Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Top 3

Is it just me or did the whole show play out like they didn't rehearse beforehand? Not the songs so much (those were fine), but rather the awkward banter and stilted interviews. Either they lacked practice or Ryan didn't take his usual dose of uppers tonight.

I do love to see how much more confident they all seem after getting out in the world for hometown visits to see and feel the energy of crowds of fans (even if they did make them all stand in front of an AT&T cell phone store--how lame is that?). I can't think of many locations less anti-climactic than that. Even a hole-in-the-wall Mexican place would've been more exciting.

Casey - "Okay, It's All Right To Me"
That song was in a bad key for him or maybe he was just slightly enough off to make it a bit uncomfortable. It got better throughout and he is not unpleasant to watch, but while good, it was not stellar. And what really bugged me (rather than distracted me, as does his appearance as Zach Braff with a blond wig) is that the poor guy didn't have his guitar pick ready and the band counted it out before he said to. Hello? He's the lead man, duh. And the judges pretty much agree he's salad. Or something.

Crystal - "Come To My Window"
Crystal showed up in gang-banger pants and I thought for sure this was going to be a brilliant song choice (not because of the pants, but because I thought the song style would suit her). And I was mistaken (not about the pants -- they were gang banger, but about the song . . . geez, keep up). It was good, but not as amazing as I expected (again, the song, not the pants).

Lee - "Simple Man"
Now, in Lee's case, I thought it was a GREAT song for him and I was right. It was FABULOUS and the best of the three. And I said that before the judges did, so neener neener.

Casey - "Daughters"
Casey's visit to the AT&T store where he gets a text on his AT&T phone tells us that Randy and Kara chose "Daughters" by John Mayer for him. I thought that was an excellent choice (plus, I love that song and pretty much any song by John Mayer) and I also wondered if they were going to pair up Ellen and Simon for a song choice (they didn't) or let Ellen choose her own (they did). I thought that wouldn't work well, but was proven wrong. But I digress. Back to Casey and the horrible product placement, I mean the song. He sang it without his trademark nervous smiling, so that's good. He had a short, great guitar solo. He did better than the first song he sang. And, predictably, Simon criticized the other judges' choice. He always does. ALWAYS.

Crystal - "Maybe, I'm amazed"
Wow. Go Ellen. She did really, really well with that. Wow. She didn't change the lyrics (from "man" to "woman" and "woman" to "man") and I'm glad - I always find it more weird and distracting when they do that. So, wow. That girl can really sing. She did it guitarless and all vulnerable (and in boots instead of gang banger pants this time) and it was FABULOUS! Girl's got soul. Soul indeed.

Lee - "Hallelujah"
We were going to stop after Crystal, and eat the Orange Rolls I worked on all day (seriously--I made the dough, refrigerated it for 6 hours, kneaded it again, let it rise for 3 hours, divided it and rolled it out, spread orange filling all over it, cut into triangles, rolled and shaped them, let them rise again, baked, glazed . . . so so worth it, though -- who's coming for breakfast tomorrow?), but I couldn't wait. I had to hear the song choice. And then once I did, I had to hear the song. Lee moved me to tears. He moved me. He really is the heart of the show. I felt like I was watching him have a slightly out-of-body-experience (in a good way) and he looked positively drained (again, in a good way) when he was done. I. Absolutely. Loved. It. I predicted as far back as the Top 7 that Lee would win it all. I stand by that prediction.

Going back to his hometown again: Casey
Finale: Lee and Crystal
Winning it all (perhaps in front of an AT&T sign): Lee

5 comments:

Dr. Mark said...

As wonderful as the orange rolls were (and they were amazing), it was worth waiting to hear Lee sing. And would it have hurt Ryan to stretch things out so Casey could find his pick? Heaven knows they are good at putting in the filler. I wish you would have mentioned the Kara-Simon body language after Casey's first song. That would have made for humorous reading.

John said...

You nailed it all exactly. While I really wanted Crystal to win up until now, I think Lee was profoundly changed by his visit home and came to realize how many fans he really has and how very strongly they feel about him. So tonight his aura had expanded to include his fans, and he was singing for his fans and not just for himself. He was transformed into a star tonight before our very eyes.

Crystal, however, still has a not-so-subtle air of defiance about anyone, especially the judges, trying to change her - rain on her parade, which has been implied in the lyrics of her last couple of songs - except for judge's choice, which was amazing. If she'd been stretching herself like that for the whole season, she might have had a chance of matching or beating Lee in the finals, but now I sincerely doubt it.

Anonymous said...

I missed it. Instead I was at my 6th grader's beginning band concert. Talk about torture.

If Lee wins it, I'll be surprised and impressed with your Nostradamus-like abilities.

Boquinha said...

Mark, agreed. :)

John, I think you are spot on. I'm excited for this week.

Jimmy, prepare to be surprised and impressed. You missed a good night!

J Fo said...

Neener neener?! Haha! Not much to say. The others were good...but Lee was AMAZING!!! Great songs and great emotion. He'll win. (more girls that boys vote...) Both his songs were spot on and his Hallelujah gave me chills. I liked that Ellen chose "Maybe I'm Amazed" because it's a great McCartney song, and Crystal did it justice. I also liked "Daughters" but it was a little anticlimactic. (Greg has that song as his ringer when I call him.) :) Should be a great finale next week!