Crystal Bowersox
Michael Lynche
Siobhan Magnus
I’m tired of writing this over and over again — but Paige Miles needs to be booted off American Idol tonight. Houston's contestant has stopped trying to perform and it’s painful to watch — and even more painful to hear.
What’s really sad is if Miles had survived one more week, she could have gone on the American Idol tour. That’s great exposure for an aspiring artist — what a shame she stopped trying.
As Idol narrows down to the final 10 contestants, here are the ones to watch: Crystal Bowersox, Siobhan Magnus and Michael Lynche. There's your top three.
Bowersox is a folksy blues singer from Ohio and consistently nails her performance. She has the depth necessary for blues and clearly more life experience (a single mom at 24) than a lot of the contestants on the show. Listening to her sing, you can’t help but be drawn into what she’s feeling and what the song is conveying. She’s dynamic and my personal favorite.
Magnus has a darker edge which colors her soulful rockin’ voice. It’s really funny to watch — a small girl in heels walks out and belts a tune full of soul, depth and volume. It’s not a sound you would expect to come out of such a petite person but makes so much sense as you watch it. Probably the best thing about her is you can’t slot her. She’s her own and really enjoyable to watch.
The males haven’t brought much to the table other than Lynche. But what an amazing artist he is. Singing R&B, Lynche mixes a powerhouse of a voice with the ability to switch into a gentle falsetto that’s to die for. Outside of singing, his wife gave birth to their daughter while he was in competition so there’s a lot of excitement in his life right now. My only complaint with Lynche is that I’m not hearing him live. You can’t feel the full intensity of his voice from a TV with volume control.
Here are my picks for the best performances of this American Idol season:
Crystal Bowersox singing Tracy Chapman's "Give Me One Reason." This is when we all realized she had star potential:
Siobhan Magnus rocked the house with this dramatic, dynamic version of Rolling Stones's "Paint it Black":
Michael Lynche brings Kara DioGuardi to tears with Kate Bush's "This Woman's Work":
