Idol Season 9 Top 20 The Women

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JANUARY 7, 2011 FRONT PAGE POLITICS BUSINESS MEDIA ENTERTAINMENT COMEDY SPORTS STYLE WORLD GREEN FOOD TRAVEL TECH LIVING HEALTH DIVORCE ARTS BOOKS RELIGION IMPACT EDUCATION COLLEGE NY LA CHICAGO DENVER BLOGS Michael Giltz Freelance writer and raconteur Posted: March 4, 2010 04:07 AM BIO Become a Fan Get Email Alerts Bloggers' Index 2 0 views 0 32Inspiring Funny Hot Scary Outrageous Amazing Weird CrazyIdol Season 9: Top 20 -- The Women What's Your Reaction: Read More: American Idol , Ellen Degeneres , Kara DioGuardi , Pop Music , Randy Jackson , Reality TV , Ryan Seacrest , Simon Cowell , Entertainment News RATINGS COVERAGE: American Idol had another very strong night ratings-wise. It reached 23.5 million viewers, up from the performance show one year ago, which reached 22.8 million, according to Mediaweek'sMarc Berman. That's about a 15% growth. Week to week the show has been up and down but there's stilla possibility the show will increase its total ratingsover last season. The only other instances I canremember of a veteran series growing like that is the venerable 60 Minutes , which fell to #7 before leaping back to #1 in the 1991-1992 season and Law & Order, which enjoyed a long slow climb to its peak of #5 in 2001, 11 seasons into its run. SHOW COVERAGE: The women took to the stage and after a very strong Crystal Bowersox, so many of the women crashed and burned that the not-bad women towards the end seemed pretty good in comparison. Last night the judges criticized the Temptations classic "My Girl" as not relevant and tonight they praised performances of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin's 60s hit"Think." Huh. CRYSTAL BOWERSOX -- Sang CCR's flip side to the #2 hit "Lookin' Out My Back Door," the bluesy soulful "Long As I Can See The Light." Bowersox was smooth, confident and delivered the promised gospel flair with disarming ease. She immediately set the bar high and no one else matched it. Simon compared her to Kelly Clarkson and the moment when the first Idol winner suddenly stepped it up. I thought of Bonnie Raitt. HAELEY VAUGHN -- Sang the Miley Cyrus tune "The Climb," which hit #4 and is a teen pop standard in the making. Unfortunately, she never sang it well. It was impossible to relax at any point during the song. Cute girl but way too young both age-wise and performance-wise. Really disastrous with the poor girl barely able to make it through a single line without messing up. LACEY BROWN -- Sang basically the only hit Sixpence None The Richer will ever have, the #2 hit "Kiss MOST POPULAR ON HUFFPOST 1 of 2 BIG NEWS: Ellen Degeneres | Celebrity Body | Playboy | Movies | Energy Debates | More... More Dead Birds, Fish Found Across The World WATCH: Demi Moore In A Teeny Bikini Elizabeth Edwards' Will Revealed Lindsay Garvey iPhone Alarm Glitch: How It Cost Me My Job Intestinal Parasites May Be Causing Your Energy Slump Rudeness Is A Neurotoxin WATCH: Ashton & Natalie Get Naked, Have Sex In New Movie Two House Republicans Violate Constitution With Voting Blunder BECK IN TROUBLE? Dropped From New York Radio Station, TV RatingsLOG IN | SIGN UP Get Entertainment Alerts Email Comments 32 Recommend 63K Like 114 Recommend 464 Recommend 1K Like 302 Like 6K Like 137 Like 14K Ellen DeGeneres & Portia de Rossi's Ryan Seacrest: Simon Cowell Was Camille Grammer's Porn Past Comes Taylor Swift & Jake Gyllenhaal BreakMe." She was far improved over last week when you wondered how the heck she got that far. But it wasn't actually good, with nothing distinctive to remember. KATIE STEVENS -- Sang Corinne Bailey Rae's #2 UK hit "Put Your Records On." I'm a huge fan of Rae but this is a bad choice for most anyone else to sing. It's low and hard to groove on and has an extremely tricky melody. In short, it revealed every possible limitation in the 17 year old singer in one three minutesegment. Not good. DIDI BENAMI -- Sang the #1 Bill Withers classic "Lean On Me." Benami is NOT a soul singer, so if she was going to sing this song it should have been with a folkie simplicity, not with an attempt to get down and funky. She tried to get soulful and was rough all the way through. Am I being harsh? At this point, Simon said, "It's a really bad episode." MICHELLE DELAMOR -- Sang Creed's #1 hit "With Arms Wide Open." It wasn't especially good but in comparison to the four really bad performances that preceded it, this almost seemed