Idol’s Lame Duck

Casey, Casey, Casey…last night couldn’t have been easy for you. You were up against two VERY strong competitors and you didn’t pack any punch. I almost feel it’s a waste of time to even review your performances last night but here I go anyways…though I think Casey has skills with a guitar and has a pleasant singing voice, his performances are dull and snooze-worthy. Casey’s first song choice, which I can’t even remember the name of, proves it’s forgettable. He needed a song that the audience knows and can connect with and in return will bring him higher votes. As he sang John Mayer’s “Daughters” it was refreshing to see him do something so out of his comfort zone but that didn’t overrule the fact that his vocals were lazy and he just couldn’t dazzle me last night or ever really.

Crystal’s performances were solid as always. Her better performance was her second song, “Maybe I’m Amazed”, which happens to be one of my favorite songs. I agree with the judges that this song was different for her and I like her showcasing some new range in her vocal ability and I thought that might be hard to top but then…

…Lee takes the stage. First he performs “Simple Man” and it fits him perfectly; he sounds amazing and he’s connecting with the audience. He just rules! But it’s his rendition of “Hallelujah” that knocks my socks off. I loved how he started off just him and the guitar…then the orchestra slowly joins in and by the time the backstage opens up and the choir begins to sing, I have chills. Amazing! Not only did I think it would be hard to top Crystal’s performance but he did more than that. He was better than Crystal and he was just as good if not better than Jason Castro who was the last contestant that did an awesome job on “Hallelujah.”

This week felt like an all out brawl between Crystal and Lee. Sorry Casey but you are obviously the lame duck. In my humble opinion, I think Lee knocked Crystal out for the count but my dear husband would argue with me till he’s blue in the face that Crystal was last nights champ. (What the heck are you smoking? Or do we need to get your ears checked?) Well honey, I love to be right and I’m willing to bet that next week Lee is the winner of this season’s American Idol. I’m not even conflicted like I’ve been in past seasons. So name your price dear husband and I’ll take that bet.

Let’s hope and pray these two can bring this much heat for next weeks finale.