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"Rankings - Top 3"

Posted by geekboy on 05-18-10 at 10:22 PM
Way back when, on one of the first weeks of the Top 24/20/16 I made a prediction that Lee would be the dark horse this season. Well, I was right.

Without further ado...here we go with my rankings!

1 - Lee - Hallelujah - I went into this night thinking this was a terrible pick - Tim already did it, its a song that has been done over and over, on Idol, on XFactor, remade by everyone and his cousin...and then Lee pulls this out of his back pocket. Wow. So far, THE MOMENT OF THE SEASON. Brilliant. Lee is what I love about Idol. Someone you can watch who goes from literally a guy with a great voice, to an artist.
2 - Lee - Simple Man - A Skynard song. Go figure. Best contestant pick of the night. He felt it, he was into it, great performance.
3 - Crystal - Maybe I'm Amazed - Despite her singing 'Maybe I'm a man' over and over...i thought this was one of her best performances ever. I wanted her to outshine Lee, but oddly i'm not upset.
4 - Crystal - Come To My Window - The Crystal we love doing her Crystal thing. I can't wait for her CD.
5 - Casey - His Pick I Didn't Know - I actually thougth this was much better. Casey was into it, it is his vibe, and you really can't condemn a contestant picking a 'contestant's pick' song...can you?
6 - Casey - Daughters - A boring rendition of John Mayer's most boring song ever. Terrible pick for him. Just awful.

geekboy


"I think what Randy Travis was trying to say was 'What the hell was that?!'" - S. Cowell


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"RE: Rankings - Top 3"
Posted by mindy23 on 05-18-10 at 11:16 PM
I agree 100%-Lee is the man of the night tonight! He did great justice to both of those songs, but really had me with Hallelujia!! I was mesmerized, and that is a first from AI EVER for me!

SO, it goes without saying:
1) Lee: "Hallelujia"
Lee: "Simple Man"

2) Crystal: "Maybe I'm Amazed" wish she would have changed the sexes on there-made me a little squirmy. Don't know why, but it did. Seemed too 'by the book'. But great vocally.
Crystal: "Come to My Window"-her kind of song most definitely

3) Casey: Neither of his songs woo'ed or amazed me in any way. I honestly can't even remember what they were-Oh yeah, something about daughters. He needs to have gone home several weeks ago. Hopefully, America will get it right tomorrow night.


"RE: Rankings - Top 3"
Posted by DoodleBug on 05-19-10 at 11:48 AM
I voted for the first time this season last night - and it was for Lee. I have liked him all this season, but he really wowed me last night with Hallelujah. I'm still singing it in my head today!

He has the growth arc that everyone loves about this show. Knew Crystal was a star from the get-go and had to watch Lee coming on strong the whole time. Very last season, if you ask me.

I know this is a ranking thread, but I don't think I need to write it all out for you. So I'll just say ditto.

I'm predicting a Lee win hands down.


"RE: Rankings - Top 3"
Posted by zazzy on 05-19-10 at 11:53 AM
I can't even rank them at this point because of the show's manipulations.

Yes, Lee has improved. I expected him to. His pre AI work was better than what we had on stage all season.

Yes, Lee has been uberpimped. I expected him to be. The choir encircling him and the lighting forming a crown over Lee's head were nice touches and the whole production helped pave the way for the judges' tongue baths.

Crystal could have pulled it out more than she did. A friend noticed that she seemed to have difficulty breathing early on. Anyone else think so?

I just hope Crystal isn't being Melinda Doolittle-d. Will Crystal rise to the occasion next week? Or will the coronation song be written more for Lee?

Casey, AI was saying thanks for playing last night. The consolation is that you get to be on talk shows by yourself this next week while the runner up usually gets sorta short-shrifted at the end, unless they go for a co-winner thing like last year with Kris and Adam. ;)

Casey is capable of much, much more than we saw last night. Just look at the vid clips of his performances in the hometown visit thread--from just days ago. He has been tamped down by AI.

I like all three of the contestants...I just don't like the show's manner of getting the outcome they want.


"RE: Rankings - Top 3"
Posted by KoalaChick on 05-19-10 at 12:03 PM
100% ditto @ Zazzy...

"RE: Rankings - Top 3"
Posted by geekboy on 05-19-10 at 01:33 PM
Nobody has tamped down Casey. Yes, they picked a crappy song for him to sing, but I believe Casey does have the chops where he could have made a lot more out of 'Daughters' than he did. He could have approached it from a SRV point of view and really reimagined the song.

Despite that, he could have done SO MUCH MORE all season. You have to agree that Casey coasted through much of the season. Yes, his Lennon song was amazing, but why didn't he do more of that?

geekboy


"I think what Randy Travis was trying to say was 'What the hell was that?!'" - S. Cowell


"RE: Rankings - Top 3"
Posted by zazzy on 05-19-10 at 02:00 PM
Well, GB, it is a mystery to me that Casey plays wonderful blues guitar and sings soulfully and masterfully at his hometown performances and clams up on the AI stage.

But it was never a mystery to me that Lee was acting the "unconfident, aw shucks" part all season, because his pre idol work belied that act.

What I always knew, was that no matter how much I may like some of Casey's performances, he was never slated to win. He was branded "boy toy" from the beginning by Kara and he bought into it by taking off his shirt.

Crystal, on the other hand, may be riding for a huge fall (or may have already had it), with the usual build up from AI only to have them switch horses later in the season.

