Top 8 Guys

Lee Dewyze - Oh, Sweet Lee. He is growing on me. I thought he did a good performance. I am not familiar with that song, so I couldn't compare it to the original. Judging the performance alone, I thought it was solid but I wasn't blown away. There is something very charming and likeable about him. He is not haughty or stuck up and that makes me like him infinitely more than some other contestants we have seen thus far. Grade: B+

Alex Lambert - I will be unpopular for saying this, but I am not jumping on the bandwagon of the judges saying this is his competition to lose. To me, his voice is nasally and doesn't sound that unique. Actually, every time I hear him I think of Jason Mraz. Ever time I see him I think of Florence Henderson. To me, that is not a winning combination -- guacamole and maple syrup. When I heard the recaps at the end of the show it was even more apparent to me that he is not the "star" the judges see him as. Oh well. Grade: C+

Tim Urban - Up until this week, I didn't think Tim had claws. Boy, oh boy he pulled them out tonight. He reached in and pulled out he trump card of all trump cards on this show...Leonard Cohen/Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah. I feel like this is a song that endears whoever is singing it to the audience. Tangent: One of my guilty pleasures is watching Local Access Cable. I love to see the local town talent shows and I found out this year that Miss NH is from Raymond. She was kind enough to grace the tiny stage this year of the Miss Raymond pageant and sang Hallelujah as her performance piece. Even though I don't think she is the best singer, it endeared her to the audience and the crowd went wild. End Tangent. My point in telling that story is that I feel like the song more than the performer shines. That being said, he did sing it well and this was by far his best performance so far. Well played, Tim. Well played. Grade: A

Andrew Garcia - I don't know what to say about him. I want so badly to like him and what he does, but week after week I am scratching my head at what to make of him. Of all the Xtina songs to choose, I didn't think that was the best one especially if you are not going to stray from the melody until the last possible second. I don't even know how to really score him because he is in such an odd niche and I am having trouble imagining what sort of recording artist he would turn out to be. His vocals weren't bad, but they weren't fantastic either. Grade: C

Casey James - Meh. I could take or leave this performance. This is not my favorite Keith Urban song (You'll Think of Me) and it sounded like he was clipping the end of the phrases and his vibrato seemed too fast tonight. I think Casey is good at what he does, but I don't find him captivating, or exciting to watch in anyway. I think he is a guy who would do really well impressing girls with his sensitive guy-with-a-guitar singing. It's ok, but to me it is boring. Grade: B-

Aaron Kelly - Oy vey. I feel like sending a roll of duct tape to Fox to attach his hand to the mic. They give him the shiniest, chromiest mic and he keeps tossing it between his hands. His lower range is weak and it seems like he is just waiting to get to his money notes. Before everyone gets upset, I get that he is 16. His voice is still developing and growing, but it frustrates me when they keep telling the girls (specifically Katie Stevenson) to sound more young and to do young songs and then they let Aaron sing Lonestar. Kara tried to express that the song had no relevance to his life and Simon jumped in to say it was a beautiful song, let him sing the beautiful song. Where was that advice when Katie sang Feeling Good? I feel that their is a double standard and for that reason I am more critical of Aaron's performance -- in an effort to be somewhat fair. The vocal was not great. Once he hit his money notes, yeah, that is his strength, but he really needs to work on his vocal control and stage presence (not playing hot potato with the mic). Grade: C

Todrick Hall - Acid washed jeans and glovelets aside, this guy can sing. I found it so refreshing to hear someone actually SING and come out to win it. He was a bit over the top performance wise, but he was trying to differentiate himself from the other contestants -- mission accomplished. I was just so happy to not be lulled to sleep by another Easy Listening Soft Rock classic. Thank you Todrick for bringing Red Bull to tonight's performance. Grade: A-

Michael Lynche - The first high notes made me jump and it only went more over the top from there. I love this guy. I loved watching his massive body move all over the stage. He makes me smile. Can we just talk briefly about Kara's reaction to the song? WHOA...step back from the edge of the cliff my friend -- this is a live show. I can appreciate a song moving you, but it seemed like she was letting herself get way too involved in that emotion. This is about the contestants, not you. Anyway, I think Simon's comments were dead on. Big Mike nailed his performance tonight and reminded me that this is a competition, not amateur's karaoke hour. Well done. Grade: A+

Well worth the wait to hear the best two contestants last. I think Aaron and Andrew will go home tonight. I would hope Alex would go, but I know lots of people like him. We'll see...

What did you all think?