Idol Chatter & Voice Views

One 2-minute song.

So much at stake.

That’s the big story this week on American Idol.

The survivors get to go on the Idol summer tour, performing all over the country in front of thousands of fans.

The loser …

Well, think Kevin “Chicken Little” Covais, Stephanie Edwards, Charles Grigsby and Matt Rogers.

They all finished 11th in the Idol finals. None became a household name in the music industry.

Tonight, of course, we also have Miley Cyrus as a guest mentor. My fingers still want to rebel when I type that.

I gave the announcement a scathing thumbs down in a blog last night. So far, 25 readers have left comments. Twenty-four agree: Miley is not qualified, at age 17, to be a mentor of Idol hopefuls.

Just in case she gets too obnoxious, I’ve got the mute button within easy reach tonight.

The day’s other news is the release of a first single from Anoop Desai. You can read about that and find links to where you can hear the song in this blog.

And, if you want to check out my rankings heading into tonight’s show, go here.

Well, no controversy coming from the judges’ table. Kara and Simon are side-by-side again.

But, oh, my, did you just hear Simon’s shot at Kara’s crappy “No Boundaries” song from season eight? In mid-apology? Go, Simon.

Here’s Miley. Just read where Idol producer Ken Warwick said Miley isn’t too young to be an Idol mentor.

BUT SHE CAN’T SING!!!!

On with the song-by-song grades …

Lee DeWyze: First up, one of my favorites. Lee DeWyze singing the Box Tops’ “The Letter,” minus his guitar, plus a horn section, clearly trying to show a little more life on stage. What have they done to poor Lee DeWyze? He looks out of his element in the black jacket, with chains around his neck. Prefer him with the guitar. Sorry, that came across to me at a little bit of a sellout. That said, I don’t think Lee will ever sound bad. Love the rasp in his voice. Grade: B-

Paige Miles: OK, now I’m a little worried about Paige. She’s singing second, a dangerous spot for someone who almost got cut last week, and she’s singing a Phil Collins ballad after doing well belting out “Honky Tonk Woman.” Told you. This is going to be a disaster. I doubt there’s a mentor in the world who could have helped Paige pull that off. More notes were off key than on key. Wow. Grade: F.

Hey, just saw a great tweet from MJ’s blog during Paige’s performance: “Make It. Stop.”

Tim Urban: Another guy who’s put down the guitar, got rid of the reggae beat and decided to sing an acrobatic performance of “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” If they thought Michael Lynche was corny last week, what in the world are they going to say about that? Sliding across the stage. Prancing into the audience. Simon calls it “pointless and silly.” It was better than last week. And, hey, give the guy this: He sang better than Paige Miles. Grade: C-

Aaron Kelly: Save us, Aaron. He’ll be singing “I Don’t Want To Miss a Thing.” An Aerosmith song from a country singer who has laryngitis. And he’s a fan of Miley Cyrus. One giant step forward (last week), one smaller step back (this week) for Aaron. Maybe it was the throat problems, but that was really pitchy in spots. He’s getting kudos on the song choice from a judges’ panel that clearly wants him to succeed. And Ryan just slipped why the judges are rooting for him, calling him David Archuleta. Clearly, they’re trying to mold him in that style. He’s not there yet in terms of singing. Not even close. Grade: C

Crystal Bowersox: Thank you, Crystal, for not selling out. Thank you, Crystal, for singing well. Thank you for reminding me that this season might not be a total waste. I’m surprised you didn’t get criticized for an obvious song choice. I’m not surprised someone (Kara) suggested you put down the guitar. You had to know that was coming. Thank you, Simon, for suggesting she not change a thing. Grade: A.

Michael Lynche: Big Mike will sing “When a Man Loves a Woman.” I’m having Ruben Studdard flashbacks. Nice song choice by Michael. The song got a little gimmicky in spots, like he was trying to do a little too much with it. Simon’s analogy: “It’s like you wanted one scoop of ice cream and got 11.” Still, based on what else we heard tonight, that was a splendid vocal. Grade: B.

Andrew Garcia: He’ll take on Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.” Another guy puts down his guitar, this time at the advice of Miley. Looks like we’re back to karaoke central. The good news for Andrew is that Paige and Tim did really poorly tonight, greatly improving his chance of making the Idol tour. Actually, I liked Tim’s vocal better than that one. But Simon nailed it on the head: Andrew’s performance was corny, with a capital “C.” Grade: C-

Katie Stevens: The competition’s other teen takes on Fergie’s “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” a “younger” song, which is what the judges have been looking for from her. Randy gives her credit for listening. Ellen proclaims that was her best performance. Even Kara and Simon seemed to like it. But, as the judges noted, there were a few pitch problems. Big song to attempt. For the most part, Katie pulled it off. Welcome to the summer tour, Katie. Grade: C+

Casey James: He’ll be singing Huey Lewis’ “Power of Love.” Not sure I like this song choice for Casey, but we’ll see. Yeah, not sure I loved that song with Casey’s voice, which is what I feared. He seems to do better with songs that have a country-rock vibe. I thought he was better last week. And I’m hoping he can exceed whatever zone Kara thinks Casey is in (maybe that smile got to her again), because I think he’s capable of much better. Grade: B-.

Didi Benami: Now, as much as I didn’t like Casey’s song choice, I love Didi’s. She’s going up tempo with a sassy song that shouldn’t provoke tears. Hmm. Look at Didi. She seems to do better with these bad girl songs. And if she’s nervous, it doesn’t show. Didi did well last week. And I think she topped it this week. The judges didn’t love it. I thought it was one of the better perrformances of the night. Grade: B+

Siobhan Magnus: Idol’s rising star in season nine gets the show-closing spot. Let’s see what she does with it. She’ll be singing Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition.” Completely different look from last week, huh? There was the scream. You knew we had to have one. She also went off key several times. Let’s see if the judges point that out this week. Hooray! Thank you, Simon, for pointing it out. A scream at the end does not make a performance wonderful. Grade: B-