This definitely wasn’t your ordinary results night. President Obama and First Lady Michelle opened the show offering their support for Idol Gives Back, which was the theme for this particular results night.

Queen Latifah co-hosted with Ryan, covering several live performances in Pasadena. The Top 12 American Idols appeared for the event. I wish they each could have sang an individual song but famous singers bring more money to a charity so single spots were reserved for much bigger names.

Those names included: Black Eyed Peas, Jeff Beck, Joss Stone, Alicia Keys, Carrie Underwood, Annie Lennox, and Elton John.

They all came together along with Jennifer Garner, Victoria Beckham and Captain Sully Sullenberger to support charities such as Save the Children.

Comedian George Lopez, who won a silent auction giving him the rights to host some of the results, set the stage with disco lights and announced that it was about time that somebody judged the judges. He started with Randy, noting that people who work at the dog pound didn’t say “dog” as often as Randy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Randy laugh so hard.

When he got to Simon he zeroed in on the tight shirts saying that people at home could tell how cold it was in the studio by looking at Simon’s nipples.

Judging finally shifted to the Idols themselves. After leaving the Idols in agony, two were finally sent to safety: Lee Dewyze and Crystal Bowersox. Two others were sent to the Bottom’s Out stools to await their verdict: Casey James and Aaron Kelly. This was a first for Casey.

Week after week I write about who didn’t live up to their potential. I predict the bottom three and sometimes add who I hope goes home. Rarely do I say who I hope wins. It’s always about the bottom three, never about the top three.

Originally my top three were Crystal, Casey and Siobhan. That’s changed over the weeks to Crystal, Casey and Lee. Siobhan has had quite a few weeks that didn’t grab me as she had early on while Lee has been steadily growing. Teflon Tim has never been in my top three but I’ve enjoyed him immensely and wanted him to stick around over some of the others simply because he made me smile. I’d rather see Mike or Aaron go over Tim for that reason. They’re okay but they don’t entertain me.

Okay, so we know that Aaron and Casey are in the bottom three while Crystal and Lee are safe. What next?

Morgan Freeman joined Randy Jackson to reveal another supported charity: United Nations Foundation. Morgan and Randy visited a Save the Children family, Randy all snazzy in a suit and orange striped tie. Every now and again they’d flash images of Randy in an Alaska shirt and I kept wondering what his connection was to Alaska. Never did find out.

More celebrities appeared including Slash, Tatiana Del Toro and Jim Carrey, who ran off the stage to pee. Two more charities were revealed, Feeding America and Global Health Care, which is a segment of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Yes, that would be THE Bill Gates. Apparently his foundation isn’t listed as an Idol Gives Back charity, but as a nonprofit partner along with charity One.org.

Elliott Yamin and Wanda Sykes were also part of Idol Gives Back. Wanda talked a lot about the weekly loser who gets voted off the show. She just couldn’t understand why they’d make the loser sing a song to remind America why they didn’t vote for that person.

Two other charities who benefit from Idol Gives Back are Malaria No More and Children’s Health Fund.

More results finally came, sending Michael Lynche and Siobhan Magnus to safety leaving Teflon Tim Urban to round out the bottom three.

Season 7 winner David Cook showed his support and Simon announced that over $15 million dollars had been raised so far. Several celebrity singers joined together to sing “Stairway to Heaven” with Randy Jackson playing bass guitar. That segment sped by so quickly I missed who the others were except for the singer, Mary J. Blige.

An interesting commercial came on showing girls dancing in bikinis, tight skirts and short shorts (reminding me of the old song Who Wears Short Shorts. The commercial was for Reebok Easytone shoes which are designed to help tone up your leg muscles and we all know that the leg bone is connected to the butt bone.

I’m not sure how this tied into Idol Gives Back as it wasn’t listed as a beneficiary charity or a partner charity, but Elton John showed his support for Elton John AIDS Foundation urging everyone to get tested. Apparently 33 million people worldwide are known to have AIDS.

They announced that next week’s theme would be Shania Twain and then announced who got voted off. They didn’t make him sing and he left with a big smile. You guessed it. Teflon Tim Urban goes home.

Tags: aaron, aaron kelly, aids foundation, alicia keys, american idol, annie lennox, bill gates, bill gates foundation, black eyed peas, blige, bowersox, carrie underwood, casey, casey james, children's health fund, cowell, crystal bowersox, degeneres, dewyze, easytone, ellen, ellen degeneres, elliott yamin, elton john, feeding america, idol gives back, jeff beck, joss stone, kara dioguardi, lee dewyze, lynche, magnus, malaria no more, michael lynche, obama, queen latifah, reebok, reebok easytone, ryan, ryan seacrest, save the children, seacrest, season 9, shania twain, short shorts, simon, simon cowell, siobhan magnus, teflon tim, tim urban, un foundation, united nations foundation, urban

Category: American Idol 2010

Remember that last time two got voted off after the Judge’s Save, leaving seven to sing tonight. Alicia Keys was the mentor with songs of inspiration as the theme.

