TV

According to AP, Fox said American Idol will move from its longtime Tuesday and Wednesday night broadcasts to Wednesday and Thursday when it returns. Its season debut is Jan. 19. The reason for the move: low ratings last season.

Will moving later in the week really help the ratings? (Not being on Tuesday means Idol won't be paired with Fox's other hit show, Glee, anymore. Will the move to Thursday affect your TV watching schedule?

American Idol will offer fans a look at the season 10 judges with a live webcast at noon tomorrow, online at americanidol.com.

Shortly thereafter, fans can catch the first press conference featuring the new Idol team. The webcast will also be available on Facebook at www.facebook.com/americanidol and on Ustream at www.ustream.com/american-idol.

According to Fox News, the Hollywood Reporter and just about every entertainment news source out there, Jennifer Lopez has signed a $12 million, one-year deal to judge American Idol for a year.

More news to come.

Several outlets are reporting that Fox decided to drop Jennifer Lopez as a potential judge for the upcoming season of American Idol.

So for those of you keeping track, we're still in exactly the same place we were two weeks ago regarding Idol judges.

Why do you think Idol dropped J.Lo? And for the hundredth time: who do you think should be a judge?

Yesterday afternoon, before American Idol's top 10 took the stage at the American Airlines Center, reporters got a chance to sit down with a few of them for a little chat. I'm happy to say that all were sweet, humble and witty. And one was a little more unique than the rest. (Hint: She likes zombies.)
Andrew Garcia: He and Lee are still best pals ("We're getting married," he joked), and a he's clearly loving the tour. "I cannot wait to get out there every night," says Garcia, who wants to finish an album within four months.
What advice would he give people auditioning for next season? "Don't try to be someone you're not. If you love a song, sing it because it touches you. When you look back, you're not gonna want to regret that."
Katie Stevens: On tour, she's been hanging out a lot with Lee, Andrew and Siobhan. "And then my brother -- he's my chaperone and is like the 11th Idol. We all hang out together."
If she hadn't auditioned for the show last year, she'd been spending this time "buying stuff for my college dorm." Instead, she's postponing those plans to pursue her music career.
How does she respond to criticism that their season was a bit less-than-exciting? "I've learned never to go on the Internet," she jokes, but adds that she now has a Twitter account. "A lot of people try to bash you; people will criticize my body or say hurtful things. The only thing I say back is, 'I love you.' You've got to kill 'em with kindness. If someone is negative to you, you've got to tell them you love them, because clearly they're not hearing that enough." Aw.
Siobhan Magnus: After the tour is over, she plans to "go home and take a short break, just get some sleep and fresh air and write a bit more." She's also hoping for a record deal, "but ideally with my band that I already have. We've been together nearly five years; I don't want a new band. I want them."
The band is called Lunar Valve, which is apparently a part of the heart. (Who knew.) "These guys have been my best friends since we were 15 or 16. I'm the only girl, but I'm just one of the guys to them. We eat pizza and talk about zombies. Sometimes we write songs about zombies."
Magnus almost didn't try out for Idol, "because I didn't think it was practical to do something mainstream. I'm kind of odd. But it kind of worked in my favor, because I was able to kind of represent the underdog. See? Weird kids can be on TV, too!" This girl is fascinating, from the way she speaks to the way she dresses to the way she styles her two-toned hair. It was all pretty awesome, I must say.
Updates on Lee DeWyze, Casey James and Tim Urban were included in a story in today's paper, but I'll add a few more intriguing quotes to this here blog.

Check back here for the action on Twitter live from tonight's American Idol LIVE 2010 tour stop at the American Airlines Center, as well as the auditions in Austin on Wednesday.

Here is the first in what will no doubt be a procession of releases confirming what has already been widely speculated: Nigel Lythgoe will return as an executive producer on American Idol, which is set to return for its 10th season in Jan. 2011.

In a press release statment sent out Thursday (today), Simon Fuller, AMERICAN IDOL creator and executive producer, said "I am so happy to be welcoming Nigel back to the IDOL family. He is, without a doubt, the most accomplished executive producer I have ever worked with. Nigel helped to define the show I created almost 10 years ago, mentoring our judging panel and nurturing our talent. His unbridled passion has been missed."

Fuller goes on in the release to declare Idol "the world's biggest and most powerful TV show," but that increasingly seems like a historical distinction. The show was regularly bested in the ratings this past season by ABC's Dancing With the Stars and the current judges meltdown/identity crisis only compounds the show's slipping pop culture relevance and recent spate of lackluster finalists.

Lythgoe is being brought back in the hopes that he can "help redefine AMERICAN IDOL and take us through to the next incarnation of the show."

This release comes on the heels of a Monday morning press conference where the entertainment chairman of Fox Networks Group, Peter Rice, spent an hour fielding questions about American Idol with variations on "no comment" and "I won't answer that." When specifically asked about Nigel Lythgoe's return to Idol, he said "No agreements have been signed."

What a difference a few days make.

According to MSNBC, Jessica Simpson has been added to the list of potential new American Idol judges.

Other rumored contenders? Nigel Lythgoe, Chris Isaak , Harry Connick Jr. and Justin Timberlake.

Which celebrity do you think should join the show as a judge? Or do you think they should steer clear of the celebs and find actual record producers and talent agents to find the next Idol?

USA Today announced this week that "American Idol" will be lowering its age requirement from 16 to 15, one of the many changes for the show's tenth season.

While the news might be refreshing for some 15-year old hopefuls, others are complaining about letting younger people participate in the reality competition. Will they be able to handle it? How will it affect the show?

Regardless, auditions start on July 17 in Nashville. Who knows: maybe we'll get the next Justin Bieber from this fiasco. Let's just hope not.

If you want to audition for season 10 of American Idol, you're going to have to get down to Austin. That's the closest stop on the show's latest auditions tour through the country. As last year's auditions at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington demonstrated, there are thousands of people willing to stand in line under the Texas summer sun for a two-minute chance to unleash their inner-pop star. So follow your dream, but don't forget to bring sunscreen. Audition dates below:

Cities Dates Venues
Nashville, TN Saturday, July 17 Bridgestone Arena
Milwaukee, WI Wednesday, July 21 Bradley Center
New Orleans, LA Monday, July 26 TBA
East Rutherford, NJ Tuesday, Aug. 3 IZOD Center
Austin, TX Wednesday, Aug. 11 Frank Erwin Center
San Francisco, CA Thursday, Aug. 19 AT&T Park

For more info, go to americanidol.com

Whether you loved this season or not, the new winner of American Idol was named tonight. Lee and Crystal performed last night, and Darla Atlas and Anthony Williams chatted during the two-hour-plus season finale tonight as the awaited the results. Replay it all below.

The end is almost upon us! Tonight, Lee and Crystal sang it out during the performance show of Idol's season 9 finals. Replay the chat and see what Darla Atlas and Anthony Williams had to say about what went down.

Our resident American Idol expert, Darla Atlas, joins Casey James' post-elimination conference call. Follow along as she live blogs the event.

Crystal got emotional as she watched herself singing an original song, "Holy Toledo," which she called an anthem for her town.
Her footage was sweet overall, but neither hers nor Casey's packed an emotional wallop like Lee's. As he stopped by the paint store where he used to work, he broke down in tears. (There's a difference between being teary-eyed and actually crying. Lee was crying.)
"Man, this is just amazing," he told his former co-workers. "I couldn't ask for more."
I loved that he thanked his parents for being there to support him, that he got all choked up during his hometown concert in the middle of a song, and that he yelled out of the limo, "I'm going to try to win this thing, all right?"
This entire season, I've been assuming (and secretly hoping) that Crystal would take the crown. I'm officially switching sides. What can I say? Lee will make me cry more if he wins. This is an important factor to consider.

