American Idol Top 4

Jamie Foxx returns to Idol to mentor the top four contestants as they tackle the theme: songs from the movies. This is Foxx's second time giving advice to the Idols - Last year he spent time with the top four as well. And the way I see it, he can come back any time he wants. He's a great teacher and a fantastic talent. Jamie is always fun to watch. I particularly like it when he "Michael Mann's" the contestants... that's code for getting right up in their faces. Or when he makes contestants like Lee sing a ballad right to him. I love that he supports the show. I'm sure his Dreamgirls co-star Jennifer Hudson helped legitimize the show when she made a jump from ousted contestant to Oscar winner.

Here's what I thought of the Idols....

Lee DeWyze (Song Choice: Kiss From a Rose)

I love Lee. Love him. But this might've been his worst performance. I don't really want to say his "worst", so I'll say "not his best". I think it really proved how hard this song is to sing. I don't even really love the song. It's a little too "Batman Forever" for me. I think they need to come up with a rule that any song that has been a part of a superhero movie's soundtrack needs to be banned from the show. I'll always picture a guy in a mask, in a costume. There are too many great songs from a movie to choose from. Personally, I would've chosen "Holidng Out for a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler from Footloose despite the fact that Fantasia Barrino sang it in season 3 and got a flack for it. The song is freaking awesome. "Kiss From a Rose" was just a little too predictable for Lee....

Michael Lynche (Song Choice: Will You Be There)

This was the perfect song for Michael Lynche. This is one of my favorite songs from a movie, gives me chills every time I hear it. I don't care that it's from a movie about a whale ( "Free Willy"). It's one of my favorite MJ songs. I wanted someone to sing it last year. I sat from my couch and said this exact thing. This could've been a Gokey moment. The song, the choir... it has all the makings of a moment on this show. I think the judges were shockingly hard on him. I hate to say it, but compared to Lee... he had a much bigger moment on stage. I should vote for him because he was smart enough to sing this song. He sang it pretty well, but honestly I am just ready to see him go.

Crystal & Lee (Song Choice: Falling Slowly)

I loved this performance. iTunes... 99 cents.. bring it. This was a really special performance on this show...definitely one of my favorites of the season. This shows what amazing things both of these contestants, I mean artists, will bring once the show is over. It was so honest and it just showed their true talents... these guys need to be in the finale and we need to see it again.

Oh good Lord, they just showed Casey as they went to commerical. He's wearing a green jacket. I have a feeling I'm going to hate this performance.

Casey James (Song Choice: Mrs. Robinson)

I'm sorry I didn't know that Eddie Vedder tried out for the show. Sounded like something from the "Into the Wild" soundtrack. I feel like he gets a little bit more of a quiver in his voice every week.. Like he's trying to be Lee? Trying to be Eddie Vedder? or Daughtry? I don't know. Suprisingly though, I kind of liked it. I did however think it was a bit sleepy and an easy choice for him. He could've pushed himself a little more. And I was a little uncomfortable with the Kara (Mrs. Robinson)-Casey (William) connection. They need to seriously chill with that.

P.S. I hate the jacket. He should get kicked off for that.

Crystal Bowersox (Song Choice: I'm Alright)

Fun song choice for Crystal. I love that she picked a Kenny Loggins song. You can't have a "sing a song from the movies" without a Kenny Loggins hit. He's the king of soundtracks. Footloose, Top Gun, Caddyshack (1 AND 2), Over the Top (Arm wrestling movie with Sly Stallone..."Meet Me Halfway" is a classic song). Crystal did a damn good job making this song bluesy, a little country... gave it a whole new feel. The girl is an artist. She just makes it look so freaking easy.

Casey & Big Mike (Song Choice: Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?)

Haven't you heard? I've said it before...I do not like Bryan Adams. I do not like anything by him post the Reckless album. And it includes this song. I'm not even surprised that Big Mike chose it.... it's so up his alley. Because he's kind of a puss. and he loves talking about a woman, loving a woman, making love to a woman, having a baby with a woman. With all that said.. they did a nice job. It was no Crystal and Lee performance, but they did really well together....BUT I'm hoping they are the bottom 2.

