Jeez, it was bright last night on American Idol.
So bright, that R&B superstar Usher had to wear sunglasses indoors (or else, he was blinded by the size of his ego.)
Nonetheless, Usher was miles ahead in his skills as a mentor compared to Miley Cyrus last week. Maybe he can be a mentor for Simon Cowell's show X Factor. You know, the one he secretly pimped throughout the night as he made fun of other talent competitions, such as Star Search and Dancing with the Stars.
Tonight was an epic night, because like Sanjaya before him, Tim Urban got Cowell to admit that what the judges say doesn't really matter, when Urban has websites such as www.votefortheworst.com building him up and teenage girls texting like crazy. Cowell seems to majorly be over this season, and over this show, and if he comes to back Urban eventually, that would at least make this oh-so-karaoke season a little more fun to watch. Still, there's some Urban hate out there. Prediction: Bottom Three.
Another contestant who seemed to stand out tonight was Lee DeWyze. Yes, he still sounds like the next Three Doors Down front man, but his performance of "Treat Her Like a Lady" was his best of the season. That doesn't mean he should ever be voted for, since he lacks spark.
Andrew Garcia actually sounded great this week with his acoustic guitar version of Chris Brown's "Forever". It was a really beautiful arrangement, with the addition of strings, but Cowell's right--the kid has no personality and will hopefully be gone soon.
Siobhan Magnus keeps sounding horribly screechy when she sings, and she keeps wearing kooky clothes. While she's someone you'd totally want to be friends with in real life, her singing sounds like a dying cat. Prediction: Bottom Three. (Hopefully.)
Casey James just keeps getting more attractive. He's like that singer-songwriter you met in college singing at the coffeehouse who you remember more for being hot than for sounding great. This was his best performance of the season, though, as he sang "Hold on, I'm Comin'" with such confidence that you couldn't help but melt.
In other news, Crystal Bowersox played piano and wore heels (still sounded great), Aaron Kelly couldn't quite hold his own with "Ain't No Sunshine," Katie Stevens managed to ruin the almost-unruinable greatness that is "Chain of Fools," and Michael Lynche showed off his softer side with a cute rendition of "Ready for Love."
It is Didi Benami who will be going home this week, as she proved her instability once again by crying...in front of Usher. Everyone is so sick of this sob story, and it's almost uncomfortable to watch her on-stage. It's hard to decide what to do with her: feed her a cookie, hand her a tissue or tell her to lay off the meds? Thankfully, America won't have to coddle her anymore, because she should be saying good-bye. And, if she sticks around, at least we'll have someone to remind us of Paula Abdul.
