It’s getting down to the wire on American Idol with only 4 contestants remaining. Jamie Foxx mentored the Idols last year and I guess they were impressed with him, because he’s back tonight for some more mentoring! Since he’s a superstar of movies & music, he’s perfect to give them advice as they sing music from the movies…or Songs of the Silver Screen! Jamie brought the Idols special t-shirts he had printed up. He had two types of shirts printed up…one that said “contestant” and one that said “artist.” Jamie challenged them to perform their songs as the artists that they’ll be after American Idol. If he felt they achieved that, he gave them the “artist” shirt. If not, they got stuck with the not so favorable “contestant” shirt.

~Sidebar, I see Taye Diggs & his wife Idina Menzel in the audience. Btw, I’m LOVING Taye’s show “Private Practice” this season…juicy storylines!

Back to Idol, the contestants will sing individual songs tonight, but they’ll also be paired up for two duets. First up…

Lee DeWyze: Lee chose to sing “Kiss from a Rose” by Seal from the “Batman Forever” soundtrack. As Lee rehearsed, Jamie got in his face, which I’m sure was pretty uncomfortable. But he was trying to convince Lee that if he was uncomfortable with that, he’d be uncomfortable singing in front of thousands of people. In other words, he was telling Lee what the judges have been telling him all season…get in touch with your confidence. I automatically knew that this song would go well with Lee’s voice. He sounds good, but it’s hard for me not to compare him to Seal when I listen. Seal’s voice is so beautiful & haunting on the original song. I didn’t feel that when I listened to Lee. I thought he was good, but it didn’t strike me as amazing…which is not ideal at this late point in the competition when you really have to stand out from the others. Randy agreed with me. He said that Lee did nothing with the song and that it was just okay. Ellen said that there could have been more done with the song, but that she thought he was good. Kara said that this is one of the most difficult songs to sing and that Lee got lost vocally and had tune issues. But she also said that you can’t take away from the fact that Lee is still great. Simon said the performance was verging on karaoke because he tried too hard to sound like the original. Jamie Foxx gave Lee the “artist “ t-shirt during rehearsals, but Simon suggested that he take it back & give him a “contestant” shirt. Ouch!

Michael Lynche: Michael said that a year ago, he set the goal for himself to make it into the American Idol Top 3. So he says he definitely feels lots of pressure to perform well since he’s so close. Big Mike chose to sing “Will You Be There” by Michael Jackson from the “Free Willy” soundtrack. Jamie observed that Mike is a little worried that maybe he shouldn’t be in the competition…probably because he’s been in the bottom so many times. But Jamie feels like Mike should be in the competition. I agree with Jamie. I think that the at home audience is definitely not into R&B artists this season because most of them were voted off early on. I mean, extremely talented singers were voted off, but someone like Tim Urban stayed on the show until recently. So I think that Big Mike has been in the bottom so many times because the audience doesn’t sway R&B this season. He’s certainly not in the bottom because of lack of talent. Most times he sings beautifully and performs with confidence. Jamie felt that Mike needed to loosen up, so he had him dancing & doing boxing moves. At the end of the rehearsal, he decided to give Mike the “contestant” shirt, but Mike declined…or as Jamie put it, ‘he kinda punked me!’ As far as the live performance, I thought he sounded just swell. I’ve heard him sing songs that were better suited for his voice, but he sounded pretty good. Performance-wise, He wasn’t as tensed as he was in rehearsals, but again…I’ve seen him more confident onstage on past shows. I think these contestants are really letting their nerves get the best of them so far tonight. Randy loves the song, but thought it wasn’t the right choice for Mike. He thought the performance was just alright. Ellen told Mike that she was disappointed to hear that his goal was to make it into the Top 3, when his goal should be to win. She said that he’s consistently good & always sounds good, but that the performance tonight was a little bit predictable. Kara said she wanted to feel goose bumps from Mike tonight like she did when he sang “This Woman’s Work” & “I’m Ready For Love”, but she didn’t feel them. She thought he played it safe. Simon said he had no idea what “Free Willy” is and Mike had to describe it to him, lol. Simon said that he could have made a better song choice, but he felt that at least Mike gave it 100% and sang like he meant it. So some good news for Big Mike from at least one of the judges.

