EXCLUSIVE! Casey James, Our 'Idol' Judge Blake Lewis Thinks You Were Last Night's BEST 'Beatle!'

Wed, April 7, 2010 5:17pm EDT by Hollywood Life Staff 21 Comments

HollywoodLife.com’s own American Idol judge Blake Lewis says he LOVED Casey James but thought Siobhan Magnus was the weak link April 6…do YOU agree?

It was Beatles mania on American Idol April 6 and HollywoodLife.com‘s own celebrity blogger and former Idol finalist, Blake Lewis, is ready to weigh in on the remaining nine contestants’ performances! Take it away, Blake!

Highlight One

Michael Lynche gets the first highlight of the night. He sang a pretty epic version of ‘Eleanor Rigby.’ The strings were rocking as his voice soared over them. It was nice!

Highlight Two

Andrew Garcia did a cool rendition of ‘Can’t Buy Me Love.’ It was groovy and had a sweet vibe to it. I could have done without the acoustic guitar, but the arrangement was choice!

Highlight Three

Crystal Bowersox smashed it, singing ‘Come Together.’ One of my favorites of the night. She really put it down. Her vocals were beautiful and she strayed from the melody just enough to make it her own and not take away from the integrity of the original.

Highlight 4

Casey James takes 1st place for his performance of John Lennon‘s ‘Jealous Guy.’ His interpretation tonight solidified him in this competition. It was just him, his guitar and a cellist, and it was perfect. It showed a sweeter, bluesier side to him that came across well through the TV.

Lowlight

Tonight, it goes to Siobahn Magnus. She went a little soft on her performance of ‘Across The Universe’ and that’s not what she’s best at. It was still nice, but as a favorite in this competition, I don’t think it was a good look. A lil’ sleepy for me and Randy.

What did YOU guys think of last night’s showdown?

Cheers,
Blake

Get the scoop on the hottest reality show in America here!

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____You know what? After thinking this over, I think you were pretty unfair about the whole thing. I could say the same back to you. And after reading your rude comment to me I could care less what you think now. Why should I?

Writing someone a nice comment only to turn around and chastise them before they can respond was hardly fair. Also I wasn’t rude to you like you were to me. At the worst I hinted that maybe you couldn’t hear tones, but then wondered if maybe you meant simply a flat performance as you said. And no, you don’t need a “trained” ear to hear pitch as you eluded to when you tried to put me down for being able to hear pitch. It doesn’t exactly take a music professional to hear notes. Some people can and some can’t, and when they act like they can, as you did, it can be quite confusing.

“it’s a pop contest, not a record agency tryout.”

Since that is true, then I don’t see why you’d go around critiquing the singers singing skills and questioning others comments on those skills as if it were THAT important. After all it’s a “pop contest” as you said. So I felt it was sort of unfair of you to attack me for what you are also doing at the very same time in some effort to praise your favorite. I could say the same thing to you that it’s a “pop contest” and a popularity contest when you describe your favorites, or cut down mine. Therefore it’s a matter of taste and what you think or I think doesn’t matter anyway…

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LOL! I don’t want a war either! LOL… I apologize for my mean attack after my nice post- chalk it up to too much caffeine or something. (I don’t drink beer either.) Who cares, right?! I didn’t mean anything personal. And, you make a good point about me talking like I know what I’m talking about- but I truly don’t! I’ll be the first to admit it! I mean, I believe what I say when I say it, but I truly am tone deaf pretty much… I am very very very unskilled. In any case, from my west coast viewing, just found out siobhan was safe… so no worries! Have a great night! OMG, what is Tim Urban doing with his hair… that was all he had going for him!

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BTW, what do you think of katie? is she just a yawn-fest for you? i think (?) people have stopped disliking her, but i’m not sure if anyone is actually moved by her. i find her sweet and wouldn’t mind if she lasted for a long while… i’m actually more interested in her and how she’ll progress with her skills than lee, though he’s fine- just not all that interesting to me.

