I haven't blogged about American Idol in 3 weeks and in that time, Siobhan Magnus, Tim Urban, Katie Stevens and Andrew Garcia have been eliminated from the show. And last night, Aaron Kelly was sent home.
The theme for the Idols this week was Frank Sinatra and modern-day crooner Harry Connick, Jr. was on hand to mentor them. Sinatra has always been and always will be a personal favorite and I was looking forward to listen to the songs they'd chosen.
Aaron Kelly. Fly Me To The Moon. The kid definitely tried hard but I don't think he carried it off very well. I only liked the end part of the performance.
Casey James. Blue Skies. I didn't find his singing as bad as the judges made it out to be although he was so obviously uncomfortable and nervous without a guitar in hand. He didn't know what to do with his left arm either.
Crystal Bowersox. Summer Wind. I found her interpretation of this song very tasteful and I'm glad she sassed back the judges who were on her for not belting out something bigger. Maybe they wanted her to sing My Way.
Michael Lynche. The Way You Look Tonight. Beautiful intimate vocals and kudos to Harry Connick, Jr. for telling Mike to stop messing with the song's melody.
Lee Dewyze. That's Life. Even with the big band accompaniment, he was still able to give off a bit of a rock edge when he sang. I don't know if it was just me though but I think he almost went flat on the last note.
And, I have to say, Harry Connick, Jr. has by far been the best mentor on AI ever. Unlike some previous mentors who were merely there to promote themselves and give watered down critiques, HCJr not only gave great advice but also did the musical arrangements for the contestants' songs. I read that some people have began campaigning for him to replace Simon when he leaves at the end of the season and I'm all for it.
Next week they'll be singing songs of the cinema and they'll do two numbers each with Jamie Foxx as the mentor. Let's see how that goes.
Mood Music: Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra