Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Tonight marks Shania Twain’s return to American Idol.

The last time we met Shania on Idol was the Chicago audition episode. You remember. She was panting over John Park, between giggles.

Sorry, Shania, but John’s not with us anymore. Turns out he didn’t sing nearly as well as you thought he looked.

And what we really need is for you to put the silliness aside and coax some believable country music out of our final six.

Personally, I think we could be in for one of better episodes of the season.

I mean, check out the remaining singers. Lee DeWyze, Casey James and Crystal Bowersox should be able to go country with ease.

Big Michael Lynche might have sung hip-hop pre-Idol, but he’s scrapped that image and looks perfectly at home with an acoustic guitar.

Aaron Kelly? Hey, country is what he does best.

That leaves Siobhan “Screamer” Magnus. OK, that might be a challenge.

But remember Adam Lambert’s version of “Ring of Fire” on country night last week. It was a reminder of how far the genre can be bent to fit an artist’s musical strengths.

Not that I’d compare Siobhan to Adam at this point.

Oh, remember that strange Idol Gives Back episode. Apparently, the effort raised $45 million.

Great work to all the Idols who helped out, folks like David Cook, Carrie Underwood, Kris Allen, etc.

Now, the song-by-song grades …

Lee DeWyze: The guy who’s been on a roll of late will kick things off with “You’re Still the One.” Ouch. OK, maybe Crystal should start and finish each show. I just was not a big fan of that. He seemed awfully sharp and pitchy through most of that song. His weakest performance in weeks. Well, he’s getting great reviews from the judges, better by far than I thought he deserved. Grade: C+.

Michael Lynche: Big Mike follows Lee DeWyze, singing Shania’s “It Only Hurts When I Breathe.” Michael did a nice job of twisting a country song to fit his style. Very nice vocal, with some really nice notes at the end. No doubt, this guy has a very good voice. That wasn’t one of those magic Idol moments I thought Shania night might pull out of Michael, but it was certainly good enough to keep him out of danger again. Grade: B-.

Casey James: After finishing in the bottom three for the first time last week, Casey needs to come through with a solid performance. Hopefully one that comes across as a little more sincere than “Lawdy, Miss Claudy” or “Don’t Stop.” What Shania has been saying about feeling a song might strike a chord with Casey. Casey sounds like he’s learned the error of his ways, and follows that up with one of his best performances in weeks. No cheesy smile, just spot-on vocals. Not nearly as good as “Jealous Man,” but lots better than the last two weeks. Grade: B+.

Crystal Bowersox: MamaSox already has Shania’s signature on her guitar. She’ll be singing “No One Needs To Know Right Now.” Wow, what a voice. My only complaint is that there were too many instruments, plus a background singer. I would have preferred hearing just Crystal and her guitar and that wonderful voice. Simon called it limp. There was a little too much background noise distracting from Crystal’s voice for me. Grade: B.

Aaron Kelly: This should be Aaron’s night on Idol. He’s performed country music as numerous fairs in Pennsylvania. He’ll sing “It’s in the Way You Loved Me.” Well, I think it’s pretty clear Aaron should be singing country music. He seemed perfectly at home with that song and his vocal was as good as any we’ve heard tonight. From the charisma standpoint, he still ranks last among this group. But that was probably his best performance since the finals started. Grade: B+.

Siobhan Magnus: The Magnificent Screamer looks like a fashion disaster and is taking on one of the most recognizable Shania Twain songs, “Any Man of Mine.” This vocal is about as tortured as that outfit. Is she shouting or singing? Sounds like more shouting than singing to me. And here goes the scream with no purpose, other than to scream. Nice ending note, but my word, all the missed notes to that point. If attitude counted, she’d get great marks. But this is a singing, not a screaming competition. And I have no idea what the praise-happy judges were listening to. Grade: D.

Check back in a few for the recap blog.