He's so darned likeable. Before they aired a clip of his busy visit back to Texas, Casey said he's getting about 150 texts a day. "I try to take the time to send at least a smiley face back or something, but I feel horrible," he added. "But I hope they understand I don't physically have the time. Sorry, everybody! I'll get back to you, I promise."
The clip of his hometown visit revealed that Casey clearly loves his home state.
"Home sweet home, baby!" he said as he landed. "I'm home!" Before he pulled up to his high-school stadium, he predicted a small crowd: "I can't imagine a whole bunch of people coming to see me, so we'll see."
He was wrong. The stadium was packed, as was every other stop during his visit. But while they showed him performing in Richardson, the sound was muted. That wasn't the case with the clips of Lee and Crystal at home. No conspiracy theory here; just saying it was noticeable.

Casey James is the last contestant eliminated before next week's finale, leaving Lee DeWyze and Crystal Bowersox to sing for the title of American Idol.

The shaggy haired guitarist from Cool, Texas, seemed perfectly happy with his fate on the show, saying that when reality has outpaced your craziest dreams, there's no need to get greedy. James was pleased with the third place finish.

At the start of the show, Ryan asked Casey, Crystal and Lee if they ever pictured making it to the finale.
"No, I never thought I'd get this far," Casey admitted. "But to me, it's like winning $10 million in the lottery and $100 million in the lottery. It's so much more than I expected so it can't be bad."
Meanwhile, Crystal confirmed that yes, she's thought of winning. As has Lee, at least recently: "I've never wanted it more than I do right now."
Will their can-do attitudes put them into the finals over Casey, who simply seems grateful to have gotten this far? We'll see. But if I were a betting woman, I'd say yes.

For most of this competition, the prevailing opinion has been that Crystal has this thing in the bag. She's always just been a little bit better than everybody else.
Tonight, she stumbled. Ellen's song choice of "Maybe I'm Amazed" was fine and she sang it well, but all of that wandering around onstage didn't really work. She's best behind a guitar and/or harmonica, not going on an instrument-free stroll.
Last up was Lee. Simon decided he should sing "Hallelujah," which has been done several times on this show over the years.
"But I don't think we've ever heard it like Lee's going to do it," Simon predicted.
He did it very well. Between the background singers, the swelling-to-a-crescendo vibe of the song and the conviction in Lee's voice, it gave me chills.
Plus, as Kara said, Lee DeWyze is what this show is all about. Forget the paint-store past; this is a guy who was once put into an alternative high school for making the wrong choices in life. Now he's onstage in front of millions of people, feeling the love of the crowd and knocking their socks off with "Hallelujah."
After Kara called him "the heart of this show," Lee's sleepy-looking eyes filled with tears. I predict he'll be hard to beat next week. (And that our beloved Casey will be going home before then.)

The judges picked "Daughters" by John Mayer for him, "because he's got a very commercial singer/songwriter thing going on," Randy said.
I thought the performance was much better than the first, but as Simon said, it didn't have much of a "wow" factor.
So, will we have a local guy to root for in the finale? Based on tonight alone, no. Factoring in his extremely loyal fan base? Anything's possible.

I had high hopes for Crystal's version of "Come To My Window," but it seemed too brassy and sort of all over the place. Kara put it best when she told her, "I think you're capable of a moment, and I hope you have a moment tonight."
Lee, on the other hand, seemed to have a moment with "Simple Man." It didn't give me chills or anything, but at least the performance was enjoyable and he was completely into it. (No offense to Casey, but he didn't seem all that into his first song.)
Not only did all of the judges think Lee won the first round, Simon said he "crushed" the other two. And Randy got all excited about what might happen next week. "Somebody's feeling like they could win this!" he hollered.
I think somebody's pulling for an upset.

Since next week is the finale, the remaining three singers really need to have their best night yet to make it into the top two. Unfortunately, Casey James decided his first performance of the night should be with a tune called "OK, It's All Right With Me."
"I figured it was a good representation of me as an artist," he explained.
What it wasn't was a good crowd-grabber. Who has ever heard this song, first of all? And why didn't he go with something more soulful, which is where he really seems to shine?
The judges were not thrilled. As Randy said, "You can't do a safe, lazy kind of song right now." But Simon pointed out that at least this isn't his last effort of the night.
"I would compare your first song to having dinner, and that's the salad," he said. "It will leave no lasting impact on the audience whatsoever. It's a dud song choice, I'm afraid."
I'm afraid he's right.

Fort Worth native Casey James is still in the competition. Tune in and read Darla Atlas' live-blog here at TV Blog during the show.

Keep reading to find out what people are saying on Twitter about 'Idol.'

Casey's not considered the underdog in this crowd.

Asked if she thinks he can beat Crystal or Lee (despite less love from the judges), Candice Park of Weatherford said, "Are you kidding? He's a Texas man! He's got it all: talent, the look, he's healthy - everything."

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are onstage now, signaling the arrival of the man of the hour. It's about to get loud.

Well, the weather has officially rained on Casey's parade, which was canceled due to lightning.

But about 2,000 people are at the Back Forty area (which is covered) to see him perform.

They're getting restless; "Casey! Casey! Casey!" chants are breaking out all over.

UPDATE:

The news making the rounds on Twitter is correct.

A call to the Fort Worth Stockyards confirmed that the cattle drive our Casey James was supposed to ride in has been canceled, but his Stockyards concert is still on.

So if you're hanging out, hang in!

About 100 people were at the AT&T store in Grapevine to welcome Casey, who signed autographs, posed for pictures, hugged old friends in the crowd and held several babies.

"I wrote you a rap!," one fan hollered.

"Are you gonna rap it for me right now?" Casey asked. "Get on it!"

Sample lyric: "Everyone wishes they could touch your swag; this competition, you've got it in the bag."

Colleyville resident Claudia Bevill arrived at about 6 a.m. with daughter Beth Hebert and granddaughter Hannah Hebert, 10.

"We told him we've voted for him until our fingers fell off, and now we're growing new ones," Beth said. "He said, "Hurry up and grow them before Tuesday!"'"

According to the Idol powers-that-be, the 4 p.m. parade at the Stockyards is still happening. Ignore the present monsoon that will hopefully blow over by then.

Fort Worth native and American Idol top three finalist Casey James is returning home Friday. His day includes media appearances, a 10:30 a.m. visit to the 1219 W. Hwy 114 AT&T store in Grapevine and a 4:00 p.m. performance at the Ft. Worth Stock Yard, just to name a few.

Our Darla Atlas will be following Casey throughout the day and blogging about Casey's Day. Keep up with it here.

Follow the link below to see what others are saying about the Idol contestant in the widget below.

...our own Casey James. I have to admit that way back when we first met him -- and got a peek of him shirtless -- I didn't have much faith that he'd get past the Hollywood round. The bare-chested gimmick seemed too...gimmicky. But Casey has won me and millions of other fans over with his talent, so good for him. In hindsight, taking off that shirt was a really smart move.
What is he most looking forward to when he gets back home for a mini-concert, parade and appearance at a local AT&T store? (Hey, Ryan stressed that last part so much that I felt the need to mention.)
"Seeing all my friends and family, obviously smelling the Texas air, seeing my puppy dogs," he said tonight. "And hearing a bunch of people say 'y'all' would be nice."

I agree with the judges: Both sets of duets (Crystal and Lee, and Casey and Mike) were much better than the solos. But the Crystal/Lee pairing was particularly genius; I actually rewound it to watch again right after they finished.
So who goes home? My money's on Mike this week. And I don't say that based solely on his performances; it's also because he comes across as incredibly smug on camera. And America doesn't take too kindly to smug.

It's going to be really hard to beat this woman out of the title. As she put her own fun, funky spin on "I'm All Right," I could already envision her opening for Melissa Etheridge or someone of that ilk. She's ready.
As Ellen put it, "I think you actually took that song and made it better." They don't say that very often on this show.

