Ford brought back the Fiesta? It was sort of a terrible car back in the day….

David Cook was AWESOME! I’m glad he’s working on another album.

Orianthi was CRAZY AWESOME on the guitar tonight. Loved it!

Ke$ha…uh…well…I don’t have much to say about her since the TV was muted. To put it nicely, she’s not my cup o’ tea. I am, however, tempted to start using the dollar sign in place of all S’s.

And did anyone else notice Randy and Kara playing musical chairs tonight? Weird…

The bottom three: Paige Miles, Tim Urban, Lacy Brown. I purposely didn’t pick Paige to go home since I have for 3 consecutive weeks already and she’s still here. So naturally, she’s in the bottom three. Even thought I didn’t pick him last night, I kind of figured Tim might be in the bottom three, so no shock there. And Lacy was the only one in the bottom three I correctly predicted, and she was also the one I predicted would go home.

Going home: Stop the presses! I got one right! I mean, aww, poor Lacy! We’ll never get to see if she could have used Simon’s great advice last night to show us what she’s really capable of. On the other hand, I’m now 3 for 13 in elimination predictions.

I didn’t catch if Seacrest said what next week’s theme would be, but I’m STILL waiting for ABBA week. Come on, guys! They’re Rock and Roll Hall of Famers now! Let’s get it done!

Looking forward to next week!
- Josh

Bottom 3: Paige, Tim and Lacey

Eliminated: Lacey

BUT WAIT… the “judge’s save” is back!  She sang “for her life” and… she’s still going home.

I’m thrilled that we’ve moved into the “2 night” weeks of Idol.  On that note, see you next week! 

-Maggie

First, somebody needs to let Kara know that A) the Rolling Stones aren’t dead, B) they’re still together as a band, and C) they still perform. She constantly referred to them in the past tense, as if they’re not around anymore. For someone who’s “a music icon,” she didn’t sound like she knew much about one of music’s most well known acts. Anyway, off my soapbox and onto the performances…

Michael Lynche – “Miss You” – Big Mike continues to impress! I liked how original he made the song sound, and the judges agreed that he’s a force in the competition. Also, Seacrest got in Simon’s face again. He’s gotten very daring this season, but I guess that’s easy to do when you’ve got a giant to watch your back…

Didi Benami – “Play With Fire” – The judges really liked her, but I thought it was just okay. I feel like she can still do better, and I think she’ll get the chance.

Casey James – “It’s All Over Now” – He was the person I most felt this theme was suited for, and he delivered! It was a great song choice, awesome guitar playing, and an overall great performance. Simon wanted him to use the stage more, which I agree with, to an extent. It would be nice to see him use more of the stage, but it’s pretty much impossible when both of his hands are occupied by a guitar. How would he hold the microphone? Maybe he could get a Britney Spears-type of headset for next week.

Lacy Brown – “Ruby Tuesday” – She was better this week, but still not great. The best thing about her performance, for her, was that Simon gave her GREAT advice about how it seems like everything she does is planned out, and she needs to just let it go when she’s on stage. If she’s around next week and she can put Simon’s advice to use, I think she’ll get a lot better.

Andrew Garcia – “Gimme Shelter” – He couldn’t choose a song that was originally sung by a woman, so he was forced to do something different this week. Still, it just wasn’t that good. Also, he only used about 3 feet of the GIANT stage. He made too many mistakes for this late in the game.

Katie Stevens – “Wild Horses” – She was terrible last week, and this week, she made up for it with a pretty good performance. It was a good song choice, and I think she’ll survive another week pretty easily.

Tim Urban – “Under My Thumb” – Even though the judges didn’t like it, I liked what he did with the arrangement. I thought the reggae sound worked for him with this song, and he did a decent job of singing it. I think Vote For the Worst needs to change their pick, because it’s not him anymore (see: Andrew Garcia).

Siobhan Magnus – “Paint It Black” – The song started out like something Danny Elfman would have arranged for a Tim Burton film, and then it took off into something much more appealing. The judges, in the end, felt that this was the best performance of the night, and it was indeed really good. But, I don’t think it was the best of the 12.

Lee DeWyze – “Beast Of Burden” – He continues to make Chicago proud! He was really good again, and I, like Randy, thought it was dope. Dawg.

