"Top" Eleven

I'll admit that I almost didn't watch or blog tonight because I knew Miley Cyrus was going to be the "mentor" and I thought she would drive me crazy promoting her new movie for two hours. To my surprise, Miley, and her omnipresent chewing gum, were not the most painfully obnoxious things about tonight's show. However it was very clear to me that there are people littering this competition that don't deserve to be here.

Lee Dewyze - I thought his performance of The Letter was one of his best. I really liked that he actually smiled and seemed to be enjoying himself. I thought the judges were a little harsh with him and he did better than they gave him credit for. He looks like he has more of a sparkle in his eye and is becoming more attractive to me. Oh yeah, and he can really sing. Grade: A-

Paige Myles - Oh dear, I HATE when contestants of any season sing this song (Against All Odds). I first developed when Scottie "the Body" sang it in season four. Paige's rendition was no less annoying. The pitch was all over the place and she had no stage presence. I also did not get the outfit -- Off white clingy t-shirt tunic, black leggings, heeled gladiator sandals and then victory rolls in her hair??? She must be getting style advice from Sherri Shepard. Why is she still here? Grade: F

Tim Urban - Tim singing Queen...are you kidding me with this. Horrible. Awful. Lame. There were moments when I actually closed my eyes because I was embarrassed for him. It's tough for me to want him here another week, but that is how much I want Paige to go. I seriously cannot believe Lacey Brown is watching this from home and these two weirdos are still in. Grade: D-

Aaron Kelly - I knew Aaron was going to choose this song when they announced the theme of the night. He gave a very earnest performance and considering his laryngitis it was done well. He seems to be getting more comfortable on stage and is gaining confidence. That being said, he still needs to improve to be in the same league as some of the other contestants. Grade: B

Crystal Bowersox - Each week I like her even more. While she is not my style, I can respect that she is true to her style and she does have legitimate singing chops. I smile watching her perform because she reminds me of the kids from Nottingham that I went to high school with and I can totally see her performing at Cafe on the Corner, or what's the new hippy hangout -- Adelle's Coffeeshop. I love her in all of her unwashed goodness. Grade: A

Michael Lynche - Big Mike knows how to pick songs that are great for his voice and that he can connect with. I think I get irritated when they tell him that his performance was old fashioned because I think somethings and some songs are intended to be timeless....and that's not a bad thing. Maybe if he did a remix of that song with a ukelele they would have liked it more. Grade: B

Andrew Garcia - As he was singing I kept thinking, "the judges are going to eat him alive!" He assumed the position and braced for the comments. He knew it was bad right after he finished. I am so sick of hearing people say "I was having fun!" as an excuse for giving a bad performance. This is not the I-hope-you-had-fun competition. It is a singing/performing competition. This one did not cut it. Grade: D

Katie Stevenson - I don't really like the song (Big Girls Don't Cry) but at least I knew the judges would get off her back about being "young". The suspendered skinny jeans and peace sign t-shirt helped her too. Now that they can accept her for being young, they were able to judge her voice (which was SHARP). She is cute and I like her voice but hopefully she can be on pitch more next week. Grade: C

Casey James - He didn't make many changes on the original song (Power of Love) but he did sing it well and made good use of the Blues Brothers horn section. I wasn't blown away, but he has a good voice and definitely deserves to move on next week. Grade: B

Didi Benami - While her performance wasn't awful, I just didn't get it. Out came the "I had fun" excuse. Oh goodness, me! I think they should ban that phrase for the rest of the season. Not fantastic, but not the worst I heard tonight. Grade: C-

Siobhan Magnus - I just want to hug this little weirdo. She is so peculiar and so interesting and has serious talent. I agree with Simon that, like Adam Lambert, she will be polarizing. People will either really like her, or really hate her. The one thing you can say is that there really is no one else like her in the competition. She takes risks and succeeds more often than not. She knows what she likes and is excellent at expressing herself. Grade: A

What did you all think?