American Idol Top 9 Recap - Lennon/McCartney

American Idol Top 9 – Lennon/McCartney Songbook
By Brian Holland
April 6, 2010

Introduction: Ryan is in the control room. We see the judges and contestants backstage from their screens in the control room. Cue American Idol logo.

The judges are introduced. Ryan is introduced. Lacey Brown is seen in the audience. The contestants are brought out. We get an introduction to Lennon and McCartney. We see a video message from Paul McCartney to the Idols, which was nice. He’s too busy to mentor, obviously. Ryan questions the judges.

And before we get a contestant to sing, we have a commercial break. I guess that’s what we get for a 2 hour American Idol and only 9 contestants. They should seriously have made tonight’s show only an hour and a half. Oh well. Up first by the way is Aaron Kelly.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

The contestants tell stuff about Aaron and they mention that they compare him to Yoda and mock him in a Yoda voice. LOL. They also say he is an incredible kid. He is singing “The Long and Winding Road”. Just like David Archuleta did two years ago. Let’s see if he gets compared to him finally.

He starts off pretty well. He isn’t as good as Archuleta, but he’s not too far off. But this song is just a tad too slow. He should choose something more upbeat. He holds a VERY long note at the end. VERY. Good job overall.

Randy: Great voice but I didn’t love the arrangement. He didn’t like how it wasn’t changed.
Ellen: It felt like a long and winding song. It was a little slow.
Kara: You’ve been good, but for this, you have to be great. Every week feels like the same performance. And I want some tempo from you.
Simon: Asks why he chose the song and why he didn’t change it. Old fashioned, boring…. (gets interrupted by a VERY loud boo, HAHA). You’ve got to become young and relevant.
Me: Everyone already said everything I was gonna say. Tempo, change it up, and have fun out there.

Katie is up next after the break.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Aaron says something which I missed because I was on the phone. Katie is interviewed by Ryan and Katie mentions she’s been asked out 5 times while on the show. The contestants mention Katie is energetic and like a little sister. She is singing “Let it Be” which Brooke White covered two years ago. Not a good song choice. ANOTHER slow one. What is with the two youngest contestants picking the slowest Beatles songs?

She starts out very slowly, obviously. Kara and Simon are seen talking to each other. Katie’s vocal however is not that great. She is asking to be the fourth straight girl to go home. Overall boring, slow, and I think she’ll be in danger.

Randy: Best performance by you ever! (Me: WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT) That was hot! That’s why you’re in the Top 9
Ellen: Perfect example of changing up a song and there’s no way you’ll be in the bottom 3 again (Oh really, Ellen?)
Kara: It’s amazing how much you’re blossoming and you’ve never sounded better.
Simon: Tonight, you got it right. He gloats how he deserves most, but not all the credit.
Me: A little slow for me, but you did all right.

Andrew Garcia is up next. Let’s see if he can repeat last week’s performance.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Katie is happy to hear the judges thought she was great and she gets hugs from Tim, Aaron, Lee, and Siobhan.

Andrew is up next. The other contestants say he is goofy and funny. Lee mentions he and Andrew are great friends now. Andrew is singing “Can’t Buy Me Love”. Finally! A song that hasn’t been covered before. And I think this is perfect for his voice too.

He starts out on the platform behind the judges. This is…. Different from the original. And not in a good way, I think. Entertaining though. Let’s see what the judges think. He does get a long ovation.

Randy: Really solid performance and you sounded good. A little corny at times, but okay.
Ellen: Perfect song choice for you and I loved it.
Kara: I want to see something new from you. You could’ve done more with your interpretation.
Simon: The band overpowered the whole arrangement and made it old-fashioned, corny, and irrelevant. So I think you and the band got it all wrong.
Me: I loved it. Great song choice for you, but you need to show off your vocals more. Perhaps pick a ballad or something next week.

Big Mike Lynche up next.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Andrew says he was honored to do Lennon/McCartney and had fun doing it.

Katie mentions Mike Lynche is like the Incredible Hulk. Casey says he snores very loudly. The girls compare him to a teddy bear. He is singing Eleanor Rigby, which was covered by David Cook in Season 7. I assume Michael will do more of a ballad like he usually does. He mentions his family used to sing it together.

He starts out with a falsetto then the song picks up. He’s got a bunch of stringed instruments behind him being played. But as the song picks up I start to like it. He does an ok job. Not as good as David Cook, of course, but good nonetheless. The audience seems to like it.

Randy: The parts that worked were great. I loved how you were feeling yourself (yes, he said that).
Ellen: You can take on anything. I loved it, it was incredible.
Kara: I thought that was FIRE. I thought the vocals were amazing. You were committed and believed it.
Simon: I didn’t love it as much as the other 3. This was the sort of thing you’d hear in musicals. I thought it made you go slightly backwards.
Me: Entertaining and good vocals. Not as good as David Cook’s two years ago, but I liked it.

Crystal’s up next. FINALLY, she’s not at the end.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Mike says he could hear himself on the radio. And he greets everyone backstage. He picks Aaron up.

Crystal is on the stools with Ryan. She talks about her hometown. They say they call her Mommasox and B-Sox. They say she is motherly, honest, and nice. She is singing Come Together. This has been done by Carly Smithson and Kris Allen. It’s on the verge of being overplayed on the show.

She is playing her guitar again of course. She starts off like you’d expect. With a bit of a swagger. There is a didgeridoo on stage, LOL. That one Australian instrument heard in the intro for Survivor. But when the song gets going she really shows off her vocals. Very solid if not great performance. Better than Carly’s version. Almost as good or just as good as Kris’s. She gets a long ovation.