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Ok, that did the trick to put it on the top. It wouldn’t post below at all. I don’t know why. And I had written you that before you chewed me out and told me to grab a beer. But it’s ok, I don’t really care anyway. I know what I meant and I always try to be honest about what I see on the show. That said, Crystal or Lee will win and that’s fine. They do have the voices and are also getting the popular vote so that’s how it will work out. Have a nice nite.

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Here is the comment I keep trying to paste, but it won’t go to your comment below that starts with “Oh no no” and keeps saying I already “said that”. I tried 5 times and it will not post. And if I repost it thinks it’s spam. Maybe after 20 minutes it will work if I re-arrange some words. This site is full of bugs.

Oh, Ok, now I get you better :-). I actually don’t think any of the idols have been really “perfect” as I can find flaws in any given performance. But even though I’m really into music, singing, writing and can hear off notes etc I try not to be so picky that I throw away a good singer over a bad note. If you go back to the week before this week Siobhan had 2 or 3 places were she was WAY off. THAT is what I consider not good and was her off night. But prior to this she had one great performance after another and that’s why I like her. And they all have had off nights, Crystal included. I also understand you have your preferences, and it’s a popularity contest as well. I think what go me going into cowboy mode with Blake’s “Judging” lol. Anyway. thanks for being so nice.

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typo it should read: “I think what got me going into cowboy mode was Blake’s “Judging” lol. Anyway. thanks for being so nice.”

Basically I tried to say, I get that people have their favorites and voice quality isn’t always a #1 priority. But I’ve had it with typos for one night. I’m going to go watch the results.

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ps- i totally know what you mean by people judging when they have no right to… i mean, they could as well put me on their judging panel. (or, ellen… lol… love her, but her lack of professional insight has many screaming!). in any case, i don’t know blake, but wanted to let you know i understand that kind of cowboy rage! (i had the same thing when a poster tried to say that sandy and bombshell had the same hip to waist ratio… WHAT?! LOL…)

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fastfowarded through casey, tim, and mike. yawn- though casey’s voice rocks, i’ll give you that. siobhan was weak, literally. her voice had no power, and the performance was completely flat with no “moments”. she might be all screams and personality, but no solid voice on the full range. crystal tops them all, but i don’t know if she’s the idol for that particular audience. but nobody can compete with her talent and solidarity with who she is as an artist. lee, eh- not his best. whatevs. he’s fine. andrew, eh- same. though i like him more than lee. aaron, yawn, those he’s adorable. show us something new aaron. and, drumroll please, katie. i still say katie is bringing it and deserves more credit. she’s a contender, if talent and skill have anything to do with it, which they don’t most of the time (e.g., tim urban, alex lambert, etc.).

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You apparently missed the point if you don’t understand Siobhan was crooning that song because that’s what it called for and that she did it as per Simon’s hints. You don’t belt out “Across the Universe”. Lennon didn’t and neither should she. But according to you, any song sung softly is probably “weak”. I don’t know what you think a “moment” is, but if she had belted part of it, you would have probably criticized her anyway and said she was screaming. Also “flat” usually refers to pitch and if you think she was you’re tone deaf. But maybe you meant in terms of energy. But then we can also call Aaron “flat” along with Crystal too since every one of her performances stays with in a boring, under an octave range with few dynamics. She never takes any risks or tries anything new in terms of vocals. But she did try on heels and change to piano. But I still feel Crystal is my 2nd favorite. If it were not for her using a cookie cutter formula that sounds the same from week to week, she’d be my favorite.

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ps- okay, now that i read this, i shouldn’t maybe have been so respectful to you! you’re out of line. not everyone has to like everything siobhan does 100% of the time for crying out loud! get over it. i don’t know the song she sang, and didn’t connect with her performance of it. i did feel it was “flat” from a performance perspective, and i stand by that. tears after the fact don’t inch it up a notch. i think you’ve got a chip on your shoulder that is distorting your perspective after reading this unnecessary rant from you. newsflash, most of us voters don’t have the “trained ear” you claim to have- it’s a pop contest, not a record agency tryout. gheesh. talk about taking things too far! go grab yourself a beer!

