American Idol 9 - Top 5 Takes on Frank

Sinatra, that is. This was a theme week that flopped last year despite being put late enough to where the contestants should have been good enough to handle the songbook. We will see if this year's generally weak crop can come up with a surprise. Although Lee and Aaron are the weakest singers remaining, Mike and Casey have flirted with disaster recently and Crystal looked mortal last week. So on to it.

Aaron - Fly Me To The Moon - Aaron gives a decent rendition for someone who is terribly underdeveloped vocally compared to the original. I thought he put too much emphasis and oversold at some points. Technically it was a good performance, but it was definitely not memorable and that's the key when you go first and you are on the edge of elimination talent-wise. This certainly does not make him safe.
GRADE: C

Casey - Blue Skies - Casey is forced away from his guitar a second week by Connick, which turns out OK. Aaron tried to be generic while Casey can put some soul like usual and make it work. Even though I know this is unfair, it was a little to lounge singer-esque, as he could have done a bit more with it. Nevertheless, this was better than Aaron I thought. The judges ripped him to death though which could be a serious issue.
GRADE: C

Crystal - Summer Wind - Crystal does make this sound like a strong-voiced version of one of her own songs, which makes it actually somewhat better than two weeks ago when the judges loved her. This is an improvement over last week, which is all that matters as a frontrunner does not want to stay down at this point in the competition. This was the usual solid performance, even if not perfect.
GRADE: A-

Mike - The Way You Look Tonight - Mike plays in a 12 piece band, which means he knows his Sinatra, which should come as no surprise. Actually what is surprising is that he had not dipped into a Sinatra tune before now unless he was prevented from doing so. Mike knocks this one out of the park as well as he can, and it is the best performance of the night. As well it should be in his wheelhouse.
GRADE: A

Lee - That's Life - Lee does his usual raspy talk-through-a-verse at the beginning of this song. This performance was a whole lot of boring and a big out of place glory note at the end. I have no idea what he was thinking but this was not nearly as good as he thought it was. Of course the judges loved it because they always love Aaron and Lee to make it interesting (or maybe they are that tone deaf).
GRADE: C-

So overall we have the usual passing grades with this late part of the season, but I really think someone will go home who maybe does not deserve it. However, there was one performance which the judges ripped and will push Aaron into the safe category for another week. Too bad too, as he really does not deserve it. But theme week is a killer for someone like Casey.

TOP PERFORMER - Mike
BOTTOM TWO - Casey, Aaron
GOING HOME - Casey