ok for a while. Then she went off the rails completely before hitting an awful finale. LILLY SCOTT -- Sang Sam Cooke's posthumous Top 40 hit and iconic protest song "A Change Is Gonna Come." Scott said she wanted to be seen as a current indie artist...so she sang a 45 year old soul classic? What a kooky choice. And yet it was pretty darn good and certainly distinctive and quirky. It sort of worked and again she seemed like nirvana compared to the last five. KATELYN EPPERLY -- Sang Coldplay's #10 UK hit "The Scientist" from their best album, A Rush Of Blood To The Head. (In fact, it made my list of The Best CDs of the 2000s .) Certainly improved, it was ok and you were rooting for her and she had a good finale that left a positive impression (something so many have been lacking this season). PAIGE MILES -- Sang Kelly Clarkson's #12 hit "Walk Away." It was fine but pretty anonymous until she hit the bridge and brought some personality to it. Fine but forgettable.SIOBHAN MAGNUS -- Sang Aretha Franklin's Top 10 hit from 1968 "Think." I thought her voice sounded thin throughout -- when the backup singers sang "just a child" that brief phrase had more distinctiveness than anything Siobhan was doing. But it wasn't bad, just shadowed by better earlier versions, and I don't just mean Aretha's but Kelly Clarkson's on the show and others. But she also wowedthem in classic Idol fashion with a really high note right towards the end that Siobhan nailed. For me Crystal Bowersox was way ahead of the pack with Lilly Scott and Siobhan Magnus still there andthe rest far behind. What did you think? Any favorites? And who of the many worthy possibilities will begoing home? Thanks for reading. Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog. Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his weekly music radio show at Popsurfing and enjoy the weekly pop culture podcast he co-hosts at Showbiz Sandbox . Both available for free on iTunes. Link to him on Netflix and gain access to thousands of ratings and reviews. Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz Related Blogs On Huffington Post: Michael Giltz: Idol Season 9: Top 20 -- The Elimination Four more Idol contestants said goodbye, none of them surprises. John Park and Jermaine Sellers were the two guys sent packing while on the gals'... More in Entertainment... 1 of 5 Sen. Jon Tester Tester Pushes to Reform Senate Rules With Greater Transparency, Efficiency Steve Ballmer My Keynote Address at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics ShowDON'T MISS HUFFPOST BLOGGERS HOT TRENDS TOP VIDEO PICKS 1 of 9 camille grammer jennifer connelly baby bump jersey shore raven symone weight loss rebecca budig Fall More Celebrity News at People.com More Celebrity News at Popeater.com Like 6K Camille Grammer: Kelsey Made Me Do Real Housewives READ MORE Rihanna to Launch Her First Fragrance READ MORE POLL: Take Sides in JerseyShore's Explosive First Feud READ MORE John Legend Parties With Pauly D, 'Precious' John Edwards Proposes to Mistress Already? J.Lo's Ex's Girlfriend Files For Restraining Order Comments 32 Pending Comments 0View FAQ 226 Fans 97 Fans Follow 32 Fans 29 FansExotic... Jealous Of... Back To... Up:... For me, its all Siobhan, all the time. Crystal is like any other busker at the subway station but Siobhan is quirky, kind of pretty and I love her Earth shoes. My favorite was the Chris Isaak tuneshe did last night. She reminds me a little bit of K. D. Lang. Michael Giltz is right on target. My faves are Crystal Bowersox and Lilly Scott, but at this point, I don't see that any of the contestant s, male or female, has the chops to be a Kelly Clarkson or a Carrie Underwood with a massive popular following. How on earth did Haeley Vaughn ever get toHollywood, much less into the top 24? Thank goodness the voters gave her a ticket home. I am in agreement with most of the comments about the girls. Crystal really nailed it perfectly and has a quiet confidence that is amazing. She seems comfortabl e in her own skin and knows who she is as an artist, and that's half the battle. Lily gets props for managing to pull off a good version ofSam Cooke's great final song, "A Change is Gonna Come". He was my idol when I was very youngand his death shattered me. No one can ever come close to him, but I give Lily credit for giving thesong's words meaning and doing it in her own way. It was a huge risk, but she did it. Katelyn alsomanaged to stand out to me with her Coldplay song. I