refund (half a point to the one I've kinda liked all along and the other whole point begrudgingly to one I've been harping on all season).

As we've seen, the Maps haven't exactly been the most accurate this year and neither have the odds NOR the Chart. It's pretty much been all over the place. The DI Chart had it absolutely right last week though, both contestants that left were at the very bottom. We had 3 listed in green this week, with 2 having a B3 mark next to their names as well.

Casey (Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow by Fleetwood Mac): This was another consistent, not bad but not great performance from Casey and I'm pretty much over him at this point. His performance was like those "professional" karaoke peeps you find in the bars. They're paid to be there to sing to the patrons while they slam back Heinies (or Millers or Buds or whatev, Jagermeister anyone??). The quality is good if you're not drinking and increases in perfection the more you drink (and if they strip, even better). They're not so bad that you walk out the minute they start singing but you're certainly grateful you didn't pay a cover charge. To paraphrase Randy, it's the same ol same ol with Casey. The odds on the betting sites have him almost neck and neck with Lee headed for the second spot in the finale but I won't be surprised if that changes come this afternoon when I get up to check. This week he's hit the bottom (and by bottom I mean dead last) of the chart with a 4-7 rating. He won one and lost one on the Maps for a huge goose egg this week, down 9 whole states from last week. No surprise though, because he was in the pimp spot last week. However, as Crystal's proved, you don't always need that spot to garner alot of votes. You just have to sing WELL. His odds slipped this week. All things concerned, I feel safe enough to call him in danger this week. If the Chart is right, like it was last week, we may see Casey riding off in the sunset later. Casey's odds have fallen even farther since the program this week. I'm seeing rumors that next week is country. A Casey ouster now, the week before a theme that would really help him, would just play into my theory that we could easily predict who was going home when just by looking at what weeks the themes fall on.

Lee (The Boxer by Simon and Garfunkel): Seriously, really? OK, honestly the song is good for his voice but I'm not so certain I would have chosen this song for this week. Yeah, I can see why it would be appropriate, but still. Not so certain I'm 100% loving his treatment of the song either. Maybe that's it? Or maybe it's the fact he needs to complete his phrases better? I will give him credit for at least attempting to change it up somewhat, unlike Casey who sang his pretty much (although not completely) straight. His odds have been playing yo-yo. They went up a little after last week's performance but then dropped again by the afternoon of show day. He's listed as 2-5 green B3 and won 3 states in the Maps. The 3 state win breaks him even compared to last week. Do do not foresee him making a trip to the B3 this week. Then again, I didn't call it when Mike (he had 3 states when he hit B3) or Katie (she had a 4 state win and ended up sent HOME) went to the B3 on their respective weeks either. Basically, I suck at this this year. Lee's odds went up after his performance this week. Not by a whole lot, but a substantial amount.

Tim (Better Days by the Goo Goo Dolls): He was off. This was plain awful. We're back to the same we were getting before which makes me think the last week or two were just flukes. Like Ellen said, this was like the soup of the day, sometimes we like it and sometimes not. I prefer my soups hot or at least lukewarm. I don't like Gazpacho or any other cold soups (like Vichyssoise). This wasn't even THAT good. This was more like a super salty bouillon that's been left to chill until the fat rises to the top. You know, the kind you get when you don't add the full cup of liquid per cube but only use a tablespoon worth of water and then don't even dissolve it properly. Yeah, it was truly that bad. Definitely not better days here, buddy. His odds are dropping again and I anticipate they'll drop farther by later this afternoon. He won 3 states and lost one for a 2 state win which is up 2 states from last week. Hm. That stinking nefarious state must have figured out how to get the world to legally vote for our show. This is AMERICAN Idol, not World Idol, folks. Please don't mess with an already fkd up show. His odds actually went up somewhat. After a performance like that, I would have predicted they'd fall like the Hindenburg.

Aaron (I Believe I Can Fly by R.Kelly): OK, at least he added the proper amount of water to the bouillon and it's not so salty. It wasn't that much less painful though. A better performance of this song was done by Katherine. Odds falling, with 4 wins and 2 losses for a 2 state win. He broke even with last week. This was NOT a good choice for him. Kara was right, it was like watching a plane try to take off alright, over a runway filled with speed bumps and potholes. Then, when it finally started to take off, it dragged its tail down the strip and nicked the tower on its way up. He's more than likely in trouble this week. The only thing that might just save him is that forgettable performance from the first singer of the night. Odds fell. Only person lower these days is the Teflon Wonderboy.

