After watching American Idol tonight I wondered if anyone else was uncomfortable with a few of the comments made by Ryan Seacrest to contestants. In past weeks many inappropriate comments have been made by Kara DioGuardi about contestant Casey James – and Ryan has made those comments worse and even more awkward. I thought we had moved past the “cougar” comments but tonight Ryan brought it all to the forefront again.

Kara mentioned to Casey that he did a great job, but she wanted more and for him to “show it all” (obviously meaning to showcase his vocal range more) – but Ryan made it extremely awkward by pointing out that Kara wasn’t meaning for him to “show it all” as indicated by her comments in the past. Ugh. Kara burst out “Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?” and you could feel the tension. I think network officials should give a reminder that those comments are not only inappropriate and make the contestants feel uncomfortable, but also make audience members feel awkward – can you say “sexual harassment”? Poor Casey – he doesn’t really respond but it’s obvious to everyone that he’s wishing the focus was on his music. I think they are heading towards a lawsuit if they don’t knock it off.

Of course it could be much worse, and I’m not personally “offended” – but it is inappropriate behavior and with so many young and impressionable fans – should be stopped.

On to my reviews for the performances…

I loved that Usher was the mentor for this week – he not only gave great feedback and actual mentoring to contestants – he showed why he’s a superstar – genuine and connecting with the music as well as the audience. I love his personality – not a huge fan of his style of music – but he seems very nice as a person.

Siobhan Magnus seemed to struggle with her performance. I felt bad for her as the judges were very critical. Simon even called her performance “manslaughter”. That is harsh criticism. I like her and think she’s very talented, but she was not up to par tonight.

Casey James actually did a great job. His song choice fit his voice perfectly and he looked like he was having fun. I felt as though I was at a concert rather than watching an audition.

I love Michael Lynche. His voice is smooth and velvety and its always a pleasure to listen to him sing.

Didi Benami is at risk in my opinion. I felt bad for her that she followed the incredible Michael Lynche whose voice tone is so pleasing. The comparison was not kind to Didi – as her song choice wasn’t great and she seemed to falter a bit. The judges even commented that it kind of “flatlined” and she “lost her way.”

Tim Urban … what can I say? Judges were harsh and the criticism was well-deserved, but Tim took it all in stride with his smiles and even a bit of laughter. When it came time for Simon to judge his performance, he said, “It doesn’t matter what we say. It’s like a mouse taking on an elephant – you’re not going to win – but you’ll keep on smiling and people will vote for you… and we’ll see you next week… good job.” It was actually quite funny and perhaps a true – but it’s apparent that Tim should be pursuing a career where he can be adored by screaming young girls and not perhaps be focused on singing.

Andrew Garcia is back! He got some great advice from Usher about connecting to the audience – and he followed through. His performance was amazing and he showed us why we liked him so much in Hollywood. Andrew has been redeemed.

Katie Stevens. She is a cute girl – but I still felt that she hasn’t quite found her niche. The song was too big, or too old, or she didn’t have enough soul to be singing it. Something was just not quite “there” for me. Even though she did a pretty good job, I think she’s at risk this week.

Lee DeWyze – absolutely and completely my favorite performance of the whole night. I loved Usher’s counsel to Lee that he needs to believe in himself and realize that he deserves to be there. I love his voice and loved his song choice. Everything was awesome – I just wish I could buy the song right now – but have to wait a few days for it to be available. (Note: I went on iTunes to see if I could download the song – and discovered that Lee already has a couple of older albums out — pretty cool — so now I can listen to his older music while I wait for him to win “hopefully” and release a new album.)

Crystal Bowersox – Crystal’s big surprise was that she put away her guitar… and instead played the piano. She did a great job – but I don’t think it truly did the job it was supposed to – to get her to connect with the audience without something in the way… this week instead of the guitar in the way, she was now behind a huge piano – again with her eyes closed for most of the song. But she did get up and stand as well and that went pretty well – but it was apparent she was not as comfortable as she typically was when she had her guitar. She said she was comfortable, but I didn’t get that vibe. Nonetheless, she did a great job as always.

Aaron Kelly. Usually producers save the best performances for last – to end the competition on a high note. And after hearing Aaron Kelly’s rehearsal session with Usher, I had great hopes and high expectations. I was truly expecting him to shine, but was a bit disappointed as his voice felt tight and he didn’t really shine. I think he had the potential but either he was nervous or just having an off night.

Lee DeWyze, Michael Lynche, and Crystal Bowersox were the highlights for me tonight. Casey James, and Andrew Garcia also did great…

I think Didi Benami, Tim Urban, or Katie Stevens will be going home. Who do you think will be leaving?

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