Top 12 - Apparently I Can Get Some Satisfaction

I'd first like to apologize for this blog post going up so late. My internet at home is down, forcing me to post this from the library. I'm sure so many of you are heartbroken. If it doesn't come back soon, I may be delaying the results show recap until tomorrow as well.

Time for a night of good old-fashioned British blues rock! The Top 12 is taking on Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Co.! They're also on the big stage now, so we'll see who gets swallowed up and who rises to the occasion.

Michael Lynche leads us off with an R&B-flavored "Miss You." It's kind of cool I guess, but I'm not especially impressed with the vocals. Stage presence? He's got it. Great voice? Not quite. The judges are much higher on the performance than I am, and only Simon has anything bad to say. Of course, Simon's problem was the dancing he perceived as corny and desperate, not the vocals. Ryan tries to upstage Mike by getting in Simon's face as America collectively yawns at this tired act.

Didi Benami continues the proceedings with "Play With Fire." I don't think I know this one. Well, this is weird. Didi seems like such a sweet person in her intro clip, but this song is dark and angry. The vocals are good though, complete with her trademark mannerisms. Overall, it's not bad. The judges all love it, saying she's emerging as an artist. Growth! Exactly what she needs over the course of the comnpetition to win it! My prediction of her winning seems fairly viable right now!

Up next is Casey James with "It's All Over Now." He's sounding a bit goaty tonight, though it's a minor complaint, what with all the rocking going on. I've said I hate the wimpy mixing all season, and I'll say it again tonight. It's a good song choice, Casey's in fine form vocally, but turn up those guitars! The judges think it was fantastic with Simon again the lone dissenter. He thinks Casey needs to show more star power. I guess I can understand that criticism. I doubt Casey's any more talented than your average bar musician, which I guess is also to say that you don't need to be an out-of-this-world talent to perform a song well.

One of my underdogs, Lacey Brown, is up next with "Ruby Tuesday." Good choice. One of my favorite Stones songs. The entire backing is done by a string quartet, and it's pretty good. Certainly interesting, anyway. I love the tone of Lacey's voice. It's very soothing. That may work against her though, as it might make her less memorable at the end of the night. The judges think it was interesting but still want more from her.

Ol' Necktat, Andrew Garcia, is here to take on "Gimme Shelter." How fitting that my least favorite contestant picks one of my least favorite Stones songs. He certainly over-enunciates on the chorus, which seems to take him out of his game. To be fair though, his voice is actually less obnoxious than usual tonight, and we actually saw some vocal power for a change. I still don't like him, but I'll begrudgingly admit that this was halfway decent. Oh well. I predicted he'd improve in the Finals last week, didn't I? Ellen thinks it was his best performance yet (which I'd agree with, though that's not saying much), but the others all think it was lacking, either in pitch or connection. My brother thinks it's terrible, but of course, he usually thinks that.

Katie Stevens, who's so young that she doesn't even know for certain that Mick Jagger is the Stones' lead singer (chuckle!), has decided to sing "Wild Horses." Ugh. The beginning is a little rough, and I'm distracted by those people in the crowd waving their hands. It's a slow song! Just let her sing it! After she gets into it though, it turns into Katie's best performance yet. She actually seems connected to the song for once. After all that pimping it's about time! The judges all agree with me, which hasn't been as frequent tonight as in nights past.

Tim Urban treats us to a version of "Under My Thumb" which to my ears sounds like a cross between old-time country music and reggae. I actually like this, though my brother says it's very one-dimensional. Hey, we know Tim doesn't have a great vocal range, so I'll give him credit for playing to his strengths. Very cool. If he came up with that, very creative. Of course, he probably found it on iTunes or YouTube somewhere. Still, I like it. The judges disagree, with all of them saying it didn't work. Ah, screw 'em.