Prediction for the Bottom 2: Casey & Big Mike

American Idol Top 5

This week the Idols take on the songbook of Frank Sinatra and my first reaction was... "Well that's kind of boring". You know that only about 20% are going to give good performances and it's pretty much Idol going old again. BUT...add the music and personality of one Harrick Connick, Jr and you got yourself a show. Now...I knew I liked Harry Connick Jr. before... but now... Now, I love him. I'm in awe of his talent, his humor, his charisma, his voice, and his looks. He's a total triple-threat. He was adorable in Hope Floats, made us laugh as Leo in Will & Grace, and was creepy as hell in Copycat. He gave us the music in When Harry Met Sally. The guy is a genius. And he's been married to the same woman for about 16 years (Former Victoria's Secret Model Jill Goodacre. You may remember her as "the girl in the ATM vestibule with Chandler on 'Friends'...It's so suprise she is very pretty). This guy has it all and has one pretty impressive resume.

Here's What I Thought of the Idols:

Aaron Kelly (Song Choice: Fly Me to the Moon)

I really think that Aaron brought it for this show. He looked clean cut and adorable and totally played up the part. Young girls at home were going crazy I'm sure. I really think he sung it to win it. He was good, but not really great. Time is likely up for young Aaron. He just can't hang with Lee and Crytal.

Casey James (Song Choice: Blues Skies)

This was pretty brutal. I wouldn't say it was about the voice as much Randy thought. It was just a little awkward for me. It was clear he was awkward without his guitar and I appreciate his honesty about how uncomfortable he was. Besides his shaky voice, he seemed liked he just seemed unbalanced, like he kept the microphone in his right hand, leaned to the right and that's all he did. He failed to work the stage and have swagger. Now, I don't know if I would've told some young guy he sounded like a lamb (KARA).. that is just plain mean, but let's be honest... not Casey's best. In trouble.

Crystal Bowersox (Song Choice: Summer Wind)

Crystal sang this song well, and I always think that the contestants with the cool raspy voices do better in weeks where they have to sing songs like Sinatra. They just have more of an ability to make the song their own. It will always sound different. BUT...the truth is: I don't love this song. It's actually what I call "my bathroom song". Random? Yes. Well, my sister got married about 7 years ago and I was her Maid of Honor. We spent a lot of time working on the music list for the reception. And we meant serious business. I mean, it's all about the music and the booze, right?! Right. We were so serious about the music, we listed it out hour by hour, song by song. Cocktail hour, dinner, late night dancing. We had it all figured out... until I realized we didn't factor in requests! (Turned out I was the gatekeeper of requests and a great one at that) Turned out, we pretty much liked every song we had on our list, and we realized...well, if we like EVERY song, when are we going to take a bathroom break?! So we strategically picked songs that we didn't mind missing out on. Since I was lukewarm about this tune... Summer Wind = Bathroom song. So now, I just don't love hearing this tune...You just can't love a song that reminds you of going to the bathroom.

Anyways, Crystal needs to seriously step it up and stop the back-talking on stage. She's making me more uncomfortable every week. If I'm annoyed, America is getting annoyed. Don't piss off America, Bowersox.

Michael Lynche (Song Choice: The Way You Look Tonight)

Big Mike was totally in it to win it and he sang this song perfectly, but I really can't believe that Simon has never told him he's self-indulgent. He completely is. And it's starting to rub me the wrong way. Sure, he seems like a nice guy. He's a lover. And kind of a wuss. He's the kind of guy that says he's going to "make love to a woman"... and that's kind of creepy. I'm a little over the chest bumps and I'm sorry but isn't there a little HGH use involved here? His upper body is completely disproportionate to his lower body. I just think the road needs to end here for Big Mike.

Lee Dewyze (Song Choice: That's Life)

Perfect song for Lee. This performance just made me smile. I'm all about the raspy voice. He kind of had an awkwardly cool Michael Buble thing going on with his dancing and stage presence. He's humbled too. I love his quiet confidence. Lee killed it... I think he just locked in a place for himself in the final...a Lee vs Crystal finale.

In Trouble: Anyone but Lee and Crystal

And the results are now in: Goodbye Aaron!