Fall TV Blog

Lacey Brown, who’d made it into the final 12 on her second trip to Hollywood, was the first to go on this season of American Idol. To take advantage of the potential redemption of what’s called Judges’ Save, she reprised “The Story,” her best performance overall.

And, just like the first time, it was very sweet with a whimsical wilt. But you could tell from Simon’s expression that he was not receptive to keeping her around. She was doomed.

This was no shock. She’d been very appealing, in the manner of a flower that pops up unexpectedly in a city sidewalk, but she was very undependable as a live singer. Simon has said she seemed to approach each song as if she were an actress — maybe she’d be better in a musical comedy.

Paige Miles joined Lacey in the bottom two. Even with her voice still a little raw from laryngitis, she remains a powerful singer — as good as Siobhan Magnus, if you ask me, and never as shrill — but she hasn’t generated much excitement, and the judges are never squarely in her corner. She’s an unknown, which isn’t good this far in.

The night’s only surprise was that Tim Urban not only survived being in the final three, but escaped the bottom two or worse. He probably deserved the boot the most. The judges seem to start shaking their heads as soon as he shows up, and Tuesday’s performance of “Under My Thumb” was cheerfully, cluelessly awful. But cuteness can keep a singer going on American Idol — yes, even when he reduces a Rolling Stones classic to the aural equivalent of a soft stick of butter. Good luck, Tim!

Some random comments from the judges:

Ellen said Siobhan had the potential of an Adam Lambert.

Randy said Lacey and Paige probably deserved to be in the bottom two.

Kara, who at one point earlier in the competition had said Katie Stevens could win, wouldn’t reiterate that opinion when Ryan asked her about it. She dodged and said instead that Katie should try R&B-pop; Simon said, no, she should do country; Randy said, no, she should do pop-rock; and Ellen said, no, she should do mariachi. Katie’s head probably started to spin like the girl in The Exorcist.

The show began with Simon revisting the odd unpleasantness of Tuesday night, when Ryan challenged him for not giving constructive criticism. “Do you want to get the eyeballing out of the way?” asked Simon. He told Ryan to stop crossing the line, literally and otherwise. Oooh! It’s hard to believe any of it’s real, except in a pro-wrestling sort of way. But both men played their parts well.

An hour, frankly, is too long a chunk of programming to organize around chucking just one singer, and so the show was as padded as your grandmother’s sofa. David Cook sang “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” Kesha sang “Blah Blah Blah,” and the finalists designed custom graphics for the Ford Fiesta. Why not have them dye eggs, too? — Tom Gliatto

Michael Becker/PictureGroup

The first night out for the top 12 was dedicated to the Rolling Stones — you know, they 
sing that Susan Boyle song, “Wild Horses.” I love that song!

In fact, Katie Stevens chose to do the Susan Boyle song, and managed to come up with a 
new, power-ballad interpretation in a belting voice. The judges agreed this 
was her least problematic — which is to say, most successful — performance. “This 
is the first time I think you connected with a song,” said Simon. “Well done.”

The wildest moment of the night was Siobhan Magnus, made over in a sleek 
dress and curled hair, singing an intensely melodramatic cover of “Paint It Black.” 
The Judging Four were thrilled, especially when it ended with another of her 
roof-rattling shrieks. “Like Snooki’s pouf,” Ellen said, Siobhan had risen above everyone 
else. Kara thought it was the best turn of the night, and so did Simon: “The standout.” 
He added, however, that a lot of people would hate it.

That includes me. She looked like a French pop star struck by lightning.

Crystal Bowersox, the one singer you might have expected to have a knockout 
with this sort of blues-rock, didn’t quite connect with “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” She 
just sort of strummed along, comfortably and even respectfully melodic, but the song 
didn’t build to anything. “This is the first time where I think you were beaten by somebody,” 
said Simon, “and that was Siobhan. … You’ve got to come on that stage, and you’ve got to kill.”

The disaster of the night? That would be Tim Urban. He sang a reggae “Under My Thumb,” perhaps 
trying to sound like early Police. The sexual aggression of the original was gone, and that left 
nothing. “I felt like I was at a resort and drinking a pina colada,” said Ellen. Read the rest of this entry »