Siobhan Magnus, Casey James, Aaron Kelly Disappoint on “American Idol”

Borrowing a reaction from judge Simon Cowell, Tuesday’s Inspirational Songs-themed edition of “American Idol” was anything but inspirational.

With all seven remaining contestants–yes, that includes Tim Urban–having demonstrated an ability to deliver great performances this year, the hope was that the group would use motivational songs to reach new heights on stage. That absolutely did not happen, and save for the two most consistent frontrunners, nobody was particularly strong.

Though she was not the worst from a technical perspective, Siobhan Magnus’ rendition of “When You Believe” was the most egregious due to how unwilling her fans are to accept her downfall as a contestant. For whatever reason, fans have refused to give up on Siobhan, creating the warped perception that the judges’ harsh, yet accurate comments are “biased” attempts to sabotage Crystal Bowersox’s only remaining female competition. The fact that so many online critics remain behind Siobhan only furthers the delusion that she still belongs in this competition.

Once again, the performance was riddled with a terrible arrangement, some agonizingly brutal notes and odd, awkward, uncomfortable facial expressions and movements that were in no way related to the song. Siobhan emerged as a frontrunner on songs with energy–those like “Think” and “Paint it, Black” that welcomed her theatrics and complemented her powerful, albeit bizarre voice. But her persistent attempt to become a balladeer is doing her in, as she simply does not have the technical skill nor emotional subtlety to make these kinds of performances work. It is a shame to see someone with a gift in such a bad position, but the fact remains that for as dominant as she can be over a contestant like Tim Urban (as evidenced by the aforementioned performances), her struggle to find the right song can produce performances like this one–that are painfully uncomfortable in ways no Tim Urban stage-slide could ever mirror.

Urban’s “Better Days” never dipped into territory as painful as the rough portions of Siobhan’s performance, but it was otherwise a poor, disappointing showing for a contestant who was building momentum in a quest to be remembered as something other than “this year’s Sanjaya.” After truly connecting with last week’s performance, Tim went back into his generic roots, offering a medicore, “copycat” version of the Goo Goo Dolls song that somehow made it seem even less interesting and creative than it already is. His “nondescript” vocal tone returned this week, and without a sign of any emotional connection to the song or the audience, he again appeared like the kind of contestant that gets votes based on his looks, age and solicitation of fan rebellion–rather than on his talent.

Also disappointing was Aaron Kelly, who did his best impression of how Nick Jonas would sing “I Believe I Can Fly” if he was having an off day. Again swallowed by the stage and uncomfortable in his physical delivery of the song, Kelly was also a mess from a vocal perspective. He had some sweet spots–particularly at the end–but the bulk of the performance was Aaron striking out on the basics in favor of attempting to do some creative, edgy things with the vocals, most of which fell completely flat. For whatever reason, few “Idol” diehards consider Aaron to be inferior to Tim, but the reality is that while both can be relied on for nothing more than a subpar weekly performance, at least Tim has some confidence and marketability. Aaron just looks and sounds out of place at all times, even when he is doing a good job. And when he is not doing a good job, as was the case Tuesday, one has to wonder if he simply confused “American Idol” for “American Juniors.”

Two weeks after showing glimpses of being a true threat in this competition, Casey James continued his slide back to Earth with a beyond-dull rendition of “Don’t Stop.” A revival of his bad Huey Lewis impression from earlier in the season, Casey seemed like nothing more than a local bar cover band’s lead singer, delivering mediocre vocals with literally no discernible emotion. Also lacking was his stage presence–aside from some pleasant guitar-playing, Casey did nothing to give the impression that he even realized he was in a theatre playing for hundreds of people. He was totally in his own world, and while his immovable smile might win votes, it is also proof that he is not going out of his way to make the songs matter.

Michael Lynche was anything but a “Hero” on his rendition of the Nickelback song, delivering his least memorable, most ill-suited performance since “This Love” in the semifinals. For whatever reason, Lynche opted not to make too many changes to the original, and in doing so, he totally canceled himself out. There is no edge or grit to his voice whatsoever, and he thus really brings nothing to the table when not singing jazz, soul and R&B songs. He was essentially trying to ‘rock out’ without deviating from his comfort zone in a way that would make him a rocker, and the performance simply came across as weird, uninteresting and uninspiring. No one in his right mind would want to hear a performance like this on the radio, and it is just baffling that Michael felt he could accomplish something with this performance–if he really wanted to be a “Hero” this week, he would have had infinitely more success with the Mariah Carey or Enrigue Iglesias songs. The only saving grace for Michael was how poorly his competition performed.

Not everyone was bad, however. Frontrunner Crystal Bowersox was brilliant on “People Get Ready,” combining the built-in power of an a capella intro with her breathtaking vocal tone and unrivaled ability to sell the meaning of a song. After last week’s rare miss, it took Bowersox literally a note or two to jettison herself back into a spot way above the head of anyone else in this competition. The tears and vocal breakdown at the very end of the song came as a minor detriment (how jaded has “Idol” made its audience that all crying is scrutinized as insincere?), but the performance, on the whole, was simply believable and gorgeous. A lot of the press she has earned paints her in a somewhat negative light (do we really want an “Idol” who considered leaving the show; do we really want an “Idol” who clearly said earlier in the season that she is doing this for the money?), but it simply cannot be disputed that when she goes on stage, she makes it count nearly every time. This was not an exception.

Lee DeWyze was also fantastic on “The Boxer.” While Siobhan has a passionate online fanbase that overrates her accomplishments, Lee seems to spark an undeserved quantity of detractors–many of whom were quick to point out the pitch problems this week. There definitely were some, but Lee, each and every week, manages to transcend his technical flaws with a stunningly-commercial voice and a true sense of what he wants to accomplish in the song. He is not a great stage performer, but he is a solid vocal interpreter, and he finds a method of tying every single note into the story of a song. The performance itself was not ‘big’ or ‘dramatic’ enough to take him to new heights in this competition, but it showed that he can combine a great tone, solid vocal technique and unflinching sincerity to create a magical performance. Another great one for Lee that should move him another step closer to a ‘solidified’ spot in the Top 3.

Top 7 Performance Rankings (based on quality not predicted vote total)
1) Crystal
2) Lee

3) Michael
4) Tim
5) Casey
6) Siobhan
7) Aaron