American Idol
Season 9
A Walk Down Memory Lane
By TNLADY

With the finale of American Idol just around the corner, I thought it would be fun to go back and revisit some of the highlights of this season, as well as give the readers a little more insight into our Final 2 contestants.

Haeley Vaughn, age 16, who was allowed to have her nose pierced as a reward for making it to the Top 24 Idol contestants.  This young lady had a beautiful smile, but her vocals were not even comparable to some of the ladies who made the cut.  On her first night of live performances, the judges told Haeley that she ‘performed like a wind up doll that never stopped smiling, terrible, has great stage presence, has come to have fun, can’t hit high notes well.’  I am not sure why she was selected for the Top 24, other than her smile and confidence in performing were above average.  She didn’t reach the Top 12 this season.

Lilly Scott, the lady with the ‘punk rock style’ shared that this time last year she was living out of her car.  Her first performance wowed the judges.  Some of her earliest remarks from the judges were ‘believeable, best so far, a real artist, doesn’t care what is popular, she is herself.’  Lilly was eliminated before reaching the Top 12.

Do you remember Janell Wheeler?   When she auditioned in Orlando, Simon was not a fan of hers, but liked her better when she made it to Hollywood.  Unfortunately she didn’t make it to the Top 12 as her first performance included feedback from the judges that wasn’t very encouraging.  Some of her comments from that first night of being in the Top 24 were ‘gave 100% effort, delivered 65%, vocals were good, a couple of notes off.’

Toderick Hall the dancer and singer, who according to Simon ‘murdered’ his first song choice.  Telling him he ‘didn’t have to change it up so much, good chops, verging on stupid’ the judges had differing opinions on this one!  Toderick was eliminated prior to the Top 12 being named.

Remember Tyler Grady?  (I had to refresh my memory on this one)  His first performance after being named in the Top 24 garnered comments such as ‘pretends to be a rockstar, work on singing not just making poses, obsessed with the 70’s.’  Tyler didn’t make the cut to the Top 12.

Then there was John Park. (Another one I had to go back and refresh the memory.)  John was told that his song choice ‘won’t get the girls to pick up the phone to vote for him, flat, zero emotion, pointless performance.’  Although he was a nice looking young man and told the judges his song choice was for his parents, he didn’t find himself still standing when the Top 12 were named.

Let’s revisit the first performances of some of this year’s contestants who did make the Top 12.

Lacey Brown, who almost made it to the top 24 last season, was not someone I would have chosen for that position this season.  After the first night of competition, with the song choice of ‘Changing Times’ the judges remarks were ‘depressing, boring, pitchy, nice eyes.’  Lacey made it to the Top 12 and was the first eliminated from there.

Crystal Bowersox, who shared that she had never watched American Idol in the past, heard some differing opinions after her first performance.  A few of the judges’ comments were ‘adds something fresh to the show, there are thousands of you singing outside the subway stations, refreshing, don’t be another coffeehouse performance, be unique.’  Crystal is in the Final 2. The one fault I find with Crystal is that she doesn’t seem to be able to open up and mix with the audience.  She has a great voice, but I find myself asking could people really enjoy a concert with her as the main attraction?

Siobhan Magnus, the young lady that Simon referred to as ‘quirky’, received mixed reviews in her first performance.  She was told that she was ‘the dark horse, dark song, maybe she is a dark person, a little nasal, mysterious, feels real.’  Siobhan improved with each performance, making it to the Top 6.  I’ll always feel her downfall was that once she got such great reviews on her vocal range, she continued to make every song sound alike.  Fan remarks have been had she quit screaming in every song, she might have gone further in this competition.

Katie Stevens, (age 17) who was my early choice to go far in the competition, had a strong voice and was very attractive.  In her first night of performing for the live audience, Katie was told by the judges that ‘the song was too old, looks like her parents dressed her, pushed too hard, notes were going sharp.’  She has a great voice for her age, good stage presence, but unfortunately, not as strong as the ladies who remained after her elimination.

Aaron Kelly (age 16 when the competition began, 17 when eliminated) was another young person with significant talent.  The judges told Aaron after his first live performance that he ‘had raw talent, needed to gain confidence, it’s all about self belief.’  I believe that Aaron did grow each week, becoming more confident with his performances, and although he was eliminated, he did make it to the Top 5.  My guess is that we haven’t heard the last of Aaron Kelly.

Casey James, the ‘hot guy’ from Texas caught the eye of many ladies (Kara included.)  With his shirt on or off, this guy was a fan favorite from the start. After his first night performing live, the judges said ‘sounded great, can sing well, great with guitar, sincere, likeable.’  While Casey is definitely easy on the eyes, I grew tired of watching him each week with guitar in hand.  When he was eliminated on Wednesday night and performed without his guitar, I finally felt we were seeing the REAL Casey.  He mingled with the audience, shook hands, hugged small children, thanked the judges, he seemed more real as a person.  Had he shown this before, he may have found himself in the top 2.  Either way, I think we’ll be hearing Casey on our radio and buying his CD’s in the near future.

Michael Lynche, (Big Mike), the teddy bear of the season.  At the beginning he reminded me of Reuben Studdard, champion of Season 2.  What’s not to like about Big Mike?  He touched our hearts with his being absent from his daughters’ birth so he could audition for American Idol, he was funny, loveable, and very talented.  On his first night of live performances, the judges said he ‘had a fun character, smiled constantly, big heart, was better than that performance showed.’  Having the judges use their one ‘save’ of the season on him a few weeks ago, Michael stayed around and competed each week and earned some great reviews.  His goal was to reach the Top 3, but he fell short of that by one week, making it to the Final 4.

