Last night's Young Hollywood Awards put a spotlight on several glamorous vampires, including the Twilight pixies and the cast of The Vampire Diaries, but the most sinister quote of the evening came from a kid who's not known for being a bloodsucker. Alex Lambert (who capitalized on his regrettably early American Idol elimination by moving into Simon Fuller's If I Can Dream web series house) seized the opportunity to cast shade on Crystal Bowersox, who seems to be losing her once-massive edge on Lee DeWyze. Lambert must've left his diplomacy in his other mullet.
The 19-year-old singer claimed he was not only rooting for Lee DeWyze, but actively hoping Crystal Bowersox would lose since he "doesn't want to hear an album of Janis Joplin covers." Meow.
Hard to believe a guy who was known for mumbling, stammering onstage, and throwing up before every performance is calling out the show's most self-assured performer. It's even harder to believe he's an apparent proponent of propaganda: Crystal performed a Janis Joplin song once ("Me and Bobby McGee"), and otherwise she's sung country ("Nobody Needs to Know"), pop ("People Get Ready"), and singer-songwriter ("Give Me One Reason") material with credibility. It's lazy to call a raspy guitar-playing woman a Janis Joplin wannabe, especially since Crystal is more stylistically diverse than Janis herself. And I think Lambert knows it -- his wiggly sea-monkey frame carries bitterness, y'all.
Of course, he's not the only one to suggest Bowersox's output is limited. The judges have touted Lee's rising confidence over Crystal's sustained swagger, which just proves how valuable it is to have an "arc" on Idol. Come on slow, look woeful, and then act surprised when you're well-received later. Lee's ascent is a part of the anti-frontrunner trend that dogged Adam Lambert, Melinda Doolittle, Siobhan Magnus, and now, potentially, Crystal Bowersox. Can this please end?
And what kind of album, pray tell, would Lee DeWyze give us? He finally broke away from his watered-down Daughtry shtick with that performance of "That's Life" during Frank Sinatra week. But there's no doubt his album would be more predictable than Crystal's and certainly more of a reiteration of recent overplayed Billboard fare. Simon Cowell must be aware of that stigma, because he just assigned "Hallelujah" to Lee for next week's Judge's Choice, which would mark a second departure for the Illinois native. Ellen DeGeneres handed Crystal "Maybe I'm Amazed," which should substantiate her as a chanteuse who can busk whatever genre she pleases.
Finally: What, like the world would rather hear a trembling album of James Morrison covers? Psh.