Idol Chatter & Voice Views

So, did Miley Cyrus help the Idols?

Three of the guys gave up their guitars.

She constantly encouraged contestants to put an edge on their performance.

And then American Idol season nine promptly took a big step in the wrong direction.

I’m with Simon, that was not a good episode.

And to think, 10 of the 11 will be part of the Idol summer tour.

Oh where did you go, Lilly Scott? Where did you go, Katelyn Epperly?

Voter folly for sure.

On with the recap …

Best of the Night: Well, I mean, is there any question? She brought a piece of carpet to make her feel at home. Then she slayed a song she seemed perfectly at home singing. Crystal Bowersox and “Bobby McGee” made for a perfect match. I’m just surprised she didn’t get criticized for an obvious song choice. My only complaint about Crystal: She allowed Miley Cyrus to sign that guitar.

Runners-up: On a night when few performers exceeded expectations, I liked Didi Benami’s song choice and I liked her as the bad girl singing “You’re No Good.” Don’t know what the judges were listening to. I was watching one of the night’s most entertaining 2-minute performances. Hey, and look, no tears.

Michael Lynche tried to do a little too much with “When a Man Loves a Woman,” but his was also among the night’s best vocals.

Deserves to go home: What in the world possessed Paige Miles that she decided to sing a ballad like “Against All Odds?” Especially after doing so well belting out “Honky Tonk Woman” last week. The laryngitis went away. All the pitch problems came back. When Randy Jackson says you were flat out terrible, dog, you’d better believe, you were TERRIBLE.

Please keep him: Sometimes contestants should listen to judges. Sometimes contestants should do what works for them. Lee DeWyze looked uncomfortable and out of place in that black jacket, with chains around his neck, without his guitar, trying to swagger to “The Letter.” Like the guy’s voice, but that smacked of sellout.

Surprise of the night: I’d like to say someone was a really pleasant surprise … really I would. But … OK, how about this. Katie Stevens tackled a younger song. She tackled a big song — Fergie’s “Big Girls Don’t Cry.” And she did a decent job of it. Certainly good enough to put distance between her and the three contestants in danger of going home this week.

Baffled by the judges: Besides the judges’ disapproval of Didi Benami, there was the predictable fawning over Siobhan Magnus, which continues to baffle me. Hey, I’d rate Siobhan among the top half dozen singers this year. And she puts on a good show. But those now predictable screams seem to be disguising the fact that she’s often off key. Only Simon was willing to point that out.

Best line of the night from the judges: Paige Miles fretted over wearing really high heels for her performance of “Against All Odds.” Ellen’s critique: “I’m going to start with the positive. You didn’t fall down … I’m now going to turn over the music critique to Kara and Simon.” Said Simon: “It was like there were five of you singing that song. And it got progressively worse (with) each one.”

Prediction for Wednesday: If ever a performance was worthy of getting booted off Idol, it was Paige’s. I’m still confused as to why she was a semifinalist, let alone a finalist. And I think she’ll head home, because she also performed second on Tuesday’s episode. But Tim Urban and Andrew Garcia shouldn’t feel very comfortable.

The grades (song by song blog here):
Crystal Bowersox: “Bobby McGee” — A
Didi Benami: “You’re No Good” — B+
Michael Lynche: “When a Man Loves a Woman” — B
Casey James: “Power of Love” — B-
Lee DeWyze: “The Letter” — B-
Siobhan Magnus: “Superstition” — B-
Aaron Kelly: “I Don’t Want To Miss a Thing” — C
Katie Stevens: “Big Girls Don’t Cry” — C+
Andrew Garcia: “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” — C-
Tim Urban: “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” — C-
Paige Miles: “Against All Odds” — F