1. Lee. His first song was pretty good because he was putitng everything he’s got into it. Yes, he hits a wrong note every once in a while. But he sings from his heart. I was preparing to hate his “Hallelujah” because Jason Castro’s simple, quiet version gave me goosebumps. But I liked it very much. He put even more of his heart and soul into the second song than the first, and he power sung it rather than the poignant Castro version. HATED the choir. He didn’t need it.
2. Bowersox. Didn’t like her first song. Closed my eyes and heard it that way, and it was a girl yelling, with no interesting tone to her voice. Maybe all her notes are perfect but there is NOTHING there, no emotion, nothing that moves you. Just her, kinda shouty. Her Paul McCartney song was huge for her because it’s a song that everyone knows, and she sang it well, changed it very little, and put some heart into it. Not much.
She is a very closed off young woman. She has some antipathy toward the audience, as if she thinks she is too good for Idol. This shows. She also is EXACTLY the same as when she was picked from the show. She has not grown. Contrast that with Lee DeWyze, who has changed for the better immeasurably since his early shy insecure days. because of that, Crystal has impressed me a little less every week.
3. That adorable Casey. I had high hopes for him to have even a little moment tonight, but that was not to be. I think he put what he could into his two songs, the second more than the first, but he is not perfectly made for Idol: his limitations are in cleverness for picking songs and deliveries and arrangements, and he also doesn’t quite “get” that you need to “leave it on that stage.” I hope Idol allows him to get a recording contract and go out there and be himself and have fun. He is very likeable, but without the little spark that an Idol winner must have. The John Mayer song sounded very much like John Mayer. Ugh.
I believe Casey will go home, but I really like him for who he is. He got as far as he did with his wholesome charm and simple style, and of course that fluffy hair. I am picking Lee to win it because he impresses me MORE each week with his growing confidence onstage and his self-effacing charisma. You kind of fall in love with him as he grows into a star. Crystal is nearly charmless, and I cringe when she does her self-defense talk to the judges. I just don’t know her as a person, and what she lets us know, I don’t like.
You really nailed it. America loves and underdog and Crystal has been favored from the start. Last night it seemed like she was phoning it in. Unless she blows it out of the water next week, I'm thinking Lee is going to win.
I am sort of giggling with fiendish glee at the thought of her having to sing that uber-cheesy finale song.
You are absolutely SPOT on with your critique! EVERY WORD!