American Idol Recap: Who's Finale-Bound?

3. Crystal Bowersox, "Come to My Window"

Now, I'm a little mad at Crystal too. "Come to My Window" is as predictable as "Me and Bobby McGee," meaning it also belonged at the beginning of the competition, not the climax. We know Crystal passion-belches the tough-chick anthems, and we already dig that about her. I want her to be Brawny Raitt, and she's being Sameylou Harris. Still, I disagreed with the judges when it came to her rating: The idea of the Melissa Etheridge cover was predictable, but the vocals still soared and kicked and cliff-dove skyward. Crystal sports spontaneity and actual dollops of rock edge. Sickening that it's overlooked just because she's consistent, or better yet, self-assured. She will always have that on Lee DeWyze and most other judge-declared "artists" on this show.

2. Lee DeWyze, "Hallelujah"

Another overrated moment. Idol buoyed this passable ode by loosing gospel singers on the proceedings and backlighting it with an archangel firing squad. Maybe the closed captioning even read "[White 'Winner' Lights Overpower Vocals.]" The first half of "Hallelujah" went well for Lee, as he enunciated Leonard Cohen's lyrics and allowed the crescendo of emotions to build organically. Grizz truly poised himself to deliver the night's elite performance. But soon we arrived at, y'know, the "sustain the notes" portion of the song, the stretch where Lee held on to trills like a huffing habit. There, his unintentional quaver sprang up again. Don't pretend you missed when the gospel choir boomed behind him while the ends of his phrases tapered into audible clunks. And that last note? Underwhelming. I also hated Simon's strange love letter about Lee's humble beginnings and coming a long way. Because Crystal performs on subway platforms and raises a kid, see, which is not strife-filled like working in a paint store in an upper-middle class suburb. Lee gave us a "B" performance with "A" theatrics. Now, onto the winner segment of the program.

1. Crystal Bowersox, "Maybe I'm Amazed"

First, a caveat: Wrong song, DeGeneres. We already had Lennon-McCartney week, so Ellen's pick already seemed boring, and you just can't get around these gender-specific lyrics. Ellen wouldn't have made Lee DeWyze sing Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me," right? Lee wouldn't want to coo about wearing t-shirts and competing with a foe in high heels, right? Anyway, the "Maybe I'm a MAN!" proclamations in "Maybe I'm Amazed" didn't hurt Crystal's credibility, but Ellen's decision-making had me scratching my temples for the full 90 seconds. But her vocal? Unpretentious. Robust. Impassioned. This is the only performance of the night that emanated intention, a notion of purpose. Because singing isn't different from acting -- you should know why you're singing every line, and you should let each word work on you. Crystal's the girl who sells us the soul and who believes in each song. I better see her next week in what could be a devastating Final 2 for all the wrong reasons.

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