It was nice to see Allie, and I like her new song ok. She sounds so much like Tina Turner that she should be able to work that genre once her voice matures and she loses the teeny bopper squeaks. Kris Allen was emotional, but I wasn’t all that thrilled that he stripped down one of the best chord progressions ever written.
The Eliminations-
Janelle left first, which was only a mild surprise. She was standing next to Katie at the end, and you could see on her face; she knew that this was it.
Ashley was sent home next, after they sat Lacey down. That surprised me a lot. It was even more surprising that they would have Didi standing there, in danger. Ashley was obviously and visibly disappointed, but she held it together and didn’t say anything that she was thinking. She could have said “thanks, Simon, for directing me out of the dance.” Simon predicted Tuesday night that she might be sent home.
Tim Urban almost went into shock when it was not him, but Joe Munoz, that went home. This one surprised me too. Joe was pretty good while Tim wasn’t.
The last exit was the only one that included two contestants that are non-candidates; Tyler and Alex. Simon, ever arrogant and tactless, predicted thatTylerwas going home as they waited for the results. Ryan, at the top of the show, braced Simon about his harshness last night. Simon retorted that he was actually being nice.
I’m going to combine the men and the women in this week’s power rankings. This might lend some insight into what the final 6-8 will look like. I see a real separation between the contenders and the also-rans at this point, with the sleeper and wild card morass ranging between seventh (Sha-Von) and sixteenth (Jermaine).
Power Rankings-
20- Tim Urban- Fodder, and he was shocked himself to still be here
19- Lacey Brown- See Urban, Tim
18- Alex Lambert- Great voice but too green, probably gone next week
17- Katelyn Epperly- her upside is to get a voting block to guide her to the tour (top 10)
16- Jermaine Sellers- Too erratic, but he is the only true high range guy left
15- John Park- He won’t last if he doesn’t show some dynamics
14- Paige Miles- Simon’s unfair favoritism might get her to the tour, but she needs to be better
13- Haeley Vaughn- She should ask Paige how to get Simon on her side
12- Todrick Hall- Creative but with a weak voice, he could go any time or make it to the top five
11- Michelle Delamor- Still too soon to tell, with so little exposure
10-MichaelLynche-Rangewill make or break him, but the tour looks like a good bet
9- Aaron Kelly- We’ll see if he can get over the nerves. If he can, he can contend
8- Katie Stevens- See Kelly, Aaron
7- Siobham Magnus- The little weirdo wore a normal dress tonight and looked stunning. There is real potential for her to be Cinderella at the ball
6- Lee Dewyze- He will be better next week, and he was damned good this week
5- Didi Benami- See Dewyze, Lee
4- Lilly Scott- Creative, quirky and talented. What else is there?
3- Crystal Bowersox- Casey’s “twinned” partner in the competition, like Lee/Didi and Katie/Aaron
2- Casey James- His Achilles heel might be his understated manner; everything else is there
1- Andrew Garcia- He’ll need to show more variety later, but he’s cruising right now
Andrew and Crystal might be better suited as a pairing. Both of them took the first week of the semis as a place to hold something back for later, a kind of “pacing yourself” strategy.