Before Crystal & Casey’s solo performances, Crystal & Lee were paired up to sing a duet. They sang “Falling Slowly” from the “Once” soundtrack. Now that’s a film I’ve never heard of. Both Lee & Crystal played their guitars as they sang together while facing each other. I thought that was a cute touch. They sounded really nice singing together. I felt that Lee stood out a little more than Crystal did during the performance. He did much better than he did during his solo song. Randy said it was a great song by two great singers & could be a hit right now. Ellen said it was great. Kara said it was one of her favorite moments of the entire season. She loved the way they interacted with each other, loved the chemistry & support for each other. She said they brought out the best in each other, which is what duets are about. Simon called it a fantastic song! Btw, Crystal says that Lee’s her “musical” crush…wow.

Casey James: Jamie Foxx & Casey are my fellow Texans, so Jamie was excited to meet another native of Texas! Casey chose to sing “Mrs. Robinson” by Simon & Garfunkel from “The Graduate” soundtrack. Jamie said while Casey was singing, he noticed he wasn’t focused. So he told Casey to act as if he were a woman & seduce him. Again, this was to teach Casey to connect with the audience. Jamie was impressed enough by the end of rehearsal, that he gave Casey the “artist” shirt. I like that Casey performed the song sitting on the stage & surrounded by audience members. This is an iconic song and to Casey’s credit, he put his personal touch on it & made it uniquely his. Randy & Simon picked on Kara, saying that Casey chose this song because she was the older woman pursuing him like Ann Bancroft’s character did Dustin Hoffman’s character in “The Graduate”! Lol! Of course, Kara told them to stop it & told Casey not to listen to them. Randy thought Casey sounded cool, but didn’t feel like Casey did anything different with the song. Ellen liked that Casey changed the song up a bit & thought it was smart. Then she pointed at Kara & said she’ll turn it over to Mrs. Robinson, lol. Kara said it was a good song choice because Casey showed vulnerability. But that’s all she could get out because Simon & Randy kept picking on her. Simon didn’t think the song or the performance had the substance required on such an important night in the competition.

Crystal Bowersox: Crystal chose to sing “I’m Alright” by Kenny Loggins from the “Caddyshack” soundtrack. During rehearsals, Crystal said she was a little star struck that she was singing to Jamie Foxx. But Jamie told her not to be intimidated…to raise her pretty blue eyes up & look right into the crowd to let them know that she’s alright. He gave her the “artist” shirt. I love that Crystal was so true to herself during this performance tonight. She didn’t sing the song just like the original. She sang & screamed unabashedly & gave a good, solid performance. Randy thought she did a nice job & liked that she switched the song up to make it fit her. He also said that Crystal is a true artist. Ellen thought that Crystal took that song & made it better. Kara agreed with Ellen & also agreed with Randy that she’s an artist. Simon said that after that performance, Crystal is back in the game. Hmm, I wasn’t aware that she was ever out of it.

The 2nd pair up of the night was the duet between Casey & Big Mike. They sang “Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman” by Bryan Adams from the “Don Juan DeMarco” soundtrack. Appropriately enough, both Mike & Casey are playing their guitars. And they faced the audience, not each other like the Crystal & Lee. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about these two singing together, but they actually sounded really good! They both were true to themselves…Casey sounded bluesy & Mike sounded soulful. And they harmonized really beautifully together! Randy loved Casey’s guitar playing & thought that Michael’s singing was brilliant & sultry! Ellen said, ‘As a matter of fact, yes I have loved a woman.’ Lol, she’s so silly! She didn’t actually comment on their performance, but she was funny nonetheless. Kara said they were good & that the duets tonight were incredible & better than all of the solo performances. I totally agree with her. Simon said Jamie should give his “artist” shirts to the duets tonight! He said that Casey & Mike were good and job well done.

Like I said earlier, nerves got the best of the contestants. The only one who didn’t come across as nervous during her solo performance was Crystal. The duets were excellent & I actually liked Big Mike & Casey’s duet the best. Ironically though, I believe that those are the two who’ll wind up in the bottom tomorrow. I say that because Mike & Casey have been in the bottom more than Crystal & Lee. Also, I believe that their fanbases aren’t as strong as Crystal & Lee’s. We’ll find out who gets voted off & who makes it into the Top 3 on tomorrow’s Results Show. Also tomorrow, Bon Jovi performs and Idol alums Fantasia & Chris Daughtry return to the Idol stage to perform!