American Idol - The Top 9 Redux

So somehow in the year since losing American Idol, Adam Lambert has gained "mentor" status. Bad enough that AI has already used Miley Cyrus this year, but Adam Lambert? Last year I enjoyed him immensely, and I thought he should have won, but that doesn't mean he's qualified to be a mentor to people in the exact same position he was last year. Especially in the position of coaching them on performing Elvis songs! But Adam really has some great advice for everyone, so I suppose he's a better mentor than I'd have imagined. It's not surprising that he does know his stuff, performancewise. You just never know if it will translate well to helping others also. It's not a guarantee you can do it for others just because you're good at it yourself. He had excellent advice for Tim, Andrew, and Lee, even if they didn't fully embrace and deliver it. It was also nice Adam was aware of his position, and rightly humble and helpful. Also looking very adorable. Except for, yuck, the ear plug. Not a trend I enjoy. At least it's a small one. Almost totally distracting from the ear plug was the amazing size disparity between Ryan and Adam's heads. It looked like Barbie vs. Darci!

I'm curious as to why I keep hearing the "let's put on a show!" glam prep line a la Velvet Goldmine. This was not such a fab show, but ranked as follows:

• Crystal Bowersox, singing "Saved," was good, but I'd prefer she not a play a guitar at all for at least a few performances. Has she does that yet? It would just be nice to see her plain straight sing it. She had a teensy wobble, but on the whole she was very good, as usual. I agree, very Bonnie Raitt. I wish she were a little more unusually fresh than she is, but at least she's sincere and genuine.
• Katie Stevens, singing "Baby What Do You Want Me to Do?" was back to pulling her faces and head sliding, but her vocals were pretty damn hot. It was too bad she couldn't get more into the anger like Adam suggested, but I think she was almost there, almost comfortable enough to be genuinely angry. I thought she was very good, and probably more fun than she would have been had she gotten some real anger out there. She can sing beautifully, and she has power.
• Lee DeWyze, singing "A Little Less Conversation," showed me shades of Taylor Hicks, but also some shades of Steven Tyler and the Doors, which is pretty interesting for an Elvis song. All in all, I think it was a strong and individual performance from him. It veered a bit from my personal taste (although I love the Doors), but very good. It's unfortunate that he's unable to smile and that it's actually come to such attention. I think unless he can smile and get a bit more passionate and animated, he's going to start heading down the losing road, no matter what he sounds like. You just don't win people when you're blah.
• Casey James, singing "Lawdy Miss Clawdy," I don't really like the vibrato in his voice when it comes out in a fast song. And it often does. But he worked this song in an extremely interesting way, and performed it well. I think he needs, weirdly, still a bit more confidence, and I would also like to see him less in the blues track than he was here again. I am sad to say I agree with Simon that I think he could have used Elvis week to do something really incredible. I think everyone else could have also, and really no one did! But I'd have especially liked to have seen Casey do it. I might place Casey higher than Lee, but since I want to be sure I'm not letting him rest on his laurels, I'll put him below. I want to keep those laurels nice and fluffy, so he can win off them. ;)
• Aaron Kelly, singing "Blue Suede Shoes," was making me nervous before he even started. I wish he could have the confidence he should. He's really breaking himself with his insecurities! He's got an incredible voice, and can do amazing things with it, but he's got some nerves that prevent him from being totally comfortable right off and throughout all his performances. The middle and end of tonight's performance was definitely better than the start, but I think it was good enough in those parts to make up for the beginning. It was a very endearing performance, and showcased his voice enough to show that he has more vocal ability than, say, Tim.
• Tim Urban, singing "Can't Help Falling in Love with You," was a bit wobbly, but nicely done. Too bad for Tim that he didn't have Adam mentoring him from the start, because I think Adam gave him some very good advice. I still think, however, that Tim is more someone who would like to be a singer rather than someone who really is a singer. If he were already acting on a TV show, which is sort of where he belongs, it would be very easy for him to segue into a successful career, and perhaps he still will, with the exposure he's getting here. But he's not a naturally gifted singer, and he's not someone who has worked his voice into a beautiful instrument. If he continues to grow, he can definitely have that career, but I don't think he deserves to win the show and I certainly don't think he has the best voice or performance ability.
• Siobhan Magnus, singing "Suspicious Minds," which is one of my favorite Elvis songs. She sounded good in the rehearsals, but I don't know if she'll revert into the creepy performance Siobhan she keeps doing. I think she did much better this week than last or the week before, but she still had colors of the nasal in there. In the whole first section there was something very Mandrell Sisters about it, which was okay with me but would probably be tagged "dated" by others. There were some interesting bits and some pretty and powerful portions, but I didn't love it so much. Still, she was better than she has been recently. I agree with Simon (an Kara, I guess) that she's probably lost who she is fully, or has too diverse an interest for commercial categorization, which is fairly important in a competition like this and the music industry in general. She does have the ability to sing better than some of the people I rank above her, but she's not doing it, so I can't place her higher.
• Michael Lynche, singing "In the Ghetto," sounded nicer than I've heard in a while. I think the echo on his mike had a nice open, spare sound to it. He still doesn't have the kind of presence or voice that deserves to win this competition. He wasn't magical, and wasn't even on key everywhere. It was a pretty little song, but almost an afterthought. I don't know why the judges were so happy to have saved him, because they hardly paid attention to him other than to say "you were great, let's move on."
• Andrew Garcia, singing "Hound Dog," needs to update his look. He has a very feminine look for a guy with a tattoo on his neck. Maybe he should lose the earring, get his hair a little more masculinely flattering to the shape of his head, or something. "Hound Dog" is a bad choice right off, because it's iconic and there's not much room to fiddle with it. Or if there is, Andrew Garcia didn't do it. It seems like all he did was slow it down. The vocals were all right, and at least he had some nice long phrasing rather than the clipped little nothings he so often does, but there really wasn't a lot special in his performance.

"Wassup" with Big Mike, Ryan wanted to know? What's up with Ryan is what I want to know. He's a total loser for saying that, and an even bigger loser for mocking poor Brian Dunkleman. Is it not enough you got the job and a zillion others, Ryan? You have to be rude to those who haven't been as successful? I think "Seacrest" must have fallen into a box of snuff before the show began tonight, because he was acting like he'd flipped his lid, hyper and shrieking and squealing and generally being far less tightassed and boring than he usually is. I'd describe him as "inappropriate."

Who should leave besides Ryan? Michael Lynche and Andrew Garcia. I'm hoping they will. Who else do I think is in danger? Tim and Aaron.