"I always love somebody from Texas, baby!" Jamie (who's from Terrell) said when he met Casey (of Fort Worth). As he rehearsed his version of "Mrs. Robinson," Jamie did that getting-all-in-your-face thing again.
"Seduce me as if I'm a woman," he ordered. I'm sorry, but that's rough! Who wouldn't crack up laughing halfway through? But apparently, Casey did fine. "My man from Texas got an Artist shirt," Jamie said.
As for the performance itself, I thought it started off kind of safe but worked better once Casey got a little creative with the melody. Simon, however, was more critical.
"I didn't think the song or performance had the substance required on this important night for you," he said. "i thought it was a little bit lazy, and I think you could have made more of an impact."
I think he made enough of an impact to stick around -- especially judging by last week's results. Casey was kind of terrible for Sinatra Week, yet he wasn't even in the bottom two. He has many fans.

Big Mike opted to perform the Michael Jackson tune "Will You Be There," which has a gospel vibe to it. I thought it was pretty good, although the backup choir did half as much of the heavy lifting as Mike did.
The judges weren't blown away, either. But on the plus side, they got laugh-out-loud funny during the critique.
"This is from one of the classic movies of all time -- Free Willy," Ellen said. A minute later, Simon again proved why this show kinda needs him.
"I have no idea what Free Willy is," he said. "What's the film about?"
It was up to Mike to explain. "It's about a whale they've gotta save," he said.
Simon: "I can't connect a whale called Willy with what you just did."
(Raise your hand if you also lost it at "a whale called Willy.")
"It's not about a whale," Kara said. (Erroneously.)
"Is it about a willy?" Simon asked. They were then cut off.
This might have been the most entertaining moments of the season so far. And I'm only half-kidding.

I'd forgotten how entertainingly bizarre Jamie Foxx was as a mentor last season until he made Lee sing "Kiss From a Rose" while Jamie was two inches from his face. I don't see how this method of teaching works, but OK. It's fun to watch.
Sadly, it didn't work too well for Lee. This had to be one of his worst performances ever; not only was he dressed like he was headed to the skateboard park, he did nothing with the song to make it interesting. As Simon said, "It was verging on karaoke -- i.e., trying too hard to sound like the original."
Jamie had made two shirts for each singer: One said "contestant," while the other said "artist." (He was making a point that they should be past the "contestant" phase.) Lee was given an Artist shirt. Please stand by to see if that gets revoked later.

On last night's American Idol, Lady Gaga and Fox pushed the family-viewing envelope with her racy dance number Alejandro.

It's not exactly a surprise that a writhing Gaga performed in a barely there outfit surrounded by bare-chested dancers in tight black shorts. But viewers might be intrigued to learn that the performance was taped after last week's show, giving producers time to make careful cuts that just avoided wardrobe malfunction territory.

Clips of the performance abound online, including some that are reported to be an uncut version.

What's your take on it? Too hot for Idol? Or what you'd expect -- from Gaga and TV shows in search of ratings?

It seems like no coincidence, when the star-heavy Wednesday results shows are getting more viewers than Tuesday's performance episodes.

In a logical world, Casey would have watched his farewell montage tonight. Because, as we all saw, he bombed this week. But no; he's in (which makes me secretly happy), while little Aaron Kelly is out.
And hopefully, someone learned his lesson about going guitar-less and ponytailed-up.

I can't comment on her performance, because my 10-year-old daughter was in the room and I felt the parental need to fast-forward. So lemme know if it was G-rated or something crazy like that.

So we all know he's going home tonight. And based on last night's debacle, he should be. In hindsight, I don't think it helped him in the "cool" department to dress him up in a purple jumpsuit like he's an extra on the Donnie and Marie show and pull his hair back into a gymnast's ponytail. That was sabatoge.

Tonight they showed us what a typical Tuesday is like for the Idols. Most interesting revelation: During rehearsals, the judges' table is filled with fakes. Fakes who have the same hair color as their real counterparts and (if the Bizarro Randy is any indication) try to act like them, too. How weird. Imagine how those people describe their careers: "I'm on American Idol. Well, I'm not on the actual show, really. But sort of. Anyway, I play Kara."

First of all, can we sign some sort of petition to have Harry Connick Jr. on every Idol episode from here to eternity? Because he was awesome. (Hey, I have an idea: Simon's seat! It's open!)
About Lee, Harry said his wife thinks he's cute. "He looks like a new and improved version of me," he added. He was correct.
Lee, looking adorable and flashing that sideways grin from time to time, sang the heck out of "That's Life."
"If this was the last night of performances," Ellen told him, "you would have just won this whole thing."
Kara agreed, ordering him to go home and write "I can win this thing" 100 times.
"You can," she said. "You can win this thing!" (OK, we get it! Lee DeWyze can win. But these moments are perfect for the production crew, who will pull that quote out if and when Lee makes it to the finals. Prepare to see the "You can win this thing!" clip at least 10 more times.)
Simon then presented Lee's entire story arc: "You started off working at a paint shop, you've had issues with shyness...what Harry managed to do tonight is that he brought out your personality. He brought out your confidence, and what I really love is the fact that you gave it 110 percent. It was, by far, the best performance of the night."

Ah, Big Mike. He and I have never really clicked; sometimes he seems to be trying too hard onstage, and I hate it when he picks people up because they look so panicked.
But tonight, he sang "The Way You Look Tonight" and my affection for him multiplied. It was pretty much perfect from the first note to the last. Clearly, he's in his element with this kind of song.
I think Randy summed it up best (and most colorfully): "This is what I'm sayin'! Mike, you threw down the gauntlet, baby! I'm watching! Eyes on Mike!"

Wasn't she the glamorous supermodel tonight? I loved the dress, the hair and even the gigantic sunflower tattoo on her back. But her rendition of "Summer Wind"? Yawn.
After Simon noted that she's had "two OK weeks" and that she needs to really prove she's in it to win it, Crystal decided to get all sassy and talk back.
She was trying to "sing it sweetly," she explained. And furthermore: "I don't feel like I should sing really big notes just because I'm on American Idol. I think it should be about the music."
OK, true. But it should also be about entertaining the audience.

A few weeks ago I made the bold prediction that our local guy would make it to the top three. It appears I'm gonna be wrong.
Things started off well, though; Casey told a funny story about how his friend called him and said, "Hey man, I need you on Tuesday -- we've got a gig at the Circle M and you get paid $50. And you get a free meal."
Casey told him he's a bit busy on Tuesdays. As the crowd laughed he added, "He doesn't watch TEE-vee. [That's the way he says it. Cute.] He hadn't heard anything, seriously."
Anyway, we all fell more in love with him after that. But then he took to the stage -- guitar-free -- for Blue Skies. I wanted to like it, and I kind of did. But Simon spoke the truth when he said, "I actually thought you came over a bit embarrassed" during the song.
Randy said it was his worst performance yet, Ellen said it seemed "very stiff" (true), Kara said he sounded like a braying lamb (ouch, people!) and Simon later delivered the final blow: "The good news is that you've got a booking for next week."
As the audience gasped, Randy and Ellen both turned their heads toward Cowell at the exact same moment and shot him some daggers. "That was a joke," Simon said sheepishly. (Or lambishly.)
"Were you uncomfortable with that song without the guitar?" Ryan asked afterward.
"Yeah!" Casey confirmed.
If it's any consolation to us all, Harry Connick said he "killed it about two hours ago" in rehearsal. So there's that.

The top five -- four guys, one girl -- are tackling tunes by the Chairman of the Board. Simon's a big fan, so Sinatra's daugthers brought him "one of dad's hankies, monogrammed in Vegas." How cool is that. I want one!
Mentor Harry Connick, Jr. has apparently decided to put all other mentors to shame by coaching the kids, writing their arrangements and backing them up on piano. (What, he couldn't handle wardrobe selection, too?) First up was Aaron, who sang "Fly Me to the Moon" and looked absolutely adorable with the slightly slicked-back hair.
While Randy and Ellen raved, Kara and Simon were lukewarm.
"Frank was the king of cool," Simon told him. "If he was the lion, you were just a mouse." Eek.

Who knew Antonio Banderas was the same height as Ryan Seacrest? Not I. (Until now, since he showed up and proved it onstage.)

