Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Will the ever-smiling Tim Urban finally turn in a performance the American Idol judges can smile about?

Can Katie Stevens turn in a young, trendy performance of an old Beatles song?

Will Andrew Garcia finally pay the price for constant mediocrity? Or will he finally return to “Straight Up” form?

Can the Magnificent Screamer (aka Siobhan Magnus) give us a magnificent performance without screaming?

Those are this week’s most pressing questions as American Idol trims its season nine field to eight.

Of course, the theme is the John Lennon-Paul McCartney songbook, one that once again gives the Idols plenty of latitude to find something that suits their musical style.

The night’s already off to a rough start for Katie. She got a run in her stockings in dress rehearsal. Or so she tweeted earlier.

Hey, if you follow the Idol contestants on Twitter, you quickly get the sense that there must be a mile-long list of topics they can’t tweet about.

Like what song they’ll sing on the show. Not that it’s really ever a secret. Every week so far, one Idol Web site or another has come up with a dead-on list of what the Idols will be singing.

Among the more interesting tweets from the contestants — Lee’s family will be at the show this week. Yikes. This is a guy who just started getting over a bad case of the nerves on stage. Hope having family around is a benefit and not an added pressure.

Of course, this afternoon’s big news doesn’t even involve this week’s show. EW.com says it has confirmed that Adam Lambert — yep, last season’s runner-up — will mentor the Idol contestants next week. Hmm. Let’s just say I’m not impressed. But more on that in another blog on another day.

Tonight, after all, there are song-by-song grades to dole out. You can find the grades from the first three week’s performances here.

If MJ’sBigBlog is correct, Aaron Kelly will kick off the show with “The Long and Winding Road.” If MJ’sBigBlog is correct, this show might get off to a slow start with Aaron, Katie and Andrew as the first three performers.

Aaron Kelly: Well, Simon wanted to see the contestants change the songs up a little. Aaron changed it up a bit, but Ellen hit the nail on the head, it sounded like “the long and winding song.” The performance we just saw lacked any sort of spark. And the guy Idol wants to cast in the David Archuleta role just isn’t proving worthy. Watch tomorrow night, Aaron. David will show you how it’s done. Grade: C.

Katie Stevens: OK, this is gonna be tough. I’m a big fan of Brooke White, and I remember when she absolutely slayed this song back in season seven. Well, that wasn’t nearly as good as Brooke’s rendition. But that might have been Katie’s best performance since the live shows started. A spot-on vocal. And great comments from the judges. But about that promise from Ellen about not being in the bottom three … I wouldn’t count on it. Not the way female contestants have been falling by the wayside this season. Grade: B.

Andrew Garcia: He’ll be singing “Can’t Buy Me Love,” and it’s a peppy performance, for sure. Andrew’s clearly having fun. Wish I was having as much fun. I’m not sure this version of the song would be a hit. Simon called it “corny and irrelevant.” I’m surprised he didn’t call it a karaoke performance, because that’s the way it struck me. Sorry, Andrew fans, I know you’re out there. I just don’t get this guy as a performer worthy of the Idol finals. Grade: C- .

Michael Lynche: Big Mike will sing “Eleanor Rigby,” a song he used to perform with his family. Aaron said he didn’t want to get too drastic with the arrangement of such classic songs. Clearly, Michael had no such qualms. Here’s the thing though. David Cook changed songs up in season seven, and they worked. Michael just changed up “Eleanor Rigby,” and it didn’t. It really didn’t. Vocally, not bad. But what is this? “Eleanor Rigby” the musical? Three judges liked or loved it; Simon didn’t. I’m with Simon. Grade: C.

Crystal Bowersox: Now that’s the way you change up a Beatles song. Another blazing performance from MamaSox. My only complaint: I would have loved to have seen Crystal let someone else play guitar while she strutted across the stage belting out that version of “Come Together.” Kara called it “slinky and sexy and fun.” Let’s just call it another top-notch vocal from a gal who takes risks that work rather than backfire. Grade: A-.

Tim Urban: Now it’s Tim time. He’ll be singing “All My Loving.” And, you know what, it’s not half bad. Look, I’ve heard the guys songs on MySpace. He has a decent voice. It was only a matter of time until he put together a performance that didn’t stink. And, tonight, he didn’t stink. So what does that mean about tomorrow night’s results show? I mean, if Tim has survived the last three weeks, he should survive that performance. Grade: B.

Casey James: Last week, I thought Casey James was the most impressive performer. This week, he’ll sing “Jealous Guy.” Hey, Casey’s in a zone. That was another really solid vocal. And Casey didn’t smile once, which helped sell the song. A believable performance from a guy who’s more than just a pretty face. This guy continues to grow on me. Like Crystal, he’s a performer who knows what he should be singing. Grade: A.

Siobhan Magnus: The Magnificent Screamer will sing “Across the Universe.” Give Siobhan this, she takes risks with her look. Each week, something very different. She needed to tone it down a bit this week, and she sure did. Now that was the “long and winding song.” Siobhan lost all her edge with that performance. I would have preferred something along the lines of her “House of the Rising Son” performance. Grade: C+.

Lee DeWyze: The guy who came into his own last week will be singing “Hey, Jude” this week. And I’ve already heard a song’s worth of sour notes. But, give Lee this, he’s having fun, tonight. And here comes a bagpipe player down the Idol stairway. What the heck is going on? The Beatles with bagpipes. I don’t get it. It’s nice to see Lee more relaxed on the Idol stage, but I didn’t get that performance. Grade: C.