thought she showed great vocal skills andgave meaning to the lyrics. I like that Siobhan had the guts to tackle the great Aretha Franklin. Iagree that her voice wasn't quite big enough, but the girl has guts and energy and presence. If shecan figure out how to use that incredible voice, then she will be a real contender. My top four are Crystal, Lilly, Siobhan and Katelyn. The final two spots are going to be a battle. I am hoping that Didi steps it up, but the girl has to pick the right song or sing it the way it works forher unique, quirky voice. She is not an R&B soul singer. This season is BORING. The singers are boring, the judges are boring, the producers have seemingly fallen asleep at the helm. I felt like the episodes this week dragged on, and on, and on. None of the contestant s this year seem to really give a sh&t that they are on the show. No one has that 'umph' on stage or really seems to be working it up there. Seems the stage is the one in control, not the artist. I know a lot of people didn't really like him throughout , but Adam Lambert really worked the stage from the very beginning. So did Allison. They blew the competitio n out of the water because of their ability to perform, as well as sing. These kids, and that's what they are, lack in so many respects this show looks like 'Idol Lite' to me. A mere shadow of it's former self. Paltrow Dishes on Cruise Kiss Raven Symone's HugeWeight Loss Jessica Szohr's Sobe StripDown MOST DISCUSSED RIGHT NOW HOT ON FACEBOOK HOT ON TWITTER Celebrity Body Barack Obama Gulf Oil Spill Soccer Celebrity Skin Howard Dean Sex Airlines TennisHUFFPOST'S BIG NEWS PAGES MORE BIG NEWS PAGES »Recency | Popularity Page: 1 2 Next › Last » (2 total) HUFFPOST SUPER USER greymom 10:14 AM on 3/05/2010 Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER euthman 06:21 AM on 3/05/2010 Permalink | Share it MindyM 03:18 AM on 3/05/2010 Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER Joe Moore 02:03 AM on 3/05/2010Camille Grammer's Porn Past Comes Back To Haunt Her 636 Comments Seth Rogen: I'm Not Getting A Prenup 84 Comments Most Anticipated Indie Albums of 2011 (SLIDESHOW) 8 Comments Beastie Boys Rapper Beats Cancer 32 Comments Which Stars Will Play The Lead Roles In 'The Three Stooges' Remake? 66 Comments 'Knocked Up' Sequel Coming? 18 CommentsComments are closed for this entry View All 178 Fans 59 Fans 5 Fans 43 Fans 92 Fans 16 Fans Simon has it right to jump ship and do something else. I don't blame him for leaving at all. Oh...and do you think they're really praying before they sing (all of them!!) or do you think they're going for the midwest vote because that's who chose the Idol last year? Honestly I don't care whatyou do before the show, none of it it working! First review of this season's Idol that is congruent with my take. Crystal is out and out the best with Lilly and Siobhan competing for the next best. Everyone else is filler. Thx for reading. Hopefully you can enjoy even when I get it wrong! I want to see Chrystal sing 4NonBlonde s "What's Up"...she has a voice like Linda Perry...sh e's even got the dreds. I am not a fan of AI, but I'd watch it just to hear this girl sing. Face it, the selection of singers this year kind of.... well....st inks. There are only two or three good singers, Crystal being one of them (and my early favorite from the auditions) . Crystal has an inner strength and knows who she is and isn't afraid to show it - whereas most of the others are trying to be what they think they should be, not who they are. On the guy side, perhaps only two or threecan even match Crystal - dude from the hood, Casey Looker Guy, and the guy who sang last. Look, if I have to resort to euphemisms instead of actual names, AI has a problem. This time last year (and other years) I at least knew my favorites names. I wish I could be as comfortabl e with myself as Crystal and Siobhan seem on stage. Wow, and I'm over 50 too! Love Crystal and have my fingers crossed for Siobhan. I hope Crystal stays close to the Americana stuff. This show can ONLY be watched through the DVR so that you can fast-forwa rd through the nonsense! I let it record the first hour, then start watching and get caught up with the live viewing by the end of the show. It's THAT painful to sit through. All of the silly "things you didn't know aboutme" segments and lengthy commercial s!!! I Crystal is by far the best, and I actually really liked Katelyn (the one at the piano--rig ht?) Siobhan is