In Memoriam: American Idol's Casey James
I'm sad. Sure. But I also want to hold up my old Illinois driver's license with Norma Rae grit and proclaim, "Take that, American South!" For only the second time in American Idol's history, its Final Two has no connections to the dusty south. That's not good or bad, but it's a welcome change of pace. (No offense to Kris Allen -- I voted for you, tender dawg!) Now, to attend to the business at hand: Our deceased pony Casey James enjoyed a resilient run, establishing himself as season nine's resident dark horse. His proudest moments involved simple ballads, sincerity, and keeping his shirt on. Let's reflect on the Cool, Texas, native's curvy, paisley-print journey on American Idol and guess what might've been had he made the finale.
Legacy: Casey was Idol's good-natured axeman with a spirit fulla blues and hair the color of Reduced Fat Wheat Thins. He's an authentic rocker with a hint of Nabisco magic -- an Idol dream contestant, namean? Also, that sad lady from the judging panel made him strip during the auditions for no good reason. Koo-koo-ca-choo, Mrs. DioGuardi. Our nation turns its lonely gun on itself.
We Will Miss Most: His take on "Jealous Guy." How his bronze complexion and scraggy mane rendered him a literal dark horse. How fly it is that he outlasted Michael Lynche. How Simon begrudgingly called him Goldilocks once. Our now-missed chance to buy his 19 Entertainment debut disc Hot Licks from Cool, Texas.
What Could've Been: An amplified retooling of "Jealous Guy" during the final two. Simon Fuller's choice of either "Dream On" or "Blowin' in the Wind" or a cut from Constantine Maroulis' little-heard rockabilly triple-album. Kara DioGuardi's new coronation song, a sympathetic rewrite on "No Boundaries" called, "Only A Few Limits in the Vocal Range, But Good Otherwise."
Closing Remarks: Casey, you gave us angst, smiles, blue jeans, and Long John Silver's regulation ponytails in equal measure. You could've run away with the whole thing had Simon and his cronies not selected Lee to shill like a miracle weight-loss salve. You were country without being cloying, and real without being really boring. And thanks to a poll I just conducted with a random sampling of Movieline writers named Louis, I can confirm that everyone likes you better than last year's third-place contestant -- if you'd still call him a "contestant" and not a "gyrating earsore." Yeah, right.
Farewell and good show, sir!
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Comments
Casey, spread your wings, I know you will fly. I'm happy you weren't caught up in all the fray. You are too talented, too maverick, too good to be corrupted. Stay true to yourself and your music. I am looking forward to hearing more of what you know how to do. I have to say that you were the only reason why I watched the show. I rode the rollercoaster with you and it was fun. And yes, the show was disgustingly lopsided and rigged. God bless.
Great article! I agree wholeheartedly! The dark horse, (not Lee, who is being called that - which how can you be a dark horse, when at Top 10, he was almost declared the winner that night) was detoured off the trail but I believe DH will have the last laugh with his music! Go Casey Go!
Well, my dear Marcy. That "lamb", like you disprespctfully call him is far from silent. Throughout the whole competition, the ONLY 2 really talented singers, with star quality were Casey and Mike. All the others were just amateur singers. I do give Mamasox a little credit for a deccent musical background and some good guitar, but no personality. And Lee...don't get me started. I'm surprised he made it that far considering he needs a lot of improvement in his vocals. Like Adam Lambert said on Elvis week: "Here (refering to facial expressions) there's nothing going on". Casey was definitely the only one who stood out. His voice will sound and louder and his fame will long outlive Lee's...so there's my two cents...And if you don't like Casey, then don't read articles on him. I don't waste my time reading anything on Lee, because frankly...I don't care.
I can't believe how low this show has gone. The judges were so obvious putting Casey down and pimping Lee. I mean...any idiot knows that guy can't sing. His voice is so pitchy and irritating. But apparently all the judges comments seemed to have a brainwashing effect on a lot of people, based on the premises that they are professionals and they know about music...Ehhhh (big buzzard)...they don't know anything. They sell, they don't buy. We,the public are the ones who know what sounds good to us...and it's DEFINITELY not Lee. Good thing there's a smart, ear sensitive population out there who doesn't buy all that Lee bull...t, and who know who the real American Idol is...Yeah, that's right...CASEY JAMES. It's a shame that Simon's retirement leaves such a bittersweet taste on all these people who used to enjoy the show year after year. The last 3 seasons have been a total disappointment, but this one takes the cake by far. No more AI for me...I'm done. That show is a joke.
...Oh, and since Terri brought it up. Companies like Coca-Cola, AT&T and Ford Motor are solid respectable companies that have enjoyed the support of the american public for decades. If they want to remain respectable, they should now sponsor this kind of mockery. I would not put my reputation and credibility on the line for AI.
Unsure that Obama should have gotten rid of Stanley McChrystal. How will this affect the midterm election?
I am sure your RSS feed option is here somewhere and its just me being blind, but where is it lol
try waiting for 5 years.. you're not old enough.
Its only dramatic if you make it dramatic.
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