Idol Chatter

Yes! It's time for my favorite blight of the week! That's how you abbreviate "blog night," right?

• Casey James, singing Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop": Doesn't Alicia Keyes strike you as a little too awesome to be a mentor for this season, if ever? If Casey keeps it up with the vibrato, I'm going to start calling him "Goat Boy." Casey, a good guitar player, is what would happen if Jonny Lang were singing off-key while sitting on a vibrating bed. He's gotten worse and worse every week. Also, I don't think I ever noticed how long his neck is.
• Lee DeWyze, singing Simon & Garfunkel's "The Boxer": You want to ruin an American Idol performance? Think, right as it's about to begin, about when Paul Simon sang this song on the first Saturday Night Live after 9/11. Yeah, this isn't going to live up to that. Clumsy. Like the Beatles week, can't hate hearing this song, but this was very weak.
• Tim Urban, singing Goo Goo Dolls' "Better Days": I'm prepared for chillingly awful as the overly sincere Urban sings the overly sincere Goo Goo Dolls. Oh yeah, I didn't even add in the potential key problems which were awful. Awful. So kids in Africa get food if people vote for the contestants? Congrats, Tim, on taking food right out of some kid's mouth.
• Aaron Kelly, singing R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly": Doing an R. Kelly song was magnificent. He showered us with his golden glory. He made water from my eyes. His perfection just tinkled all over the audience. Pee.
• Siobhan Magnus, singing Mariah Carey & Whitney Houston's "When You Believe": Look, I can't take any of this seriously any more. Now Siobhan, who's been pretty bad for a number of weeks, is doing Whitney and Mariah? And it's one of my favorite movie songs ever, to boot (I love The Prince of Egypt). In other words, I'd accept nothing less than perfection, so no acceptance here. I mean, she was okay, but you can't do a Whitney and Mariah song and be "okay."
• Michael Lynche, singing "Hero" by Chad Kroeger featuring Josey Scott: God damnit, even Big Mike sucks tonight. That falsetto at the beginning was not good. If I can be thankful for anything, it's that Crystal's going last. I think it's appropriate today, on Adolf Hitler's birthday, to ask if, with the exception of Crystal, any group of people since the Nazis has been so justifiably vilified as this cadre of Idol contestants.
• Crystal Bowersox, singing The Impressions' "People Get Ready": She saved the show like Spiderman saved both the cable car and Mary Jane at the end of the first movie. Another level. We need the next six weeks to be just her singing by herself.

Lost Comments/Questions:

• Not much to talk about on a night of pure setup, other than to wonder when everyone will have their flashes of memory in the sideways world.
• Richard, Ben, and Miles are still most likely on the main island, but it's set up so Jack and Locke are the only other two people left. Certainly seems like Jack will be Jacob's replacement.