Casey James

Casey started the night with the Fleetwood Mac song “Don’t Stop”. Alicia wanted to make sure that the audience didn’t say, “I love that song” but that they said instead, “I love HIM!” While I do love Casey’s voice, I wish he’d have changed up the song more or chosen a Bob Seger song. Casey played great guitar and put a bit of a rock twist to the song but there wasn’t a wow factor. Casey has such potential but he keeps missing the wow factor. Randy thought it was a good performance but not Casey’s best. He was looking for something a little more special. I agree. Ellen loved the guitar and said that while Casey was consistent, he needed to be great and this wasn’t it. Kara compared it to a jam band and said he made himself like everybody else. Simon said it had zero emotion, no originality and called it a lazy song choice.

Lee Dewyze

Lee totally took the night as far as I’m concerned with the Simon and Garfunkel song “The Boxer”. Alicia told Lee that “people have to feel like you are that boxer.” I totally felt it. The emotion was so strong it brought me to tears. Not only that, Lee changed it up and made it his own. You would not have recognized it as a Simon and Garfunkel song. I loved their version and I loved Lee’s version. Awesome job, Lee! Randy said Lee was a great artist who was ready to make great music. Ellen said he was getting better and better which surprised her because she already thought he was great. Kara said that this was his moment. Simon said that while the evening was only two in, it was the best of the night. Simon called it sincere, emotional, inspirational and absolutely brilliant.

Tim Urban

Teflon Tim, minus the Teflon smile, sang “Better Days” by the Goo Goo Dolls. Alicia said she liked the song on him. For me it didn’t work. Tim had the unfortunate fate of following Lee, who set the bar so high it was nearly impossible to follow him. I didn’t feel the connection with Tim this time. He really should sing songs that let him smile. Inspirational or not, the song needs to be upbeat and happy or Tim gets lost. Randy thought it was just good karaoke. Ellen compared him to the soup of the day. Sometimes you like it, sometimes you don’t, and today she didn’t like the soup. Kara talked about this “new Tim” who was different from what we were used to. Was she missing the happy Tim, too? Simon said we’d be impressed if we were seeing him for the first time but called the performance a little bit of a letdown. He did add that Tim has improved.

Aaron Kelly

Aaron took on the song “I Believe I Can Fly” by R. Kelly. Alicia told Aaron that it had to feel deep and pure and passionate. While Aaron obviously put his all into it, for me it was pitchy, wobbly, and just a not-as-good copycat. With a song that big you need to change it up. You should never try to mimic a big song which is what he did. Randy said he’d picked a giant song, said he had pure vocal talent and that he’d done a good job. Ellen reminisced about that brief time in the 70s when she thought she could fly. Kara said watching that was like taking off. She mimicked a plane taking off kind of rough and finally said, “You got there.” Simon said that Aaron had given it his all but in the real world if we’d heard that song on the radio we would turn it off. Exactly!

Siobhan Magnus

Siobhan looked beautiful, opting for a younger look again with a younger hairstyle. She sang “When You Believe” by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. Alicia zeroed in on her money spot note and was very impressed with Siobhan’s voice. Alicia said that Siobhan could do things that a lot of people couldn’t do. The money spot note was not the screechy note that Siobhan has become famous for, it was a softer note. As if to punctuate her softer side, Siobhan had a butterfly sitting on her shoulder and another on her hand. There wasn’t a screechy note in the whole song. Randy thought she’d picked the toughest song of the night and for him it was just okay. Ellen disagreed, saying this was just more confirmation as to why she was here in the competition. Kara said that technically Siobhan sang it very well and added a “but…” Simon thought it was the wrong song for her, called it old fashioned and said that the leaves (butterflies) distracted him.

Michael Lynche

Big Mike took on the Chad Kroeger song “Hero.” Alicia wanted the people to go crazy for Mike. I didn’t go crazy. That song always makes me stop whatever I’m doing to listen. It’s a moving song and Chad sings it so beautifully. Big Mike had big shoes to fill and for me, he didn’t fill them. The beautiful song became ordinary, ho hum. Randy thought he held his own with it. Ellen said he did a great job. Kara said it wasn’t her favorite performance and that the song became unrecognizable. Simon thought he sang it pretty well but said the song didn’t quite gel for him. He commented that the theme was inspirational but Mike had picked a Spiderman song, as if somehow that mattered. For those of us who didn’t see the Spiderman movie we wouldn’t know anything but the song which is totally inspirational. Simon predicted that Mike would be around next week nonetheless.

Crystal Bowersox

That left Crystal to close out the night with the song “People Get Ready.” Alicia said that Crystal was one of her favorites and predicted that people would love her performance. For the first time this season, she sang without playing an instrument. I’m not familiar with the song but it sounded like a gospel song to me. She started out acapella and for a moment, I thought she was planning to do the entire song that way. It wouldn’t have made a difference. I didn’t care for it. Crystal may have alienated her fan base singing a gospel song. She reaches out to folks who either lived the sixties and seventies generations or who love their music. Choosing a gospel song unknown to the average listener was not a smart move. You have to know who your listeners are.

