Idols Struggle to Join the Tour

Truth be told, tonight's performances are probably the most critical of the Idol season. Wednesday's loser fails to secure a coveted spot on the Idol tour, so survival this week will result in some serious scratch for the ten that make it through. Let's face it, for some of these bums it's their only realistic chance at a summer job. The contestants are tackling the Billboard Number 1 Hits — which translates into a complete free-for-all. There will be plenty of horrible song choices tonight and it will be the ultimate undoing for one of our remaining troubadours. But with Miley Cyrus as this week's "mentor," how can things possibly go wrong? I'll count the ways for you.

Lee Dewyze
The Letter
This was a great song choice for Lee. He was a little stiff, but his vocal was dead on target. Cowell was correct, it certainly wasn't a certified Idol "moment" but as I mentioned last week, Lee probably only has one real "moment" in him. Better that he save it for when he really needs it. Regardless, Lee has finally established himself as a contender.
ODDS ON STAYING: 5:1

Paige Miles
Against All Odds
An interesting song choice for a contestant that is truly trying to hang on against all odds. The judges were deservedly brutal of a nervously weak and sadly feeble performance. The worst part is that we'll have to listen to her sing it again tomorrow night after she's been voted off.
ODDS ON STAYING: 30:1

Tim Urban
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Jeez. Can we send two home tonight? Even Cyrus felt sorry for him. Yet again, Tim delivered a performance that should get him sent home, but Paige's earlier disaster probably saved him. What a pity. On the bright side, at least now you know when to schedule your bathroom break during the Idol Tour show — during Tim's solos.
ODDS ON STAYING: 26:1

Aaron Kelly
I Don't Want To Miss A Thing
This is the third week in a row that Aaron has demonstrated the talent that indicates that he belongs in this competition. Taking his laryngitis into consideration, he was excellent. I'm hoping he stays this hot. He could make the final weeks of this season very interesting.
ODDS ON STAYING: 4:1

Crystal Bowersox
Me and Bobby McGee
We all knew she'd be doing a Janis Joplin song at some point and as usual, Crystal was absolutely brilliant. Rather than play it safe, she took Joplin's rave-up chorus and arguably did it one better. Another unquestionably top-notch performance from a genuine professional. Her "big plans for next week" are the best ratings-bait that Fox could ever hope for. I'll be tuning in.
ODDS ON STAYING: Even

Michael Lynche
When A Man Loves A Woman
While not the most impressive performance of the night, Michael chose a fool-proof song and he put everything he had into it — perhaps a little too much according to Cowell. Regardless, Michael can tell a story and be completely convincing when he sings this type of song. That's a skill that genuinely resonates with voters and one that's lost on the majority of Idol contestants.
ODDS ON STAYING: 7:1

Andrew Garcia
I Heard It Through the Grapevine
I watch this show weekly with my lovely wife and occasionally, she delivers the best quip of the night. "It's like watching George Lopez perform on American Idol," she said, "and I really hate to insult George Lopez like that." I don't think I can add anything else. So I won't.
ODDS ON STAYING: 23:1

Katie Stevens
Big Girls Don't Cry
For the first time in weeks, the judges thought Katie was great. Not surprisingly, I completely disagreed with the judges when it comes to Katie Stevens. What she delivered was a disappointingly gloomy and whimpering version of this song. You know, the same way Fergie sings it.
ODDS ON STAYING: 15:1

Casey James
Power of Love
Once again, Casey wisely chose a song he could handle and submitted a very effective, yet very vanilla, performance. I'm not sure if he came through on his promise of taking charge of the stage, but he did more than enough to survive another week.
ODDS ON STAYING: 6:1

Didi Benami
You're No Good
This was so bad it might save Paige. Didi argued with the judges that she "didn't want to be pigeon-holed as one type of singer." If that's the case, she needs to show she's something other than lousy singer, because that's the hole I keep putting this pigeon in. By the way, did you notice that Seacrest didn't remember her last name? Bad sign.
ODDS ON STAYING: 27:1

Siobhan Magnus
Superstition
For the first time, Siobhan failed to impress me. I didn't get the hair nor the outfit and her screeching finale just couldn't salvage her showing this week. A victim of her own success, she's set the bar pretty high for herself and tonight she fell short.
ODDS ON STAYING: 7:1


I think we're only five or six weeks away from a really good American Idol episode. You would think that with so much on the line tonight the effort would have been accompanied with a reasonable degree of urgency. But as the chasm between the players and the posers continues to widen, the good begins to become great and the bad begins to dwindle into absolutely dreadful. It'll be a dogfight to land a spot in the bottom three Wednesday night, but I'll predict that Andrew, Didi and Paige will find themselves standing next to one another as Seacrest makes the call to dim the lights. In reality, Paige has been done for three weeks and it's high time to put an end to her misery.