Speculation from other boards...don't know why I didn't think of it much last night...but the People.com description of Casey's song at rehearsal and what we saw last night were vastly different:

"In a bright blue shirt and holding his guitar, Casey was accompanied on stage by his amp. His upbeat tune started with vigor, kicking into a solid groove that will have people on their feet and dancing."

When Casey performed on the live show last night there was no amp,& the tune wasn't that upbeat to have people on their feet and dancing.

I commented last night that Casey played like he knew the fix was in because of Ellen's commenting on her show with two different guests that the finale would be Lee and Crystal. Maybe his song choice and expression was about more than that.

The "It's OK With Me" says a lot imo. I wonder how many years before we know about some of this stuff.

I'm guessing Casey brought some of the vibe back from his Texas hometown performances and AI snuffed it out.

The lighting did "crown" Lee last night. ;)