American Idol Season 9 Top 20

Ahead of the first of this week’s American Idol live shows, here’s a look back at what happened last week.

The first performance show opened with Ryan saying that the contestants had survived their first results show, then shaking hands with a girl in the audience, pausing to say, “hello, thanks for watching the show!”

This was a perfect opportunity to grab a screenshot that illustrates two questions. What’s going on with that oft-neglected second button on Ryan’s jacket? And, is that a Blackberry in his jacket pocket … if so, why isn’t he tweeting during the breaks!

The girls were scheduled to perform first, but Ryan explained that the guys would be performing instead because Crystal Bowersox had been taken ill and hospitalised. As he introduced the judges, Ryan asked Randy if switching the performance nights around would affect the guys (not really) then asked Ellen whether she’d ever missed a show. Ellen pretended to misunderstand, saying she’d missed Gladiators and Bewitched when they went off air, then talked about the show she did from a hospital bed one time, which Ryan remembers well because he was in it with her! Ryan asked Mr Cowell who was in the lead, the girls or the guys. Simon considered briefly, then said the girls.

Michael Lynche — he’s such a big guy, he needs to use a different measurement system when talking about the gym: the Ryan Seacrest. He benches 3 or 4 Ryan Seacrests, depending on whether the Ryan Seacrests are wearing suits. This gave them a chance to show Ryan being manhandled after auditions again. How we laughed.

Roving Ryan was at it again … during the montage, he’d moved to stand behind Kara. It’s no wonder he’s so slim! The director has him doing laps of the studio. Michael was a hit with the judges, and Ryan too, literally, as he went in for a shoulder bump.

Michael gave a shout out to his wife, complete with pointy fingers … which Ryan, naturally, picked up on! Ryan asked about finding out the guys would be going first, and Michael said he was getting a pedicure at the gym, so Ryan said he was getting a manicure when he heard.

John Park — Ryan had a chat with John in the Red Room before his montage. The judges weren’t impressed, with Simon calling it a “so what” performance.

Casey James — Casey hadn’t watched the show before auditioning, so Ryan asked him if he knew the song he’d picked had a history. Casey, who is far too tall and shouldn’t be allowed to stand next to Ryan, plays a mean guitar but the judges didn’t think much of his singing.

Alex Lambert — Ryan quizzed Alex on his nerves, but was relieved that Alex told him he wasn’t planning to throw up! The judges thought he’d made a big improvement since last week. Simon wished he was choosing Alex’s songs. Hey! There’s a good idea. How about another show, similar to Idol, but where the judges choose the songs! Oh wait, there already is one … it’s called The X Factor. 8/10 for self-promotion, 4/10 for subtlety. Ryan picked up on Simon’s comment about the killer instinct, telling him, “when I fail, Simon is thrilled!” setting Simon up for an obvious comeback, “and I’m constantly thrilled.” Ryan bowed, “I’m in awe, sire!”

The new drinking game for this week is “take a shot every time Simon sneaks in a reference to The X Factor”. Last week’s drinking game “take a shot every time Ryan moves to a different part of the set” had to be replaced as several participants passed out after the first 20 shots and missed the final 110 minutes of the show.

Todrick Hall — the judges said Todrick was changing things up too much again. Ryan went to Randy for more advice then asked Todrick what he’ll do next week. He said he’s going to “just sing”, if he’s there next week.

Jermaine Sellers — Jermaine also didn’t get the memo about pulling it back a little, so the judges were disappointed in his performance. Jermaine wasn’t too worried about Simon saying he wouldn’t be there next week because Jesus is his homeboy … Simon drolly suggested that Ryan needn’t bother with the phone numer. It’s a shame Jermaine isn’t performing well because he’s great TV!

Andrew Garcia — the judges didn’t think Andrew was as good as he could be and they’re still waiting for another “Straight Up” moment. Ryan asked Andrew if he has another one like that in his back pocket.

Aaron Kelly — the judges were divided. Kara liked him, Simon said he needs to work out who he wants to be and be more current … like Justin Bieber. Ryan asked Aaron if he likes Justin Bieber, Aaron laughed but Ryan wasn’t ashamed to admit he’s a fan!

Tim Urban — Kara was out of her seat when they came back from the commercial, so Ryan helped seat her, took her hair out of her mouth, then introduced Tim in a funny voice while Kara played with his tie.

Randy, Ellen and Kara weren’t feeling Tim’s performance, but Simon disagreed, finding him much improved. Ryan asked Tim what was going through his head when he exhaled during the judges’ feedback, but when Tim replied he wasn’t going to worry about it too much this week, Ryan took Tim’s arm and told him that the judges wanted him to worry about it.

Lee Dewyze — Lee closed the guys’ show and went down well with the judges, though they made comments about his body language, which Ryan questioned him about. Ryan pointed out a pants off the ground move that Lee had made during the song, but didn’t get a chance to follow through with a reference to Larry Platt

The second performance show opened with Ryan introducing the girls. Crystal was last and he stopped her for a quick chat to ask how she was before introducing the judges. Ryan asked Kara about cozying up close to Simon’s plunging neckline. Kara and Simon discussed who was cozying up to whom, then Simon got straight to the point, “you want me, don’t you!”

