With three competitors left but room for only two of them in next week's finale, something had to give as Lee DeWyze, Crystal Bowersox and Casey James battled it out Tuesday night on "American Idol."
For the first round of the evening's competition, the Top Three sang songs of their own choosing.
Casey kicked things off by mellowing out on acoustic guitar with Eric Hutchinson's "Ok, It's Alright with Me." Randy Jackson joked, "That song was just kind of alright with me … you can't like do a safe kind of easy song like that right now." Ellen DeGeneres agreed, telling Casey, "I wish you would've brought it." Kara DioGuardi critiqued, "When you pick [a song] that is a first-listen for a lot of people, you can't make it your own." Simon Cowell called the song choice a dud and compared Casey to a waiter busking for a couple dollars, elaborating, "That song will leave no lasting effect whatsoever."
Next, Crystal belted out "Come to My Window" by Melissa Etheridge. Randy said he liked Crystal's vocal but not so much the arrangement. Ellen thought the song choice was on the money and said she thought Melissa would be proud of the performance. Kara, on the other hand, thought Crystal got "lost in the arrangement" and didn't deliver a special "moment." Simon said that while it wasn't the "most stunning" take on the song he'd heard, he thought it was "a very honest performance" and complimented Crystal for not compromising herself as an artist.
Lee proceeded to hit a home run with a rendition of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man." Randy called the classic-rock tune a "brilliant" song choice for him and said, "I could see you making a record like this." Ellen, meanwhile, likened Lee to a baby lamb who'd grown into a powerful gazelle. Kara told him, "You showed us everything you've got … in my opinion, round one goes to Lee." Simon agreed, adding, "I don't think you won round one, I think you just crushed the other two [singers]."
For the next round of battle, the Top Three sang tunes hand-picked for them by the judges.
Casey again went first, taking on a tune chosen for him by Randy and Kara: John Mayer's "Daughters." Randy was impressed, saying, "This fits you like a glove and I hope you continue this direction, dude." Ellen purred, "I thought that was beautiful for you." Kara called the performance a "good job" and commented, "This showed the more artistic side of you." Simon thought Casey "sounded good" but called the arrangement a bit "lazy."
Crystal knocked the judges’ socks off with Ellen's song choice for her, "Maybe I'm Amazed" by Paul McCartney. Randy raved, "Great song. Great vocals. And America, we've got someone else in it to win it." Ellen told Crystal, "I couldn't have asked for more." Kara gushed, "You really showed parts of your voice I don't think we've heard until tonight… you did a lot of risky things tonight and I think it paid off." Simon was equally impressed, saying, "What you just proved … was that you've got soul. You've worked outside of your comfort zone. And after that, I think you may be thanking Ellen for putting you in the finals."
Lee closed the show with Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," selected for him by Simon, and he blew the judges away. Randy said, "This was, I think, your biggest moment at the biggest time in your career." Ellen called Lee's effort "stunning, just stunning." Kara told him, "Lee, you are what this show is all about… you are the heart of the show this season and you just owned the entire night." Simon said, "I am very, very, very proud of you… tonight, with that performance, you proved that you are a fantastic singer, a great person, and I really hope for you that you make it there [to the finals] next week."
Tune in to "American Idol" tomorrow night at 9 p.m. on FOX to see which of the Top Three gets sent home!
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