Idol-Talk: Season 9 Top 10 [& Top 11 Results]

American Idol Season 9: Top 11 Results Show
Airdate: Wednesday, March 24, 2010 [9-10pm]

• The Top 11 lip-sync their way through "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"
• Ford Commercial: "Our Time Now"
• Ryan chats with the contestants
• Paige Miles - Bottom 3
• Tim Urban - Bottom 3
• We find out next week's theme will be R&B/Soul (with mentor Usher)
• The Top 11 mentor, Miley Cyrus, performs "When I Look At You" in a pre-recorded performance. It was so obvious because whenever you saw the judge's area, it was plain as day that those were look-alike stand-in's sitting in those chairs.
• Katie Stevens - Bottom 3
• Katie Stevens is safe
• Demi Lovato & Joe Jonas perform "Make a Wave" live.
• Paige Miles has the lowest number of votes. Before she even has the chance to sing for her survival, Simon announces that the judges will not save her.
• Paige Miles - Eliminated [Correct Prediction: 1/1]
• After the goodbye montage, Paige sings "All Right Now"
• Season 9 Correct Predictions: 8/14

American Idol Season 9: Top 10

Airdate: Tuesday, March 30, 2010 [8-10pm]

Theme: R&B/Soul

Here's an interesting new addition to the show: After coming back from each commercial break, they are showing footage of the previous performer's immediate reaction after leaving the stage, either in the form of their comments to the camera or going back to the green room and being greeted by the other singers. When we saw Siobhan go backstage, she was obviously mad and didn't really want to talk to the others. So it'll be interesting to see if they keep doing this from here on out. It definitely makes for dramatic reality TV, depending on how the judges critiqued them.

1. Siobhan Magnus [Through the Fire]: She started off in the lower register, which didn't work with her vocals. I was hoping the power notes in the last half would improve the performance, but the pitch problems lingered all throughout. This was definitely her worst performance, unfortunately. But, you know what, even the better singers on the show need to have off nights so that American doesn't get complacent with their voting leading to an early elimination.
2. Casey James [Hold On I'm Coming]: Vocally, this was one of his best performances. On that end, I don't think there were any problems. But I still think he needs to loosen up more a little, move around the stage more, but besides that, this is the best he's been in a while.
3. Michael Lynche [Ready For Love]: Casey started the ball rolling, and Big Mike continued it with a solid performance. His vocals were soulfully engaging as usual, and while I kind of agreed with Randy about it not being as exciting, his voice was what sold it.
4. Didi Benami [What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted]: While I agree with the judges that it isn't a top performance, I thought it was at least better than they made it out to be. The ending was really sharp, though, but the first half was somewhat good.
5. Tim Urban [Sweet Love]: Once again, this was a terrible performance from Tim. He can't hold a strong note in his lower register, and he didn't really own the stage. His eyes seemed too confused, and he couldn't relax and enjoy it.
6. Andrew Garcia [Chris Brown's Forever]: I have been waiting for him to improve, and tonight he stepped it up quite a bit. His voice brings you in (when he's good), so I'm relieved that he stopped that downward spiral. This was one of the better performances tonight.
7. Katie Stevens [Chain of Fools]: This song has been done to death on this show, and this was such a predictable choice for Katie. The vocals seemed consistent from last week (which is a fairly good thing), but it wasn't always in tune. However, her voice was at its best during the ending.
8. Lee Dewyze [Treat Her Like A Lady]: Lee has provided the best performance of the night so far. He is coming into his own more and more, and starting to put the nerves away (little by little) as he's growing and improving. It was as if we were at a rock concert.
9. Crystal Bowersox [Midnight Train To Georgia]: This is another song that's been done a lot on this show, but Crystal changed the arrangement and stripped it down to bring another exceptional vocal. The slower feel drew me in and I was hooked. And her falsetto was great.
10. Aaron Kelly [Ain't No Sunshine]: Another overdone song on American Idol. Overall, he did pretty well. My continuous problem with him is that I don't think his musical experience is vast enough yet to feel safe picking less familiar songs (or less overdone songs).

Favorite Performances: Crystal Bowersox / Lee Dewyze / Michael Lynche / Andrew Garcia / Casey James

My Vote(s): Lee Dewyze [15 votes] / Crystal Bowersox [30 votes]

Bottom 3 Prediction: Didi Benami / Tim Urban / Andrew Garcia

Elimination Prediction: Tim Urban

My Season 9 Vote Tracker:

Crystal Bowersox: 110 votes

Lee Dewyze: 45 votes

Siobhan Magnus: 20 votes

Michael Lynche: 15 votes

Total: 190 votes cast so far this season

When I was considering who could be in the Bottom 3 this week, I immediately chose Didi and Tim. But the third spot is a little trickier. It could be Andrew Garcia, Katie Stevens, or Aaron Kelly. Aaron was just okay, but he performed last, so he has the edge. Katie was pretty good, but since she was in the bottom 3 last week, her fans have probably rallied around her this week enough to spare her from a repeat appearance. And even though Andrew gave one of the better performances of the night, his fans may think he's safe and may not have voted for him as much, thus a possible Bottom 3 appearance. That is why I have chosen Andrew to take the third spot, but like I said, I would not be surprised at all if Katie or Aaron are there instead.

Now, in terms of who will be going home, this one seems easier to predict. It's between Didi and Tim. My initial instinct says to choose Tim, for obvious reasons. But will it be Didi instead? While that's a great possibility, here's my reasoning for her staying: After her performance, Ryan tried to pry out of her the reason she chose that song and why she was emotional. She said there was a personal reason to it, but wouldn't divulge any further. Her on-stage emotions, combined with Ryan's prodding, may well be enough to spare her from elimination this week (and even the Bottom 3 altogether, which could make for some drama if that were to happen). Thus, my prediction is Tim Urban to go home.

If you want to buy any of the audio performances, head on over to TV Watch Online's American Idol on iTunes page. If you don't see this week's links up when viewing that page, they may not be released on iTunes yet. If that is the case, keep checking back.

Tonight, we find out which contestant will be the first to perform on Tour. Plus, this week's mentor (Usher), Diddy, and season 2 winner Ruben Studdard will all perform. See ya then...