Last night’s “American Idol” sing-off between Lee Dewyze and Crystal Bowersox was a veritable love-fest. It is Simon’s last week on the show, so there was love for him. There was love for both contestants, especially Crystal. And it all bordered on sickening. Well, not really, but it was fun to say that. With that, let’s grade each performance of the night. For the record, the contestants had to sing three times–their own choice from this past season, a Simon Fuller (co-creator) choice, and the song that would be their first single. Thankfully, this “single” was not some Kara DioGuardi written schlock, but a cover song. Maybe they figured out after all these years that those formulaic pieces of trash that masquerade as songs aren’t selling in the long run. But I digress. Here is the recap!
LEE DEWYZE
Crystal won the coin toss, and she decided Lee would go first and she would have the pimp slot. Good choice. So Lee went with Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Boxer” for his own selection, and while it was very good, it wasn’t as novel or interesting the second time around. Randy said it was a great way to start off, but even he thought it was good, but now awesome….Ellen said she was proud of Lee and that she thought it was better than the first time..Kara agreed with Randy and wanted to hear more at this stage…and Simon said he also expected a big one with a lot more passion, and that was the equivalent of a kiss on the cheek. GRADE: B
Lee’s second choice was by Simon Fuller, who picked REM’s “Everybody Hurts.” I admit I was a fan of REM back in like 1979, but when they became more commercialized, their songs got corny and annoying. And let’s face it, Michael Stipe is no Robert Plant. So what we have here is a producer setting someone up to fail, because even the original version is out of tune and strained. Sure enough, Lee’s version was acceptable, but pitchy and strained. Big surprise. Randy said it was a little pitchy at the start but that he pulled it together….Ellen said she wanted to see Lee really “go for it” and so far he hadn’t….Kara said she likes that Lee is “emotionally accessible” in songs like this (huh?)….and Simon said he liked the choice but sensed Lee’s nervousness. Simon, that was all because he feared the worst being given a crappy song. GRADE: B-minus
Lee’s final song was U2’s “Beautiful Day” and again I felt like Lee was set up to fail. I am not a huge U2 fan, but I love this song. Still, that doesn’t mean it had the “wow” factor to take Lee to the mountaintop. It absolutely didn’t. Randy said it was a little interesting at the start, but that Lee found his groove later in the song. Does Randy always say that about Lee?…..Ellen said she has loved watching Lee grow this season….Kara agreed, saying Lee has grown up the most, but that this song had good and bad elements, and mostly swallowed Lee up….and Simon said that this competition was designed for folks like Lee, plain old paint salesmen who want to pursue a dream, and that he wishes him the best. Um, that wasn’t exactly a glowing assessment, was it? GRADE: B
CRYSTAL BOWERSOX
Right from winning the coin toss, Crystal was on a mission to finish what she had started. The last few weeks, we haven’t seen the same fiery vocalist we thought would take the crown. But last night, she changed all that and then some. Crystal started with “Me and Bobby Magee.” I thought, like Lee’s first song, that it was good but not great. Randy said Crystal started off slow but picked things up (really, Randy?)…..Ellen said Crystal is so compelling on stage…Kara said she loved it just like she loved it the first time around…and Simon said that while Crystal has struggled of late, this one brought him personally back to when Crystal was at her best. Okay. GRADE: B-plus
Crystal’s Simon Fuller choice was Alannah Myles’ “Black Velvet.” And unlike Lee’s tepid REM song, this was a powerful choice that positively kicked ass. Randy said, “This is what I’m talking about” and that Crystal was “in it to win it.” Yeah, pretty much…..Ellen said it was fantastic and gave Crystal a standing ovation….Kara said Crystal needed to give it her all and she totally did there….and Simon said that while he’s heard that song so many times that he dreaded hearing it again, Crystal absolutely nailed it last night. (side note….did Simon not dread hearing “Hallelujah” again last week when he selected it for Lee? I’m just saying…). GRADE: A
Crystal’s final song was Patty Griffin’s “Up to the Mountain.” Now, if you’ve never heard Patty Griffin, you need to go buy as much of her music as you can, particularly her early stuff. Patty’s Flaming Red is probably in my Top 10 albums of all-time. But I digress. Crystal took this song and hit a home run so far that the ball is still in the air. It was tailor made for her to do that, and she did it. Randy said that that performance was the culmination of a great season, and that it was not only one of Crystal’s greatest performances, but one of the best of the season for anyone….Ellen said Crystal is in a league of her own….Kara said it’s a very important song (the lyrics are about Martin Luther King, Jr.), and that while Crystal usually has “walls” up around herself, she let them down and was emotionally invested, making it an amazing performance. Okay, I can’t disagree with that assessment….and finally, Simon spoke. But first, Crystal kissed his ass with every ounce of ass-kissing in her, saying thanks to him for being him and for helping so many current and former contestants on the show with his critiques. Ugh, make me barf! Simon was gracious, and then said the performance was outstanding and by far the best one of the night. Yep, pretty much. GRADE: A-plus
I can’t say I’m totally annoyed by the fact that the producers set Lee up to fail here, because ultimately he and Crystal had to execute what they’d been given, and Crystal clearly came out on top. We’ve seen this before, though. Two years ago the judges propped up David Archuleta and all but handed him the title, only to see America choose David Cook instead. Last season it was Adam Lambert receiving all the praise, but Kris Allen beating him out. So can Lee do that tonight? I’d like to say yes, but I just don’t think so. There is so much love for Crystal already, and she just really delivered the goods last night, and should come out the winner. We’ll see tonight, after the painfully long two-hour season finale.
Oh, and that song they end with each week is Will Young’s “Leave Right Now,” and he performed it live last night. Will was a winner of the UK version of this show, “Pop Idol.” Great song, great way to end the show last night. But on to the finale!
