We Can End Right Now

As far as I'm concerned, American Idol could come to an end right now and there's really no need to continue the competition, except maybe to see who comes in third. Crystal Bowersox is the clear winner, with Lee DeWyze in second place. If America votes in a way that is just and fair, that's how this season will play out.

Here are my thoughts on the evening:

Casey delivered a solid, entertaining performance. The judges were a little harsh on him, but they did make a good point in that he needs to break his mold of solid, entertaining performances and do some things that really have a Wow! moment in them. I still like him a lot - don't get me wrong - but he's fading into white noise because we know he'll always be good. He needs to knock our socks off rather than being good.

Lee was really impressive tonight. His performance was emotional and he connected with the audience in a way we haven't seen before.

Tim was struggling with a very important concept - your verses have to be as strong as your chorus. The verse is where the story is told, and his verses were all over the place as far as pitch and tone. It wasn't his finest night.

Aaron - what is up with this little kid choosing such huge songs? He overshot his song choice, as usual, and he also picked a song that's been overused to death. He ended well, but he didn't start out so good.

Siobhan had an interesting night. She's such a puzzle. She has this voice that is just blow-your-mind good, but she doesn't seem to know what to do with it. She was a little pitchy, which surprised me, and she didn't have an emotional connection with the audience. But wow, those notes she was hitting - it was impressive.

Mike's performance was just not my favorite. I'm a Big Mike fan - I have been since Hollywood Week - but I'm worried about him pigeon-holing himself. He does best on slow, emotional ballads. Anything else, and he flounders.

Crystal - well, what can I say that hasn't already been said? She is in a completely different league than everyone else. This competition is now about choosing her runner-up.

My call for bottom three: Big Mike, Tim, and Aaron. I went back and forth in my mind between choosing Aaron and choosing Siobhan. I could be going the wrong way on this. But Siobhan's fans seem to be saving her when she has an off night, so I'm guessing they'll do it again tonight. And to go home ... this is a tough call. I'm going to have to say Big Mike. He was nearly kicked off, the judges saved him, and so that tells me he doesn't have quite the fan base to save himself. I know I'll feel sad when he goes, but I also know there are other contestants with more staying power.

(Now watch it be Siobhan, just because I debated it so much with myself ...)