Idol Chatter: The Live Blog #8: The Top 8/9 (Elvis).

[I wanted to do this last season, but I got the idea a few episodes too late. I do admit, I watch American Idol. I really didn't start until a couple years ago, though (my mom was a much bigger fan). Similar in style to the Live Survivor Blog over at Blog Cabins, Idol Chatter (pun and all) will be a play by play of the episodes and what I think of what's happening. For those that don't know, just continually refresh this page to get new updates as the show goes on.]

NOTE: The Live Blog will be a little, well, note live tonight. I'm gonna be slightly busy at the beginning of the show, but the DVR will record it, and I'll type stuff up as best I can. I'll make note when I'm caught up real time, but if you actually read this AS I go along, just know that it'll be delayed for a while.

NOTE 2: I've started watching. I'll try to guess and keep the timestamps as accurate as possible. Anywho... I'd call this a Top 8... but I guess it's really a Top 9 still, since Big Mike was saved last week. But 2 are going home this week. So yeah. It's Elvis week and... this should be a train wreck. We'll see. It's only 90 minutes tonight, though, at least.

7:00: "This... is American Idol."

7:03: Talking about Elvis and how famous and important he was. Like anyone who has ever heard of music didn't know this already.

7:04: Adam Lambert is the mentor this week! I so hope he makes Siobhan do awesome this week. Apparently he's the first contestant to come back to be a mentor to new contestants. Interesting. And why does Ryan always ask the same question of the mentors? Of course the mentor is gonna be constructive and whatnot.

7:06: Ryan: "My tongue is obviously not as talented as yours." Freudian slip? That was funny.

7:07: Wow, Crystal's up first! She's singing "Saved."

7:08: Already kicking it off with great vocals. As Crystal is doing great as usual, I want to recommend for future seasons... why not have the mentor be a guest judge on performance night? That way they can get a bonus moment to mentor as well as comment on whether or not the contestants took their advice and if it worked. That actually makes more sense to me than a mentor coming in, making a couple comments, and then just sitting in the audience on performance night. Anywho, Crystal was great with her bluesy self. Moving along.

7:10: Randy thought it was "dope." Ellen tells everyone in the audience "Happy Birthday" so to not say the same thing about Crystal all the time. Kara loved it. Simon makes a funny! And he loved it, of course.

7:16: Back with Andrew. I'm assuming he'll suck again this week, since he's apparently a one (or two?) hit wonder.

7:17: Ugh... he's doing "Hounddog." And Adam Lambert thinks it was boring and tells him to change it up. Let's see how he does.

7:18: Um... it's sounds closer to how it was before Adam had him change it a bit. Kinda lounge-ish mixed with some blues. It's not terrible, actually. It's not blowing my shirt up, but it doesn't suck. Kind of underwhelming, I guess is the best way to put it.

7:20: Randy thought it was not good and it was karaoke. Not exactly sure how it was karaoke since it sounded nothing like the original, but... anyway. Ellen thought he pulled it off. Kara didn't think he owned it and dragged around the mic too much. Simon thought it was lazy. He said there's always that part of a musical that nobody wants to see or hear, and that was that part (harsh).

7:26: Ha... Ryan's mother. Up next is Tim. He's singing "Can't Help Falling In Love." Adam thought it was "lovely" and "pretty." I actually think Tim is doing well, at least in this video. Though in the past, the video is often better than the actual performance.

7:28: Lol, Ryan just called him "Turban." Anyway. Um, wow. Tim's actually doing a pretty good job. Like... a really good job. Like... on par with his "Hallelujah" performance. What the heck is happening? Tim is actually good two weeks in a row? He didn't do the falsetto at the end like Adam wanted him to, but I liked how he ended it almost even better. I actually... damnit... really liked it.

7:30: Randy actually liked it. Ellen compares Tim to the first time she took tequila and how she didn't know if she'd like it or not, but she just kept taking more until she really liked it. Kara thought it was her favorite Tim performance ever. Simon thought it was beautiful and that Tim has managed to go from Zero to Hero in 2 weeks.

7:36: Up next is Lee. He's doing "A Little Less Conversation." Adam tells him to perform it, especially facially, and to have fun with it.

7:37: Doing really well. Really well. Really really well. Yeah... I loved that. And I think Lee had a lot of fun with it.

7:39: Randy thinks he's in the zone and thought it was excellent. Ellen thought it was so current (I agree). Kara hasn't ever seen him go for it vocally like he had tonight. She would have liked him more playful, but she loved everything else about it. Simon teases Kara about the 'playful' comment. Simon though Lee nailed the song, full stop.

