In just two weeks, we'll have our American Idol. Where has this season gone? The Top 4 took the stage looking much more casual this week than they were for Frank Sinatra Week.
With the theme of Songs from the Movies, who better to bring back as a guest judge than Jamie Foxx? He sings, he acts in movies, and he was a good guest judge on Season 8's Rat Pack week. I tried to pay attention to his clips package, but I was too distracted by the tattoo on his head. OUCH!
The Idols were judged during their meetings with Jamie Foxx. He made t-shirts (well, I don't know if he made them himself, but it's pretty awesome to think of J.Foxx ironing letters onto shirts the night before his Idol meeting) that either said "Artist" or "Contestant," and based on how they performed in their session with the star, he'd present them with one of the two shirts. That's a lot of extra pressure on top of already being intimidated to perform for Jamie.
Lee DeWyze was the first singer of the night. Would Jamie consider him a Contestant or an Artist? Over the weekend I played my weekly "Check Out iTunes and Predict Who Should Sing What Game," I decided that "Kiss From A Rose" would be a great choice for Michael Lynche, but it was also a solid choice for Lee DeWyze, who selected that song. Jamie got right up in his face as he did to Danny Gokey last season, and Lee was not thrown off by this stare down. Jamie gave him an Artist t-shirt for now. Lee took the stage and performed the Seal song from "Batman Forever." That movie has the best soundtrack. I remember waiting in line to see that movie and sneaking in a chicken sandwich, fries, and drink under my shirt, even though the soda was bigger than I was at the time. Forgetting Harry Connick Jr.'s vocabulary lesson from last week, Randy called Lee's performance "pitchy" in some spots and wanted to see the rocker sing a rock song. Ellen thought Lee could've done more with the song, but she thinks he sang it really well, and she told him what the ladies in the audience were also chanting, "I love ya." Kara thought the song was kind of all-over, but still thinks Lee is great. Simon said he should've gotten the Contestant t-shirt. That t-shirt is all yours, Simon. It wouldn't kill ya to add some dimension to your wardrobe!
Michael Lynche took on the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, with "Will You Be There." Like Lee's song, this song was from a movie during Mike's formative years -- "Free Willy." I remember averting my eyes from the screen at the end of the movie to avoid crying in front of my friends, but I should have plugged my ears because that song is emotional. When Mike met with Jamie he was told to dance, and then Jamie encouraged him to punch his hands. I'm not really sure how that tied into anything, but it garnered him a Contestant t-shirt which Mike politely turned down and said he'd wait for an Artist one. Big Mike started his performance on the staircase, and he was backed by a small, but powerful choir. The performance was just "a'ight" for Randy, and Ellen thought it was predictable, but good. She also said that song is "from one of the great movie classics, 'Free Willy'." Kara wanted Mike to give her goosebumps again, and Simon had no idea what "Free Willy" was and why Michael would pick to sing a song about a whale. Ryan asked for Nemo's Dory (Ellen) to explain the movie to Simon, but this is a one-hour show so we had to keep on movin'.
It was time for the first duet of the night and with that, I squealed. I didn't know who was paired up or what they were performing, but I loved the duets when they were introduced last year. The first duet of the night was with Lee DeWyze & Crystal Bowersox to the Oscar-winning song, "Falling Slowly," from "Once." AH, I love this song! I loved it when I first heard it, I loved it when Kris sang it last year; it's so beautiful. Crystal and Lee did an amazing job with it, and you could tell Kara was into it because she was clapping the way Paula Abdul would clap at the judges' table. I have a feeling we'll be seeing this duet on the road this summer! Randy commented that this could be a hit right now. Ellen called them the new Captain and Tenille. The claps don't lie; Kara said this was one of her favorite moments of the entire season, and explained, "You both felt like artists. I loved the way you interacted, the chemistry, the support. You brought out the best in both of you and that's what duets are about." Simon said "I don't know if I'd call that a good song..." [What?] "...I'd call it a fantastic song!" And the audience rejoiced. Crystal and Lee talked about how it was a little awkward the first few times they practiced while looking longingly in each others' eyes, but then Crystal called Lee her "musical crush," which she admitted to him back at Chicago auditions. Cute!
When I played my "Check Out iTunes and Predict Who Should Sing What Game," I jokingly said that Casey James must sing "Mrs. Robinson" and dedicate it to Kara. My jaw dropped when Ryan announced that Casey was up next with "Mrs. Robinson" by Simon & Garfunkel from "The Graduate." Jamie has a Texas bond with Casey James, so they hit it off immediately. Keeping with "The Graduate" theme, Jamie told Casey to seduce him when he sang. Casey's performance for Jamie earned him an Artist shirt. Casey took a seat amongst the crowd and sang as he played the mandolin. He seemed to have changed his song up a little more than the previous performances of the evening. Randy poked at Casey and asked what the song means to him, and Casey said, "A lot of things," meanwhile Simon pointed at Kara. Ellen joked that she wished they gave Casey a "big boy guitar," and Casey said "this is what a guitar looks like on Mike." While Randy, Ellen, and Simon wanted to see more done with the song, Kara thought this performance showed that Casey is fighting to stay in the competition, because he was vulnerable during his performance.
Crystal Bowersox hoped to bring up the mood of the night with "I'm Alright" by Kenny Loggins from "Caddyshack," another movie Simon has probably never heard of. "Why on earth would you sing a song about a gopher on a golf course?" I could hear him say in his British accent. When Crystal met with Jamie Foxx, she said she was intimidated and starstruck, but she worked it out for the mentor and earned herself an Artist shirt. Crystal took the stage with her lamp microphone stand and her guitar, and she changed the song up to fit who she is as an artist. Ellen said the song got "Crystalized" and she said that Crystal made the song even better. Kara and Randy agreed with Ellen, and Simon said that Crystal is back in the game. In the theme of Movie Night, Crystal's boyfriend, who was supporting her in the audience, was wearing
American flag pants that Diedrich Bader's character wore in "Napoloen Dynamite."
The night ended with another duet. Weee! This time, the two eldest finalists, Casey James and Mike Lynche, who teamed up for Bryan Adams' "Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman" from "Don Juan DeMarco." This song choice made me nervous because this is the song that put Matt Giraud out of the competition before he was saved last season. No need to worry though, this pair pulled it off and sang with their acoustic guitars. Casey rocked on the lead guitar, and Michael's vocals were spot on. They harmonized well, and they didn't shy away from the high-pitched part of the song. Randy loved the guitar playing from Casey, and he liked Mike's sexy, sultry vocals. Ellen agreed to loving a woman, and Kara and Simon both thought that the duets were the highlight of the night, and told Jamie to award "the duets" an "Artist" t-shirt. I cannot wait for these duets on tour. Hear me out, tour producers!
Despite two solid duets, one finalist would have to leave the competition. Who would it be?
EPISODE RECAPS
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Top 4
Tuesday, May 11th 2010
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May 2010
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April 2010
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March 2010
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February 2010
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January 2010