“American Idol” might be a solo competition, but the only bright spots of Tuesday’s otherwise horrible final four episode were the duets.
Rehashing the format from last year, Tuesday’s episode featured each of the four finalists singing their own song for the judges. They also broke up into pairs–Lee DeWyze with Crystal Bowersox and Michael Lynche with Casey James–to perform duets. All songs were linked to the “music from the movies” theme.
Headline Planet’s detailed review of the pivotal episode will be published in the early morning hours Wednesday, but a quick rundown of how the show played out is provided here:
— In his worst performance of the season, Lee DeWyze opened the night with a pitchy rendition of “Kiss from a Rose” (“Batman Forever”). He later excelled with Crystal Bowersox on “Falling Slowly,” the brilliant, Oscar-winning duet from “Once.” For her solo performance, Bowersox sang, “I’m Alright” (“Caddyshack”), earning solid marks from the judges despite doing nothing to rival her performances from earlier this season.
— Michael Lynche was charming but boring and underwhelming on “Will You Be There” (“Free Willy”). He and Casey James experienced tremendous success on a duet version of “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman” (“Don Juan DeMarco”). James’ solo performance was a mediocre rendition of “Mrs. Robinson” (“The Graduate”).