American Idol Losing It's Inspiration

1. Simon chose the second song for Lee DeWyze to sing on Idol tonight. He picked the Leonard Cohen song Hallelujah, most notably sung by Jeff Buckley. Although everyone thought Lee did a wonderful job with the song, I thought it was an uninspired, lazy choice by Simon. The song has been covered way too much, including k.d. lang's version at the Olympics. I used to like the song, but feel like it's been shoved down my throat way too many times.



2. Could Randy have chosen a sleepier song for Casey James? Daughters by John Mayer is not a rock song, which is exactly what Casey needed this week. I don't think Casey wants to win. He's got a better chance at a long career if he doesn't win (see Daughtry) and I think he's aware of that. Kara said he needed to play to his audience which she said is females. Not sure that I agree with her. I think if he wins Idol, that would be his audience. If he's gone tomorrow, he has a good shot at leading a credible rock band that would have male fans. It's not all about the hair (see Greg Allman). Peter Frampton had the hair, played a great guitar wrote good songs, had a massive hit album and then fashioned himself an idol and played to the ladies. His career never recovered.



3. I never would have guessed that Ellen would have the best song choice of the night. Handing Crystal Bowersox Maybe I'm Amazed was an inspired choice and Crystal nailed it.



4. Have the Idols run their course? The hometown visits used to be big events. The Idols rode in open convertibles to cheering fans along a parade route and then played to a crowd of thousands. This year two of them stood in front of an AT&T store with very sparse crowds attending and got a text message letting them know what song they would be singing. One of them got the text on a plane, making you think he didn't even make it home. The producers should cut the home visit segment. I can only liken it to watching a Mets game on TV and all one sees are empty seats behind home plate.