Siobhan (When You Believe by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey): I officially hate her now because she made me actually LIKE her performance this week. Yes, she was a tad nasally and yes, she really needs to learn to back off the mic when she takes the deep breaths necessary for those notes (Gaspuleta had this problem during his year for his version of the song too, her performance is the better of the two). However, she was in near perfect control of her voice this week. This was an extremely hard song to pull off (considering the 2 divas that sang it originally). Best yet, was that beautiful soprano note that wasn't screamed. It was actually sung and sustained properly. No, she really is not commercially viable and no this is definitely not a radio type song. However, she'd do exceedingly well on Broadway and I still say she needs to get some opera training... go and become her generation's Sarah Brightman or Beverly Sills. The judges were all wrong on her this week and damn them for making me have to take her side. Now if they would stop encouraging her to talk afterward or better yet, teach her how to formulate her answers faster. Her odds have dropped slightly this week, I really hope they see an increase after this performance. She won 7 states this week for an increase of 5 states over last week and she wasn't even in the pimp spot this week. She's rated a 2-6/ B3 green. Although the Chart still lists her with the B3 marker, I feel pretty good about calling her safe this week. Very well done. WTF?? Her odds FELL?? After what was arguably one of her finer performances?? Ok, ok, so maybe only a stage/choir geek whould appreciate that. It might simply be that they encourage her to monologue after every performance. I'm telling you, no matter how much practice she needs, they really need to nip that in the bud. and fast.

Michael (Hero by Chad Kroger of Nickelback and Josey Scott of Saliva): Personally, I would have rather heard Lee perform this song and Michael tackle The Boxer. However, that would have been extremely predictable on Lee's side so maybe it's a good thing he didn't. This wasn't great, but it was better than a few others this week. A better performance of this , albeit it wasn't for competition, was done (God help me for saying this) by the Davids (although we all know whose part of the performance I liked better). At least with Mike's singing position, it'll be better remembered than some of the others this week, maybe. Odds are dropping, only a one state win this week (down 3 states from last week) and a 2-7 rating mean that he might actually be in trouble this week, again. Another one that crashed. I'm kinda over him too.

Crystal (People Get Ready by The Impressions): Hands down, best.performance.of.the.night. And she did it sans guitar. Her opening notes very reminiscent of Bo's Moment in Season 4 all the way through the accompaniment that got added 1/4 the way in and down to the last broken down notes on the end, absolute perfection. Only thing she needs to work on is what to do with her hands when she's not strumming a guitar. She definitely schooled them all tonight and slammed that gauntlet down. I cannot WAIT to get the ITunes studio version of this one. Nice playful joking between Ryan and her considering the crap that's been circulating the media concerning them. Her odds are the only ones that have kept rising from day one. To date, you'd need to put nearly $200 down just to break even on this one. As of tomorrow's posting, I'd guarantee you'll be needing to drop more than that. Contrary to the news reports, she's in it to win it. This week she won 16 states putting her up 8 states over last week. Granted many are more than likely from the pimp spot, but I'd venture a guess that if she knocks it out of the park next week like this, there won't be too much of a drop in the number of states. She is one of the 3 in green on the Chart but the only one with a solid #1 in her bubble. There is no way in hell she's going anywhere this week. I was right. As of this posting, you need to drop $215 on her just to break even.

So who's in most danger this week?

Considering every betting site I looked at this week is still calling it a girl's year to win, even though there are only two left, and the fact that the girls really brought it in a big way this week, I feel pretty safe in saying that all 3 in the B3 are going to be guys.