also pretty good. The rest--all of them--real ly need to go, starting with Haeley. Let's hope she's got her bags packed tonight.FOLLOW HUFFINGTON POST Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER libwingoflibwing 10:16 PM on 3/04/2010 Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST BLOGGER Michael Giltz 03:36 AM on 3/05/2010 Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER callyhouck 09:54 PM on 3/04/2010 Permalink | Share it Charity 06:28 PM on 3/04/2010 Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER magicmary 05:09 PM on 3/04/2010 Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER langstonhughesfan 04:52 PM on 3/04/2010 Permalink | Share it 59 Fans 3 Fans 22 Fans Follow 59 Fans 59 Fans 138 Fans 62 FansGod bless DVRs. But it's not just Idol. I don't watch any live TV; commercial s are just interminab le and a waste of time. And for a show like Idol with a lot of filler, it's even more of a time-saver . Of course, I feel obliged to watch the intro videos and chats with Ryan just in case they say something notable so. Otherwise, I could power through an hour in about 22 minutes. Oh, I totally agree. I mean, literally, the 2-hour show when you cut down to just the singing and the judges comments (and this season, some of the singing has also been FF-worthy)is less than the 44 minutes of a PVR-ed commercial -skipping drama. It's all filler, corp sponsorshi p and generally painful. yes, it is a fun diversion. I mean watching the rises, the crashes, the Simoness of it all. Thank gawdfor digital taping. As to this posturing about singing Sam Cooke...er . Now really, please don't drag that kind of meaning into a young woman who decides to sing a song on AI. next thing you knowyou'll call for a boycott! lol. And have you considered , that maybe, just maybe it will send a bunch of people back to hear the original? I'm all for singing Sam Cooke. I was just teasing the judges for claiming a Motown wasn't "relevant" but championin g performanc es of other classic songs. I do indeed think these performanc es can and do lead people to check out the originals, which can only be good. It's better than the umpteenth rendition of a Jason Mraz song. Yikes. You were referring to the post below. My bad. I sometimes forget these are posted in reverse order with the most recent at the top. This show. For all the yadda-yadd a about "this is my heart, my life, my dream," I just see mercantile misery chewing on the last bones of what was once a viable music industry thatoccasional ly had some heart and depth, and was NOT ONLY ABOUT MONEY. At this point, Crystal Bowersox is the one to beat.HUFFPOST BLOGGER Michael Giltz 03:38 AM on 3/05/2010 Permalink | Share it Tilnar 09:12 AM on 3/05/2010 Permalink | Share it Scottcluthe 04:41 PM on 3/04/2010 Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST BLOGGER Michael Giltz 03:40 AM on 3/05/2010 Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST BLOGGER Michael Giltz 03:41 AM on 3/05/2010 Permalink | Share it SILVANUS 04:11 PM on 3/04/2010 Permalink | Share it GiannaX 03:07 PM on 3/04/201051 Fans 43 Fans 2 Fans 178 Fans 32 FansI'm liking Crystal, Siobhan, and Lilly...bu t who will go home tonight, that is the question. Totally agree. One thing I can't figure out: I love Lilly and think her bravery and rendition of the Beatles' "Fixing A Hole" last week was one of the best "Idol" entries ever, came back this week with"A Change Is Gonna Come". Now yesterday I posted that after hearing one of the guysbutcher Marvin Gaye, I prayed that they wouldn't return next week and do the same to SamCooke. During the Civil Rights movement, Sam Cooke was so perplexed that Bob Dylan was writing the only important protests songs, that he set down purposeful ly to craft a soulful entry, which he knocked out of the park with "Change". As much as I love Lilly, I found her quirkiness SO misplaced in doing such a momentous song, found her SO detached from the actual content of the lyric, that I cringed throughmost of the performanc e. Instead of being moving, as the song inherently is, Lilly's verson was as profound as listening to Melanie spin, "I've got a pair of brand new roller-ska tes, You've got a brand new key". The fact that all the judges other than Simon thought it was great, and the best performanc e of the evening (!!!) was flabbergas ting. Did they forget Crystal's performanc e so soon? Love Lilly, but that kinda praise for that song choice and performanc e escaped