American Idol Season 9 - Top 9

It was Lennon/McCartney week and the magic word of the night was "blossom." It's like the contestants were little girls and it was time for them to become women. There was no guest mentor this week but the night was good again. Casey James might have won the night?!?! There were a couple of bad ones but overall, it was an enjoyable night. Contestants grew boobs is what I'm saying.

Aaron Kelly - "The Long and Winding Road" - Oooo another ballad. I don't know if this was as boring as he's been in the past. That's something he's going to have to work on in the coming weeks. Getting back to that pinnacle of boredom that he reached weeks ago with that other forgettable ballad. Gonna be hard.

Katie Stevens - "Let It Be" - They did a whole intro package pointing out how fun the other contestants think she is so I don't understand why she picks songs like this. It was pretty but I thought it was still dreary. If she is so fun, why does she sing like the equivalent of a bottle of Ambien?

Andrew Garcia - "Can't Buy Me Love" - Brian Setzer would have loved this if he were still alive. He is? I'm surprised he let Andrew borrow the Stray Cats then. It just wasn't Andrew. The band overpowered him. Andrew needs to keep it simple like last week with just an acoustic.

Big Mike - "Eleanor Rigby" - David Cook killed this song two seasons ago. It was a poor version of David Cook's take on it and the judges refused to acknowledge that. When it started, I thought he was going to R&B it up and that might have worked. Simon thought it was too Broadway and Randy defended it by saying it could have been on Glee. Who would Big Mike play on Glee? The truant officer from Hell?

Crystal Bowersox - "Come Together" - That may have been the best version done on Idol (over Kris Allen and Carly Smithson). My favorite part was when she sneezed after the song ended. She sang that whole song holding in a sneeze. She's fantastic. Enough said.

Tim Urban - "All My Lovin'" - It's the Across the Universe version. It was smart of Tim to sing a song that the judges can't get mad at him for smiling through. He might actually be safe. Randy, the only one to not like it, said he had to judge Tim in his own category against other Tim Urban performances. This is funny because I judge Randy's judging against previous Randy judging. Boo Randy! Boo!

Casey James - "Jealous Guy" - He dressed in his Bee Gees best. It shouldn't be about his guitar playing. I feel like the camerawork focuses on his guitar prowess over his singing ability. That's unfortunate because tonight he sang really really well. Casey finally stepped it up.

Siobhan Magnus - "Across The Universe" - She sang this like she was in a movie and she was too nervous to sing in front of people. Then she opened up a little at the end so the people in her class could go "WOW, that girl could sing!" Well, Siobhan, if you want fame, fame costs and tonight is where you start paying...with sweat. Oh, it's not a movie? Then it was dull.

Lee DeWyze - "Hey Jude" - Sure the bagpiper was weird but I'm drinking the Kool Aid. He had fun and he let go this week. He even joked around in his post-interview. I think he needed a night of being playful to finally break the nerves. I'm expecting amazing next week.

Bottom Three: I'm not buying that Katie is staying out of the Bottom Three. I also think it is time for Aaron Kelly to go there. Finally, in a surprise, I'd like to say Siobhan Magnus is getting a scare. Those are my three. Tim should be here but he's good looking and got a good set of remarks from the judges. That will be enough to keep him out.

Going Home: Katie Stevens