At the end of the song Crystal broke down and cried the last few notes. The song obviously meant a lot to her personally. Randy said he’s been a fan since day one and clapped. Ellen called it beautiful. Kara thanked her for taking such a big risk and said that “Mama Sox” had just schooled all the other contestants. Simon was happy to see her so emotional. He put her in a different class than everyone else we’d heard tonight.

Crystal was so emotional that she took Ryan’s hanky to dab her eyes. I predict that unless her show of emotion saves her, Crystal might find herself in the bottom three. Tim and Aaron will probably be in the bottom three, with the third spot either being Crystal or Mike’s.

There was a bit of a blooper as they replayed excerpts for people to vote. Crystal’s replay showed her ending the song with a smile and complete composure, not the teary breakdown she actually finished the song with. Did they use a clip from rehearsal for her excerpt?

Playbacks ended with Crystal putting her head on Lee’s shoulder for a moment, reminding me that Lee totally owned the night. Nobody even came close. Does America agree with me? We’ll find out tomorrow at the end of Idol Gives Back.

Tags: aaron, aaron kelly, alicia keys, american idol, bowersox, casey, casey james, cowell, crystal bowersox, degeneres, dewyze, ellen, ellen degeneres, kara dioguardi, lee dewyze, lynche, magnus, michael lynche, ryan, ryan seacrest, seacrest, season 9, simon, simon cowell, siobhan magnus, tim urban, urban

Category: American Idol 2010

All the Idols looked so worried as they waited for the double bomb to drop. Earlier in the season even on results night, they didn’t look as worried but somewhere along the way it gets real. Over 34 million votes came in but even that wasn’t enough for the bottom two.

Ryan brought Casey James, Aaron Kelly and Andrew Garcia to center stage. At first I thought he was going to announce them as the bottom three which would be a shock. But nope, he started a playback review of the previous evening. During Aaron’s very bad review, Simon actually pouted. I wonder if he thought he’d been too hard on Aaron. It didn’t matter because Andrew got voted off while Casey and Aaron were sent to safety.

I thought Andrew was a good choice to be voted off as he was one of the weakest singers. He left by saying, “You guys let me experience something I’ll never experience again. Thank you!” While I’ve never been a fan, he should have been more positive in his outlook. You never know what the road will bring you after American Idol.

Brooke White from Season 7 came on with Justin Gaston to sing the Elvis song, “I Can Dream.” Brooke was one of my favorites that season and it was tough to have a top pick.

Then Ryan brought all the rest out on stage, one by one giving a playback review of the night before. Lee Dewyze was the first reviewed and when asked what was different for him, he answered that he feels more like he’s playing a concert now than an audition. He didn’t get a thumbs up or down, Ryan just moved right on down the line leaving all in suspense.

Tim Urban offered up his famous smile during the review. All I can say is, “Tim, when you smile, the whole world smiles with you.”

Crystal Bowersox was declared safe and blew thanks on her harmonica. It was a nice touch, memorable. Siobhan Magnus was also sent to safety.

Ryan came back to Lee Dewyze and said that Chris Daughtry of Season 5 sang the same song the week he got eliminated, hinting that the song was bad karma. Lee, however, was sent to safety for it.

That left Tim, Mike and Katie to wonder which of the three would be going home. I hoped it wasn’t Tim. We were all left in suspense while Adam Lambert sang his song, “Whataya Want From Me”. I had so hoped he’d be singing “Rabbit Hole”. I saw him sing that one on another show and I really liked it. “Whataya Want From Me” has been done to death on the TV circuits. Adam brought his own lasers for the occasion. He said that being in the real world of music was a lot of hard work and that American Idol really helped prepare you for it.

Finally it was the moment of truth. Who else would be going home? Ryan walked up behind Teflon Tim and said, “Smile, you’re safe!”

That left Big Mike and Katie Stevens and it was Katie who was sent home this time, taking Mike’s place for being outed. I cannot imagine how Big Mike felt knowing that. Michael Lynche wasn’t even in the bottom three this week after being voted off and saved last week.

Crystal cried for Katie while Siobhan looked utterly grief stricken. Katie couldn’t stop crying as they showed her journey through American Idol. Bye bye, Katie! I have no doubt that she’ll find a home on stage somewhere.

Tags: aaron, aaron kelly, adam lambert, american idol, andrew, andrew garcia, bowersox, brooke white, casey, casey james, cowell, crystal bowersox, degeneres, dewyze, ellen, ellen degeneres, elvis, elvis presley, justin gaston, kara dioguardi, katie stevens, lee dewyze, lynche, magnus, michael lynche, ryan, ryan seacrest, seacrest, season 9, simon, simon cowell, siobhan magnus, stevens, tim urban, urban

Category: American Idol 2010