American Idol 2010 Miley Cyrus Mentors Top 11- Boosts Confidence; Crystal, Michael, Siobhan Sing Best

It's Billboard Hot 100 night on American Idol 2010 Season 9 on Tuesday, March 23, 2010. The first song to make Billboard's Hot 100 was 'Poor Little Fool' by Ricky Nelson in 1958. One of the Hot 100 this week is Lady GaGa's 'Telephone', featuring Beyonce. Miley Cyrus kicked off the mentor phase of American Idol. The tall pretty seventeen-year-old with a husky voice speaks at a clear rapid-fire pace.

Until tonight, I hadn't understood what all the fuss about Miley is. But she makes a confident young-woman role model for all the girls who love her and her Hannah Montana show. Who'd have thought that when her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, had a huge country-western hit with 'Achy Breaky Heart', his daughter would one day sell fifteen million records by age seventeen.

The usual host is effervescent Ryan Seacrest. The judges are Randy Jackson, Ellen DeGeneres, Kara DioGuardi, and Simon Cowell, who overall were a bunch of wet blankets tonight dousing the young singers with downbeat criticism. Most of the performances were good, some very good, and a couple drove the crowd wild. Here they are, in order of appearance.

American Idol Lee DeWyze sang The Boxtops' 'The Letter'. Randy told Lee he'd 'knocked it out of the box'. Ellen said 'my favorite pen is back'. Kara said she'd 'never heard him sound better'. At least Simon showed some sense when he said that Lee's performance was corny and that it didn't define him as a contemporary recording artist. In my opinion, Lee sounded like a screeching owl with a bad cold.

American Idol Paige Miles didn't fair much better with Mariah Carey's 'Against All Odds'. She may not have fully recovered from the laryngitis that she had last week. Randy called her performance 'honestly terrible'. Ellen said how stunning Paige looked but said nada about the singing. Kara said that it was not only Paige's worst vocal but possibly the worst of the season. She thought Paige had 'stopped competing'. Simon told Paige that she was 'in serious, serious trouble'. Paige really blew it tonight.

When American Idol contestant Tim Urban met Miley Cyrus, Miley gave him a hug and said, "You rock- I give you two thumbs up." Tim chose to sing Queen's 'A Crazy Little Thing Called Love' and gave an athletic performance. At one point, he ran across the stage and then skidded a few yards on one knee. He upped the excitement on the show. Well, the judges hated it. Randy was a real downer. Ellen said the performance was corny but some people were going to love it. Kara accused Tim of behaving as if he had 'already made it' and compared him to Zac Efron. That's the idea, Kara. Simon called the performance pointless and silly and his song choices 'silly, silly'. Well, I'm with Miley. Two thumbs up, Tim!

American Idol Aaron Kelly had laryngitis this week. He still sounded good singing Aerosmith's 'I Don't Want to Miss a Thing'. He deserved the judges' moderate praise. Aaron has a crush on Miley Cyrus. He even sang her song 'The Climb' for his audition.

American Idol Crystal Bowersox played guitar and sang Janis Joplin's 'Bobby McGee'. Randy called her a star. Ellen advised her to show love back to her audience because her audience loves her. Kara told Crystal to let go more. Simon said that her version of 'Bobby McGee' was as good as Pink's. I'm still waiting for Crystal to really sing her heart out, as she has done once in a while. But I have to remember that while she reminds many of us of Janis Joplin, she is not Janis Joplin.

American Idol Michael 'Big Mike' Lynche first sang Percy Sledge's 'When a Man Loves a Woman' while gazing into Miley Cyrus's eyes during the taped mentor segment. Then, he sang it live tonight. Randy loved Big Mike's R&B soul; he loved the performance. Ellen said that Big Mike has an amazing voice. She said, "This woman loves that man." Kara thought that Big Mike had sung the song technically well and even though she said 'I still love you', she also said that his version was 'loungy'. Simon was not overjoyed with it but he said that Big Mike has charisma, a good good voice, and 'people like you'. Right on, Michael!

American Idol Andrew Garcia was advised by Miley Cyrus to put away the guitar. So he did for his version of Marvin Gaye's 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine'. He did a competent job but the judges let him have it. Randy said it was 'not good'. Kara didn't like his movements on stage. Simon said that Andrew had 'sucked the soul out the song and tortured it'. Well, it wasn't that bad.

American Idol Katie Stevens showed a major boost in confidence this week singing Fergie's 'Big Girls Don't Cry'- all thanks to Miley Cyrus's mentoring. Randy mentioned there were a few pitch problems. Ellen said it was Katie's best performance so far. And it was. Kara said that this Pop and R&B genre suited Katie. Simon still opines that Katie should sing country-western. I'm with Kara.

American Idol Casey James played the guitar and sang Huey Lewis's 'The Power of Love'. It seemed to me that during the taped session between Miley and Casey, Miley was looking Casey up and down. She told him, 'You rock'. He is one of the eye-candy guys of this season, Tim Urban being the other. Randy told Casey that he had performed well. Ellen said his vocal was the best of the night. Kara told Casey that he was ready to make an album. Simon said that the version was like an 80s cover band but then he asked, rhetorically, "What do I know?" Is self-assured Simon starting to doubt his own judgment? Casey did a hot job tonight.

American Idol Didi Benami sang Linda Ronstadt's 'You're No Good'. I thought it was one of her best performances. But Randy said it was 'pitchy'. Ellen didn't like the song choice. Kara said that Didi seemed to be playing a character, and Simon said the performance was 'like a musical'. I gave it 'two thumbs up'.

American Idol Siobhan Magnus sang Stevie Wonder's 'Superstition'. Miley had told her during the taped session of their meeting that Siobhan has a swagger in her voice. After Siobhan's exciting performance, Miley was on her feet wildly applauding along with many others. Randy said it was great and 'I loved it'. Ellen said à la Oliver Twist, 'more, please'. She also said, "You're so good. I love you." Kara said, "You express yourself every time." Simon said that he didn't care for 'it'. He is alone in his opinion.

Siobhan Magnus leads the pack of girls with Crystal Bowersox close on her heels. Katie Stevens and Didi Benami made a strong showing. Michael 'Big Mike' Lynche leads the guys with Casey James close on his heels. Tim Urban definitely has some kind of showbiz career ahead of him. Aaron Kelly is a good singer. Out of the five girls and six guys, the three singers who are most likely to land in the bottom three are Paige Miles, Andrew Garcia, and, I hope, Lee DeWyze. Out of those three, I'd like to send Lee home but I think the person who will be leaving after America votes tonight is Paige. And then we'll have our Top Ten.

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