Paige Miles – “Honky Tonk Woman” – She tweeted yesterday that she had a throat infection, and after performing, said she hadn’t fully rehearsed at all during the week. With that in mind, this was the first time I enjoyed her performance. Go figure…

Aaron Kelly – “Angie” – He was much, much better this week. He seemed a lot more confident on stage, and he chose the perfect song and made it his own. I’m glad to see he’s progressing!

Crystal Bowersox – “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” – She’s still, quite obviously, the best in the competition. She’s impressive every week, and even though the judges didn’t think this was her strongest performance, she’s still the most skilled overall of the top 12.

Bottom three: This is actually pretty tough call. I’ve picked Paige three weeks in a row and I’ve been wrong every week. So, I’ll switch it up and NOT pick her. For the bottom three, I’ll say Andrew Garcia, Lacy Brown, and Aaron Kelly.

Going home: I’d like to say Andrew because he’s done nothing impressive for about 4 weeks now, but I don’t feel like he’s gone yet. Aaron has a bit of a following that might keep him around longer than he should be. This week, I’m going with Lacy. She’s just kind of been there through these voting rounds and hasn’t stood out at all. I think her lack of interesting and impressive performances will catch up with her this week.

The good news for Lacy is that I’ve been right with only 2 of 12 predictions so far. We’ll see if I get another one right tomorrow!

-Josh

Michael Lynch – Big Mike (Miss You) Good song choice, but not as cool as it could have been.

DiDi Benami (Play With Fire) Eh.

Casey James (It’s All Over Now) Hot guy, hot guitar = I’m sold!

Lacey Brown (Ruby Tuesday) There were moments when it was okay and moments that were creepy and strange.  Too shaky.

Andrew Garcia (Gimme Shelter) It makes me uncomfortable when Andrew and his family talk about their former gang affiliation.  Isn’t that something people generally don’t speak of because it’s too dangerous?!?  Anyhow, Andrew was stronger this week, but his performance lacked the energy needed for that song.  It COULD have been amazing, but he missed the mark.

Katie Stevens (Wild Horses) Ambitious song choice!  This was better than I anticipated, but still not stunning.

Tim Urban (Under My Thumb) One of ten kids sharing one shower!?!?!  Tim must be a laid-back dude growing up like that!  His performance tonight was odd — a reggae version of the song.  Hmmm… as Simon said: “It’s was a crazy decision.”

Siobhan Magnus (Paint it Black) Wow, we got to see Siobhan’s hippie parents and it all makes sense!    She looks hot tonight — the curly hair, black dress, red background — nice!  FINALLY some energy behind tonight’s songs!

Lee DeWyze (Beast of Burden) Mount Prospect, represents!  Ha ha!  It’s the closest we’re getting this season!  I want to like Lee and his voice is awesome, but this version was a little boring.  Oh, and how hilarious that the line “Make sweet love to me” was apparently too graphic for AI, so they just made him kind of mumble — too funny!  I agree with Simon — Lee has a voice that can be commercially successful, but he needs to find charisma… somewhere.  Come on, Lee!  Bring it!

Paige Miles (Honky Tonk Women) Better!  Much better!

Aaron Kelly (Angie) For me for you for me (as Randy would say), it was the best he’s done.  I’m not an Aaron fan, but this was good!

Crystal Bowersox (You Can’t Always Get What You Want) Gotta save Crystal for last because she’s the one everyone wants to see!    This girl is AMAZING!

Who’s leaving?  Well… I’m not sure how they’re doing eliminations this week.  One person going home?  If so, I think it will be Tim Urban (although he IS the Vote for the Worst pick this week… and he’s a cute, floppy-haired guy, so we’ll see…).

See you tomorrow!

-Maggie

Already on the flight home:

Todrick Hall — That stinks.  He finally captured my attention last night and then he got cut. 

Alex Lambert — America isn’t ready for a mulleted American Idol.

Lilly Scott — This was a big shocker for me.  I was certain Katie would go home.

Katelyn Epperly — This one shocked me, too!

I was only 1/4 this week — bad!

