American Idol ~ Top 9

American Idol Recap ~ Top 9

Last week we finally and rightfully said goodbye to Michael Sarver. Nice guy, hard worker, family man, bad singer. Tonight we are hearing selections from the Top Downloads on iTunes and everyone is excited to finally be able to sing something "current". I've heard that word used so many times tonight that it's lost all meaning... does that ever happen to you? All of a sudden you just start repeating it "current current current" to yourself and you start thinking... "Wait... is that word? Current... is that how you pronounce it?" Maybe that's just me... ANYWAY, it was an interesting evening with some strange song choices.

Up first is Anoop singing Usher's "Caught Up" because he wants to show the judges an upbeat R&B song. I have been pulling for Anoop ever since he got the surprise 13th contestant spot in the Top 12. But tonight was a little rough for him. He was making weird faces throughout his entire performance and he was running a little flat on his notes. It wasn't horrible, I voted for him, but I think he might be in a lot of trouble tonight. The judges had nothing nice to say about his performance, calling him a wannabe and a complete and utter mess. I don't think it was all that bad but Anoop was clearly upset by his critiques and got a little mouthy with the judges, which we all know is a big mistake.

Megan Joy is up 2nd singing Bob Marley's "Good Good Lovin". On the plus side, the twisty handflappy dance is nowhere to be seen. On the not-so-plus side, it was a realllly bad performance. Her odd pronounciations annoy me week after week and this week was no exception. Again, the judges had no love for Megan calling her boring, monotonous, indulgent and irritating. I'm inclined to agree. This is a girl that MAYBE has one hit in her, due to her odd vocals. She could maybe find one song that fits her eccentric style and sing it well enough to make people be intrigued for the moment but there's no way anyone could listen to an entire record by Megan Joy. She is definitely a candidate for the bottom 3 tonight, especially considering the judges remarks.

Danny Gokey is up next and again he is singing an inspirational ballady type song about going on after a loss with Rascall Flatts' "What Hurts The Most". It was good, he hit all the notes, only got shouty in a couple of places and overall was a good rendition. He didn't do anything all that original with the composition but it's a good song on its own and he didn't really have to. He did a few riffs in different places and changed a couple notes but I enjoyed it. The judges had nothing but praise. Simon said it was his best yet, Paula will be putting his performance on the repeat button and it gave Kara goosebumps. I don't think it was THAT great but it certainly redeemed him from last week and I voted for him.

Allison Iraheta is up next and the first thing I did after I saw her walk out on stage was text Becky LOLing about her hair & outfit. That was awful! Why didn't someone TELL her that??? Why would they let her walk out on STAGE looking like THAT? Ugh! Poor girl! She sang No Doubt's "Don't Speak" and it was realllllly good. I loved that she plays that guitar! Who knew? I love that song and I loved Allison's rendition. Unfortunately, none of the judges had anything to say about her performance, they were too busy ripping on her look. As someone who has already been down in the bottom 3, I can see tonight hurting her and possibly putting her in danger all because of her stupid hair and weird dress!

Blind Scott goes 5th and he has a new hairdo. And luckily he didn't follow Paula's advice to lose the piano. He sings "Just The Way You Are" and it was surprisingly good. At least it was much much better than the past few performances. He hit most of the notes and tried to put his own mark on the song. The judges all liked it well enough and this could possibly give him a stay of execution tonight, but I think he's also a Bottom 3 candidate.

Matt Giraud is up next and he sings The Fray's "You Found Me". Oh it was not good. His vibrato is out of control, it's pitchy, and the song just doesn't fit his style. When the judges give you compliments such as comparing you to Justin Timberlake, you don't come out the next week and sing The Fray! I get that he is a fan of the band but when the judges have all told you what to do to sound your best and appeal to the masses and you basically take their advice and flush it down the toilet you have to expect a night like last night. Kara is right when she says he's eventually going to have to pick what kind of artist he is and when he keeps jumping around with styles of songs it doesn't show them anything about who he is, it's just too inconsistent. THAT said - when you're on a show that switches styles every week (motown, country, pop) that's sort of a stupid thing to say. But I get where she was going with it. In almost EVERY genre you can find songs that are influenced towards different styles. I voted for Matt because I want him to come back and prove how amazing he can be but he's another one that could be in trouble tonight based on the judges comments.

Lil is up next and she is singing Celine Dion's "I Surrender". Okay, Lil, -I- surrender! What is UP with you??? Much like Matt, the judges have TOLD her which types of songs she should be picking to best suit her voice and style and she comes out with Celine?? Seriously? I said it last week and I'll say it again. Lil's problem is that she is the show's token "Diva" but she's just not playing the part. Or maybe she's trying but she's paling in comparison to past AI Divas. It's shouty, pitchy, and this week she is really lacking a stage presence.

Adam Lambert is up next singing "Play That Funky Music". So, he kept the makeup off and did his hair the same as last week which won him all that praise from the judges and votes from America but the crazy over the top performance is back. He is just out of control and the judges all think he is the best thing since sliced bread. He irritates me like fingernails on a chalkboard but I can't hate on him! It's not that I like him, it's just that he's like 7 million times better than everyone else, all the while being the most unlikeable performer the show has ever seen... how is that even possible?? The best part of the night comes right after Adam performs and Kara says "it's like Studio 57 up in here!" LOLZ! Really Kara? Really?

In the "pimp spot", as I'm going to start calling it, is Kris Allen who steals the entire show. I loved him last week and this week was just as amazing. He says he's looking to make a moment out of tonight and he succeeds with flying colors. I was even able to ignore his goofy faces (because they're not nearly as goofy as Anoop's faces or Adam's faces tonight). He sings "Ain't No Sunshine" behind the keyboard and the arrangement and vocals were beautiful. This was his best week yet and the judges all had nothing but glowing remarks for him. Kara even successfully counted the words in her sentence! I voted a zillion times for Kris and cannot wait until next week!

So... Bottom 3: Definitely Megan. Possibly: Anoop, Scott, Matt, or Allison. It's a hard week to pick the bottom based on what the judges said and how I feel they all actually sang. I'd be shocked to see Megan return for another week but I wouldn't be shocked to see any of the other 4 I mentioned go before her... Guess we'll find out tonight!