So who is it? Any of the following 4 could easily be sent home:

Casey: Same ol same ol barroom karaoke performances that lack the shine of being a true star. He doesn't even have enough star power to be worth a cover charge at a Roadhouse and IF they hired him for the night, they wouldn't bother putting up the chicken-wire fence to protect him from the beer bottles when they get thrown at the band. The betting sites have him in an almost dead heat with Lee for the second spot in the finale, but after this performance I wouldn't be surprised if they're rethinking this. No states won, and a first position sing did NOT do him any favors this week. If sent home, many will say this is a shocker. However, if you really look back at his performances (better yet, just listen to them) you'd see there hasn't been much improvement and the only way he's skated by is on looks and because there were a few others worse than him. Now that many of them are gone, his days are numbered. Dial Idol's Chart actually had it right last week and both at the very bottom were sent packing. Casey's the last listed this week. There are ones with worse odds, however we saw in the week that we lost Didi that just because your odds are in the low thousands, it's not necessarily going to save you. Vegas lost faith and that aint good.

Tim: He's a bottom dweller that needs to be thanking God for that nasty ol site. He's had a couple good-ish weeks and now reverted back to his previous putrid performances. Buddy's over stayed his welcome by a month now and like a pile of dirty laundry that's sat around for a couple weeks fermenting, it's beginning to stink a bit. OK, Alot (even college boys would be wanting to throw this one in the washer). I don't care if the Maps show improvement, boyfriend's gotta go. It'd be a shame if we lost him just when we have an uptick on the odds (he just managed to get out of the 5 digits last week... but still $100 gets ya $8059 if he wins), but he needed to be gone long ago.

Aaron: Simon called this one right folks, it took guts and the boy did try, but this performance was a stinker and was only out stunk by Tim's. The song was much much too big for him to handle at this point of his life, I don't care if he's been singing it since he was 5. If he goes, it won't be because the performance was bad, it'll be because he's STILL splitting votes with Tim and Casey (the cute teen vote with Tim, country vote with Casey) and in a Tim/Aaron or Casey/Aaron showdown he loses on both accounts. This is too many bad weeks in a row for him. Only thing that will save him is if Tim or Casey get the boot.

Michael: The feel good vibe from the save is only going to last so long and it already looks like it's wearing off. He lost 3 states from last week and his odds are still falling. Looks like America doesn't want another AAM winner. Maybe he reminds them too much of Ruben? Many will call this one a shocker if he goes, but it isn't. He's already hit B3 once (well twice but it was acknowledged he didn't have that few votes for a B3, it was just drama) and his performances are lukewarm at best. Vegas is seeing he's not all we'd hope he'd be. Looks like hubby is wrong this year as he picked Mike for the win.

Just for kicks and giggles, I'm gonna toss one more in there. Not that I truly believe he belongs there. However, seeing that even 3+ in the states won't save you this year, I still have to consider the possibility that it'll happen even if he has a green bubble next to his name.

Lee: Why? He stagnated from last week in that he had no gains in the numbers on the Maps (3 both weeks). He also sang second and that's the second worst place to be in. His odds are still rising so it would be a HELL of a shocker (considering many see him as a dark horse) to have him booted. With his odds still going up, I really don't believe he's even an option this week. This will be an awful shock if he's sent home at this point.

So who goes? Any of those first 4 are past their freshness dates for this show.
Who should go? Tim

Who may go home in his place? Either Casey or Aaron. Mike's also possible but with country week coming up, Casey or Aaron (more the former than the latter as Casey's more country than Aaron is) would be the obvious choice if my theory holds true.

Shocker to go? Either Lee or Siobhan (only because they got annoyed with her finally. States say she stays, Vegas says potential to go)



Better yet, send all but Lee, Siobhan and Crystal home and hop straight to the Top 3. It'll shorten the season a bit and give Siobhan plenty of time to formulate how to tell the judges off before the May finale.

Jim Cantiello's 60 Seconds

Jim Cantiello's 60 Seconds

MTV Shows

Something Pitchy


Other reads:
Is Abdul headed back to Idol? The writers at In Touch seem to think there's a possibility.

Seems our dear Kris Allen isnt exempt from the occasional wardrobe malfunction.

... and many many more articles at the MJsBigBlog and Rickey.org sites (links above)

The King's week, but a queen is the mentor?

