Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Gee, bet everyone can’t wait until the performances from tonight’s episode of American Idol are available for download, right?

I’m guessing not.

Seriously, folks, what relevancy do songs like “Blue Skies,” “Summer Wind” and “That’s Life” have to do with anything these Idols are going to record on their debut albums once the season ends.

No doubt, the songs are classics. They have their place.

Like on a Frank Sinatra CD. Or in an old Fred Astaire movie.

But not being performed by American Idol contestants. Especially not by Idol contestants who are so often criticized for not being current, for not seeming young enough, for not seeming commercial enough.

Check out the years those songs were written and first recorded by Frank …

* “Fly Me to the Moon”: Written in 1954, recorded by Frank in 1964.

* “Blue Skies”: Written in 1926, recorded by Frank in 1946.

* “Summer Wind”: Written in 1965, recorded by Frank in 1966.

* “The Way You Look Tonight”: Written in 1936, recorded by Frank in 1964.

* “That’s Life”: Written in 1966, recorded by Frank the same year.

I mean, asking the contestants to sing these songs is like asking Lady Gaga to show up tomorrow night and sing a Shania Twain tune.

Gaga, by the way, will be performing during Wednesday’s results show.

I know. It makes about as much sense as having Shakira perform on country week. Hey, it’s Idol.

Meanwhile, for the second straight week, I had to watch the first 10 minutes of “Glee” to hear music I’d want to hear a second time.

Bad sign, Idol. Very bad sign.

On with the recap:

Best of the night: Crystal Bowersox. By far. If the judges didn’t appreciate that vocal, they must have had mud in their ears. Of course, this is the same gang of four that went gaga every time Siobhan Magnus screamed. Perhaps you should have come out screaming, Crystal. Or at least flopped a fedora over those dreads. On second thought, be yourself. Don’t change a thing. I, for one, appreciated the way you started “Summer Wind” softly and built the song.

Runner-up: Michael Lynche, I guess. By default, more or less. The judges raved over his performance. I think they were fooled by the fedora. Seriously. That’s why I’m suggesting Crystal wear one next week. Look, Big Mike does seem more at home on the stage than some of the other Idols. Charisma has never been his downfall. And his singing is always at least OK. But if I want to hear “The Way You Look Tonight,” I’ll take Fred singing to Ginger Rogers over that rendition any day.

Worst of the night: Did you hear the big news? Casey James was so horrible tonight, Vote for the Worst immediately dumped Big Mike as its poster boy and adopted Casey instead. Can’t say I blame them. Casey’s performance was every bit as bad as I feared would result from mixing Ol’ Blue Eyes with Idol’s blue-eyed guitarist. Especially since Idol stripped him of his guitar.

Surprise of the night: I should probably refer to it as the revelation of the night. Simon Cowell loves Frank Sinatra music. I didn’t know that. Or else I’d forgotten it. Perhaps that’s why we had to suffer through Rat Pack week last year at this point and Sinatra Week on Tuesday night. Of course, this year, there wasn’t an Adam Lambert around to salvage the show.

Baffled by the judges: The judges loved Lee DeWyze’s version of “That’s Life.” Really? True, Simon, as you pointed out, Lee no longer looks like he’s going to faint from a bad case of nerves when he gets out on stage. But the ability to stand upright doesn’t merit high praise at this point in the competition. We should be judging the singing. And that was not a very good vocal. Not at all. Perhaps Lee’s worst yet.

Best line of the night from the judges: Simon to Aaron Kelly: “Frank Sinatra was the king of cool. He had a swagger. He had believability. If he was a lion, you were just a mouse.”

Stupidest line of the night from the judges: Randy to Crystal: “That was a little bit sleepy to me.” Wake up, Dawg! THAT WAS A SLEEPY THEME!!!

Prediction for Wednesday: If the results are based on Tuesday’s performances, no way anyone other than Casey James goes home.

Song by song grades (blog here):

Crystal Bowersox: “Summer Wind” — B+
Michael Lynche: “Someone to Watch Over Me” — B-
Aaron Kelly: “Fly Me to the Moon” — C+
Lee DeWyze: “That’s Life” — C-
Casey James: “Blue Skies” — F