Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Let’s step back in time. To week eight of season eight of American Idol.

Idol had thrown a Rat Pack theme at the final five. And, when the singing ended, when the show was over, this is what I wrote …

“Please, Idol, do me a favor. Take the Rat Pack theme week concept, tuck it in the back of some dark closet and never bring it out into the light again.

That was excruciating. No wonder you’re offering folks an autographed photo if they download one of this week’s performances. After that show, I’d suggest upping the ante.”

Flash back to the present. Idol season nine is down to five contestants. And what theme does Idol serve up?

Frank Sinatra week, of course.

Am I expecting an excrutiating evening Tuesday?

Oh, yeah.

Am I again baffled by the choices made by the producers of this show?

Oh, yeah.

A Frank Sinatra theme week makes no sense for a show that wants it’s singers to be current.

Enough grumbling. On with this week’s rankings.

1. Crystal Bowersox (1): The best news out of country week was the affirmation that MamaSox has a solid fan base. She turned in her weakest performance, got lackluster reviews from the judges, yet didn’t land in the final five. And, by weak performance, I’m talking more about the song’s arrangement that Crystal’s vocal; the former detracted from the latter. Still in a class of her own among this cast.

2. Lee DeWyze (2): He and Crystal are the only contestants to never land in the bottom three, and oddsmakers are predicting a Lee-Crystal finale. I’m sure there’s something in the Sinatra songbook Lee can perform well. Hopefully much better than he did performed Shania Twain’s “You’re the One.” That was Lee’s weakest performance in weeks.

3. Michael Lynche (3): Get the tissues ready, ladies. The combination of Big Mike and the songs of Sinatra almost guarantee we’re in store for a weepy ballad. Hey, at least the fedora he’s fond of wearing will fit right in with this week’s theme. Michael found himself back in the bottom three last week, the first time that’s happened since the week four save.

4. Casey James (4): Well, Frank Sinatra was known as Ol’ Blue Eyes. Casey has blue eyes. Musically? There’s nothing to convince me this pairing won’t be a disaster. Casey had a wonderful opportunity to establish himself as a front-runner over the past three weeks and didn’t do it. Now it’s hard to imagine him as the season nine winner.

5. Aaron Kelly (5): On the other hand, Aaron is sure to sing pretty well Tuesday night, like he always does. And he’ll be completely forgettable, which he always is. But he’ll seem earnest, and that’s probably going to be enough to get him into this season’s final four. The judges just better not tell Aaron he sounded too old. Hey, it’s your pick of theme weeks, Idol.