Oh, and I found out that Andrew Garcia’s neck tattoo says: “CAELAND” — the name of his son.  I was confused because that’s not a word and it’s in a bizarre font. (Here’s a closer look: http://teamandrewgarcia.wordpress.com/2010/02/22/andrews-tattoo/) Mystery solved!

Next week: Rolling Stones theme week!  I predict a couple of amazing performances and a lot of butchering classics.  Good times either way!  See you then!

-Maggie

Lee DeWyze (Owl City — Fireflies)  Not a super-exciting performance, but a great song choice.  Lee has a commercial singing voice and reminds me of a David Cook or Daughtry — someone who will transition seamlessly into a career with radio hits (whether he wins or not).  Plus, he’s our last Chicago-area contestant left!

Alex Lambert (Ray LaMontagne — Trouble)  This is a song (the RL version) that’s on heavy rotation on my iPod — it’s beautiful.  However, Alex had an emotionless version of an emotionally-charged song, which was strange and felt empty.

Tim Urban (Leonard Cohen — Hallelujah)  Didn’t Leonard Cohen recently say that he hoped people would stop covering this song for a while?  Regardless, it’s an amazing song… but it’ll NEVER sound better on AI than it did when Jason Castro performed it.  Do yourself a favor and watch it again.  I think Jason’s version is literally my favorite AI performance EVER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igh1AtMgO3s    Back to Tim Urban: It was nice, but nothing special.

Andrew Garcia (Christina Aguilera — Genie in a Bottle) Weird!  This song is too creepy from a guy!  I don’t want to rub you the right way, or ANY way. *shivers*  Also, I’m distracted with trying to read his neck tattoo — anyone know what it says?  Help me out!

Casey James (Keith Urban — You’ll Think of Me)  He sounds fantastic singing country!  Casey was connecting with the song and it showed.  Oh, and he looks great, even in HD up-close!

Aaron Kelly (Lonestar — I’m Already There) It’s hard for me to appreciate Aaron in the same way I can’t connect with the Disney teen singers.  It just doesn’t work for me, dawg.

Todrick Hall (Queen — Somebody to Love) Yes!  Finally some life in the show!  Todrick hasn’t been on my radar much this season, but this performance was strong and perhaps my favorite of the night. 

Big Mike (Kate Bush — This Woman’s Work) His confidence and vocals are in another league.  He’s also a more comfortable performer than the other guys.  Big Mike was amazing!

Going home: Andrew Garcia and Alex Lambert

We’ll see…

-Maggie

Lee DeWyze – It wasn’t an amazing performance, but he was pretty good. He’s representing the Chicago music scene very well, and I’m 99% sure he will be for at least another week.

Alex Lambert – His vocals continue to improve, and he’s probably one of the three best guys right now, vocally. However, he still has zero stage presence and zero confidence. But, the guy can sing, so I think he’ll stick around. Also, enough with the banana joke, Ellen…

Tim Urban – When they said he was singing Jeff Buckley’s version of “Hallelujah,” I was skeptical of whether or not he’d pull it off. This particular version is one of my favorite songs of all time, so I knew I’d be highly critical. But it turned out to be the PERFECT song choice for him! He nailed it. He’s come a long way since his debacle two weeks ago.

Andrew Garcia – I used to look forward to his performances, but now, he’s just another contestant. I feel like he sings everything the same exact way, and it’s just not working. He might make the top 12, but he won’t be around much longer if he can’t right the ship.

Casey James – I felt like there were tempo issues all the way through, but he managed to still sing really well. I’m sure he’ll be safe, regardless.

Aaron Kelly – What…was…that? He started completely off key, and he stayed off key for most of the song. He was really bad tonight, and for some reason, the judges liked it. Apparently we weren’t watching the same thing, because that was a train wreck from start to finish.

Todrick Hall – Freddy Mercury was such a distinct singer that I felt this was a really bad song choice. He managed to do all right with it, but I thought it was just okay. The judges loved it, though.

Michael Lynche – At some point between week one and tonight, something clicked with Big Mike. He was so-so week one, good last week, and tonight, he completely blew me away. He was definitely the best of the night, and he even made Kara cry! He’s looking like the front runner for the guys now.

