Idol recap

I'm a few days late to the internet Idol recap party, but none of you watch Idol anyway, so I guess it doesn't really matter.

As you may have heard, paint store clerk Lee Dewyze beat out single mom Crystal Bowersox (this is the way they were both referred to all season) for the title of Season 9 American Idol, no doubt thanks to the millions of tweens and divorcees who voted early and often for Lee over the more talented Crystal. Really, it was the best possible outcome for the Idol producers as well, because in Crystal they have a talented artist who can become a marketable performer in her own right, and in Lee they have a likeable guy with a pretty face and a nice smile who they can label as the next American Idol and make a few bucks off of along the way.

Here's a few best of's for Season 9:

Best Performance:
3) Crystal and Lee, "Falling Slowly"- from Songs from the Cinema week, this Oscar winning song from the movie Once fit them perfectly and showed a ton of chemistry between them
2) Lee, "Hallelujah"- as posted previously, a haunting version of a great song
1) Casey James, "Jealous Guy"- I wasn't a Casey James fan at all, but I've got to give him credit- this was a beautiful performance, both on vocals and guitar, and the best of the year by anyone

Best Celebrity Mentor:
3) Adam Lambert- Helped that he was only a year removed from being in the same situation
2) Usher- Terrific- first of the mentors to actually offer constructive advice and tips on style
1) Harry Connick Jr- Head and shoulders above the rest. His ability to work with the contestants, along with his wit and charisma, make him my vote to replace Simon next year

Best Contestants Not To Make It To The Top 3:
3) Aaron Kelly- Kid's got chops. Huge voice, and may still have a career ahead of him. Eliminated at the Top 5.
2) Katie Stevens- I was surprised she didn't go further. I think she too is young enough and talented enough to have a career. Eliminated at the Top 9.
1) Lilly Scott- Huge surprise that she didn't make the finals, to no one more than her. She had a unique voice and style that I thought would take her pretty far in the competition, but perhaps her Patsy Cline song choice did her in. Eliminated at the Top 16.

Best Song Choices:
3) Crystal, "Me and Bobby McGee", Billboard #1 week- Kind of her stereotypical song, but fit her so well that it was easy for her to crush it.
2) Casey, "Jealous Guy", Lennon/McCartney songbook week- see above
1) Lee, "That's Life", Sinatra week- The perfect Sinatra song for him- meant to be a little free form and throaty. I think it's the song that sealed the victory for him.


Glad to have my Tuesday and Wednesday nights back, but I am sad to see Idol go. Truly surprised at how invested I became in the show and its contestants. Not ready to go buy a Ford just yet, but I am excited already for Season 10.

Midweek tidbits

No scintillating commentary today, just a few random thoughts to keep the week going.

• Don't look now, but the Metropolitans are in first place. I realize we're not even 1/6 of the way into the season, but it's refreshing to be competitive again
• "Idol" is tightening up. Will be interesting to see who's in the bottom 3 tonight. Not a big Shania Twain fan, but some pretty solid performances last night
• Got a new putter for Christmas and picked up a new Cleveland 56 degree wedge a week or so ago. Road tested them both for the first time this past Saturday and shot 83, some of my best golf ever. Itching badly to get out again (or maybe that's some kind of rash).
• My favorite new kid quote: Somehow the topic of Roman numerals came up over dinner a few weeks ago, and I was quizzing the kids on what each letter represented. The boys went back and forth, but Molly of course was completely lost on the discussion. To bring the conversation back to her level, at a break in the quizzing she interjected apropos of nothing at all, "You know what's good? I like yarn." That's been my mantra since then.