Crystal Bowersox — the judges loved her and were glad she was able to perform. Simon thought he had “misunderestimated” her and compared her performance to the moment when they realised Kelly Clarkson had something special. Ryan asked if she was worried coming into the performance, but Crystal was only really nervous that she wasn’t going to be there. Ryan gave her a cute hug at the end.

Haeley Vaughn — the judges hated Haeley’s performance. Even Ellen struggled for something positive to say. After the other three judges had been negative, Simon said he didn’t want to make it worse, then told her it was a complete and utter mess and said it was ironic she sang a song about climbing when she actually fell off. Ryan challenged Simon, “how is that not making it any worse?” “What good did that do?” and was met with a stony silence and a death glare. Ryan continued on, but after he cut to break, he turned and narrowed his eyes, presumably towards Simon.

Lacey Brown — Randy thought it was a bit karaoke, Ellen said she’s adorable and she’d chosen the right song, Kara told her to step it up, and Simon thought she was focussed on the competition aspect rather than putting herself across as an artist, comparing her unfavourably to Crystal. Ryan asked Lacey what she could have done to make it more memorable, but she told him instead that she hadn’t really understood Simon’s comments. After she rambled a little, Simon stopped her saying, “so we’re all happy!”

Katie Stevens — the judges still think she needs to make herself “younger” as she comes across as much older than her seventeen years. Simon told her she needs to work out what kind of recording artist she wants to be. Ryan asked Katie what she’s going to do, then gave Justin Bieber another shout out after asking her if she is a fan of any teen artists.

Didi Benami — Ryan asked her about watching the body language of the judges while the guys were performing. Didi explained, then interrupted herself saying, “I can talk forever!” Ryan told her they wouldn’t cut her off and took her hand as he introduced her montage. The judges didn’t like her performance so Ryan took a hands-on approach to comforting her. Didi’s not the only one noticing body language, and it looks like there’s a little chemistry there!

Michelle Delamour — the judges’ feedback was mixed, with Kara and Simon liking parts of her performance and Randy talking more about the outfit. Simon said Randy was in a bad mood and they could ask Vera Wang, who was in the audience, about the outfit. Ryan talked about Michelle’s outfit too … but he’s not an expert on women’s fashion, he’d got his info from Vera. Sure, Ryan.

Lilly Scott — Ryan asked Lilly if she’d worked on stage presence and asked what tips she’d been given. She has been told she needs to open her eyes and connect with the audience. The judges like Lilly a lot though Simon thought she’d oversung a little. Ryan joked with Lilly about looking into the camera and asked if her words were in the prompter.

Katelyn Epperly — Ryan interviewed Katelyn in the Red Room before he introduced her. Randy thought it was mostly okay, Ellen liked that she was playing guitar … then realised it was a piano (Paula might be gone, but her Coke cup lives on) … but thought the song was too slow, Kara agrees but loves Katelyn, and Simon wondered if Katelyn had heard the Natasha Bedingfield version of the song, which is very similar to her interpretation.

Paige Miles — they came back from break with Debbie shouting for water, and Ryan took a bottle from someone off camera. Ever the gentleman, Ryan took the cap off the bottle before handing it to Paige. Randy wasn’t sure if she’d chosen the right song, Ellen loved it, Kara thought she could have a hit with it but didn’t think she conveyed enough anger, and Simon didn’t think she’d chosen the right song.

Siobhan Magnus — the judges love Siobhan, even though some of them thought there were a few rough parts in the song, and were impressed with her big note. Simon continued to tease Siobhan about her way of speaking, but she doesn’t appear to notice, or perhaps she does, and she just doesn’t care.

At the end, Ryan had time to ask the judges for a little feedback on the performances. Simon singled out Crystal as a stand-out but described some others as horrific. Simon actually remembers Crystal’s name, which means he must really like her. Ellen thought Crystal was great too, but didn’t see the horrific performances Simon did. Ryan said, “I can’t tell when he reacts, with the botox, any more.”

On results night, John Park and Jermaine Sellers were eliminated from the guys and Michelle Delamour and Haeley Vaughn from the girls. I think John and Michelle deserved to stay around a little longer, but neither of them looked like potential winners. My favourites at this stage are Crystal … long gap … Siobhan, Didi, Lilly and Katelyn. I’m not feeling much love for any of the guys, but I’m still holding out hope for Todrick to pull it together because I think he’s potentially the most talented of the guys. Of the others, maybe Lee, maybe Andrew. I think Michael and Casey have it together more than the other guys, but I’m not a fan of either at this point.

The funniest part of the results show was after Haeley was eliminated and Ryan gave her the mic, saying that she was going to sing “in just a second” and the guys in the control room were screaming at Debbie because they thought he was going to skip the farewell montage for the four contestants, so she started yelling at Ryan. Ryan had it under control though, “no, no, baby, in just a second. Debbie, relax, in just a second. Debbie our Stage Manager is screaming!” Ryan called Debbie onto stage after the montage and said everyone gets emotional during the live show. I love Debbie. I wish we could hear her and the control room on a back channel or something … how great would that be!

This week four more contestants will be eliminated and we’ll find out who makes the top twelve.