After last night’s American Idol performances to kick off Idol Gives Back week, we’re no longer rooting for Crystal Bowersox to win, we’re demanding it. Mama Sox may have lost it and broke down in tears at the end of her rendition of “People Get Ready,” but she also gave one of the best vocal performances we’ve ever seen on the show.
Crystal Bowerox on 'American Idol' (FOX)
Crystal Bowersox started off last night sweet and simple on American Idol, belting out an a capella first verse of “People Get Ready” to a room of near absolute silence. Bowersox had no instrument last night except her voice, but she didn’t need one. She soared through the inspirational song like some kind of earthbound angel reaching for the heavens. Then, right as she was going for that big, final blowout, Bowersox wavered and broke down in tears.
Far from ruining the performance, Bowersox’s emotional release on stage was cathartic and moving. Bowersox blamed her tears on having her father in the audience, but it’s obvious she has struggled through American Idol this season emotionally. Yet, she keeps taking to the stage, week after week, giving amazing performances far above the level of most of the other contestants.
For those out there who are – believe it or not – saying Bowersox’s tears were faked to garner sympathy from American Idol voters, we say shame on you. It should be obvious at this point that Crystal Bowersox has no need to win American Idol. Even if she was voted off this instant or really did decide to quit the show, she’d most certainly have more record deals and piles of cash thrown at her feet than she could handle.
If Crystal Bowersox doesn’t end up winning American Idol this season, we firmly believe that either the show is totally rigged – or the American public is tone deaf and wouldn’t know real, honest-to-god talent if it slapped them in the face.
Rumor has it American Idol frontrunner Crystal Bowersox nearly quit the competition just a few weeks ago. Bowersox reportedly missed her family terribly and felt like she just couldn’t handle the competition anymore. American Idol host Ryan Seacrest is the one who allegedly got her to stick it out for the long haul.
Crystal Bowersox on 'American Idol' (FOX)
According to TMZ.com, Crystal Bowersox was ready to walk off American Idol a couple of weeks ago. Bowersox and Ryan Seacrest allegedly talked about her desire to leave in a parking lot after the show was done taping.
Bowersox reportedly said she was sick of all the attention being directed her way and wanted to go back home to her family in Ohio. Seacrest allegedly gave Bowersox a hefty pep talk and told her the benefits of winning a million-dollar contract outweighed the torture of being on Idol.
Seacrest supposedly touched the right nerve with the young songstress when he told her the “greatest thing I ever did was make enough money so I could buy my mom a house. You can buy your mom a house.” With the prospect of helping out her family on her mind, Bowersox allegedly decided to stay.
Whether or not sticking around will prove to be the best decision for her career at this point, we’ll just have to wait and see. We’re not sure winning American Idol 2012 would be the right thing for her. Sometimes it seems like being a fan favorite but not actually winning is better than taking home the top prize. (Can anyone remember the name of the guy who won over Adam Lambert? We keep forgetting…)
We are admitted American Idol addicts, even after years of listening to some of the worst singing we’ve ever had the horror to hear. Even though sometimes we desperately think we need therapy to break this American Idol addiction, we can’t help but keep watching week after week.
Crystal Bowersox on 'American Idol' (FOX)
Thankfully, last night’s performances from the top eight women of this season’s American Idol were relatively easy on the ears for the most part. Several of the ladies were actually pretty damned fabulous. Which we are thankful for, because a handful of them were boring at best and cringe-worthy at worst. Let’s just say we were awfully tempted to fast-forward through several performances after hearing just a couple of notes.
So how did the American Idol top eight women do last night? Well, here’s our ranking of the performances from the evening.
8. Paige Miles: “Smile” by Charlie Chaplin – We are so ready for this girl to go! She can’t stay on pitch to save her life, her stage presence is boring as hell and she most definitively does NOT have the ‘it’ factor. We’re hoping this is the last time we’ll have to watch her in action.
7. Katelyn Epperly: “I Fell the Earth Move” by Carole King – Boring, flat and terrible song choice for her voice. It’s not that she’s a terrible singer, but she seems to have absolutely no clue what to do with her voice. Plus, she never really looks comfortable on stage and we tend to forget her the moment she walks off screen.
6. Katie Stevens: “Breakaway” by Kelly Clarkson – Not only was the song rough, Stevens just wasn’t connecting with it. When you know what this song sounds like when Clarkson belts it out, Stevens comes across as a terribly cheap rip-off. We did rate her a little better than we would have just because she actually went for a song that should have suited her voice better – if she could have pulled it off.
5. Lacey Brown: “The Story” by Brandi Carlile – We kind of like Lacey Brown but we don’t agree with the judges that this performance was relatively good for her. When you compare her against some of the stronger girls in the competition, she just comes across as a decent karaoke singer you enjoy after having far too many drinks.
4. Didi Benami: “Rhiannon” by Fleetwood Mac – We liked the song choice here, especially since Benami doesn’t really sound much like Stevie Nicks, so it made the song feel more original and unique. There were certainly some weak spots though and she still doesn’t quite own the stage, but we feel she’s got potential.
3. Lilly Scott: “I Fall to Pieces” by Patsy Cline – It was quite hard to rank the last three ladies because they are seriously all way above the rest of the pack. We know how hard Patsy Cline is to sing and Scott did quite a hot job of it. It was a bit quirky here and there and not quite the perfect song for her voice, but it was still far and away a better performance than most of the other ladies.
2. Siobhan Magnus: “House of the Rising Sun” by the Animals – We almost ranked Magnus at number one for this great song choice, but she did have a bit of wobble at one point. The song suited her voice nicely though and we think this may have been one of Magnus’ best performances yet. We could see big things for this girl.
