Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Look at that.

Adam Lambert excelled as a judge.

Idol’s judges rushed things along at the end and managed to end American Idol on time for all the fans of “Glee.”

And none of our season nine contestants got so shook up on Elvis Week that they stunk up the Idol stage, as we all know some of them are capable of doing.

Heck, a downright gleeful night.

Enjoy the mood for 24 hours. Tomorrow night, Idol turns cruel, sending two of these singers off to heartbreak hotel. (Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.)

Now, tonight’s recap.

Best of the Night: If you want to start off an Idol performance episode on the right note, just dial up MamaSox. She plucked an unlikely tune (“Saved”) from the Elvis songbook, then owned it. Hey, it fit her style. I’m not sure a bejeweled electric guitar is my favorite accessory for best-when-acoustic Crystal Bowersox. But with vocals like those, who’s going to complain?

Runners-up: Gee, didn’t Lee DeWyze look confident and comfortable on stage Tuesday night? Sorta like the Lee DeWyze we saw two weeks ago, right? Before he decided it would be wise to have a bagpiper interrupt last week’s performance. (Hint: It wasn’t.) Great vocal on “A Little Less Conversation” puts Lee right back in the game as an Idol front-runner.

And, wow, if Tim Urban keeps turning in performances like these, Vote for the Worst is going to have to dump him for being too good. A couple of singers decided to sing ballads from the King of Rock and Roll. Tim did it best, with an assist from Mr. Adam Lambert. Very nice ending to “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” guys.

Deserves to go home: Adam encouraged Andrew Garcia to change up “Hound Dog,” so he slowed it down, turning it into the tamest “Hound Dog” I’ve ever heard. No, no, no, no, no. I watched it back a second time. It didn’t get any better. Time for Idol voters to stamp Andrew: return to sender.

Aaron Kelly admitted “Blue Suede Shoes” probably didn’t fit his personality. Sure didn’t. And that made it a tough sell, despite a not-bad vocal. Anyone else get the sense that the judges have pretty much given up on the teen from Sonestown? I get the feeling Idol wanted a David Archuleta clone. And it just didn’t work.

Please save her: Speaking of judges turning on a contestant, Siobhan Magnus, who once could do no wrong, has gotten harsh critiques two straight weeks. She deserved it last night. That was a Jekyll and Hyde performance of “Suspicious Minds.” Personally, I liked the first half, before Siobhan started screaming again. In the second half, Siobhan was clearly stretching for an Adam Lambert type moment. And the moment exploded all over the place. Adam could have pulled it off; Siobhan could not. Still, this competition needs her. She’s never boring.

Surprise of the night: Casey James got the privilege of closing the show. I was expecting so much. Especially after superb performances the past two weeks. Especially with a theme that seemed like a fastball down the middle of the plate for a guitar player who loves the blues. Then, of all the Elvis songs to sing, he picked “Lawdy, Miss Claudy.” And he didn’t do anything special with it. Such a letdown.

Baffled by the judges: They were a little kinder than I would have been to Michael Lynche. Here’s a big guy with a big voice who should have slain Elvis. Instead, he chose to put us to sleep with “In the Ghetto.” The vocal was fine. But for a guy who was almost eliminated a week ago … a guy who needed to make a statement this week … just OK, Dawg, just OK.

Best line of the night from the judges: Ellen DeGeneres, to Tim Urban: “The first time I tried a shot of tequila, I didn’t really like it. Then I trieed another. And another. And another. Then I liked it. That’s how I feel about you.”

Prediction for Wednesday: They were in the bottom three last week. Had they been the low vote-getters, I doubt either would have been saved. And I think, tomorrow night, Idol will say goodbye to Andrew Garcia and Aaron Kelly. The other contestant who should be nervous: Katie Stevens.

Song by song grades (the live blog):

Crystal Bowersox: A-
Lee DeWyze: B+
Tim Urban: B
Siobhan Magnus: B-
Katie Stevens: B-
Michael Lynche: B-
Casey James: B-
Aaron Kelly: C+
Andrew Garcia: C-

Coming tomorrow morning: A photo gallery from Tuesday’s show.

Coming tomorrow evening: Live blogging during the results show, with a recap to follow.