EDIT: 5:35pm to update the odds

Where to begin? I really am at a loss for words this week. Oh... we had some solid performances and a couple that were better than they usually do, plus one or two that really need to step up. I'm not entirely certain what show the judges were watching. It just goes to prove that the dynamics in the theatre don't always carry over to us in the tv audience, no matter how hi our def is. There were times this week that Chicago and I were sure we were watching a whole different show than REKS at the table.

While I'm bitchin... I may as well register a complaint about the choice of this week's mentor. Don't get me wrong, I love Adam to death and think that he is an awesome showman and yes, Elvis was a helluva showman. However, it just would have made more sense (at least to me) if someone who was in the band (or in this case a musically inclined kin) was in the mentor role this week. Who better to help interpret the King of Rock's music than his own daughter, the Princess of Rock, herself? Just saying that Adam would have been better utilized during a Broadway week or better yet a Dance theme (that's what most of his cd is this time anyhow).

This week the Maps are totally whacked. I can't believe how fast things were changing there during voting. Evidentally the fan groups were very very busy at the phones. I won't be surprised if they say that the highest number of votes for this season were received this week. Top things all off, we had 3 go into the green on the chart (although one is still listed as possibly in danger according to DI).

Crystal (Saved): I'd never heard this song before, which is odd because although I'm not a 100% Elvis fan, I do love when he busted out in the Gospel voice and I have a great many of those songs. Girlfriend brought us all to church this week. Well, at least brought us to the church that I got used to in N'Awlins. This was another solid Crystal performance. I do have to worry that since she's solid from week to week if she doesn't need to step it up some and push it up to the next level as some of the lesser singers are starting to catch up and the rest of the chaff is going to be skimmed off in the next week or two. This means she won't be standing out quite so much and she needs to start differentiating herself NOW. Looking at the numbers on the Maps and in the Chart, we're beginning to see what will happen if she doesn't. This week's Maps she won 9 states but actually LOST one (please allow me to have a WTF moment...) for a total of 8 states won. This is DOWN 2 states from last week. She's ranked at 1-3 green on the chart and is listed second (she'd been listed first almost all the prior weeks) behind Michael (please allow me to have another WTF moment...). Her odds have just gotten better and better since day one so Vegas hasn't lost faith in her yet. I don't forsee her in danger this week but she's going to need to push it farther next week and start really bringing the star we know she is. As of time of edit, Crystal's odds have dipped but not enough to be overly worried about.

Ok... everyone chant our mantra again.... a few more times so maybe they'll finally get it (only a couple of those kids have caught on so far)

DO NOT SING A SONG A PREVIOUS IDOL HAS DONE!!!!

You think they'll learn? I doubt our next one will because I am very certain this is his last week.

Andrew (Hound Dog): Not to say this was bad, but I'm not even bothering listening to it again. It was so bad that even Teflon Tim sounded awesome. This was so bad I was yelling B3 B3 B3 before they even got out of the video package. This was so very bad that I had to go back to this performance to get it out of my mind. Mind you, I was a bigtime Daughtry fan during the season being referenced and Katherine McPhee's performance was more palatable than Andrew's. She even dropped a lyric and hardly anyone noticed. To show you how bad it was, I would put money down that Sanjaya could have pulled off a better performance. Yeah, it was that bad. His voice was whiny and there was seriously no energy to his performance. He lost 2 states this week and had no wins. This is down 2 states from the last couple of weeks (the last 2 weeks have had zeroes). His odds, crashing. He is in mortal danger this week and I will NOT be surprised if he's sent packing. Even if the judges HAD the save to use still, they wouldn't use it to save him after a stinker of a performance as that. This evening Andrew's odds dropped even farther, he's in a dead heat for last place with another at this point.

Tim (I Can't Help Falling In Love With You): Oooh. He didn't take Adam's suggestion which I do believe would have made it an awesome performance . I'm going to take my cue from the judges and say this was a good TIM performance. It was nice, but bor-ring. I so hope they send him home because if he sings another fkn song with Love in the title, I'm gonna need to drink myself into a stupor to write his review. I can't believe I'm about to do this, but Tim... you also need to check out KatherineMcPhee's performance. THIS is how the smoldering and eye boinking of the tweens is SUPPOSED to look. This is one of the performances this week that I swear someone laced the Coke glasses with some of Paula's patented Loopy-juice because surely they did not all just love that?? Please tell me it's reverse psychology or their batteries fell out of their earwigs. With one win and one loss this week, he's down from last week. His odds? Well if you place $100 down now and he miraculously wins, you'll be more than $13,000 richer. Can he PLEASE GO HOME NOW??? At the time of the edit, Tim's odds ROSE substantially in less than 24 hrs. HE's in a dead heat (although still last place) with Andrew. A $100 on Tim or Andrew will pay out only $7676 if either manages to win. Maybe Vegas will have it right this week and the lowest on their charts will go home?