Randy: Another solid performance. IDK if it was your best, but you still won me over. You’re in the zone.
Ellen: I loved the didgeridoo and you did great again.
Kara: I loved the performance. It was sexy, playful, and you were smiling (showing off her bad teeth I might add)
Simon: That’s a performance I can hear on the radio. It really worked well. As always, terrific, and better than last week.
Me: Despite your cold, you did amazing. You are in the zone like Randy said.

They get the didgeridoo guy on stage again and have him play before the break.

Ryan doesn’t announce who is up next, but we get a shot of Tim Urban holding his chin doing the thinker pose before the break. Again, subliminal American Idol messaging. Not mentioning his name before the break to try to get people to not vote for him. I know what they’re trying to do here. Trying to get Tim off the show in any legal way they can. Nice try, American Idol. You totally fail if Tim is around next week.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Crystal and Didgeridoo guy are seen back stage making fun of its name.

Ryan mentions Rihanna and Archuleta are on the show tomorrow. Yay for Archie.

The contestants say he is always smiling. Crystal says he’s a good looking guy. He is singing “All My Loving”. One of my favorite Beatles songs. He’s got the electric guitar tonight.

His vocals are actually pretty good. Well, they’re not awful. I am enjoying this though. I had fun watching it. Let’s see the judges criticize him while he smiles.

Randy: Much better performance than you’ve had in the past couple weeks. And I like the Beatles type hair.
Ellen: Perfect song choice and your 2^nd best performance and you did very well.
Kara: We have really come after you week after week. You did something solid. You can smile.
Simon: Taking everything into consideration, you did really well tonight. No gimmicks. You take the criticism like a man. I’m very very proud of you.
Me: Your best performance. That was the kind of performance which shows you deserve to be here next week.

Casey “Mr. Boring” James is up next. Why is he Mr. Boring? Because he is the only contestant to pick a song tonight that I haven’t heard of before. Yes, I know what he’s singing.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Tim said he was comfortable with the song and glad it paid off.

David Boreanz and Emily Deschanel are there at the Kodak Theater. They’re from Bones, the Fox TV show.

The contestants mention that they make fun of his looks and give him names. They mention he has a BIG laugh. They talk about his hair. He is singing “Jealous Guy”. Like I said, I’ve actually never heard it before. It’s John Lennon’s solo song.

Casey is standing center stage with his guitar. It starts out very slowly. And it doesn’t pick up. But I feel him connecting to the song and he hits one note VERY well. He is putting a lot of emotion into it. As he finishes, he steps back out of the spotlight.

Randy: I love seeing the sensitive side of you. I was impressed you took this kind of leap. It was really good. Not the perfect vocal but it was very heart-felt.
Ellen: It felt like it was about somebody, and to me, that was your best performance to date. It was so soulful. I was moved and you have pretty hair.
Kara: You showed vulnerability which was missing earlier. You showed depth. You can still push yourself though and I want you to do that.
Simon: I think it was the best performance of the night. Your stamp was made on the song, you were emotional, and I was very very impressed with you.
Me: I was a bit apprehensive at hearing the song choice, but you made it authentic and a great performance.

Up next: Tattooed Siobhan Magnus.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Lee says something which I missed because I wasn’t aware the show was back on.

The contestants say Siobhan is very weird and unique. And they like her glasses. Then they talk about her range and the notes she can hit. She is singing “Across the Universe”. I like the song choice. I believe Michael Johns did this song two years ago.

She is sitting on a stool with the lights providing a star-like effect. She is singing very slowly but her vocals are absolutely flawless. Her voice is very soothing tonight. Something a baby could fall asleep to. The song never goes up-beat (like Casey’s) but it still was a strong performance.

Randy: It was a little sleepy for me, but I liked the tender side of you.
Ellen: You are really special and talented and you always honor who you are. I thought it was beautiful.
Kara: The vocals were controlled and good but you were very restrained and too polite. I’m not sure you’d hear that on the radio, but I did like how you connected with the song.
Simon: (Asks how she connects with the song and she gives a very heart-felt answer). You are unpredictable, and you were much better than last week.
Me: That was a song that could put a baby to sleep. Very soothing and great vocals, but a little sleepy like Randy said. Try wowing us next week with a more up-tempo song.

Some guy yelled at something Simon said, and they call him upstage and he gets to hug Siobhan (jealous face).

Lee Dewyze is up next.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Siobhan backstage gets hugs from Andrew and Katie.

Lee is the gloomy one of the bunch as revealed by the contestants. He always thinks he’s going home. The Andrew-Lee bromance is revealed to be strong and Crystal makes a joke that their babies would resemble Danny Gokey. LOL! Lee is singing “Hey Jude”. No one has covered this on American Idol before. It’s a risky one. Will it pay off?

He starts out center stage with the guitar. It is a different version mainly because his vocals are so much different than McCartney’s. As the song picks up, a man with freaking bagpipes comes down the center steps from backstage to play next to him. Wow. First a didgeridoo now bagpipes. What’s next? A friggin kazoo?

Randy: It was another hot one from you. Please believe in yourself!
Ellen: You showed so much more confidence. Great job, I loved it.
Kara: You were more comfortable up there. I can hear you on the radio. It was hot.
Simon: I wouldn’t have done that (mentioning the bagpipes).
Me: Most interesting performance of the night. But one thing I noticed: you had the most confidence you ever had up there.

Wow, everyone did either ok or very well tonight. No poor performances. The only sub-par performance really was Aaron’s. Ok, I have to predict, and it will be hard. My bottom 3 might surprise you, but it is: Tim, Katie, and Michael. Based on fanbases and performances tonight. Andrew and Aaron might also be in the bottom 3. And my pick to go home is Tim. It’s his time, I think. He did well tonight, yes, but so did almost everyone else.