I find her to be very witty. After the gang transformed into "attractive, undead vampires" for their Ford commercial, Crystal told the camera, "We're about to eat Mike -- and there's plenty to go around." She giggled and added, "That's not right."
Kara recently said she'd like to hang out with Siobhan; I'd much rather hang with Crystal. She seems like a hoot.

Tonight's show opened with a performance by Rascal Flatts. Is anyone else annoyed by the fact that their lead singer doesn't play an instrument? It's bothersome over here. Perhaps it's because his voice -- how should I say this -- is not my cup of tea.

Man, I feel like a woman needs to go home tomorrow night.
And that woman should be Siobhan Magnus. Not sure what the judges were hearing at the beginning of her "Any Man of Mine," but I thought it was extremely clunky. And behind the music a little bit, even. Stil, the judges said stuff like, "Guess who's baaack?" and "Fantastic!" So there you go.
Meanwhile, little Aaron Kelly melted hearts after his soulful version of "You've Got A Way" when he noted that he was singing it for his mom. Aw!
As Ellen pointed out, "This is gonna be tough this week, because everybody is doing well."
Well, almost everybody. (Although that big screech at the end will probably save Siobhan once again.)

Wow, maybe I jinxed the front-runner with all of my "she's unbeatable" chatter. Because tonight, she was weak. Her rendition on "No One Needs to Know" (guess what, I'd never heard it) was almost too folksy. The best part of the whole thing, in my opinion, was when she teased her boyfriend on national television to go ahead and make it official: "I'm just dropping hints here and there. He'll man up one of these days." Awesome.
The judges all agreed that it wasn't their favorite performance. They danced around the fact that it was downright boring -- until Simon spoke up.
"The shocker is that we don't like Crystal this week," he said. "That's sort of the story."
As he compared it to people performing in a coffee shop "when you don't particularly want them to," he accused her of lacking conviction. But since the song is about getting a dude to propose, Crystal had to disagree. "I don't think so, because he's right there," she said, pointing to her cute boyfriend.
She then noted that while this performance wasn't as big as the others, "bigger isn't always better." Um, this is American Idol. Bigger most certainly is better.

The difference between last week's Casey and this week's Casey is like the difference between, I don't know, a sullen teenager and George Clooney. One's not even trying, while the other positively captivates. (That analogy was such a reach. Sorry.)
Casey went with "Don't," which was a gorgeous song that (again) I'd never heard of. "I think I'm more excited about this performance than I have been about any performance," he said in his video clip. "It's a singing song. I don't think I've sung yet!"
Mission accomplished tonight. (And might I add: Swoon.) As the judges all agreed that it was probably his best performance to date, Kara predicted that if he keeps up the rawness and vulnerability, "you'll be at the front of this competition." In other words, second place isn't quite a lock just yet.

The big man went with the tearjerker tune, "It Only Hurts When I Breathe." (Not that I've ever heard this song before tonight, I must admit.) Shania -- who seems to be ageless, which is awesome -- loved it so much she got teary-eyed.
The judges also approved, but Simon did need to point out that the performance "felt a little bit wet."
"What's wet?" Randy asked.
"The opposite of dry," Simon informed him. (He later explained that it seemed "a little bit girly for you.")
Michael took the criticism in stride. "Wet? He said, shaking his head. "Better than dry, though."

Tonight's theme is Shania Twain Songs. (Really? She has enough hits to warrant a whole theme, a la Elvis or The Beatles? OK. Not dissing her; just wasn't aware.) Before the gang got down to performing, they were introduced by Ryan as "a paint salesman. A high-school student. A glass blower. A mother. A father. And a construction worker." (Hey, it's like Clue! I'm going to go with the paint salesman in the conservatory with the karaoke mike.)
Up first: Lee DeWyze, who lucked out with the best Shania song of them all, "Still the One." He did a fine job. He's adorable and talented and fully moving into a strong second place behind Crystal at this point. But anything can still happen! In terms of second place, I mean.

The best part of her little stand-up routine was when she described the moment a contestant is being sent home: "OK, America has voted and you're going home. But before you go, let's look at this little video package of happier times, before we crushed all your hopes and dreams. Let's look back at when you were happy and thought you were going somewhere." (Hysterical because it's true.)
And before they take the stage to sing, "Come on out here and remind America why they didn't vote for you. Let 'em know they're right."

Sadly, both locals -- Casey and Tim -- have ended up in jeopardy tonight, along with little Aaron Kelly. (Not that this should come as a surprise after last night's performances.) I suspect it might finally be the end of the road for Teflon Tim, but you never know; Aaron's rendition of "I Believe I Can Fly" was wobbly at best. As for Casey, I predict he's safe. Or that could just be wishful thinking.

Tonight's special show opened with a message from President Obama and the First Lady, who noted that the show has raised $140 million to help families around the world. After their serious message about the importance of giving, the president said, "And to this year's finalists -- as Randy says -- you're all my dawgs." Allrighty then.
Jennifer Garner's taped visit to destitute Breathitt County in Kentucky got to me -- especially when she pointed out that in that area, there's an average of one book for every 300 kids. By the time children are 4 years old, they're already 18 months behind in education.
Garner visited one disadvantaged family and bonded with one of the daughters. "She's a special kid, just like any other little girl," the actress said. "She just needs a fair shake."

There's been a lot of buzz about Crystal this week -- specifically that she's been so homesick that she almost decided to give it all up walk away. Ryan has said that it was he who persuaded her to stick around; with his own showbiz success, he told her, he was able to buy his mom a house. Didn't she want to buy her family a house?
Crystal has since downplayed the whole thing; on her Idol Facebook page, she said she's had "moments of doubt," but it's just part of life.
All of that stress seemed to come to a head at the end of her amazing, mark-this-moment performance of "People Get Ready." As she struggled to get out the last note, she instead dissolved into tears. Sobs, actually. That was unexpected.
But it only made us all love her more. As Simon said, "In a strange way, I'm happy to see you get emotional, because you have kind of closed in a little bit." After saying she sang the song fantastically, he added that the whole thing "was in a completely different class to everybody else we heard tonight." Amen to that.
Afterward, Crystal asked Ryan if she could borrow the handkerchief in his suit. "I think it's taped in," he said, to which she had the perfect, real-person response: "Hollywood!"

After his good-but-not-great version of Nickelback's "Hero," Kara said she didn't like it: "You were all over the place, the song became unrecognizable...sorry! Oops!"
Oops? That seemed harsh to me.

She's an acquired taste, this girl. And I don't seem to have the right palate.
Wearing what Simon and I both thought were leaves strapped to her arms and legs, the eccentric one went with "What You Believe," which has been performed by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. Personally, I was bored. No offense.
Kara is tired of the theatrics, reminding Siobhan that "this is not a musical. I'm starting to want to hang out with you more than buy your record."
Those comments, along with SIobhan's tendency to ramble in an attempt to explain herself, make me think she'll end up in the bottom two tomorrow.

He should be thanking his lucky stars (and vocal stylings) for the fact that his last note of "I Believe I Can Fly: was so spot-on and powerful, because the rest of that song was a mess. After Kara critiqued him with a ridiculous airplane analogy (it felt like taking off on the runway or something -- ugh), Simon provided the voice of reason.
While he liked it because he likes Aaron and appreciated that he had the guts to attempt the song, "in the real world, if I would have heard it on the radio I would've turned it off within 10 seconds. Because it wasn't very good."
"The end was good!" Kara chimed in. Yes, the end was good. The very end probably saved him for another week.

I rather enjoyed The Teflon One's rendition of The Goo Goo Dolls' "Better Days." And I would have predicted that the judges were going to rave about it. I was wrong.
Ellen compared him to the soup of the day: "Sometimes I like the soup, and sometimes I don't. But today, I didn't like the soup."
Still, Simon didn't slam him; he said if this had been the first time they'd seen Tim, "we'd be quite impressed." But although he's improved over the weeks, Simon added, "it was a little bit of a letdown."
On a related note: Who else thinks Tim looks like a perfect combination of David and Shaun Cassidy? He's so very '70s, and I mean that in a good way.

