American Idol: Let's Put a "Smile" On That Face

Being eliminated this week must feel a bit like coming in fourth at the Olympics or (to keep things more “Idol”-centric) finishing 11th and missing out on the “Idols Live Tour.”

Simon even helpfully reiterated how important this week was at the top of the show.

That’s why it was frustrating to see one low-energy performance after another Tuesday night. Don’t get me wrong, there were still a couple of excellent performances to be found (and the ladies are still light years ahead of the guys), but I was disheartened to see so many of the girls slip into slow-tempo ballad mode as a fallback.

Thank goodness for Crystal Bowersox.

Let’s talk about her, as well as who’s in, who’s out, and who’s in between:

WHO’S IN

I loved Crystal Bowersox’s performance for no other reason that she snapped me awake after a seemingly-endless run of “turn down the lights and take things slow” performances.

Fortunately, there’s much more to praise about her dynamic performance of “Give Me One Reason.” For one, her confidence appears to be at an all-time high (check out the way she casually sat herself down during the judges’ critiques). On top of that, her confidence seems to be affecting her singing in a great way (she delivered her strongest vocal Tuesday) and is so infectious that the audience can’t help but be involved (clapping along from the beginning). Simply put, she looked like a star and made most of the other girls look like they aren’t even in the same class.

I say “most of the other” because I’m still loving me some Siobhan Magnus.

I honestly don’t know what Simon is smoking, but I would ask him for some if I didn’t know it had the unfortunate side effect of killing my hearing. I mean, I honestly wondered what the guy was listening to when he trashed Siobhan’s performance of “House of the Rising Sun.” His biggest gripe appeared to be the fact that there was no “Think”-like glory note. (Is she supposed to do that every week?) If Simon is in search of a moment, I’d like to point him towards the fantastic, pitch-perfect acapella intro to Siobhan’s performance – that’s as good as it’s gotten this year!

I SHOULD SAY THEY’RE IN TROUBLE, BUT THEY’RE NOT

You’re right. Lily Scott is probably going to the top 12. However, I’d bet you $1,000 that Crystal and Siobhan are definitely in. When I asked myself if I would include Lily in that bet, I paused – that means no.

Again, I like Lily, but I find she’s been lacking in the voice department during the entire semifinal rounds and (not to “Andrew Garcia”) has never lived up to her work during Hollywood Week. Still, she’s quirky, she’s distinct, and she’s good (and she was on "I Fall to Pieces") – I just don’t think she deserves to be the slam dunk she apparently is.

I’d also have to include Lacey Brown in this category. Yes, her take on “The Story” was OBVIOUSLY her best semifinal performance to date, but, given how terrible she’s been the last two weeks, that’s not exactly saying much. As for “The Story”, specifically, the performance was flat in that it didn’t really go anywhere – it started low-key and stayed there. (My girlfriend Erica reports “The Story” is actually incredibly dynamic and Lacey blew her chance to rock out.)

I understand that there’s something to be said for a contestant trending in a positive direction. I just don’t think being awful, awful, decent in three semifinal performances should be enough to get Lacey (looking more like Sharon Osbourne every week) into the top 12 – yet, it appears that’s exactly what’s going to happen.

I SHOULDN’T SAY THEY’RE IN TROUBLE, BUT THEY ARE

And since it appears that past work doesn’t count for anything, I have to sadly put Katelyn Epperly in this category.

I have no attachment to Carole King (sorry), so I didn’t actually think she did a bad job on “I Feel the Earth Move”, even if Simon was completely correct (thanks for getting reacquainted with sanity) that it reeked of some bar singer fulfilling a patron’s request. Honestly, the most disappointing part of Katelyn’s segment was that the judges gave no indication that this is a singer worth sending to the finals (which she is). Then I remembered that they were lukewarm on her terrific take on “The Scientist” (which was MUCH less corny than her keyboard-rocking performance this time out) and blew a raspberry.

Similarly, I didn’t think Didi Benami was all that awful during “Lean on Me” last week, so I wasn’t as blown away by her “Rhiannon” cover this week. I can objectively see that the song was a much better fit, but to me Didi didn’t perform it significantly better. That being said, she DID look a lot more comfortable and confident on stage with her guitar, earning her best reviews and (hopefully) earning a ticket to the top 12.

I’D PACK MY SUITCASE IF I WERE YOU

What more can I say about poor Paige Miles (pictured, right)? Stick a fork in her (one of those big BBQ forks) – she’s done.

When I first saw her in top 24 week, I thought she was strong on her song’s punchier moments and weak on the subtler, lower parts. So what does she do? She picks a song – Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile” – that highlights the absolute worse parts of her voice. Everything about this (including the calypso arrangement Randy pointed out) was terrible, so let’s move on, ok?

My other pick to go home is Katie Stevens. Yes, she appears to be a favorite of the judges (they’re tripping over themselves to give Katie advice and have confused the girl), but she’s delivered three consecutive uninspired and awkward performances (kinda like Paige). America can deal with awfulness (hi Lacey), but sustained mediocrity is usually a ticket home.

Katie actually incorporated all the feedback the judges gave her and picked “Breakway” a young song for a big voiced singer. The only problem is that she doesn’t have the chops to sing a Kelly Clarkson song and, the part of the performance that was supposed to soar, ended up being the most boring, dreary parts of the show that didn’t involve “Smile”-ing.

Katie and Paige should and will go home. Right America? Please don’t make me lose faith in this country. (Oy, I have a bad feeling about this.)

So what’d you think of this episode? Was Lacey Brown actually good or just good compared to what she’s done before? Is Kara now the best judge? (I hope I didn’t jinx her – especially since Casey James is performing tonight.) Finally, which two girls will and should go home?