Summary "American Idol" - Top Nine Performance - Take Two - April 13, 2010

Theme: Elvis Presley. The gang took a field trip to see the Presley Cirque du Soleil show and hung out with...

Mentor: Adam Lambert. He says his mission is to be completely honest but constructive. He tells Ryan that his main advice was to up the energy. He compliments them all vocally.

In the audience: The cast of "Glee"

Contestant #1: Crystal Bowersox

Song:"Saved." Adam loves her voice and it's authenticity. He counsels her to rock an electric guitar.

Performance: She takes his advice and gives maybe her liveliest performance to date. Maybe not a showstopper vocally but a lot of fun and well done.

Randy: He loved it, thought it was dope, calls her the second coming of Bonnie Raitt.

Ellen: Calls it fantastic.

Kara: Another solid performance, loves the uptempo and the switch-up with the arrangement tempo-wise.

Simon: Calls it a lyric he can relate to and he loves that she didn't choose an obvious song and put her own slant on it and didn't fall into the karaoke trap.



Contestant #2: Andrew Garcia In Ryan stool chat Andrew says Mike's "sing for your life" performance encouraged him. In his package Adam tells Andrew that he was bored by his performance. Adam tells him to step it up.

Song: "Hound Dog"

Performance: He gives it a sort of swinging Latin vibe but keeps it pretty midtempo. He takes a walk with the microphone to the platform behind the judges. It's okay but there's not much nuance to it.

Randy: Says it was bad karaoke, he didn't like it at all.

Ellen: Wishes he had put more swagger into it but thought that he pulled it off.

Kara: Says he needed to own it and he didn't and she used his microphone as a crutch. She wanted more swagger as well.

Simon: Thought it was lazy and unpredictable, and thought it was the worst performance in a musical and all of coolness has been sucked out.



Contestant #3: Tim Urban Adam thinks Tim did a lovely job in his rehearsal and played guitar well. He advises him to take the end up into his falsetto for some vulnerability.

Song: "I Can't Help Falling in Love"

Performance: Seated on a platform behind the judges, Tim accompanies himself on acoustic on a very simple and, honestly nice, performance. There are a couple of little rough notes but really, probably his best, most straightforward performance yet.

Randy: He liked it.

Ellen: Really enjoyed it and thought it was beautiful.

Kara: Her favorite Tim performance ever: authentic, current, and meaningful.

Simon: Tells him he has managed to go from zero to hero in two weeks. Congratulates him on his growth.



Contestant #4: Lee Dewyze Thinks Lee is great but says there's nothing go on with his face and tells him to smile and be playful and to "perform" reminding him he's not in the guitar studio.

Song: "A Little Less Conversation"

Performance: Playing his acoustic guitar Lee starts at eleven vocally and doesn't have really have anywhere to go. He sounds really strong but there's not a ton of shifting dynamics.

Randy: Thinks Lee is in the zone, calls it great and amazing.

Ellen: Thinks he made it current and likes that he's engaging more with the audience.

Kara: Is impressed that he "went for it" vocally but she wished that he had been less serious and more playful.

Simon: Simon asks what she means by playful. She says looser. He says it was on the money full stop.



Contestant #5: Aaron Kelly Adam says he had underestimated Aaron and says he really likes his voice. He counsels him to be more energetic and to use his growl a bit more. Adam thinks Aaron doesn't believe in himself more. Aaron admits that he thinks the song might be wrong "in every possible way."

Song: "Blue Suede Shoes"

Performance: He seems nervous but sounds fine. It is sort of high school talent show-esque. He breaks it down at the end and gets a little bluesy and it sounds better and feels stronger.

Randy: Thought it started weird but loved the bluesy half-time part.

Ellen: Thought it was a big song to take on and thinks he didn't get all the way there but he did a good job.

Kara: Says he's out of his comfort zone and she liked it and made him seem younger.

Simon: Completely disagrees and says it seemed old-fashioned and telepathically agrees with my high school talent show vibe.



Contestant #6: Siobhan Magnus In Ryan stool chat she confesses she wrote a sixth grade report on Elvis. In her video package Adam compliments her pipes but says her first pass is too sleepy and to add some tempo and fire to her next try. She calls it an honor to be compared to him. He respects that she likes to be different.

Song: "Suspicious Minds"

Performance: She starts off gentle and sweet and oddly affected, but strong vocally. At the end she breaks it down and starts going for a few of those big notes. Some work better than others. It's an odd performance. Most of the vocal is fine but it's oddly earnest and disjointed. She absolutely nails the last few notes though.

Randy: Thinks the girl can sing but liked the second half of the song better than the first.

Ellen: Says she looks fabulous and she agrees the second half was better.

Kara: Goes further saying Siobhan has two voices and that she's confused and she likes the second voice better also. She wasn't crazy about it.

Simon: Says it was like she was put into a time machine and that she was a completely different person. He thought the first part was terrible and some of the big notes were not accurate. He says she was erratic and screechy, not one of her best performances.

Siobhan responds that even she can't always pinpoint who she is all the time and she's taken pride in the fact that she's not one kind of singer.

Ryan makes a Dunkelman joke!

Contestant #7: Michael Lynche Siobhan recommended his song. Adam thinks he should pick it up a little and bring the actor out. Michael is resistant to that since Simon commented negatively on that. Adam thinks he deserves to get right down to the end.

Song: "In the Ghetto"

Performance: He goes the straightforward, simple route as well accompanying himself on acoustic with a little assist from the pianist. A little quiet but nicely done.

Randy: Calls it a little sleepy but hot vocally.

Ellen: She says she's glad they saved him.

Kara: Calls it a beautiful song and sung well.

Simon: Calls it a million billion percent better than last week and one of his favorite performances.



Contestant #8: Katie Stevens Katie told Adam she wanted to channel her frustration into her song. So he advises her to go with that. She says she's got the pipes and the look now she has to make us believe it.

Song: "Baby What Do You Want Me To Do"

Performance: She's doing the unfortunate neck snap thing again. She sounds okay, but there are more than a couple tough spots which is contradicting her confident attitude.

Randy: Said it was nice vocally and entertaining.

Ellen: Liked it and calls it horny because of the horn section.

Kara: Says she showed them.

Simon: Calls it loud and annoying. Didn't like the song.



Contestant #9: Casey James Adam tells him to build more of an arc into the song and give it more of a climax.

Song: "Lawdy Miss Clawdy"

Performance: He starts out acoustic and then the band kicks in with a little funk. It's a more typical Casey bar band blues performance but he sounds great and is engaging.

Randy: Thinks he's in the zone, another solid performance.

Ellen: Wasn't as exciting as he's been and says he's still great.

Kara: Says he's capable of brilliance and wants to see that next week.

Simon: Calls it a wasted opportunity given that it was Elvis week and the song was forgettable but that the vocal was good.

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