Mr. DeWyze opted to sing "The Boxer," by Simon & Garfunkel. (And I can't be the only one at home who didn't realize that was the name of this famous tune.) It was beautiful, the judges loved it -- and they grabbed the chance to slam Casey just a tad bit more.
"That shows, clearly, the difference between when someone feels connected to a song and when they don't," Kara said.
Simon then got more specific: "The difference between you and the first performer is staggering. That was sincere, it was emotional, it was inspirational." So good for Lee! (And bad for poor Casey.)

In conjunction with Idol Gives Back, the gang was asked to pick an inspirational song this week. Casey James, who went first, chose "Don't Stop." Hmm. Maybe it's just me, but that's not particularly moving. No offense.
Unfortunately, Casey just stood there, wailed on the guitar and gave a rollicking performance. Nothing special about it, though. "Every week we kind of see the same thing from you," Randy said, while Ellen added, "I don't think anybody's going to be talking about that tomorrow."
The hits kept coming from Kara and Simon. Kara, calling herself "so frustrated" by Casey, said he made himself "like everybody else." Simon accused him of having "zero emotion."
Even though I adore Casey and still hope to see him go at least as far as the top three, I'm with the judges on this one. Sigh.

According to TMZ, Idol almost lost its frontrunner a few weeks ago:

It went down in a parking lot after an "A.I." show. In front of several people, Crystal told Ryan she couldn't handle the competition.... she said she hated the attention and said to Seacrest, "What's the point?"

Seacrest sealed the deal by telling her, "The greatest thing I ever did was make enough money so I could buy my mom a house. You can buy your mom a house."

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2010/04/15/american-idol-crystal-bowersox-ryan-seacrest-quit/#ixzz0lHIKEqNA

In the spirit of tonight's show, which rushed things along at the end, below are my quick takes:
- Michael's "In the Ghetto:" Hauntingly beautiful. And I'm not even a big fan of his.
- Katie's "Baby What You Want Me To Do:" Complete and utter mess. She made that song unlistenable, in my opinion.
- Casey's "Lawdy Miss Clawdy:" I adore Casey very much, but what happened to the melody of this song? I was so confused after his unrecognizable rendition that I Googled the Elvis version to make sure that, yes, I do actually know how it's supposed to sound. As Kara said, "You have a brilliance, and that just fell short for me. There's so much more to you." Better luck next week, though! Because he'll certainly be around next week.

Ryan noted that during tomorrow night's show, he'll be hosting events from the Kodak, while guest stars will perform from another venue. In breaking news, "Brian Dunkleman will host that portion of the show," he added. As people started to clap in confused surprise, Ryan said, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding."
That was weird! Methinks there's no love lost between those two.

"One thing about Aaron is that he doesn't quite believe in himself yet," Adam said. That proved true with his take on "Blue Suede Shoes," which was flat-out silly. As Simon said, "I felt like you were sort of dressing up" onstage.
Then there's Siobhan (who should get credit for that fabulous, Elvis-inspired outfit -- complete with TCB lightning bolts!). What is it about her soft voice that sounds so...soft? It's like she holds the notes back in her throat or something. As Kara pointed out, she seems to have two voices: one she uses for the first half of a song, and the other (louder) for the end. Sadly for her, this technique no longer working for the judges. Or, perhaps, the Idol-viewing public.

I'm enjoying Adam Lambert as a mentor, because he's not afraid to actually tell the singers they're messing up. Who else has really done that? Nobody. Others might encourage them to "have fun with it," or "really connect with the audience," but only Adam has had the guts to say, "That was boring." And that is awesome.
With Lee, Adam informed him that "there's nothing going on" in the facial region. "You're not in the recording studio," he reminded him. "People want to watch it, too."
Lee appreciated the advice. Whether he actually applied it to his rocking version of "A Little Less Conversation" is debatable, but it still all worked.

Well, who would have predicted this turn of events? The guy who was once the judges' favorite punching bag is now their cherished little pet. I agree with the panel that his version of "I Can't Help Falling in Love With You" was authentic and beautiful -- so much so that you wonder where this performer has been hiding out all these weeks.
As Simon put it, "You've gone from zero to hero in two weeks." Looks like Teflon Tim may need a new nickname.

No doubt about it; this dude will be one of the unlucky two leaving us tomorrow. Because his nasal-toned take on "Hound Dog" was (as mentor Adam told him to his face) "boring."
I guess what it comes down to for me is that I'm tired of his voice, his look, his song choices -- I'm tired of him. As are the judges. Randy called the performance "not-good karaoke," while Simon accused him of having the coolness sucked out of him.
And when one is singing a song made famous by the ultra-cool King, that's especially wrong. And bad.

As a longtime devotee of The King, I have high hopes for big entertainment tonight. But first, a few words from mentor Adam Lambert, who correctly pointed out that this season's top nine "have to wake up a little bit, to have a little coffee."
"I want a little more energy, that's all," he said, as the nation cheered him on from home. (Or at least one person in the nation did.) "Especially for Elvis week, because he was a showman. Let's put on a show!"
Crystal Bowersox happily obliged with her rousing rendition of the obscure song "Saved." The judges, once again, loved her. They are officially out of original compliments for the woman.

Tim Urban must be feeling pretty good right now; for the first time in weeks, he wasn't even in the bottom three. Score one for Teflon Tim! Instead, Andrew, Aaron and Big Mike were in jeopardy, with Michael landing at rock bottom.
But in a move that probably surprised no one, the judges opted to use their "Save" option on him -- meaning two people will go home next week. I think this was a good decision. He's not my favorite, but he did sing the heck out of his song tonight. And who among us didn't love those shots of his tearful-then-joyful wife in the crowd?
Next time around, the gang will be mentored by Adam Lambert. Which, whether you love him or hate him, should be awesome TV.

First, Crystal pulled in a freelance didgeridoo player for her song. (Who knew there was such a profession?) And to close the show, Lee DeWyze -- in the middle of "Hey Jude" -- arranged for a guy playing the bagpipes to come sauntering down the stairs. (For a second I thought it was Siobhan. Anybody else? The long skirt and boots threw me off.)
Ellen praised Lee for being confident onstage, "even when that guy got separated from his parade." Hilarious. Simon asked if that was all Lee's idea. "Yeah, 100 percent," Lee confirmed. Why? "Why not, man?"
The other top quote of the night came from Crystal. Describing Lee and Andrew's close friendship, she said, "I'm so glad that those two can be together and get married and have lots of little Danny Gokey babies." Danny Gokey! Perfect. Because Lee plus Andrew does kinda equal Danny Gokey.

After his fellow contestants lovingly referred to him as Goldilocks, Casey said, "Yeah, that's funny. There are gonna be a lot of people at home laughing at that."
No worries; he quickly turned all attention to his talent onstage with his soulful rendition of the relatively obscure "Jealous Guy."
After Ellen noted that he poured himself into the song and Kara praised his vulnerability, Simon heaped on a few more accolades.
"Goldilocks," he said, "I think it was the best performance of the night so far."
With just nine singers remaining, anyone could go home now. But it's nice to see that our two locals had a good night. (Especially in the eyes of Simon. The one who really matters.)

Michael Lynche is an acquired taste. You either love the heavy-handed tone he puts on every performance, or you don't. Tonight he sang the heck out of "Eleanor Rigby," but some would say it was a bit overwrought. (I'd put myself in that camp.) Kara, however, thought it was "fire."
Next up: Crystal Bowersox, who went with "Come Together" because she liked the rocking nature of the song. Here's what I've noticed about Mama Sox: She can make something current simply by adding a word here or there. Case in point: "One thing I can tell you, baby, you got to be free." (Somehow she fit all of that into the actual melody of the song.) As Simon said, "That's a performance I could hear on the radio. It just worked. Terrific."
After Crystal came Teflon Tim. Sporting an electric guitar and what I felt was a very David Cassidy vibe, he sang "All My Lovin'." Randy called it "a good Tim performance," but the other judges -- especially Simon -- were more effusive with their praise.
"I thought you did really well," said the judge who's most hard to please. "What I liked about it was there was no gimmicks; it was just the right thing to do, you and the guitar."
He then praised Tim for his attitude, which was fun to hear so I'll quote it all: "You take the criticism like a man. There's no whining. You've been given a great opportunity, and if you have to take a few barbs along the way, so what? This is a shortcut to fame, and you've handled yourself really, really well. I'm very proud of you. Well done."

