Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Adam Lambert and Elvis Presley music on the same episode of American Idol.

Let’s just say there should be a whole lot of shakin’ going on tonight on American Idol. (Hey, Elvis covered the song.)

Speaking of Adam, I dared question whether he was a wise choice for an Idol mentor in a weekend blog post.

Wow, Glambert fans — dozens of them — rushed to the defense of last year’s runner-up.

Hey, you want to call Adam the best showman to grace the Idol stage? No argument here.

You want to call Adam the best male vocalist to compete on the show? Again, no argument.

But I still say the way David Cook changed songs to fit his musical style on Idol is more within the grasp of this year’s contestants than mimicking an Adam Lambert performance.

And I still say Adam’s record sales have been disappointing considering all the hype he generated during and since the show.

Just to appease all those Adam fans out there, here’s what I’ll do. In addition to the song-by-song grades offered up in each week’s live blog, I’ll grade Adam’s performance at the end of the show. So stay tuned for that.

Crystal Bowersox: The front-runner kicks off tonight’s show, playing an electric guitar and belting out Elvis’ “Because I’m Saved.” What better way to kick off any Idol show than by having Crystal perform?. Let’s hear the judges call this a karaoke performance. Nope, they’re giving credit where credit is due. Yet another brilliant vocal from a gal who stands out in season nine the way Adam stood out in season eight. Grade: A- (only because there’s the slim possibility someone will do better later in the show).

Andrew Garcia: Mr. Mediocrity performs second tonight. Suspicious minds have been wondering who’s been voting for this guy to keep him around five weeks into the finals. He’ll be singing “Hound Dog.” Oh, boy. But he got good advice from Adam. Change it up, Andrew. Otherwise, you can kiss your spot in this competition goodbye. Andrew followed Adam’s advice. He changed it up. But it didn’t work for me. He pretty much sucked all the bark out of the hound dog. And, after those comments from the judges, he could be in big trouble tonight. Grade: C-.

Tim Urban: Hmm, Tim’s going to slow things down with “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” He’s got the guitar again, a wise move after the success he enjoyed last week. Wow, I really liked the ending of that song. He seemed to veer off course a little in the middle, but all in all, that was a pretty good version of an Elvis song by a guy who does have a pretty good voice. Simon just said Tim went from “zero to hero” in two weeks. Guess what? The guy who landed in the bottom three the first three weeks of the finals just earned himself another week on Idol. Keep that up, Tim, and you’re going to lose your status as poster child for Vote for the Worst. Grade: B.

Lee DeWyze: He’ll be singing “A Little Less Conversation.” Hey, another strong vocal from the guy with the best voice among the males in the competition, according to Simon. No bagpipes this week, huh? That was a wise move. That performance and his performance two weeks ago are why I think Lee has the potential to give Crystal a run for the Idol crown in season nine. Grade: B+.

Aaron Kelly: The teen from Sonestown is singing “Blue Suede Shoes,” a song he admits is probably wrong for him in every possible way. Well, let’s see … Yeah, I’m having trouble envisioning Aaron in this role. Too clean-cut. Not quite enough swagger. That said, Aaron just turned in a decent vocal. Especially at the end. Not nearly as cringe-worthy as the pairing of Aaron and that song had the potential to be. But Simon hit the nail on the head again. It felt like Aaron “was dressing up for the part.” Grade: C+.

Siobhan Magnus: This should be interesting. The Magnificent Screamer (Siobhan) meets Adam Lambert, the guy who screamed with a purpose last year on Idol. Siobhan says she wrote a paper on Elvis in sixth grade. She’ll sing “Suspicious Minds.” I was hoping someone would. Check out the white peek-a-boo outfit. Well, no one has accused Siobhan of being boring. The early part of that was brilliant; the second half came off as very over-cooked. Simon called the performance “erratic,” and that would be a good description of that performance. Grade: B-.

Michael Lynche: Big Mike will sing “In the Ghetto.” My bet, he’ll redeem himself after last week’s scare. Hmm. Reminiscent of his performance two weeks ago. Sleepy, but a good vocal. Simon called it one of his favorite Michael performances. Ellen says she’s glad the judges saved him last week. Hey, he deserved to be saved in the sense that he’s one of the show’s most consistent singers, but that performance didn’t thrill me. Grade: B-.

Katie Stevens: The show’s other teen will sing “Baby, What You Want Me To Do?” Well, the judges have wanted Katie to seem younger. An up-tempo song and outfit like that will help. Hey, Elvis was the King of Rock. Finally, someone is going to try to rock on tonight’s show. That was was of Katie’s better performances. Don’t beg, girl. You deserve another week on the show. And thanks for spicing things up after that Michael Lynche performance. Grade B-.

Casey James: You know you’ve become a front-runner on Idol when they ask you to open or close the show. A well-deserved honor for Casey, after his last two performances. And he should be able to slay Elvis. Talk about a theme in a contestant’s wheelhouse. He’ll be singing “Lawdy, Miss Claudy.” Nothing wrong with that performance. But I’m not sure Casey picked the best possible song on Elvis night. With another song, he could have had a moment. That song didn’t seem very challenging, and he didn’t do anything particularly different with it. One step back for Mr. Casey James. Grade: B-.

And now … as promised …

Adam Lambert: Hey, Adam did himself proud as a mentor on Idol. Great advice for several of the Idols. A couple of the middle-of-the-pack contestants picked up their performance as a result. Lee gave him tons of credit. Not quite as good as Usher. So much better than Miley Cryus … well, it’s laughable. What in the world was she doing as the first Idol mentor this year? Back to Adam. Nice job. It’s pretty clear why several of the season eight contestants turned to you for guidance. Now we’ll look forward to tomorrow’ night’s performance. Grade: B+

Check back in a few minutes for the Idol performance show recap.

Check back tomorrow morning for a photo gallery from tonight’s show.