Jordin Sparks-Melinda Doolittle all over again?


"RE: Rankings - Top 3"
Posted by frodis on 05-19-10 at 02:16 PM
I really don't think Lee's "aw shucks" demeanor is entirely an act. For a while I wasn't sure if he was playing it up, but I have to say that I'm willing to buy that it's genuine.

I did end up going to the parade for him. I was standing right at the beginning of the parade so I saw his reaction when he first saw the crowd. It looked, to me, like genuine shock and he looked overwhelmed. He wasn't even smiling or waving initially, he just looked stunned. I have to admit, it made me like him a little more, so maybe I'm a little biased. He really looked like he wasn't expecting the reception he got.

I suppose the throngs of crazy people could overwhelm anyone, but just based on my personal observation of the moment, I got a genuine vibe from him.

I've spent most of this season forgetting that Lee exists, until recently when the numbers got below 8 or so. Now I admit I'm pulling for him a little bit. I don't think I'd buy his stuff but I'm willing to give him my pretend votes for seeming like a nice guy.


"RE: Rankings - Top 3"
Posted by Tummy on 05-19-10 at 04:41 PM
Finally the universe is back on tilt. I'm disagreeing again with geekboy and it feels right.

Anyone who sings Hallelujah is destined to be compared to Jason Castro's rendition and come up lacking. And for me that's exactly what Lee did.

1. Crystal - Maybe I'm Amazed - I like her on this.
2. Casey - It's Alright With Me - I would buy a cd of his if this is the type of music he puts out.
3. Lee - Simple Man
4. Crystal - Come to My Window - she's no Melissa, but..
5. Casey - Daughters
6. Lee - Hallelujah


"RE: Rankings - Top 3"
Posted by csnumber23 on 05-19-10 at 04:50 PM
1 - Lee - Simple Man - Excellent! He made the song better.
2 - Lee - Hallelujah - I don't even like the song and Lee made me like his version.

3 - Casey - his pick - I didn't know the song but I liked it.

4 - Chrystal - Maybe I'm Amazed - I really wish she would have changed the gender.

5 - Chrystal - Come To My Window - Was just so-so in my opinion.

6 - Casey - Daughters - What an absolutely horrible song choice.

Overall - Lee blew them both away and is definitely the only one I know for sure that I will buy his music.


"RE: Rankings - Top 3"
Posted by Belle Book on 05-19-10 at 05:03 PM
Here are my rankings:

1. Crystal, "Maybe I'm Amazed": This was really cool!
2. Lee, "Hallelujah": Not quite as cool as Jason Castro's version, but quite good.
3. Lee, "Simple Man": He chose the best of the Final 3.
4. Crystal, "Come To My Window": Not the best song choice, but I still liked her singing.
5. Casey, "Daughters": Better than his first song, but not quite good enough.
6. Casey, first song: Predictable song choice. He's just not good enough.



"RE: Rankings - Top 3"
Posted by cahaya on 05-19-10 at 06:59 PM
I'll ditto this ranking of the sets we heard.

"RE: Rankings - Top 3"
Posted by frodis on 05-19-10 at 06:25 PM
1. Lee - Hallelujah. I liked it. The backup singers and the white lights and the crescendo moment at the end of the show worked for me. It was supposed to be a big moment and I bought it. I didn't like where he chose to take a breath at the end, though. I thought this was not a good song choice going in - shows how much I know - but my favorite version of this song that I've ever heard was k.d. lang singing it at the Vancouver Olympic Opening Ceremony. That? Was awesome. I also love Leonard Cohen and his achey angstey vibe.

2. Crystal - Maybe I'm Amazed. I have no problem with her singing the song as written, with the "maybe I'm a man" lyrics. I kind of liked that, actually. I don't always see a need to change that stuff up. I thought she gave this some some oomph but I thought she looked a little awkward wandering around on the risers behind the judges

3. Casey: His pick, I'm blanking on the exact title. I liked this from Casey. I really wanted to see the Real Casey. I think I'd like the Real Casey. I have not seen the Real Casey yet and that makes me sad.


4. Lee - Simple Man. I thought this would be better than it was. Okay, mart pick from Lee, so I give him a point for knowing what to pick to make himself sound good.

5. Crystal - Come to my Window. I love this song, I love Melissa Ethridge. I love gritty Crystal. However, I don't think she did this song justice. I think she sang it because she likes it, and that's good - but I think given an opportunity to really shine she needed to pick something that would show her off to her best - not just something she likes.

6. Casey - Daughters. Okay, I don't like this song. If it was picked for Casey to appeal to his chick fan base it missed, because it was almost a little creepy. Fathers, lock up your daughters. His shifty eyes darting around in an effort to make eye contact with the audience kinda bug me. He was clearly not that comfortable with this, even though he sounded pretty good on it. Meh. Really, it's the song for me that ruined this.


All that said, I'd love it if Casey sticks around tonight.


"RE: Rankings - Top 3"
Posted by Glow on 05-20-10 at 09:01 AM
I liked Casey's more than Crystal's but I like Crystal more than Casey.

I've liked Lee from the beginning but he's been steadily getting to me more and more. Maybe it's because my hockey team is out of the playoffs and I have more attention to give. Maybe it's because he's gotten better and better. I'm not sure what the reasoning but I love this guy now. Love him. Though I don't agree that he became an artist on this show. He came into it an artist. He's just a lot more shiny now.