Going home: This is a lot tougher than I thought it would be. The two people I thought were the worst, the judges liked. But, that doesn’t always translate into votes. I think I have to go with Andrew Garcia and Aaron Kelly. I feel like maybe people are tired of Andrew doing the same exact thing week in and week out, and I’d like to think that I’m not the only one who thought Aaron was downright awful.

Overall, it was a great week for the guys, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. It looks like they’ve really hit their stride and maybe they can compete with the girls now. We’ll find out tomorrow who gets the chance as they cut down to the top 12!

-Josh

Katie Stevens – This is the third Kelly Clarkson song in 3 weeks, and it was by far the weakest of the three. And Simon had the quote of the night early on: “You kind of sucked…the energy out of it.” Had he stopped halfway through his sentence when I thought he was going to, we’d have been in complete agreement. But, she’s been really good until tonight, so I think she’ll still get votes.

Siobhan Magnus – I never really have much to say about her, but she’s a good singer and she’ll probably make it through to the top 12. Her performance was teetering on boring, though.

Lacy Brown – Unless you’re playing an instrument, I don’t understand how sitting for your entire performance is a good thing. She sang well, but she was boring. However, it was her best performance so far, so I think she’ll be in it for at least another week.

Katelyn Epperly – She sang well, but it was a completely vanilla performance. It was like watching karaoke at a county fair. She’s another cruise ship singer in the making.

Didi Benami – I’m starting to feel like a broken record. She sang really well, but she was boring, and I was sort of disinterested.

Paige Miles – She’s the new votefortheworst.com pick. But this HAS to be the week she goes home, right? It was more of the same for her. Bad song choice and bad vocals.

Crystal Bowersox – Finally! Something that kept my interest for more than 10 seconds! She was fantastic in every aspect of her performance. She’s the most natural singer in the competition, and she stands out as the most talented overall performer.

Lilly Scott – The song choice wasn’t the best, and it wasn’t her best performance, but it worked for me. Even the mandolin. She’ll be around for a while.

Going home: Paige and Katelyn. I have to go with Paige again, even though I’ve been wrong about her for 2 weeks already. She was just so clearly worse than everyone else. And Katelyn blew it tonight. She’s a really good singer, but she’s a bit cheesy and karaoke, and it’ll probably kill her chances for getting into the top 12. On the other hand, her chances of getting into the cruise ship singing industry will go up 100%.

The guys still have a lot of work to do to catch up to the girls. Right now, it’s not even close. Tomorrow is do or die for the guys!

-Josh

Katie Stevens — (Kelly Clarkson — Breakaway)  Ouch.  Off-key and boring.  Quote from Simon: “You kind of sucked” LONG PAUSE “the energy out of it.”  LOL!!!  Katie is so young — she was 8 years-old when Kelly Clarkson won Idol.  Either she’s super-young, or I’m extremely old!

Siobhan Magnus — (The Animals — House of the Rising Sun) Neat version of the song.  I liked it!

Lacey Brown — (Brandi Carlile — The Story)  I’m not familiar with the song, but it’s pretty.  Lacey could make anything sound cool!

Katelyn Epperly — (Carole King — I Feel the Earth Move)  I’m a Carole King fan and loved this song choice, but it was a little dull tonight.

DiDi Benami — (Fleetwood Mac — Rhiannon) It was slow and pretty.  Thank goodness the judges let her get away with taking it slow and not ripping on her for that.  I’m glad to see that she’s improving!

Paige Miles — (Charlie Chaplin/Michael Jackson — Smile)  … OK, but sometimes a performance can be TOO slow.  This was very sleepy.

Crystal Bowersox — (Tracy Chapman — Give Me One Reason) Crystal is such an effortless, raw talent — I love her!

Lilly Scott — (Patsy Cline — I Fall to Pieces)  Solid!  Cool!

Who’s going home: Katie Stevens and Paige Miles  (Vote for the Worst is campaigning for Paige, BTW)

BTW, I’m finding a lot of the fashion choices confusing — strange dresses and bizarre, giant earrings.  Specifically, Katelyn’s creepy jumper and Lilly’s pot-holder earrings.  I guess I’m getting old…

Tomorrow night: the dudes!  See you then!

-Maggie