Lee (A Little Less Conversation): This was another solid vocal but while the show was on I couldn't put my finger on why I wasn't happy with it. For some reason, he's still not quite connecting like he should. So while I was looking up another video for a later performer, I figured out why I was so disenchanted with his performance. You remember that I said I was a huge Daughtry fan, right? Season 5 should have been his and he was totally robbed of the win. Not that I'm upset or anything, maybe a touch bitter, but dammit he's doing so much better without the show. Anyways, I digress. You see, I found this performance of Chris's which was done on Top 4 night. Albiet not one of his finer performances (they had 2 songs that week), it's still done better than Lee's this year. This week he had 3 states won with no losses, a drop of 7 states from last week. Granted, last week was the pimp spot and he was riding that benefit so there would be a slight dip this week. However, Crystal has more than proved that you don't need the pimp spot to garner the most votes. You just need a great performance week to week. His odds dropped somewhat from last week but he's still up from Day 1 which is good. It does not keep him out of danger this week though. Considering that 2 will be going home this week and there's no save as a safety net, this was NOT the week to be less than awesome. At the edit, Lee's odds have risen slightly.

Aaron (Blue Suede Shoes): This was one of Aaron's finer performances. I personally enjoyed it. The vocal itself (if you listen and don't watch) is much better than the overall performance visually. When you're watching, he kinda comes across as a teacup chihuahua pup thinking it's a full grown Rottweiller, it just doesn't look right. He had 2 wins this week which brings him up by one from last week. His odds went up slightly this week and although the odds really still stink, they're up from Day 1. The judges were definitely into the PPLJ as they liked Tim's performance over Aaron's. We know the two are splitting votes though so I won't be shocked if he's in danger this week as well. Looks like Vegas agreed with the judges and didn't like his performance either. His odds fell by quite a bit over night.

Siobhan (Suspicious Minds): I like the fact that she took Adam's suggestion to speed it up a touch. There's still something about her voice that annoys the hell outta me though. Yes, she hit her power notes, but they were in better control and not the scream we usually get. I'm wondering if Adam taught her how to control it. Then again, you don't necessarily need to hit those notes either as was proved by Chris Daughtry. I really hated the judges critique this time. I can't quite put my finger on it. It was almost like getting directions from your store manager to do things one way and next thing you know, that boss is gone and there's a new one in their place who promptly tells you you're doing things the wrong way simply because that's not the way corporate wants them done... even though the way you did it works best for your particular store. The whole situation just makes my skin itch. She only won 2 states this week putting her down 3 states from last week. Her odds have risen a bit and she's still up from Day 1. With only 2 states, though, I'm going to have to suggest that she may be in trouble this week. Vegas didn't like Siobhan either as her odds dropped quite a bit as well.

Mike (In The Ghetto): Ok. Part of me wants to say that this song's an overly obvious choice for an AAM while the other part of me says that it's perfect because he's a story teller. It was a nice performance but something was missing. Maybe it's because I'm a bit more used to the big, gospel feel that it normally has. You know, like Taylor Hicks did (remember, I wasn't a fan of his either) and not the light, intimate feel that this one had. He's ranked 1-3 green on the Chart and listed ahead of Crystal *takes yet another WTF moment*. This week he won 4 states putting him up one from last week. The odds dropped a bit this week, maybe in anticipation that he wouldn't do the King justice, but they're still up from Day 1. Considering that he's riding the wave from last week's save (and just might be for another week yet), I don't see him being in danger this week. Evidently this week Vegas thinks he's riding that wave too, because overnight his odds had a right nice jump for the better.