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Other than the fact that some nice comments I’ve written to you below are not posting. I wrote you a VERY nice comment below and it is not showing up. After I read what you wrote I said you were a very nice person and thanked you. Also I had not seen your “respectful” comment at the time I wrote that and felt just as disrespected as you did since you challenged what I said without fully reading it and even though you know you are a casual listener. I never questioned anyones personal tastes EVER. I just tried to correct misconceptions about siobhan.

I had also agreed with you about some voters just voting on a “gut” feel week to week and said it was ok. However you have to understand you came in here sounding like you had a handle on “talent and skill” by tossing those words out and acted like you could hear all of that. That threw me off. How do I know how much you know? And you said “she’s all personality and screams” as if you were certain. That led me to believe you wanted me to post back and point out why that wasn’t true. And to that I responded. Also don’t forget you responded to my post first.

That said, I just wanted to make a post about Blake’s poor review. Not get in a war. Where did I say everyone has to like everything siobhan does 100% of the time? So what is there to get over? As far as I’m concerned I posted what the truth is. I never thought I’d get bashed for having a good ear or trying to correct misconceptions. wow. I also don’t drink beer. Maybe that’s why my I can hear the notes.

That said, I don’t want to argue with you. I still thought your extra post was pretty nice and would like to leave it at that, not including this latest comment from you.

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You know what? After thinking this over, I think you were pretty unfair about the whole thing. I could say the same back to you. And after reading your rude comment to me I could care less what you think now. Why should I?

“it’s a pop contest, not a record agency tryout.”

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Sounds like tone deaf getbacktowork should get back to work.

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What does this remixing IDIOT know about judging other idols? Blake’s tastes put the H in HORRIFIC! He totally destroyed one song after another on idol by remixing in a way that ruined the original melody. And he was warned about this over and over. He even ticked off one of the guests that were huge stars. His voice wasn’t very good either. The only reason he stayed is that teeny boppers with hormone induced texting fits nearly broke their fingers off while voting.

If you’d compare his voice to Siobhan it would only be one tenth of what she’s capable of! Siobhan or Crystal could sing circles around him. Also notice how he managed to criticism Siobhan for going “soft” on her performance. Is he totally unable to notice that Simon has attacked her every time she belts a song out by calling it “screaming”? Simon did this to give Crystal an edge since she can’t win it any other way. Either that or he just doesn’t like her. And even Crystal screams (belts) throughout her song. So does Kelly Clarkson and others.

So Siobhan was forced to tone it down. That is what Simon wanted! It was a handicap for her so that when she is not allowed to do show her best. But did Blake understand this? Nope. And neither did the judges.

This loser should not be judging idols with more talent than he has. And had he been on the show this week, he would have DESTROYED any beatles song he touched. It would have turned into a Frankenstein, fruit-cake mix.

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whoa, cowboy! first, i don’t know blake and didn’t watch him perform, but i 100% agree with you as far as his assessments. i think he missed the mark on almost every single one of them. but, i do think siobhan was weak this week, and her screaming is MUCH different than crystal’s. MUCH. not to mention, you can have a moment even without screaming, and i didn’t feel that from siobhan’s performance. i’m afraid for her, long term. love her, but i’m afraid she’s all personality and screams, and not well rounded enough. i am sincerely hoping she proves me wrong b/c i LOVE LOVE LOVE her- but she can’t hold a candle to crystal’s talent… that said, she is as lovable and more interesting than any of them. so, i’m cheering for her.

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I can understand. But an untrained ear will usually associate a softly crooned performance with being “weak”, bland etc. But belting isn’t everything, nor is singing softly. It’s control, and Siobhan demonstrated she has a lot of control over her voice. Someone with poor control wouldn’t be able to handle the soft notes the way she did.

