Down to the final three. I was hoping for a good night. They each got two songs to prove to us why they should be here for the finals.
The first set of songs were the singer's choice.
Casey (OK, It's Alright With Me): What can I say? Just a very okay performance. Although he sounded good and he was smiling lots. Maybe the problem was the song choice and poor staging, just him and his guitar behind the mic. Judges pretty much hammered him. I'll give him a 3.5 out of 5.
Crystal (Come to My Window): With harmonica and guitar, she was totally herself, the same gal who auditioned. Very true to who she is. It wasn't my favorite Crystal performance, but it was fine. She get's a 4.4 out of 5 from me.
Lee (Simple Man): Well, the judges really seemed to love it, but I didn't think it was all that great. It wasn't bad. Nothing wrong with it, but I wasn't blown away. I keep wanting to be blown away and it just isn't happening for me this season. (Simon thought Lee crushed the other two; I disagree.) I guess I'll put him in a tie with Crystal with a 4.4 out of 5.
The second set of songs were the choices of individual judges.
Casey (Daughters, chosen by Randy and Kara): A fine performance, but again, no WOW factor. And that's exactly what Simon ended up saying about the song. No wow factor. Not Casey's fault as much as those who chose the song for him. He get's a 4.2 out of 5 from me.
Crystal (Maybe I'm Amazed, chosen by Ellen): I loved this one. She got a standing ovation from the crowd. Judges loved it. (And interesting that the lyrics say, Maybe I'm a man, and she didn't change the gender.) I'll give her a 4.8 out of 5.
Lee (Hallelujah, chosen by Simon): Okay, as soon as I knew the song choice, I knew Lee would have to go an extra mile to make me like it better than Jason Castro's version. Would he? Well, he was off-key a time or two, and I don't think it lived up to Jason's version. (I'm not tempted to go download it while I downloaded Jason's version that same night.) But it was very good and the crowd and judges were crazy about it. I'll give him a 4.75 out of 5.
As others have predicted, I'm guessing it will be Lee and Crystal in the finals and it will be Casey who goes home tomorrow night.
~robin