Katie (Baby What Do You Want Me To Do?): Heh. I ~loved~ the choice of this song just for the title alone. Considering that all the kids have been getting such contradictory advice all damned season long. It was a very nice vocal tonight. She needed to work the stage more though. Put a bit more strut in her walk and really get up into Simon's face. The audience would have eaten that right the hell up. The only reason Simon hated it is because he saw it for what it was, an F-U song. This week she won 5 states, up 4 states from last week. I want to say that it's simply because she's in the sweet spot just infront of the pimp spot, but we won't be able to tell until next week. She keeps this up and it may turn out to be 2 girls in the finale. Her odds are still dropping but I think they may take an upswing by tomorrow's posting. Depending on what next week's theme is (more than likely something inspirational because it's Idol Gives Back, isn't it?), those odds may just be going up even farther pretty soon. Although the Chart has her rated as a 4-9 and listed in dead last, I don't think she'll be in danger this week. Not with a 5 state win. If she had 3 or less, maybe. If by chance she hits the B3, I'll be mighty surprised. I think Vegas must have gotten into that PPLJ with the judges because her odds fell like a rock.

Casey (Lawdy Miss Clawdy): This was a good choice for his voice. A nice solid vocal, rather enjoyable to be honest. Enjoyable, but no real wow factor. Could it be that the rumor is a bit more truth than rumor? It didn't slow down Adam's fans any, and they still lusted after him. Then again Adam is alot more comfortable with his sexuality and is a more seasoned performer. Casey was ranked 1-7 green but is still listed as a B3 possibility. Usually those in green do NOT have anything to worry about though. Even with a lackluster performance, the pimp spot helped out as he managed to win 9 states this week putting him 8 states ahead of last week. His odds fell this week a bit but he's still up from Day 1. Considering the number of states won, and the fact that the Maps have been a trifle more accurate than the Chart, I'd have to reason that Casey's safe this week. He'll need to step it up and polish those performances though if he plans on getting too much farther. After less than 24 hours, Casey's odds have slipped somewhat. He really needs to attack this competition and step it up because the cougar voters will only get him so far.


So. Who leaves this week?


Andrew: For sure and I'm almost certain (about 97%) that he's as good as gone. This was the worst performance to date and he's simply not improving at all. Whiny and no damned energy in the performance. With no save available (not that they'd use it on him), it's as good as signing a DNR while you're in the hospital. I'll be surprised if he stays around another week.


Who leaves with him? One of the following:


Tim: The perpetual bottom dweller actually had an ok yet very dull performance. VFTW better have stepped up its game this week because he's gonna need every vote. His odds have him as a favorite to leave, but they've been that way all season. It would just be his luck to be booted out when he's ~finally~ having decent increases. We've had it happen before, the contestant being sent home after what is arguably one of their finer performances due to it either being too little too late OR the performance was SO good that the fans felt he'd/she'd be safe for the week.


Lee: I can't believe I'm actually having to put him here but he's just not completely connecting. It's like when you get a short in something and it works intermittently but only if you hold the wire "just so". You gotta connect all the time for it to fully work. Considering that we have two going this week, we could very well have a shocker boot and this is definitely not the week to have one of those non-connecting weeks.


Aaron: Another one that's hitting the bottom more times than we care to count. Plus we all know he's splitting the tween vote with Tim and the country vote with Casey. Kinda sucks to be him. One of the better performances of the night, he got mixed reviews from the judges (they all like exactly half of his performance).


Siobhan: Didn't fully commit to one style for her song, so it came across confusing to the judges and more than likely to everyone else as well. We appreciated the restrained higher notes though. Thank you for not screaming and thank you for having the balls to stand up for yourself in a rather well worded retort to Simon. If anything saves you this week, that ballsy retort just may have.


A double shocker will have Siobhan AND Lee leaving before Andrew. Guaranteed there'll be some pissed off fans if that happens. Not that I really think that would happen, but anything's possible at this point.


Casey, Katie, Mike and Crystal should all be safe this week. Mike only because he's coasting on the save from last week, Casey due to the pimp spot and Katie simply because she grew a set this week.


If it comes down to Andrew, Aaron and Tim... it may be Aaron losing out to Tim (again talent losing out to the cuteness factor).