I can’t write an article without including ‘Teflon Tim’ as part of this seasons competitors.  Tim Urban, who initially didn’t make the Top 24, found himself being summoned by the producers of American Idol to replace another contestant that was removed from the competition just prior to the beginning of the live shows.  Tim’s smile is contagious even though he was far from having the best vocals.  I’d have to vote him as ‘Mr. Congeniality’ because no matter how bad the judges’ remarks were, he continued to smile and thank them for their time.  With his first live performance, he heard remarks like ‘made the right decision first time by not putting you through, girls will vote for you, likeable, cute, current, voice isn’t good enough.’ Surprisingly (or not), the girls voting kept him in the competition for quite some time. 

Lee DeWyze, who left his job in a paint store to audition for Idol, in my opinion, has grown the most this season.  His first night of live competition had the judges telling him ‘a little too rangy, need more blues, will go far in this competition, believes in him, great voice.’  I was unimpressed with Lee for several weeks in the competition, although he had a good voice, he seemed almost unapproachable.  Somehow in the past 3-4 weeks, Lee has finally begun to believe in himself and it is showing in his performances.  He is up against Crystal in the Finale…will he win this competition?

In my continual recaps of this season, I have paid much closer attention to the show than usual.  While I’ve always been a fan of American Idol, I can’t remember ever seeing as many of the contestants playing an instrument while performing week after week.   So many of the contestants this year relied on their guitars as ‘security blankets’ that I feel we didn’t get a chance to know the person behind that guitar.  Shouldn’t an American Idol be someone who can relate to the audience not just with their vocal ability, but also show their personality as they entertain?

The choice of Ellen DeGeneres as a judge for this season was one that many people (myself included) was unsure of when the announcement was made.  We didn’t know what Ellen could bring to the show or how it would affect the judges’ panel with Paula missing.  Personally, I have enjoyed Ellen’s humor immensely.  Each week her ‘off the wall’ comments have kept us laughing, seemed to relax the contestants somewhat, and I feel her presence has been a great addition to the show.

With Simon Cowells’ replacement still not named, will the next person to sit on the panel be someone who will boost the ratings or will his leaving become the downfall of American Idol?  Many rumors are circulating as to who will be the replacement for Simon, but as of yet, we really have no idea.  While watching Harry Connick, Jr. mentor the contestants this year, he seemed like a great choice for a replacement.  Not knowing if he would even been interested, my feelings are that he could be witty, funny, and knowledgeable about music as is Simon.  So many names have been rumored to take Simons’ place it’s hard to say who will eventually occupy his seat.

Some suggestions for changes to help boost the ratings for next season have been, eliminate the age cut off, thus allowing older contestants, eliminate or limit the number of times a contestant can accompany himself/herself with a musical instrument, add duets to showcase the contestants talents.  All of these seem like possibilities to help refresh the show and raise the ratings for Fox.

Next season will bring about even more changes, as the live show goes from one hour to 90 minutes, while the results show will be cut to 30 minutes.  Released on Wednesday was the midseason schedule, which has Idol airing on Tuesdays from 8-9:30 pm ET and on Wednesdays from 8:30-9:00 pm ET.  Time may be adjusted for the beginning weeks to accommodate the audition episodes, but the live results show will return to being only 30 minutes long.

The finale on May 25 will put Crystal Bowersox up against Lee DeWyze for the title of American Idol Season 9.  It’s a toss up as to which one will win this year, as neither have found themselves in the ‘bottom 3’ so we have no idea which one has been receiving the highest number of votes from America.  I’ll be watching and voting for my favorite and I hope you will as well!

Good luck Crystal and Lee!

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Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze

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Rating: 5.0 (1 Vote)

Category: American Idol 2010

Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze Memory Lane

Crystal Bowersox and Lee...

Comments (4)

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written by Tiffany M., May 21, 2010

First off I'm from the Toledo area and have never heard Crystal perform in person but many of my friends have including my husband (right before she left for LA) and she is very engaging to her audience. I listened to her performance during her visit home live on the radio and she is very humble and funny and during her songs she really played to the audience. I wish I could have been there to see here live.

I can't wait until next week b/c I really like Lee but will vote for Crystal as long as my fingers and phone can hold up after their performances on Tuesday.

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written by VSH, May 21, 2010

I'm a Crystal fan, I honestly believe she is Janis reincarnated! Besides the Janis type chops she has some gutsy blues type vocals in her that are unreal, a greatness unreal!

Also....

On your trek back down memory road you forgot mention of Katelynn Epperly and DiDi Benamia, two very good female singers that I feel were cut way too early into the show....

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gail
written by Gail, May 22, 2010

I like both Crystal and Lee and know they will have big careers.
Personally, Crystal's talent is amazing -she is a mix of so many great artists before her.

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written by Jinxed, May 23, 2010

For the first time, (with the exception of Casey) I felt the ousted performers were appropriate. I think Big Mike should have made the final 3. Casey has 0 range, imo, and not a stellar performer by any means.
Crystal has my vote for #1 albiet with Lee a very close second. That girl can sing and that's what this is about. I LOVE Lees voice. I'd love to see their duet become a hit. I heard somewhere it's actually best to take second place as you not as committed contracturally. DOn't know if it's true or not.
ANyway, Good review TN! Thx

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