It’s just a different kind of control in comparison to say Crystal’s fine nuances. She also explained why she toned it down very clearly, but neither the judges, Blake Lewis or you got that. Everyone misses that she did this on purpose because she felt she had to.

As for belting, Siobhan was labeled a “screamer” by Simon who’s full of it. Anyone who’s watched all 9 seasons of idol knows Simon isn’t always 100% honest. He does have favorites. He also knows a lot of the audience, like sheep, follow his lead. He does it every year.

“MUCH. not to mention, you can have a moment even without screaming”

Siobhan’s belted songs which include belting (screaming by those who don’t know what to cal it) are sung about 90% of the way with pure, clear sounding tones. And she just adds 2 or 3 well placed belts near the end. “Paint it black” is a song that needed that! It wasn’t out of place. Nor did she do it through the entire song. Crystal on the other hand, does this throughout the entire song, but at a lower level because she lacks the range Siobhan has. Neither Crystal nor Siobhan are doing anything wrong though. But people notice Siobhan’s more because it’s higher in pitch due to her range. But it’s also a matter of taste.

You say “MUCH”. But go back and listen to Siobhan’s songs and you will find what I said is true. 90% or more of it has no belted(screamed) notes what so ever. They are more pure and clean sounding than anyone there by far. So if there is any “cowboy” here maybe it’s you for saying she does it “MUCH” without checking the performances.

And I’m afraid for Siobhan too as I know most people base their impressions on the media, and sometimes what the judges say instead of actually listening. To make things worse, Siobhan even had songs like “Wicked Game” where it was meant to show her range with no belting what so ever. But it was never praised by Simon. At least the other judges loved it. My guess is her image is now tarnished and she will be certain to go home around 4th place. It will be Crystal and Lee in the finale most likely. And both of them are good so it will be ok. I just wish Siobhan was treated better.

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sorry for any redundancy or typos. It’s not easy to explain things some times. Especially with no EDIT feature on comments.

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oh, no, no… i wasn’t meaning to make fun of you with the cowboy comment! i get riled up, too. i was more just laughing at how someone else gets as mad as me! i didn’t miss that she toned it down on purpose. i don’t think the judges missed that either. it was very obvious that she had to do that after their criticism of her last week, and simon’s repeated criticism of her screams (or, high notes- whatever you want to call it… some people call mariah’s high notes dog whistles, you know… just a way of talking). i definitely have an untrained ear and can’t comment on the control stuff the way you do. but, unfortunately, i’m probably more the “norm” for the audience than you are, it sounds- you know more than the rest of us. (i’m not being facetious.) i have always loved siobhan, but i don’t remember her perfomances being perfect (or, maybe i’m just thinking about last week’s and can’t freshly recall anything else). you know, maybe i just have a short memory- but most of us aren’t rewatching episode after episode after episode! i watch it once and delete it and don’t youtube it for later viewing… but, you know, i think i am underestimating her past performances and vocals b/c i did love her before… and, am still hoping she’ll come back and grab me and everyone else. but, long story short, i think idol voting is about going with your gut a lot of the times- and, siobhan’s performance last night just didn’t speak to me and that’s all that matters, ultimately. it’s a pop/popular contest, and last night she didn’t connect with me. but, don’t worry. i can’t vote. (i have an east coast number, but live on the west coast- they tell me voting is cut off if it ry to vote after the west coast performances.)

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Siobhan DOES scream – she doesn’t belt, she screams. Crystal is the real deal and will win. The judges told her to stop screaming, not belting. The one “note” (if that’s what you want to call it) could be hit by stepping on a cat’s tail.

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Siobhan did what she had to do and downshift for a week. I disagree with you about the quality of her performance. There is a version of this without instrumentals, completely acapella and Siobhan’s vocals were unreal.

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I agree. Blake Lewis knows nothing about true talent. His terrible tastes ruined most songs he touched.

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EXCLUSIVE! Casey James, Our 'Idol' Judge Blake Lewis Thinks You Were Last Night's BEST 'Beatle!'