This week, the gang got to open the songbook of Lennon and McCartney. Can't go wrong there. (Sir Paul wasn't a mentor in person, but he did send a video message to "get out there, go for it, enjoy yourselves. Good luck!" He's still adorable after all these years, is he not?)
First up was young Aaron Kelly, who sang "The Long and Winding Road." Ellen summed it up perfectly afterward: "It felt like the long and winding song." Boring and slow.
Fellow teen Katie Stevens then showed him how it should be done. After she sang a moving, chills-inducing version of "Let It Be," I finally realized why she's still on this show. (And I agree with Simon that it worked because she put a country twang to it.)
Next onstage was Andrew Garcia. He's very hit or miss, isn't he? I predict he'll be in trouble after tonight's performance of "Can't Buy Me Love." To echo the great Randy Jackson, it just didn't work for me, dawg. I didn't get it.

Tim Urban's amazing American Idol run continues this week, as do the watch parties at the Arlington Potbelly Sandwich Shop where he used to perform.

Read on for the details of Tuesday and Wednesday events, in a news release from Potbelly:

I've grown too accustomed to listening to Kris Allen's version of "Ain't No Sunshine" on my iTunes, so Aaron paled in comparison. Better luck next week, though.

As promised, she went a different route this week, swapping her guitar for the piano and comfy shoes (or barefoot) for stilettos. While I enjoyed her rendition of "Midnight Train to Georgia," I wasn't blown away -- mainly because of the piano-playing. She admitted from the start that she wasn't comfortable with it, and it totally showed. One hundred percent. So I agree with Simon in that she shouldn't change things up so much. We fell in love with her granola self; she should stick to it.

How adorable is this person? After a rousing, David Cook-esque take on "Treat Her Like a Lady," Simon had a little moment with the often-shy DeWyze.
Noting that sometimes he's been afraid to even make eye contact on past shows, Simon said, "I want you to go home tonight, watch that show back and understand this is the night your life may have changed forever."
As Ryan put it, we seem to (finally) have a competition this season. Crystal isn't the only one with the potential to win.

You have to wonder why some of these people lose their way so much after starting out with such promise. I blame nerves. Plain and simple.
So it was fun to see that Andrew had finally beaten his again with his rendition of "Forever." Simon was the only one who found something critical to say (as if this is a surprise); he noted that unlike Teflon Tim, "I know nothing about you as a person. I promise you, personality is just as important."
Next up was Katie, with a passable attempt at "Chain of Fools." (She's simply not my favorite. No offense.) Then the judges all threw out such conflicting advice that they might as well have just gone with, "I say blah blah." "No, I say blah blah blah." Ugh.

Well, at least he's livening up the season at this point. After Ryan pointed out our Duncanville hopeful's tendency to laugh in the face of extreme criticism by the judges, he did it again this week, with gusto.
For some reason, Tim picked "Sweet Love" to attempt. Usher wasn't feeling it in rehearsals and it went downhill from there. It was simply bland.
Ellen, hilariously noting that he was moving onstage "like you were sneaking into a bedroom," added, "Good for you for taking that on, but oh boy -- why?"
And after Kara said he "took the soul out of the song," Tim began to giggle.
"Why are you laughing?" she wondered. Simon had the answer.
"He's laughing because I don't think it makes any difference whatsoever what we say," said Simon, clearly amused himself at that point. "That was like a mouse picking a fight with an elephant, but it doesn't matter because you're going to smile, the audience is going to vote for you, nobody cares and you're gonna be here next week. So well done."
Onstage, Tim had a nice comeback: "They've picked on me for a lot of things, but I never thought smiling would be one of the things they didn't like!"
That got a belly laugh out of Simon, which is no easy feat.

He sloooowly sang "Ready for Love," which the judges were quite pleased with. I, for one, kept waiting for someone to throw out the I word. ("Indulgent.")
Didi went with "What's Become of the Broken-Hearted." For whatever reason, she did not want to say why she was so emotional about the tune, but we can all guess that it had something to do with her late friend. Anyway, the performance was boring and the judges are getting frustrated with her.
"It's overdone, girl," Kara said. "You've changed, you've lost your way, your vision is not what it was." Ouch. How do you extract something constructive out of that? Or from Simon's comment that "it was like swimming in jelly"?

The night kicked off with Siobhan Magnus singing "Through the Fire" and wearing a rather questionable outfit. It looked like her top half was going to a Grecian-themed costumed party, while her bottom half would be strolling on the moon. As for the performance, it was terrible.
As my 10-year-old daughter said halfway through, "Sing correctly." Yes. Do that.
Simon told her it sounded like "you'd run a marathon and you were singing while you were out of breath." Siobhan appeared to take this with either sadness or anger, depending on one's point of view, but the girl was clearly not pleased.
Next up: Casey James, sporting a very appealing red shirt and red guitar. He has a fan in Usher, who said, "He's a guy I'd definitely keep my eye on, winner or not."
More good news came after his spirited, highly entertaining version of "Hold On, I'm Coming." Although Ellen and Kara were a tiny bit critical, Simon was not.
"This week, in my opinion, it was the strongest night you've had so far," he told Casey. "I'm really, really impressed with you this week."

Potbelly Sandwich Shop is holding another set of American Idol watch parties this week for Duncanville's Tim Urban at the Arlington shop where he used to entertain.

The party starts at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, with a 7 p.m. showtime, and at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, before the 8 p.m. show, when one singer will be sent home. The show airs on Fox (Channel 4).

Location: 3900 Arlington Highlands Blvd., at the northeast corner of I-20 and Matlock Road. 817-466-2985

You know, it's unkindest because the person going home won't make the tour. But hey, he or she dug his or her own grave. (Unless the "wrong" singer goes home, of course.)
When Ryan said something about Wham! at the start of the show, I incorrectly thought George Michael and the other dude had reuinted and were about to take the stage. It made me rather agog. But no, our hopefuls were just paying tribute to Wham!.
Speaking of which: Life is funny, isn't it? Back when Lee DeWyze was serving time in alternative school, I'm sure he never predicted that he'd one day be asking the nation to wake him up before they go-go.
Same for Crystal Bowersox. That whole performance must have felt like a very strange, near-nightmarish dream.

I rather enjoyed Didi's version of "You're No Good," while the judges clearly hated it.
"There's a certain irony to you screeching, 'You're no good, you're no good, you're no good,' over and over again," Simon told her. He's funny. We shall miss him.
But here's the way I look at it: The main reason why I kind of enjoyed the performance is because I'd much rather see another song by her next week over anything done by Paige, Katie or Andrew. (OK, or Tim.)
Then there's Siobhan. (Quick aside: Is her name pronounced like "Shivan"? If so, how did I live all these years and not know that "b" plus "h" equals "v"? Please advise.)
If Crystal's the granola mom and Casey's the rocker, Siobhan is officially the nerd of the season. It's a role she wears well, I'd say -- and who among us isn't going to root for the nerd? That being said, I wasn't blown away by her "Superstition." It was boring in parts, right? Perhaps?
Still, she'll be around for awhile, as should Aaron, Michael, Casey and The One To Beat. Anyone from that group could surprise us in a very good way in the coming weeks, which is why this is my favorite part of the season.