1. Crystal Bowersox: “Give Me One Reason” by Tracy Chapman – Bowersox almost didn’t make our number one spot, but that was only because we expect so much of her. Her rendition of Chapman’s classic song was terrific, but it wasn’t risky. There was virtually no chance Bowersox wasn’t going to do a fabulous job with this kind of material. Still, her voice is definitely one of the strongest of the ladies and she always looks like she belongs on a stage like nobody else.
Thank goodness American Idol contestant Crystal Bowersox was able to return to the stage last night after her brief hospitalization. Bowersox ended up being one of the few women of the American Idol top 10 ladies that didn’t sound like a total train wreck. It would have been a serious loss to the competition – and the fans – if Bowersox had been eliminated over her sudden illness.
'American Idol' Top 10 Women (FOX)
While the women of American Idol certainly outshined the men Wednesday night, that’s not really saying much. While most of the performances were just boringly mediocre, a few were just appallingly bad. Luckily, there were a few rare exceptions. Which is good for American Idol, because otherwise we might seriously consider not even tuning in next week. Thankfully, there were at least a few ladies that we were seriously impressed with and can’t wait to see what they do next week.
Best:
Lilly Scott – Quirky girl Scott set the state on fire with her take on the Sam Cooke classic “A Change is Gonna Come.” While most of the contestants are struggling and straining to sing their songs, Lilly Scott just opens her mouth and does it. She’s an artist, a natural talent and a unique presence. We hope she goes very far indeed.
Crystal Bowersox – If you hadn’t known the girl had just been languishing in the hospital, you’d never have guessed. Bowersox proved once again why she’s a favorite to make the American Idol top 10 with her cover of Credence Clearwater Revival‘s “Long As I Can See the Light.” I think we’re going to have to call Bowersox as our early favorite, although we think Lilly Scott probably has a slightly higher commercial appeal.
Katelyn Epperly – While we agree her take on Coldplay‘s “The Scientist” was way, way too slow – we still liked it quite a bit. Finally, Epperly chose a song that really showed off her pipes properly. If she can just find her ‘niche’ and get into the groove of picking the right songs for her voice, she could prove to be a powerhouse to reckon with.
Best Runner-Up:Â Siobhan Magnus received high praise from the judges for performing Aretha Franklin‘s “Think,” but we’re not really totally clicking with her. While we agree it was a good performance and so close to being even better, something about this girl drives us a bit nuts in a way we just can’t understand or explain…
Middle of the Road:Katie Stevens was so unimpressive; we don’t even remember whether she was really sucky or just boring. Paige Miles made the mistake of covering past American Idol winner Kelly Clarkston and not even coming close to the original. That always irritates us to no end. Michelle Delamor was sort of okay and we want to like her more than we do. But she’s just another one of those girls we can’t seem to click with. Maybe it’s because she just doesn’t really seem to feel the music. You gotta have passion to impress us girl!
Worst:
DiDi Benami – For god’s sake, STOP singing “Lean on Me” on American Idol! It’s another one of those songs that everyone friggin’ does and no one ever does well. And it’s so overdone and so unoriginal that it just makes you look cheap, pathetic and easily expendable. Not to mention, Benami’s rendition of the song was just plain bad.
Lacey Brown – While we think “Kiss Me” was a much better song choice for Brown, she’s struggling so hard with her vocals that it’s painful to watch. She has a constant nervous burr in her vocals and can’t stay on pitch or hold onto the notes long enough. This girl has got to lose the nerves or she’s going to be out on her butt. It was pretty much a rather decent karaoke performance, which means it sucked pretty hard.
Haeley Vaughn – Anyone who actually chooses to sing Miley Cyrus is probably going to put us in a bad mood anyway. But to choose to do so and then do it really badly – that hurts man. Simon Cowell called it a “complete and utter mess” and for once, we totally agree with his judgment.
American Idol contestant Crystal Bowersox was hospitalized on Tuesday with a mysterious ailment, prompting a last minute switch to feature the male performers on last night’s show. Although little information has been revealed about why Bowersox was rushed to the hospital, the Los Angeles Times reports she will most likely be returning to the stage Wednesday night.
Crystal Bowersox on 'American Idol' (FOX)
Tuesday on American Idol was supposed to be the night for the top 10 women to compete, but it was the men who ended up showboating for votes instead. 24-year-old contestant Crystal Bowersox was suddenly rushed to the hospital on Tuesday after falling ill. No official information about her condition was released, but it is suspected she may have been suffering from a complication of diabetes.
Some American Idol fans have called the decision to move the boys to perform a day early unfair to both the male and female contestants. The men lost a day of rehearsal and the women may be feeling producers displayed favoritism toward Crystal Bowersox by delaying their performances.
Although Bowersox will reportedly be appearing to compete tonight on the show, not everyone involved with American Idol seems comfortable with the decision to allow her to continue. American Idol producer Ken Warwick spoke to host Ryan Seacrest on Wednesday morning, hinting that the decision to let Bowersox return is not an easy one. “If you’re in the Olympics and you’re going for the semi-final, for the final, if you don’t turn up, you don’t get straight through to the final,” Warwick said.
The official decision on Bowersox’s return to the stage Wednesday night will reportedly be handed down by the doctors. If for some reason they do not pass her to perform, she could find herself out of luck and booted from the competition for good.
Personally, we hope she gets another chance. The contestant field is none too strong this year and she’s frankly one of our favorites for the top 10. If the other contestants feel pissed off because she wasn’t booted out for getting sick, well, that’s just because they know she’s a threat.
