Idol: I don't know whether to be vaguely excited or waiting for a major train wreck tonight.

They all look dapper, though!

Loved Crystal! Her song gave me chills.

I don't understand how Kara only "sort of liked it". I thought she did it perfectly, and when she belts, like she did in the second half, you can FEEL the emotion behind it.

Poor Casey, though. That was ... not good.

No, Casey really disappointed. I do think he could have done it well, but sometimes, even with all the time these kids spend on stage, they seem to freeze up. It felt like that's what he did, tonight.

Ugh. AI Judges can kiss my whole entire ass. The hit job on Crystal was so uncalled for. I thought her take on Summer Wind was lovely and it was nice to hear something a little less expected from Frankie's catalog. And Lee? Still forgettable. And the bitch does not have enough swagger to tackle That's Life. Big Mike was better than him and when you can say that, well, it's a damn shame. Casey and Aaron were both hideous tonight. If I had to guess, I'd say Casey going home. But I'm getting very bad Manic Panic flashbacks from the way the judges are treating Crystal.

Crap, my computer ate my last post. I'll try to recreate.

I did agree with the judges on one thing. The song Crystal chose was meant for a smaller, more intimate venue. There were times her accompaniment drowned out her words because that stage's acoustics suck. Does not detract from her overall performance, I loved her singing/performance 100 times more than anyone else on there last night. But, taking into account your venue and how to make it work for you is one of the things you have to consider as a professional. Crystal didn't come through there.

And as they've pointed out with nearly every performance last night, you have to be in it to win it from here on out. You have to be the entire package. Not that anyone is close to being that this time out at all. This is, I think, the weakest AI field we've seen (or at least I've seen and I've been watching since season three, I think.)

I loved Lee's performance. I thought that was very him, but still true to Sinatra. I will admit I am a whore for a nice husky voice with texture like his, though.

I think Lee is really working (unintentionally or not!) that aw-shucks I-am-not-confident-but-look-at-me-starting-to-enjoy-this-and-coming-into-my-own thing. He just looks really charming, and people like that (and vote for it). I like his voice okay, but I don't think he really has much range.

Crystal is the first AI singer in a long time that I might consider actually buying an album of hers. I just adore her voice. If she recorded an album of Jazz standards, I would be all over that.

If Crystal had gone bigger and into full on diva mode, they'd have slammed her for not being true to herself and giving us the "real" Crystal. You could write this script. I just think Frot-Coutaz and Fuller and all the other nasties at 19E are seriously starting to think now about who they'd rather make a record with - the quirky, boho girl who'd make a less commercial album and be way more difficult to market, or the aw-shucks cute guy with the raspy voice who can make some Daughtry-lite, Cookie Monster jam music that will sell like bagels and land a couple hits on Ryan's KIIS-FM radio show. Let's face it, the last Idol winner has not set the airwaves on fire. And I really like Kris, but his album was a bonafide flop by Idol winner standards. They need at least a gold record seller who'll give them a few charting singles, and while I love Crystal, she's not going to get the tweens downloading crap off of itunes the way that Lee would. Frankly, any of the other kids has a more easily packaged box than Crystal. Big Mike = Urban/Smooth R&B a la Ruben, whose first album did quite well even though his subsequent work hasn't. Aaron and Casey are both Nashville country pop, and even if they wouldn't be Carrie, they might be Bucky Covington, Josh Gracin, or the Pickle, all of whom have had more than respectable music careers and landed several singles on the country charts. Lee's squarely in Cookie Monster territory. And Crystal is quirky and really doesn't fit cleanly on today's charts. She was a good early season foil, but now they gotta bring her down.

I can think of only two reasons the judges were as harsh as they were:

a) they are trying to get her fans out to vote for her in droves

b) they really are trying to get her out soon

I think "b" is unlikely because I don't think they want all men final 3 or 4, but maybe Crystal ain't getting the votes and they've determined that she probably won't win anyway. I've expected her to leave around 4th or 3rd.

I really like Kris Allen's Ford commercials. But I can barely stand the show any more.

BTW, Kris Allen isn't doing too badly. He is 11th of Idol contestants:

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