I adore this Fort Worth fellow, but just one minor quibble: Why did he promise to move around the stage more when he flat-out did not do this?
Otherwise, I agreed with three of the four judges, who said his take on "The Power of Love" was, well, powerful. Randy called him "the best musician/guitar player we've ever had on here," while Kara proclaimed him ready to make an album now.
Simon, however, heard something different.
"That song was old-fashioned 25 years ago when it came out," he said. "It was like watching and listening to an '80s cover band. There was no effort, no originality, nothing different. But maybe it's just me. Maybe it's because I'm English."

This was probably one of those instances in which the judges are going to watch the show back on TV and realize -- wait a minute, she stunk. They all praised her for acting and dressing her age, which was all fine and good, but the vocal quality? Painful. Who's with me on this? I especially cringed when she sang "Uno cards," as it was all over the place. (And who'd ever think "Uno cards" would make it into a song.)

After he tried way, way too hard with his version of "Heard It Through the Grapevine," Simon uttered the very best quote of the entire season.
Because everybody keeps bringing up how great he was when he sang "Straight Up," "maybe we just overrated that moment, in hindsight," Simon said.
"No, it was brilliant!" Kara chirped.
Simon put it all into perspective as only Simon Cowell can: "It wasn't like listening to Beethoven for the first time. It was a cute version of a Paula song."
Yes! I think that's what the nation needed to hear. We need to move on.

I'll go ahead and say it: He bothers me. I think it's his extra helping of confidence, which was on display when he grabbed Miley for a bear hug and said she felt like his "little sister." Wow. Nervy.
So I was glad to see that Kara didn't reserve all of her scolding for Tim Urban; she said Michael's rendition of "When A Man Loves a Woman" was overindulgent and "loungey." (Not sure how to spell that non-word.) I agree. Grow some humility, big guy.

Well, it's official: I am rooting for Mama Sox to be the last one standing this season. She gives me chills and surprises me with every performance -- much in the same way that a young Kelly Clarkson did way back when.
Standing on a piece of carpet (so as to block out the "cold and gray" stage, she explained later), Crystal took "Me and Bobby McGee" in a near-gospel direction. And the crowd went wild.
While Kara suggested she lose the guitar (and it sounds like she will next week "if I'm still here," she added modestly), that scares me. And Simon, who told her, "I wouldn't change anything." But like Clarkson before her, she's probably capable of tackling whatever is thrown her way with ease.

Confession: This was actually the first week I actually paid attention to Aaron. Up until now, he sort of blended into the backdrop for me. But tonight -- despite laryngitis, tonsilitis and a giggly crush on Miley Cyrus -- his version of "I Don't Want to Miss A Thing" was quite compelling. As Randy put it, "Dude, I'm a fan! i'm a fan!"
Then Simon told him he has a "zero chance" of going home tomorrow. (Yikes! Ever heard of the word "jinxing," Briish person?) Oh, and Ryan called him "David Archuleta." Which was weird. Yet startlingly accurate.

The pride of Duncanville went with Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love." He moved around, he slid onto the stage, he grabbed happy girls' hands. I thought it was pretty good, actually. Much better than last week.
But the judges were unkind. (Not as unkind as they were to Paige, however.) Randy said it was "like bad karaoke," Ellen called it corny and Kara actually scolded him.
Commenting on his hands-grabbing, she said, "You haven't sold hundreds of millions of records, and you acted like you've already made it. You haven't. You have a lot of work to do."
(Some might argue that while he hasn't "made it," this show has made him a household name for now. So why not enjoy the fame, however fleeting? Just sayin'.)
Then it was Simon's turn: "I don't think the sliding around was the problem, because I think it distracted from the song, so I kind of understand why you did that."
He also called the performance "completely and utterly pointless and silly," and announced that Tim has a "zero chance of winning right now."
OK, but he still had the right to touch screaming fans' hands.

Dear Lord. No offense, but if there was ever an Exhibit A for not allowing someone to go on the Idol tour, Paige's rendition of "Against All Odds" is it.
She seemed really scared up there tonight, didn't she? It was like one of us regular Joes was suddenly thrust onstage and ordered to sing at gunpoint. As for the singing quality, let us quote one Randy Jackson: "Yo, man, yo, WOW." (That's not a good WOW. It's the WOW you get at the dentist when they neglect to numb you all the way.)
Ellen praised her for not falling down in her high heels and added, "I'll now turn the music critique over to Kara and Simon." Ouch.
Kara said it was not only her worst offering, but it could be the worst they've heard all season. Simon summed up what just happened like this: "That song, I think, just killed you."
Paige then told Ryan she's "definitely still in it to win it." OK. Good luck.

Actually, the theme is really Number-One Songs from Billboard's Hot 100 List, but Miley is serving as mentor. At the ripe old age of 17.
She says she is taken seriously as an artist because "i know that what I think is what my heart feels, and that's the way it's gonna be." I have no idea what that means, but Miley is A-OK in my book. (Thus far. Stay on the straight and narrow, Smiley!)
First up: Lee DeWyze, who went with "The Letter" by The Box Tops. I thought perhaps he chose this tune as a tribute to lead singer Alex Chilton, who died last week, but no; just a coincidence.
Personally, I hated that performance. Hated all the horn-blowing, hated that he rarely sounded like he was in step with the melody, hated that the "arrangement," as Simon would say.
But most of the judges were thrilled with it all; Kara told Lee he "raised the bar for yourself." Simon, however, begged to differ.
"That, to me, was not a recording performance," he said amid boos. "That to me was you doing something quite corny."
Yes. Agreed. (That being said, I'm hoping several people go home before DeWyze does.)

Duncanville's Tim Urban will be singing for a spot in American Idol's top 10 tonight (7 p.m., Channel 4).

Cheer him on at watch parties tonight and Wednesday (when the verdict comes in) at the Potbelly Sandwich Shop in Arlington where he used to entertain.

The fun starts at 6:30 p.m., with a 7 p.m. showtime, and at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, before the 8 p.m. show.

Urban had a close call in the bottom group last week, and the judges weren't sold on his reggae version of a Rolling Stones classic.

Location: 3900 Arlington Highlands Blvd., at the northeast corner of I-20 and Matlock Road. 817-466-2985

I doubt many of us were surprised by Lacey Brown's elimination (and the fact that the judges opted to keep their Get Out Of Jail Free card). She seems so sweet, though. Very likable. Unfortunately, she just never made much of an impact on the show.
Meanwhile, Tim Urban lives to sing another day. Next week is probably make-or-break for him; if he has another disappointing round, it will likely be his last. But one never knows what will happen on Idol, does one? Let's keep the faith, shall we?

What in the world. While I find the "spelling" of her name annoying, I kept an open mind about this performance. For a second or two, anyway, until it was revealed to be a complete wreck. The giant TV people, the possible lip synching (we can't do that on a national singing competition, kids!), the headgear, the wobbling around as if possibly drunk -- oh, and the song itself. Ugh. (No offense.)

I enjoyed the opening montage, which looked like the show had time-traveled back to a 1950s television set that was on the fritz. (Someone needed to adjust the antenna.)
Also interesting: Simon and Ryan's ongoing "drama" (which I believe is fake, but who knows). When Ryan asked what was wrong, Simon said, "Your aggressive behavior last night."
Simon then posed an intriguing question to our host: "Do you want my job? Because it felt like an audition."
Ryan said no, but could we picture him at the table, sipping from his Coke cup? Not really.

I found myself disagreeing quite a bit with the judges last night. A few examples:
- Comparing Siobhan to Adam Lambert. Really? I know she tends to go for that one crazy note (which was questionable in clarity last night), but overall, I don't think her vocal strength or her state presence are anywhere near Mr. Lambert's. This could be a ploy by the judges to retain skeptical viewers: "Ooh, look! We have another wildly flamboyant contestant!" No, we don't.
- Lee DeWyze. I loved his version of "Beast of Burden" so much that I shall buy it on iTunes today. I thought he took an old song and made it incredibly current, but the judges wished for more. We clearly weren't hearing the same thing.
- Paige Miles. Who else thinks she should go home simply for changing the "Honky Tonk Woman" lyrics in such a contrived fashion? Her version: "I'm a hooonky tonk woman! Gimme, gimme, gimme a honky tonk man." The real version: "It's the hooonky tonk women! Gimme, gimme, gimme the honky tonk blues." No! You cannot change "blues" to "man." I was irrationally perturbed by this.