me COMPLETELY . filmex, I couldn't agree with you more about Lilly's performanc e of the Cooke classic--i t was horrible, and I can't believe the kudos from the judges and more than one critic. The song was simply too BIG for her. IMO, only Bowersox has thetrue talent on the woman's side, and she, so far, is the singer to beat. There are More Comments on this Thread. Click Here To See them All Actually Lilly's performanc e inspired me and healed me. I know the background to Cooke's song and the meaning it has. As a progressiv e activist feeling discourage d with the way things have been going, Lilly's modern take on the song reached mysoul and encouraged me. I actually said out loud when she was done, "Thank you,Lilly." I needed it. Let me say that I adored Sam Cooke. I literally worshipped him growing up. His death just broke my heart. He is untouchabl e in my opinion. No one will ever sing one of his songs better than he did. Even now it's hard for me to listen to his lastsong, "A Change is Gonna Come". I break down in tears because of the loss ofsuch an extraordin ary talent.Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER RhiannonRings 02:59 PM on 3/04/2010 Permalink | Share it filmex 03:37 PM on 3/04/2010 Permalink | Share it HoldthatTiger 03:49 PM on 3/04/2010 Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER libwingoflibwing 10:21 PM on 3/04/2010 Permalink | Share it MindyM 03:27 AM on 3/05/20105 Fans 332 Fans 59 Fans 43 Fans 51 Fans 3 FansI would normally despise anyone for even daring to sing this song, but I have to give Lilly credit. She did it her way, seemed to connect with the words andmeaning of the song. It was the biggest of risks. Sam Cooke was the best, but Lillyshowed gave this song tender loving care and did a good job. I applaud her forhaving the courage to pull this off. I miss Sam Cooke every single day of my life. While the girls are definately better than the guys this season, I can really only stand to watch the Crystal and Siobahn. The rest I tend to TEVO through even though the songs are short to beginwith. The boys are terrible too. The Paula Abdul singer and the hot-Blond are the only two that holdany interest to me and they aren't very good either. I'm starting to wonder why I am even wastingmy time watching the show. It takes up 3 nights a week and that's too much. The songs they singare boring too. The Kiss Me song was horrific. To actually recommend someone sing that for anational singing contest seems incredible to me. Lacy Brown needs to go and really anyone elsebetween the first and last performanc es could be voted off and I will be glad that it's one step closer to the finale. Could there be a rule that contestent s aren't allowed to sing any songs that Kara wrote to try to get on her good side? She isn't a great song writer and they would do better to pick actual substantia l songs. Additional ly, The fact that Randy would ignore the entire sub-standa rd performanc e of "Think" just because she hit one incredibly loud note just reminds me how ridiculous his judging is. Crystal, Didi, and Lilli seemed to be the front runners here. At least Kara hasn't recommende d a contestant sing one of her songs yet :) You pan Siobhan yet call Didi a front runner?? Seriously? Siobhan will rightfully be around next week while Didi, cute as she is, could be packing her bags after being reduced to tears by the judge's derisive reviews. Siobhan is quirky, kind of an art chick, I like that about her! Thank you! Finally someone who also sees that.... The whole performanc e was painful, and then she nailed one big note at the end, and suddenly it was all ok. As I was watching, I said to my fiancee "This isn't a performanc e, this is an attempt to show off what vocal tricks Siobhan has..." -- and yet noone called her on it. Permalink | Share it erica33 02:26 PM on 3/04/2010 Permalink | Share it CAMBEL 12:28 PM on 3/04/2010 Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST BLOGGER Michael Giltz 02:21 PM on 3/04/2010 Permalink | Share it filmex 03:40 PM on 3/04/2010 Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER RhiannonRings 06:32 PM on 3/04/2010 Permalink | Share it Tilnar 09:14 AM on 3/05/2010Lilly and Crystal both showed up and performed a song - and did so well, I thought (though Crystal over Lilly). 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Idol Season 9 Top 20 The Women

📄 Idol Season 9 Top 20 The Women

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