Idol-Talk: Season 9 Top 9 Pt2 [& Top 9 Pt1 Results]

American Idol Season 9: Top 9 Pt1 Results Show
Airdate: Wednesday, April 7 [9-10pm]

• Ryan says that there may be a shocker tonight (well, it always happens).
• The Top 9 perform a Beatles Medley.
• Ford Music Video: "Will It Go Round in Circles"
• Siobhan Magnus, Crystal Bowersox, Katie Stevens - Safe
• Next week's mentor will be Adam Lambert, and Katie's jaw drops.
• Jason Derulo performs "In My Head"
• I wasn't impressed. He was obviously imitating Michael Jackson's dance moves.
• David Archuleta performs "Imagine," which he also performed back when he was a contestant during season 7.
• Lee Dewyze, Casey James, Tim Urban - Safe
• Michael Lynche, Aaron Kelly, Andrew Garcia - Bottom 3
• Aaron Kelly - Safe
• Rihanna performs "Rockstar 101"
• Ryan announces that Big Mike has the lowest number of votes and sings "This Woman's Work" for the Save.
• Michael Lynche - JUDGE'S SAVE

American Idol Season 9: Top 9 Pt2

Airdate: Tuesday, April 13, 2010 [9-9:28pm]

Theme: Elvis

Adam Lambert is the best mentor we've had so far this season. Some say they are going to be honest, but then aren't. But Adam was very honest and gave excellent constructive criticism. And when a contestant didn't follow his advice, it showed (for the worst) in the performance (I'm specifically talking to you Tim). He needs to come back every week; or better yet, maybe he should replace Simon.

Before I get to the performances, I want to bring up Ryan Seacrest's bizarre and wacky behavior on the show last night. Did he visit Paula before the show? When he was in the audience with Adam, he made some comment about his tongue, which was strange (but hilarious). When he announced that Idol Gives back will also take place at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, he said that Brian Dunkleman would be the cohost at that location. The audience kind of clapped, not sure what to think of this news. I even believed it, but he was joking around. In actuality, Queen Latifah will be the co-host. And there were many other moments throughout the show just like these ones. But according to the contestants as reported in this article, he was trying to stay awake and it seemed like he had one of those wacky energy bursts when you are very tired. Maybe he needs to take a break. I wonder if he will address this during tonight's results show.

1. Crystal Bowersox [Saved]: For Elvis week, I thought it could have gone either way with Crystal. But she chose an up-tempo song and worked it out. Her voice (while a little off near the end) had a new edginess to it, which I loved. As Kara said, we saw her personality (a big plus!). And the electric guitar was a great addition (props to Adam Lambert for suggesting the electric over the acoustic).
2. Andrew Garcia [Hound Dog]: To me, this was a mixed performance. On the one hand, I heard a rawness to his voice at times that provided something fresh. But on the other hand, regarding the arrangement: I liked hearing something a little different done with this overdone song, but at times I wasn't sure what to make of it. So this was a mixed bag.
3. Tim Urban [I Can't Help Falling In Love]: Coming off of his best performance from last week, I was interested to see what happened this time. He wasn't as good as last week, but almost there. There still were many times that showed his limits, and he didn't take Adam's advice about ending with the high notes (which would have helped him tremendously), but overall he did really well for him.
4. Lee Dewyze [A Little Less Conversation]: Like Hound Dog, ALLC is a karaoke-type song, but Lee recovered completely from Hey Jude. His voice was top notch here, with more of that rawness emanating out. Plus, he really made an effort to outwardly show his personality, smile, and have fun.
5. Aaron Kelly [Blue Suede Shoes]: This song did not fit him at all. The rhythm didn't mesh with him; it wasn't comfortable for him. His voice, for the most part, was pretty good (there were moments I really liked). But like Andrew's, there was good and bad to it, so he didn't necessarily help himself here.
6. Siobhan Magnus [Suspicious Minds]: She's having a bumpy ride trying to recover from Through the Fire two weeks ago, with both good and bad moments last and this week. With Elvis, I echo what I just said. Adam advised her to not make it as sleepy and I still saw a little in the first half. But the second half improved a lot and her voice was great in that element.
7. Michael Lynche [In The Ghetto]: Sitting on the stairs with an acoustic guitar, Mike provided an intimate performance with the vocals at the forefront. I thought it was just beautiful, to sum it up. The only criticism I have is that it was too short (when it ended, I still thought there was supposed to be more).
8. Katie Stevens [Baby What Do You Want Me To Do?]: I was worried about her with this theme, but I had nothing to worry about. She picked a song with a message to throw back at the judges, and took Adam's advice to show her frustration, which she pulled off and it worked in the context of the song. Her voice was great as well.
• Ellen's first words out of her mouth regarding Katie's performance was that this was a horny song. She was referring to the use of the horn instruments during the song. I was laughing so hard at this joke for the rest of the night (I'm still laughing).
9. Casey James [Lawdy, Miss Clawdy]: It's hard to follow Crystal, Lee, Mike and Katie, and while he wasn't as good as them, his voice was still great. I agree with the judges that it was a little forgettable and a little generic. But it was still a fun and enjoyable performance.

Favorite Performances: Crystal Bowersox / Lee Dewyze / Michael Lynche / Katie Stevens

My Vote(s): Crystal Bowersox [40 votes]

Bottom 3 Predictions: With two going home, will there be a Bottom 3? If so: Andrew Garcia / Tim Urban / Aaron Kelly

Elimination Predictions: Andrew Garcia / Aaron Kelly

My Season 9 Vote Tracker:

Crystal Bowersox: 185 votes

Lee Dewyze: 45 votes

Siobhan Magnus: 30 votes

Michael Lynche: 15 votes

Total: 275 votes cast so far this season

I think it's pretty much a given that Andrew is a goner. But the second spot may be a couple different people. The most obvious seems to be Aaron, which is who I am choosing. But it could also be Tim (since he was good, his fans might not vote for him as much) or Katie (what I said about Tim applies here as well).

If you want to buy any of the audio or video 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, season 8 breakout star and this week's mentor Adam Lambert will perform "Whataya Want From Me," which is such a great song. See ya then...