7:41: Going right into the next one with Aaron. He's singing "Blue Suede Shoes." Adam said he underestimated him. But he wants him to put more grit into it and to believe in himself more. Though even Aaron thinks the song probably doesn't fit him at all, and I can agree with that. We'll see.

7:42: Yeah... not working. And it's rather Karaoke. He's even doing Elvis movements with hips and arms. And he really didn't change the song up, doing riffs that Elvis did. Yeah... not really all that good.

7:44: Randy didn't like the first half, but thought the slower blues half worked better. Ellen gives him an A for Effort, but didn't think he got all the way there. Kara liked it. Simon thought it made him feel old fashioned and like a high school performance, very Karaoke. I agree with Simon on this one.

7:51: Up next with Siobhan! I accidentally skipped ahead a bit and saw Simon apparently giving some not-so-good comments, but I rewound the DVR before I could really hear it. So I hope I'm wrong.

7:52: She's singing "Suspicious Minds." Adam thinks it's too sleepy.

7:53: Vocals are pretty good so far. It seems a bit... old fashioned. I mean, there's nothing wrong with the vocals. It just feels old. Some really good notes. I dunno. Great vocals, but the whole thing could have been more current.

7:55: Randy thought, like with Aaron, it was better in the second half. Ellen agrees this time. Kara thinks there are two Siobhan's vocally. Simon felt like she just used a time machine, the first part of the song was terrible, and the big notes in the second half weren't quite hit (that was probably a horribly written sentence grammatically, but I'm too lazy to fix it right now). But she hits back at them about the purpose of being labeled. Touche, my lady. Touche.

8:02: Next week is Idol Gives Back. Wow, already? Next up is the one was saved last week, Big Mike. And... he's doing another slow one. He's singing "In the Ghetto."

8:04: Well, he certainly made it nice and R&B sounding. Doing well vocally. It's slow, but not necessarily boring. I just wish he'd pick it up and do something faster for once. Great vocally, though.

8:06: Randy thought it was a little sleepy, but the vocals were hot. Agreed. Ellen is glad they saved him. Kara thought it was a beautiful song and he sang it well. Simon thought it was a million billion times better than last week and one of his favorites that Big Mike has done.

NOTE 3: I am now caught up, and everything else from this point on will be officially live.

8:11: Katie's up. She's singing "Baby, What Do You Want Me To Do?" She wants to show her frustration with the judges for getting conflicting advice from the judges since the beginning. Adam thinks she just needs to sell herself.

8:12: I was about to say: "In the words of my students, 'You Ain't Black!'" But... I found the irony in that statement due to it being Elvis week. Anywho. Katie is just the same as every other week. Really good vocally, but it's not really all that exciting. If she were on Idol maybe in the first few seasons, she would have done very well. But not these days.

8:14: Randy liked it. Ellen thought it was a very horny song (being that there were a lot of horns in it). She thought it was great. Kara said the judges just got "showed." Simon thought it was a bit loud and annoying, but it doesn't matter, because the audience seemed to like it... but, hell, the audience loves everything, even if it's God awful.

8:19: Heck yeah! Glee returns next! Finally! Anywho, getting back to the show. Casey's up. He's doing "Lawdy Miss Clawdy." Adam thinks he needs to work on the arrangement, but he's really good.

8:20: Very bluesy. Very good vocals. Fun song. Not much more to say about that.

8:22: Randy thinks he's definitely in the zone, and while he didn't do anything different, it was a solid performance. Ellen thought it could have been more exciting, but it was really good. Kara thought it fell short. Simon thought the vocal was good, but it was a wasted opportunity. I can actually agree with the judges here. It wasn't anything special, but it was still really good.

8:23: The Recap. Crystal was awesome. Andrew was... bleh. He'll be in the Bottom 3, probably to go home. Tim was, dare I say it again, excellent. Lee was excellent, as well. Aaron was... bleh. He'll probably be in the Bottom 3, too. Siobhan wasn't terrible, but it was still kinda... old. Big Mike had great vocals, but really needs to pick it up if he's still around next week. Katie was Katie. Casey was Casey.

Final Thoughts: I figure the Bottom 3 are gonna be Andrew, Aaron, and Katie, with Andrew and Aaron going home (if vocals are anything to do with it). Now... moving on to LOST and then Glee. See y'all tomorrow.