Little Miss Quirky, Siobhan Magnus, tries her hand at the dark classic "Paint It, Black." She's got a new curly hairstyle tonight. It must be a tribute to her fallen comrade Katelyn Epperly. Her voice seems too low at parts for my liking, and my brother thinks the way she sings it is weird. Still, she gets the strobelights of pimpage and does another Adam Lambert-esque glory note which sounds a bit more cracky than when she did it on "Think." Ehhh. I'm not a big fan of this. Of course, thanks to the big glory note, the judges love it, and Kara finally mentions the Lambert similarities. Anyone who can remember as far back as last season will also remember that Adam's dog-ear-level wails lost their impact after he did them every other week. Screech prudently, Siobhan.

Hey, Lee DeWyze is from Mount Prospect! That's close to where I live! Small world, huh? Tonight his song choice is "Beast of Burden," and he's got his acoustic guitar as usual. You know what I've just noticed? This guy's sort of a cross between the last two winners. He's got a David Cook-ish voice and a Kris Allen-ish vibe. Even more impressive, there are no major pitch problems in Lee's performance for once, making it much more enjoyable than usual. Well done, Lee! Even Kara notices he was "less pitchy" than before, and Randy thinks it was "dope," while Simon thinks he played it too safe. Whatever. I thought he was best of the night so far.

Paige Miles is up next with "Honky Tonk Women." Eh. Paige seems really nice (look, I like nice people, OK?), but this is weak from the get-go. I'm just not feeling it. The high notes are there, but she gets lost a few times on the low ones. It's also strange to hear her change the gender of the lyrics, declaring herself a honky tonk woman who wants to be given a honky tonk man. I like Paige personally, but this performance has Bottom 3 written all over it. She's not in the zone here.Once the judges chime in we find out she has laryngitis, so they're grading her on a curve, saying it was good under the circumstances. I suppose with that knowledge I could be more charitable, but come on, I've got to be fair.

Aaron Kelly (or as I call him, Little Cory) has a mother named Kelly Kelly? Now that's funny. I'm assuming she married into that name, which must've given her a dilemma few people ever face in life. Aaron's song tonight is "Angie." While I've thought he was good before, I especially like his tone here. He still has that crack in his voice at times, but I don't really mind. He may be joining the list of contestants who've given their best performance tonight. The judges all love the song choice to death, saying it suited him perfectly. Keep on smiling, Aaron. You've earned it.

It's no surprise who gets the pimp spot. It's none other than the current chosen one, Crystal Bowersox, with "You Can't Always Get What You Want." Crystal does a cool mellow acoustic version, and as usual, she makes it great. Maybe I'm just in a good mood since the show is almost over, but I think she's been topping herself each week. The judges unanimously say it wasn't her best, but they liked it. I beg to differ, but...yeah, I'm kind of doubting they could care less. We all know Crystal's going to be around a while. Simon tells her that Siobhan outperformed her tonight, and that she shouldn't think she has the competition in the bag, to which Crystal replies she's never thought that. For crying out loud, Simon, Siobhan wasn't that great. It's also good to see Crystal's not getting overconfident, though as I've said before, I think Crystal's more concerned with getting a record deal than winning the Idol crown.

My performance ranking:

Crystal (8.5/10)
Lee (7.5/10)
Tim (7/10)
Casey (6.6/10)
Katie (6.5/10)
Aaron (5.6/10)
Didi (5.5/10)
Andrew (5.4/10)
Lacey (5/10)
Siobhan (4.1/10)
Michael (4/10)
Paige (3/10)

Predictions:

Bottom 3: Lacey, Tim, Paige
Going home: Lacey

I like Lacey, but of the three bottom feeders (in the public's mind, not necessarily mine) I'd say she was the least memorable. She also went earliest, which probably won't help her cause.

Tomorrow (well, tonight, but tomorrow as of when I'm writing this) our beautiful, round-numbered Top 12 becomes a Top 11. Hopefully they'll fit in a fun 'n cheesy Rolling Stones group medley!