American Idol: Magnus Opus

It’s an understatement to say I wasn’t looking forward to top 12 performance night on “Idol.”

The previous week, I’d actually said “Aww, not him!” when I saw Alex Lambert had gotten eliminated. (Who’d a thunk?!) Beyond that, I saw five or six “Vote for the Worst” candidates among the top 12. (An astounding number when you think about it.) To top it all off, the contestants would be tackling the music of The Rolling Stones. (Uh oh.)

I don’t know if it was my EXTREMELY diminished expectations or the actual talent on display Tuesday night (probably a combination of both), but I’m actually newly hopeful for “American Idol” season 9. (Especially if it all ends up with a Crystal Bowersox/Siobhan Magnus face off!)

I’m trying to sneak this recap in before Wednesday nights’ results show, so let’s break down the performances, in order of appearance.

Michael Lynche: Ok, so things didn’t get off to a great start. People (including yours truly) have been complaining about this guy being a clown for weeks, and he did little to dispel that notion during his take on “Miss You.” It’s a shame because he’s been the most consistent male vocalist so far, yet insists on stomping around the stage like a disaster movie monster.

At least there’s hope – Simon called him out on his antics, and hopefully Big Mike will watch the tape and adjust accordingly.

Didi Benami: Didi decided to “Play With Fire” and won! (Sorry about that.) Seriously though, Kara hit the nail on the head when she said Didi’s sweetness and the song’s inherent darkness (which Didi totally sold) were a surprisingly effective combination.

I was worried when I saw her without her guitar, but she seemed so connected to her performance (which is what made it convincing) that it didn’t matter. If Crystal and Siobhan are on one level (which they clearly are), then Didi is very clearly on the next level. Good for her, and hopefully the waterworks days are behind her.

Casey James: The last time he whipped out his guitar (“I Don’t Wanna Be” during Top 20 week) things didn’t go so well, so I can understand why Casey seemed nervous and appeared to have low expectations for the judges’ comments.

After a shaky start, I actually dug his performance of “It’s All Over Now” and I thought it was a much better match for him than the sleepier “Heaven” and “You’ll Think of Me.” He appears to be a pretty impressive guitar player too – now all Casey has to do is start believing that himself. Also, how can I be mad at a guy whose hometown is named “Cool.”

Lacey Brown: Ugh, what can I say? Her take on “Ruby Tuesday” didn’t come close to “Landslide” awfulness, but she seems to be so worried about looking in the right camera that she forgets to make her performances dynamic or interesting. “Ruby Tuesday” didn’t really go anywhere. (Other sitting when she should be walking and vice versa.) I’d say that she’s in trouble, but she obviously has a sizable phantom fan base out there keeping her alive.

Andrew Garcia: Imagine my horror when I woke up from Lacey’s performance only to find Andrew Garcia half-heartedly singing one of the most ferocious songs in rock history. Actually, I don’t know how mad I should be at Andrew – I believe that he was trying to “get there” on “Gimme Shelter” – it’s just that he couldn’t. Watching this guy struggle every week makes me sad.

Katie Stevens: Lacey, Andrew, and then Katie – what a brutal stretch! I’ll at least give Katie credit for her best live performance to date on “Wild Horses.” However, with so many of the girls (the ones not named Lacey Brown) being so much stronger, I don’t know how she’ll continue to grab enough of the votes to stay for much longer. At least we know that she (kinda) knows who the lead singer of the Stones is.

Tim Urban: At least we finally got a break from that brutal stre- oh good GOD it’s Tim Urban! Ok, so he sounded technically good on “Under My Thumb”, but the dichotomy of his boppy reggae rearrangement coupled with a song about sexual domination was absolutely insane. It’s almost as he couldn’t even hear or understand what he was saying, and it didn’t matter as long as he made it through the performance. Yikes!

Siobhan Magnus: (pictured, left) My favorite contestant didn’t disappoint. Now, her vocal wasn’t perfect, but I’m willing to overlook things like that when a contestant bring the drama, the intensity and, yes, the insanity, the way Siobhan did during “Paint It Black.” We’ve had rocker grrls in this competition before, but Siobhan is like a wonderfully-freakish monster with a classically-trained voice who happens to be a rocker grrl. Good times.

Lee Dewyze: I’ve been riding Lee pretty hard (not unlike a “Beast of Burden”) for his pitch problems during the semifinal round, but I thought Tuesday night represented a major improvement for him. Unlike some of the judges, I liked the laid back vibe. Now all he has to do is settle down on stage and make us enjoy watching him, lest he end up like Alex Lambert.

Paige Miles: For the first time, I kinda sorta saw all the alleged potential Simon’s been talking about all this time. Her “Honky Tonk Women” didn’t reinvent the wheel, but it gave us a peek on what she can do when she hits the strong part of a song. She still has to show me she can avoid a “Smile”-like fiasco when she sings the lower key parts.

Aaron Kelly: The kid gets my most improved award from me. (Well, except for the Ellen-esque haircut.) Instead of acting like big-voiced country singer du jour, Aaron scaled things back to great effect on “Angie” (I actually really liked how he massaged some of the softer moments) and may have established himself as the male frontrunner. Seriously!

Crystal Bowersox: What can I say that hasn’t already been said? Crystal delivered another fantastically dynamic performance. (I love that she continues to do that in 90 seconds – two minutes of performance time.) I liked the shout out to Lily. (Although it’s not like she’s passed away). I guess my favorite new wrinkle was her adorable dad who choked up when he talked about Crystal writing him a song when she was a teen. (Because we all know teens barely acknowledge their parents.)

So what’d you think of this episode? Did you notice that Aaron’s mom’s name is Kelly Kelly?(!) Finally, who do you see in the bottom 3 and going home? I’ve got Lacey, Andrew and Paige in the bottom 3, with Lacey going home. (Take that sizable phantom fan base!)