It was a bittersweet week on American Idol this week (I wrote this last week) as they announced the fate of the contestants (and fellow American Idol Fantards with specific favourites, holler Todrick Hall!) who would be either moving forward, voted into the coveted American Idol Top 12, by well, 'America', or falling off the face of entertainment limelight, back into seclusion, to their mundane (or not) lives of flipping hamburgers, busking on the streets with an overturned hat on one hand and a guitar on the other , or prancing around on stage, dancing and singing in a musical about a story that focuses on a female black life during the 1930s in the Southern United States (Holler Todrick Hall, again).
As I sat down, staring onto my computer screen with a completely blank mind, listening to Crystal Bowersox's recent live performance mp3 of her fantastic rentition of Tracy Chapman's 'Give Me One Reason' the 30th time in an hour, I reminisced the performances and contestants that I've 'pimped' and well, 'rolled-my-eyes' at FOR being pimped in this season thus far, and I thought to myself, does it even matter what I think? I mean, most of my favourites never win anyways. (Holler, Leah Labelle, Vonzell Solomon, Carly Smithson, David Hernandez, Chris Richardson, Melinda Doolittle, Camile Velasco, Jessica Sierra, Stevie Scott, Michael Johns, to name a few, right off the bat)
Listening (only because I simply cannot bear another ten second visual) to Kara's Razzie-Award-worthy performance on American Idol Top 16 Guys Performance Night, it suddenly hit me, " Of course it matters what I think." With Idolatry's Kristen Baldwin on maternity leave, we are already one soldier down at keeping it 'real' on American Idol Season 9.
And with that, like a true 'soldier', I sat up straight, cracked my knuckles, 'Harrison-Ford-squinted my eyes and rounded off my Kittributor's American Idol contributions (minus Gingercakes this week, who is coincidentally on 'maternity leave' as well after giving birth to a litter of kittens), and braced myself for another week of ridiculously biased pimping, sharp vocals, fake over-acted tears, unbuttoned shirts and 'car-salesman-like' performances (Holler Michael Slezak)
Here goes nothing..
Katie Stevens sings Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson.
Kittyeatdog says:  Katie Steven's is like a little young wind-up doll who just can't. She's stuck in American Idol Season 1 and just can't seem to keep up with the Season 9's 'artistry'. I'm all for vintage but Katie's dated sound will just kick 'vintage' right back to 1970s. | Karanobra says:  Katie Stevens sounded like Katharine McPhee with a tinge of Clarkson in the verse, then broke into a Carrie Underwood-esque high register in the chorus, before ending with a McPhee final note. 3 times the trouble. |
Siobhan Magnus sings House of the Rising Sun by the Animals.
Kittyeatdog says:  I love her. She crazy, with manic high notes one week and weed-mellow with haunting acapella the next. More of Siobhan Magnus please. | Karanobra says:  The acoustic part was lovely. Though it didn't grab me by the neck like last week, I'm sure Siobhan Magnus will be a serious contender in weeks to come. Slezak at www.ew.com should be very pleased with her song choice. |
Lacey Brown sings The Story by Brandi Carlisle.
Kittyeatdog says:  For the first time this season I listened to Lacey and thought, “Wow”. Having said that, she looks like a cougar (in every sense of the word). And Kittyeatdog does not support animal abuse, especially a fellow feline, skinned to be worn under gold jewelry, even a faux one. A cat ‘hiss’ to that. | Karanobra says: Leopard "preens" alert! For me for her for me, this was my favourite performance of the night. That beautiful tone and her vocal styling was in full bloom, and it was a performance that I would instantly love outside of the Idol stage. I won't "see" it on the radio, but she'll be an indie darling with that killer tone. |
Katelyn Epperly sings I Feel the Earth Move by Carole King.
Kittyeatdog says:  Katelyn looks and sounds really robotic tonight complete with wild hair as a result of a malfunction on stage, quite possibly a self-destruct with the viewers votes this week. She looks like a Felicity (holler 1998!) that can sing, but not really. The performance just did not go anywhere for me. | Karanobra says:  Not even my toe nails moved; bland. Kimberly Caldwell from Season 2 had the best interpretation of that song on Idol, and it was unforgettable for me. But comparisons aside, it was 10 steps back for her this week, after last week's improvement. And yes, Kara was right when she said you need soul to sing a Carole King song. |
Didi Benami sings Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac.
Kittyeatdog says: Yes indeedididi-indeed. I loved it! It was kind of haunting with the singer-songwriter feel to it. Just when I thought Didi might have just been a one-hit-wonder (think Andrew Garcia's version of 'Straight-up') with her version of Kara's 'Terrified', she fought her way back this week with a katalicious performance. Now at worse, Didi will be a two-hit-wonder. Thats more then enough reason to celebrate. | Karanobra says:  Didi did it! She's back! She looked like a Taylor Swift / Sarah McLachlan wannabe though. And I wonder if she's a one-trick pony. How long will it be before the guitar/acoustic performance becomes the reason for her lack of "moment"? Nonetheless, great song choice and great interpretation. |
Paige Miles sings Smile by Charlie Chaplin.
Kittyeatdog says: After defending Paige Miles to fellow Idol Viewers who are not yet onboard the Paige-Ship (complete with colouring books of hippos) the past week, insisting that she has a nice tone to her voice, Paige came out this week and sounded horrid. Well, she did used the’ Micheal Jackson’ Card at the end of her performance. Hopefully it works but I doubt so. It was like a dead whale in a sea of great performances tonight. Or a sinking ship. | Karanobra says: Irksome. The timings were off, she rushed through the first half. The arrangement became a weird jazzy one in the second half, but her delivery was still equally wooden, which led to a contradiction between vocal expression, and the style of the song. Miles to go before she goes Top 12 (sleep). |
Crystal Bowersox sings Give Me One Reason by Tracy Chapman.
