Top 12: Rolling Stones

The Top 12 hit the big stage tonight on American Idol, and after a terribly wrong results show last week, there wasn’t much momentum going into the episode. With the music of the Rolling Stones as the theme of the week, the momentum wasn’t helped. It is a very limiting catalog, and it didn’t really allow the contestants much freedom (though this group of simpleton contestants didn’t make great song choices when they had total freedom in the last 3 semifinal weeks). That being said, there were several good performances this week, but the place wasn’t exactly crawling with greatness.

Following is the It's Destiny! panel's take on the AI9 Top 12: Music of Rolling Stones.

Michael Lynche "Missing You"
Destiny: This was a solid performance from Michael. His voice is solid and his confident stage presence is nice to watch.
Score: 8.5
Liza: I'll give you solid vocals and confident on stage. But nice to watch? Oh heavens no. Being a big guy, his movements have a tendency to look so lumbered and awkward. Being alone on the big stage really emphasized that tonight. I couldn't watch it. I also think he could have done more with the song to make it sound more interesting.
Score: 6.5

Didi Benami "Play With Fire"
Destiny: First off, she is adorable (and looks like Brooke White so much from time to time!). This was a more serious/grounded performance from Didi than we’ve seen before, and her voice is definitely one of the tops in the competition, but she has yet to choose a song that shoots her through the roof. She needs to find that perfect vehicle that will allow her to connect and make a big impression. Come on, girl, I really like you and want you to make your mark on this show and stay for the duration. I’d like to see her have some fun and be a little sassy.
Score: 8.3
Liza: I actually thought she connected pretty well with it. She looked very comfortable and emotive onstage, which we really hadn't seen from her too much. Maybe the stupid swaybots in the pit actually give her power rather than suck it away like a vortex. Go figure. The song itself was kind of a bore for me, though, but Rolling Stones music doesn't lend itself well to Didi's kind of voice.
Score: 7.25

Casey James "It’s All Over Now"
Destiny: He is so pretty- the best thing to happen for women (not girls) on this show since Michael Johns. Love the cool one-handed guitar playing. Yow. As Evita Peron would say, Casey has a little bit of star qua-li-tay. This performance made it easy to envision him having a majorly successful career, especially in the Country industry. Good onya!!!
Score: 8.5
Liza: Meh. I just do not think he's all that good looking. He reminds me of Chad Kroeger, and that is never a good thing for me. I don't see this great star quality you are talking about either. He just stands there and plays. His vocals are there, but his performance quality is still lacking for me. But yes, his niche is in the country/rock genre. He could excel there.
Score: 7.5

Lacey Brown "Ruby Tuesday"
Destiny: Great song choice for her from the catalog and a really good performance. Love this girl. Love this voice! Who wouldn’t want that beautiful distinct voice? I can totally hear her on the radio and on my ipod. And I love her style and sweet spirit. I look forward to seeing what she’ll do next.
Score: 8.6
Liza: LOL we are not agreeing much on anything this week. I don't think her voice is beautiful. It's thin and baby-ish, and she made that song sound like something I'd hear from, like Dionne Warwick or someone like that. Other than her hair, Lacey is very forgettable to me, and she's too similar in style to Didi. And who needs her when you've got Didi?
Score: 5.0

Andrew Garcia "Gimme Shelter"
Destiny: He has a solid voice, and he sounded good on this song, though the song itself left a little to be desired. I do not get Randy saying this was pitchy vocals AT ALL. Dude, what? I would, however, have liked to see him play his guitar on this one just to loosen up in the performance. Andrew’s dad saying that he thought Andrew would be a custodian because he liked to collect keys was so sweet.
Score: 7.8
Liza: The song deserved a much better singer than Andrew. I really wanted Crystal to sing this one. Randy was saying it was pitchy because it WAS pitchy! Especially in the beginning. His voice is not pleasing to my ears AT ALL. And there was no fire there at all. The whole performance just fell flat, pitch and performance wise.
Score: 5.5

Katie Stevens "Wild Horses"
Destiny: This song choice was not a surprise in the least for Katie (and it wasn’t a shock that Simon loved it- or at least acted like he did). This was a very Katharine McPhee performance- she sounded like her & she put on all the facial moodiness she could muster. It did nothing for me at all, but it wasn’t a disaster.
Score: 7.0
Liza: My thoughts exactly in regards to Katie-Katharine. She sounds just like Kat, and I feel like she's trying to be the Miss Teen USA version of her with that dress and that totally predictable song choice. Katie had a few pitch problems in the song, but it was probably her best performance since the Hollywood rounds. And the fact that THIS is her best performance since then says a lot about who shouldn't be in this competition right now while more talented people are at home. Ahem.
Score: 6.5

