3/31/10

Today I'm thinking about Lee DeWyze rockin American Idol last night! I found this video of Lee DeWyze from a music video contest he entered in September, 2009.

Lee DeWyze Predicament Chicagoland's Best Music Videos

Recap of last nights show:

Usher was the mentor for R&B and Soul week. As you can imagine there are many contestants this year that would not qualify as R&B artists, but they gave it a good shot and Usher did a good job mentoring them.

Siobhan Magnus started the night on a sour note singing Chaka Khan's "Through the Fire". Randy thought it was rough, Ellen felt the performance was a bit off, Simon thought her vocals were all over the place. She usually does well so I don't know if  this will be enough to put her in the bottom 3, but if it were just me and the judges voting she would be.

Casey James did a nice job with Sam & Dave classic, "Hold on I'm Coming." Randy thought it suited him, Ellen said it was a bit generic, Kara wants to see more vocal range, but Simon disagreed with the ladies and said he loved Casey's performance.

Michael Lynche chose to perform a ballad, "Ready for Love" by India Arie. Ellen and Kara both thought he did an incredible job, Simon said this was the performance where he took him seriously as an artist.

Didi Benami had an emotional breakdown while in her session with Usher. After she sang her song she started crying and had a hard time getting over it. The song triggered such an emotional reaction in her she was afraid to perform it and I think that hurt her when she took the Idol stage to sing, "What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted" by Jimmy Ruffin. Randy felt the performance flatlined, Kara thought it was confusing, Simon didn't like it either and took a stab at "Dancing with the Stars" in his critique. I think this poor performance my send Didi to the bottom 3, but I don't think she'll go home. 

Tim Urban didn't do a very good job with Anita Baker's "Sweet Love." Randy thought it was boring, Ellen wonders why Tim chose that song, Kara tells Tim that he took the soul out of the song, Simon showed his frustration with Tim still being on the show by saying "I don't think it makes any difference whatsoever what we say. You know completely inappropriate song it was like a mouse picking a fight with an elephant. You know. You're not gonna win. But it doesn't matter because you're gonna smile, the audience is gonna vote for you, nobody cares and you'll be here next week. So well done." Tim will be in the bottom 3 again this week and should be the one to go home. We'll find out tonight if Simon was right about him staying though.

Andrew Garcia blew the judges away with "Forever" by Chris Brown. Ellen was happy that he had his comeback performance, Kara mentions how Andrew has taken a giant leap in the right direction, and Simon worries that he hasn't opened up enough to the audience.

Katie Stevens did a good job with "Chain of Fools" by Aretha Franklin. Better than I expected to be honest with you. Randy tells Katie she's a young Christina Aguilera, Ellen wishes she had picked a younger song, Kara agrees with Ellen and says that Katie belongs in Pop and R&B music, Simon disagrees with Kara saying Katie would fit better in rock or country and Kara and Simon begin to argue about which genre Katie should pick.

Lee DeWyze in my opinion was the best performance of the night with "Treat Her Like a Lady" by the Cornelius Brothers (listen below). Randy and Ellen have high praise for Lee, Simon is finally glad that Lee is beginning to believe in himself. Usher really helped Lee with this stage presence. It was good to see him looking comfortable and like he was enjoying himself.

Crystal Bowersox mentioned last week that she had a surprise brewing for this week's performance and boy did she ever! Not only did she follow Kara's advice and ditch the guitar, but she played the piano and wore heels!! Simon thought that since the piano isn't as comfortable an instrument to her that it detracted from her performance of "Midtown Train to Georgia." Ellen and Kara appreciated her taking a risk. 

Aaron Kelly performed "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers which was good, but I think he needs to try something younger and more upbeat. Simon wasn't jumping out of his chair after Aaron's performance and Ellen though it was good. That's pretty much it for his comments. It thought it was a bit boring.

Tune into the American Idol Results show tonight on Fox.