Guest Blogger: Angela on American Idol - the top 12 - Rolling Stones theme

The thought of the American Idol contestants singing Rolling Stones songs made me cringe for two reasons: (1) I’m not a Stones fan and (2) I didn’t think the wanna-be pop stars could do their rock songs justice. With that said, I was relatively impressed with how well the contestants did. Some were mediocre, but few were horrible. This is how I ranked the top 12 (with a few fashion police comments I couldn’t resist typing):

1. Casey – “It’s All Over Now” – I was surprised he sounded so great. I love the raspy tone he used. Way to go Casey! Just loosen up a little on stage next time.
2. Crystal – “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” – This was more understated than I was expecting, but she sounded great, as always.
3. Siobhan – “Paint It Black” – She’s the only contestant who could pull this off because she’s dramatic and campy, like Adam Lambert last season (I typed that before Kara said it, I swear!). I still think her “high notes” are just screams though. Nice hair and make up, cute dress, horrible shoes.
4. Lee – “Beast of Burden” – I don’t know what the original sounds like but I enjoyed Lee’s version. He sounded very contemporary, but I still think his voice is too nasally. Love his gray leather jacket.
5. Michael – “Miss You” – This soulful rendition worked well for Mike. It wasn’t pitch perfect, but it was better than I expected.
6. Didi – “Playing with Fire” – I liked Didi’s tougher attitude. Unfortunately she seemed to stumble over the words a little. Her voice sounded good except for the one sharp high note.
7. Lacey – “Ruby Tuesday” – Lacey has a cool voice but it doesn’t suit a huge variety of songs. She was decent but boring. WTF was she wearing?
8. Paige – “Honky Tonk Woman” – Her lower register is flat; her upper register is good. I liked parts and hated parts.
9. Katie – “Wild Horses” – Call me stupid, but I didn’t even know this was a Stones song; I know a different version. The first part seemed too low for Katie, and there’s still something about her voice that isn’t doing it for me.
10. Andrew – “Gimme Shelter” –The song didn’t seem to fit his personality at all. The vocals were a little flat and the whole thing was awkward.
11. Tim – “Under My Thumb” – The only part I liked was the brief acoustic bridge. The reggae vibe was lame. Bad decision. Tim reminds me of John Peter Lewis from season 3. I thought he was overrated too.
12. Aaron – “Angie” – The way Aaron sang “Anjay” really annoyed me. Parts were flat; all of it was boring. The judges are definitely hearing something I’m not. Aaron is the poor man’s David Archuletta IMO.

I would say that Aaron and Tim are at risk of going home, but I’ve thought that before and they’re still around, unfortunately. I guess they have fans somewhere! Maybe Andrew, Katie, Paige, Lacey, and Didi won’t get as many vote as the cute little boys. That would be sad, wouldn’t it? Last week I was way off; we’ll see how my predictions hold up on when the results are announced. Speaking of, this week’s results show is packed with hot artists: Kesha, Orianthi, and season 7 winner (and my all time favorite Idol contestant) David Cook. Sounds like an awesome show!

My personal highlight of the night: the extreme close-up of Ryan when he approached the judges’ table after Mike’s performance. Hello Mr. Seacrest! In general I like when Ryan steps in to defend/comfort the contestants, and the close-up shot was the icing on the cake. *swoon*

- Angela Pasquinelli