Tim Urban "Under My Thumb"
Destiny: He’s so cute (like the new haircut!), and his Disney Channel charm is fun to see and will surely take him far. You can’t help but wish him well. The reggae arrangement of this song was unexpected- I didn’t think we’d see an attempt at innovation from him any time soon. The arrangement didn’t really work for me, but I appreciated the effort. And his stage presence was much improved- it’s nice to see him not look like he was going to fall over at any moment.
Score: 7.5
Liza: Tim is Vote for the Worst's dream contestant - terrible enough of a singer to be mocked but cute enough to get lots of votes and thus stay in the competition, which is their main objective. He's this year's Sanjaya. And he's not going anywhere this week despite a clumsy and ill-advised reggae take on "Under My Thumb". He took the right approach by not trying to invite direct comparisons to Jagger, but this just did not work. And it confused the out-of-rhythm swaybots even more. It was pretty hilarious to watch them try to clap along to the beat of that one!
Score: 4.5

Siobhan Magnus "Paint It Black"
Destiny: The beginning of this arrangement was very “look at me I’m Sandra Dee” from Grease. But she kicked it into gear and turned things around. I don’t need to hear her big scream notes every week, but it did work in this song. Siobhan sure is cute, but I did not like the curled hair at all. And the lighting was terrible! Get it together, AI.
Score: 8.3
Liza: That scream could have worked if she hadn't sounded like Danny Gokey during Scream On. Ugh. Loud and high-pitched do not always equal good, Siobhan. That note was horrific and marred what had been a pretty good and dramatic performance.
Score: 6.75

Lee Dewyze "Beast of Burden"
Destiny: Did Ryan really need to tell us that Lee was really nervous? Isn’t that a given with Lee? This was a nice song choice, and his arrangement of it was nice. It wasn’t greatness, but it was nice.
Score: 7.5
Liza: Right? Lee's always visually nervous. And he's totally singing out of his throat. When he tried to sustain the longer notes, it sounded so painful. Still, one of the better vocals of the mediocre performances tonight.
Score: 7.5

Paige Miles "Honky Tonk Woman"
Destiny: Interesting that Paige wanted to show her Tina Turner side with this song choice- not sure if it was a good fit for her meek personality. I was surprised that the judges said she has so much star quality. I haven’t seen it yet and didn’t see it on this performance. She is sweet and has a nice voice, but I wasn’t moved.
Score: 7.3
Liza: You think PAIGE is meek? She's one of the few who has consistently shown any kind of personality onstage. I thought it was a great song choice, and I actually thought it was the best performance up to that point. Especially from someone who has laryngitis. Could I see that kind of performance at my local bar? Maybe, but at least she brings some energy and zest to the stage, which is more than I can say for a lot of the other people on this show who are ballading us to death.
Score: 8.0

Aaron Kelly "Angie"
Destiny: With this performance Aaron embraced the inner Archuleta that the judges have been dying to see from him. It was nice to see a little more stage performance from him, though he still didn’t really move me. I know the whole AI staff loves this kid’s voice, but I am not really a fan of his vocals either. His sweetness is definitely his best quality in my book.
Score: 7.5
Liza: Aaron did fine vocally, but he just bores me. It's like the same performance every week, with the exception of that one Motown song. He can't even inspire snark out of me. That's how boring he is.
Score: 6.5

Crystal Bowersox "You Can’t Always Get What You Want"
Destiny: This was the most interesting performance of the night hands down. She sounded great, and I loved the cool, easy arrangement. She is a natural artist, and it’s just plain fun to watch and listen to her. She is in a class of her own. The standout of the season. And, please tell me, Randy, where were those “couple little problems” you claimed were in this performance? I can’t find them.
Score: 9.0
Liza: I agree - this was definitely the standout performance of the night. Easily. Crystal's voice is really something. She possesses some of Kelly Clarkson's vocal qualities - soulful, yet also pretty and soothing. The only minor quibble is that she could up the performance level, but she is already starting to do that and improve in that regard.
Score: 8.5

Who Should Be Eliminated
Destiny: Katie
Liza: Lacey

Who Will Be Eliminated
Destiny: Didi/Paige
Liza: Lacey

Flavor of The Episode:
Destiny: Mostly Sweet & Short of Great
Liza: Throwing Stones

Visit the Idol Talk Archives to see all of our existing Idol coverage.
Visit our homepage for the latest features, updates, and polls.

The Future of Entertainment.
It’s Here. It’s Fun. It’s Destiny!
"Contact Us" to let us know you were here and what you think!

American Idol logo courtesy Fox.