Fans gather at a Potbelly restaurant in Arlington to watch and cheer on Tim Urban on "American Idol." Urban regularly performed at two Arlington Potbelly restaurants before becoming an American Idol hopeful. (DMN Video/editing: Michael Ainsworth)

Watch the video.

With more than half of the performances complete, it's been a pretty entertaining night. Sadly, though, no one has caused me to erupt in spontaneous cheers and applause from my living room.
That includes Tim Urban. He opted to put a reggae/quirky spin on "Under My Thumb," which was a risk that didn't pay off so well.
While the judges all panned the performance, Kara and Simon both applauded him for at least doing something different with the song. ("Having said that," Simon added, "it didn't work.")
Is he in danger of getting the boot tomorrow? Very much so. His only hope is if someone else falls off the stage or forgets the song or says the Stones stink. Something along those lines.

"Welcome to the main event," Ryan said at the top of tonight's show, which is when things get serious. (Or more serious than before. I suppose it's serious from the minute one gets that ticket to Hollywood.)
Tonight's theme: Rolling Stones songs. Michael Lynche started the show with a commendable take on "Miss You," although I wasn't blown away. Neither was Simon, who said he "thought the performance at times -- particularly your dancing -- was kind of corny."
Next up was Didi Benami, who showed us her darker side with "Playing With Fire." I liked it fine. Again, not blown away.
Fort Worth's Casey James then performed a bluesy version of "It's All Over Now." The crowd went wild and the judges were in his corner -- although Simon pointed out that he could have used the stage more. (Very true. I was also itching for him to move around a little more, but I've been able to forgive him for this.)
The best quote of the night came from Ellen as she critiqued cutie-pie Casey. "For most women, their hearts start racing just looking at you. But for people like me [pause for laughter from the crowd] -- blondes -- I thought it was fantastic, Casey."

What a coincidence: Both North Texans still in the running are linked to the word "shirtless" all over the World Wide Web. More on this in a minute.
Taking a break from rehearsals this afternoon, Tim says he's going to "have a lot of fun" with the Rolling Stones theme tomorrow. "I'm not going to worry too much about the judges and sing a song, have a lot of fun with it. Just have a blast."
So how did this American Idol roller coaster get started for him?
"I tried out because my friends really, really wanted me to try out," he says. "I never did, but I told them if the show came back to Dallas, I'd try out. I didn't think they'd come back to Dallas anytime soon, actually. But when they did, I felt like I had to try out.
"It was half that my friends wanted me to, and half that I kinda secretly wanted to."
The experience hasn't been without its share of humilation for Tim; after he sang live for the first time, Simon skewered the poor guy as the nation watched.
"That first week was rough," Tim says now. "Very brutal. But I've always been a fan of Simon. He's mean, kinda, but he's right. He doesn't randomly make stuff up to tell you. When he was pretty brutal and I made it through, I didn't want to give him a reason to say that again. I figured I'd better step things up. So it was definitely a confidence booster knowing that I had."
None of this is quite sinking in yet, he says: "It's kind of funny -- I'll stop and go, 'Wait, I think I'm on American Idol, and I think I'm in the top 12. When did this happen?' We're kind of in an isolated bubble."
OK, so about that picture.
"Ah, yes, the famous picture," Tim says with a laugh. "Last summer I was in a competition for acting, modeling and singing, and obviously I'd entered; I was definitely into doing some modeling.
"It's just me walking down a runway, and that picture is all over everywhere. Oh, man, I've been asked about that so many times."
Once he made it onto the show, Tim decided to keep the photo on his Facebook page "because I figured eventually it would get out, and I didn't want people to think I was going to try to hide it."
Which begs the question: Why would one hide it?
"I don't know that it's hurt yet," Tim admits with a laugh, "so I guess I can't complain."

This afternoon, the nice folks at Idol offered up a few minutes of phone time with Casey James and Tim Urban. I happily took them up on this.
First, breaking news: Casey is sick. With the flu, not just the sniffles. While he's a bit worried about that, he seems to have a peaceful attitude about life in general right now.
"I'm really trying to stay - and I know this is a stupid word - but I want to stay grounded," he says. "It's so easy to get wrapped up in all of this, being on TV and stuff, but really my prerogative is music. So I'm just trying to keep that the focus and continue to do what I've been doing since the very first time I auditioned. Just go and be me and hope that it works."
Speaking of that first audition: Casey says he'd never planned to try out for Idol. Since he doesn't own a TV, he'd never really watched it. "But hearing about it or whatnot, or walking in while it's on the TV, I just got the impression that it wasn't a place where I would be easily accepted. I'm not a real big fancy singer; I'm just a working musician."
After playing a gig one Saturday night - and not getting much sleep the night before - his mom showed up at his house with her new truck.
"She said, 'I'll let you take the truck if you go audition,'" he recalls. (His own vehicle "definitely wouldn't have made the trip. In fact, shortly after that it broke down, so right now I'm truckless.")

Wow. This was unexpected.
As the show narrowed the singers down to the all-important top 12, it got rid of four of the most interesting people on the stage. First was Katelyn Epperly. Sure, the curly-haired fashionista picked a weird song this week ("I Feel the Earth Move"), but she can definitely sing and she's not boring. Gone.
Next to leave: Todrick Hall of Arlington. Yes, he's had a few questionable weeks, but he came back in a big way (I thought) with a spirited version of Queen's "Somebody To Love." And say what you will about him, but he was never boring. Gone.
Also departing: Alex Lambert of North Richland Hills. (That was the biggest shock of the night to me, mainly because the judges were all fully in his corner.) Wait a minute, America! He was going to vastly improve every week! We were going to fall in love with the kid! He has a great voice, adorable dimples, a sweet personality, a fun mullet and is NOT BORING. Gone.
Last but not least: Lilly Scott, the quirky crooner from Colorado. (Also: non-boring.) "It's surprising; a lot of incredible talent is going home tonight," she said. "I don't know what America wants to hear. I don't."
Me neither. Because from my calculations, seven of the remaining 12 could just be cut right now because there's no way they're winning. And many of them, no offense, are a bit dull.

OK, I have a confession. If a singer chooses a song I've never heard of, my mind tends to wander. I don't believe I'm alone in this bad habit, right?
I myself was not familiar with "This Woman's Heart," so when Michael started to sing, I kinda shrugged my shoulders. (I was also recalling an online comment I recently read about him: "Personal trainer my [bleep]." You know you're thinking the same thing. We all are.)
But as he got going with the performance, I was spellbound. It was quite beautiful -- which I suppose is why Kara started crying. (And we thought we got rid of the teary-eyed judge.)
"This was so needed tonight," Simon said. "You 100 percent nailed it. This was not only the best performance of the night, but the best performance we've had in all the live shows so far."
After tonight, one thing is crystal clear: The girls are going to need to step it up.

After two weeks of rather baffling performances, Todrick needed to impress the judges tonight. And he did with a rousing, entertaining version of Queen's "Somebody to Love." Heck, I just enjoyed the fact that he moved around on the stage and even KNEELED at one point. Is that what's missing this season? Greater mobility? Perhaps. (Among other things.)
Despite the fact that the backup singers were distracting on that giant screen behind him, Todrick pulled it off. Randy said it was "one of the best vocals I've heard all night." Simon, labeled him a "Broadway singer" (which is accurate) -- but also noted that at least he wasn't boring.
America: PLEASE keep the not-boring singers in. The show needs every one of 'em they can get right now.

Have we seen Casey in anything other than a blue shirt? (Besides the time he went shirtless, I mean?) Just wonderin'.
The Fort Worth cutie went with Keith Urban's "You'll Think of Me," which is a semi-angry breakup song. I thought he was very convincing; perhaps there were even some tears in his eyes by the en