"American Idol": Episode 27--The Top 10 Results

"American Idol": Episode 26--The Top 10 Results

And Then There Were Nine

By by our guest blogger, Catherine Fuentes

After enduring a night of weak performances from the so-called superstar professionals, "American Idol" bid adieu to Didi Benami. This was not surprising--Didi’s performance from Tuesday night was flat, overdone and not very good.

The interesting catch of the “sing for your life” aspect of the eliminations is the element of choice. The contestants have the option to choose any song they had previously performed to sing one last time. While many contestants typically choose their most recent song, Didi made a very shrewd decision. She was in last place because of her most recent performance, and if she had any prayer of being saved, she couldn’t sing “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted.” Didi needed to sing her best song, and she rightly chose Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhiannon.” While returning to her folksy singer-songwriter roots elicited tremendous compliments from the judges, it wasn’t enough to save her. Didi’s performances haven’t been consistently good enough to warrant the use of the one-time save, it is far too early in the competition, and there is too much great talent remaining for it to be used now.

Next week, the contestants sing hits from Paul McCartney and John Lennon. I tend to really love Beatles theme nights, and as this night also allows for their solo work to be performed, I think musically it really will be wonderful. And more importantly, I think the remaining nine contestants are up for the challenge of singing some of the most important pop songs in history. While it's true that in the Top 24 three females sang Beatles songs and butchered them, I have faith that next Tuesday will go a lot better.

I predict Crystal Bowersox will lead the pack, and wouldn’t be surprised to hear her sing “Imagine.” Expect strong performances from Lee DeWyze and Casey James, because this theme will allow for them to continue their guitar playing, and they’ve been improving each week.

I think Andrew Garcia could either excel or fall flat, but that’s the risk he has every week. While I wouldn’t immediately think of this to be a stellar theme for Aaron Kelly, he has an uncanny knack of picking great songs, so I think he’ll be fine. I’m similarly interested in hearing what Big Mike and Siobhan do, but with their vocal strengths and charisma, I think they’ll do well.

Katie and Tim will be on thin ice. Tim lacks the talent of the rest of the pack, and Katie’s chief point of criticism is her inclination to choose songs that age her--I’m curious to see how she can put a contemporary spin on a song from this genre.  She should pick a pop hit from their early years to avoid heavy criticism.