Kittyeatdog says:  I started to really love this song when Kristen Mcnamara sang it last year, so I might be biased when I say I LOVE it. And being a Siobhan Magnus fan i feel horrible admitting this but based on this performance Crystal has officially outrun Siobhan in the Idol Race. I’m OFFICIALLY doing the full Bowersox chant now. | Karanobra says: Great song choice because it's got such an infectious beat. It's a head-bobber. It was slightly different from the original, so props to that. I still couldnt get over that Alanis-Morissette-vibe in her voice. And like many guitar-wielding singers this season, I wonder how long the novelty will last. |
Lilly Scott sings I Fall To Pieces by Patsy Cline.
Kittyeatdog says:  Current? Seriously Kara? I thought it sounded like dated elevator music. Having said that, I was kinda swaying to it. It's happy. I like happy. Purr. | Karanobra says: I love her spirit. I love that she is tackling the legends like Fitzgerald, Cooke, and Patsy Cline (for this week), and giving those songs her own fresh take. Quite possibly the first time a mandolin appeared on the Idol stage (did Castro pull it out 2 yrs ago?), but she managed to make the song more country than 80% of Carrie Underwood. Mad Love to that! And did I mention, discarding the need to reach that big glorious note but just doing her thing after being granted the coverted pimp-closing-spot was not only brave, but spunky. MOLTEN LAVA HOT! |
Lee Dewyze sings Fireflies by Owl City.
Kittyeatdog says:  Lee Dewyze looks so much like Elliot yamin tonight and with those killer baby blues, he doesn’t even need to be in tune to garner his fanbase, not that I’m implying anything. | Karanobra says:  He sang Fireflies! Only hottest song on radio now! Very smart, and not too bad too. |
Alex Lambert sings Trouble by Ray LaMontagne.
Kittyeatdog says: More Banana Mullet Shake please. | Karanobra says: I do not like bananas. But I LOVE Alex. I thought he could be more soulful though. Love the James Morrison tone in his voice. |
Tim Urban sings Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley.
Kittyeatdog says: The moment white lights flashed upon Urban Hottie Tim Urban, causing a halo like effect popularised by TV shows like ‘Touched By an Angel’, I suddenly remembered Jason Castro and how pretty he looked when he performed this song two seasons back. And for the first time on Idol, Urban hottie sounded ok. I’m definately starting to take two steps forward, onto the plank towards Urban-Cruise, hoping I won’t fall off next week. | Karanobra says: Rough first line, but decent job. Kinda hated it on first listen, cos that song's precious to me, but it grew on me after a while. HATE HIS HAIR though. |
Andrew Garcia sings Genie in a Bottle by Christina Aguilera.
Kittyeatdog says: The idea was brilliant, but the execution, well, not so much. It felt a bit too rushed. It actually sounds a bit like a mariachi band. I’m starting to think that Andrew Garcia might have just been a one hit wonder. | Karanobra says: Irk. The idea of a guy singing Genie In A Bottle is just wrongggggg. SO wrong. Simon was right, it came off as too desperate an attempt trying to recreate his "Straight-up" moment. Andrew has the record from going Hero-to-Zero in lightning speed. And in a night of decent performances where everyone got better reviews, he'd better be worried and not rely on his huge Twitter following. |
Casey James sings You’ll Think of Me by Keith Urban.
Kittyeatdog says:  Casey forgot to button his shirt again. Ok I’m already bored talking about Casey. Next? | Karanobra says: The Schmaltzy is WAY better than last week's atrocity. That said, I still do not like him. It was so bland I paid more attention to her offbeat-clapping mom at the back of the audience instead. |
Aaron Kelly sings I’m Already There by Lonestar.
Kittyeatdog says: Aaron Kelly does what he does best (kinda), singing love ballads. I think 12 year old girls (and 40 year old guys) are cheering him on. I thought it was pretty pitchy in the beginning, with the low notes, but I suppose it got better as the performance progressed. Do I want to see him leave the Idol competition? Well, no. Will I miss him if he leaves the Idol competition? Well, no. | Karanobra says: His movements on stage are real awkward, that leg shaking thing he does. And I'm not convinced if the country-pop route's him, or a smart calculated decision since no dude's doing it this year? I think the kid might be in danger this week for being bland. =( SET CASEY PACKING! |
Todrick Hall sings Somebody to Love by Queen.
Kittyeatdog says: Todrick was channelling Jermaine sellers at the beginning of the song. Wasn’t his best performance but i kinda liked it. Oh well, at this point of time, I don’t think it matters what I say because America is gonna send him packing anyways. | Karanobra says: Oh they loved it, but are they hearing the right thing?!?! It was a bland verion of the song, and those ghastly white lights at the beginning were so cheesy. |
Michael Lynche sings This Woman’s Work by Maxwell.
Kittyeatdog says: Michael lynche squeezed his testacles at the beginning of the song tonight, with a high note that would make trannies jealous or squeal with delight. He looks and ‘feels’ very much like Ruben Studdard tonight, a better looking version without the need of a facial towel to wipe of that ‘Gatorade’ after each and every performance. I thought it was ok, definitely not worth my tears, but hey, I’ve never been pregnant, but wait, neither has Kara. Meow. | Karanobra says: I love Maxwell. His songs are not easy to sing. At all. but Mike did a decent job. And for putting Kara in tears, that will definitely get him tons of votes. |
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