American Idol Judge Ellen DeGeneres Picks a 'Man Song' for Crystal? was it Right?

Last night on American Idol, it was the judges turn to choose the tune's for this year's American Idol 2010 contestants. Kara DioGuardi and Randy Jackson picked John Mayer's Daughter's for Casey and it might have been his demise. Simon Cowell chose "Hallejulah" for Lee Dewyze and it was a production worthy of a star, with Lee giving it his "all" too and having a moment with the crowd. Ellen picked "Baby I'm Amazed" by Paul McCartney for Crystal. Why did she do that? If you want to see what she said, "5/18/2010, my recap"

Some people in the comments section of a CSNS news post on Ellen asking Crystal to sing a Man song, are saying this was a sin. What? If there is a god, would you please put some sense into these foolish minds!

This is singing and entertainment - telling stories through song - how can a story be wrong? Some people make up crap and call it a story - two of my favorites are Frank Mucci and Bailey Black.

The songs we generally like the best invoke some kind of emotion - hate, rage, love, sadness, or maybe inspiration. We hear the story in the tone, in the words, in the melody. That is what makes a song memorable. What are the comments we remember from the judges this season?

"Not your best song choice; I wanted to see you make it your own; I wanted more from you; I couldn't tell who you are with that song;, I was hoping somebody was in it to win it; Man you can sing the phone book; Now that's what we're talking about; and Dude, great job!" Not, way to go lady, wow momba womba, or nice schtick, chic. No, we did not.

Crystal didn't change the words but she showed her soft and strong sides

Will you remember Crystal singing "Baby I'm a Man" (Baby, I'm Amazed)" - I know I will. I also will remember that she paid homage to the writer by not changing the lyrics as some more insecure people might do. She invoked emotion with the song, and she sang it with all she had. She did a lovely job and even though she moved around on stage, she controlled her vocals and delivered a very good performance.

Crystal told a story with her song - without her instrument and I thought as I watched her, the song was symbolic of the "strength" of a man, but her range and sweet side, showed she's all that and more.

Crystal was bold, beautiful and true to the artist's original song, while putting her own touch to it. We saw previous contestants who have crossed genders successfully to pull off a traditionally opposite sex sung song.

Whether Ellen picked the right song or not, should not be the question but I think she did Crystal a favor pushing her out of her comfort zone.

Was Crystal up to the challenge of song choice by Ellen?

Whether Crystal was able to sing the song Ellen chose for her was the question I wanted answered and to me, that girl has proven she can sing the phonebook, Sinatra, Shania Twain, Melissa Ethridge, Alannis Morrisette and the great Janis Joplin. I bet she can even do a mean Sheryl Crow song like "Every day is a Winding Road."

Crystal Bowersox is a talented singer and musician, and I give her Kudos for her performance last night; strong enough to be a man, but momasox rocks just like a woman. I did think Lee did a hair better than her last night, but she held her own and deserves a contract.

Source:

Fox Television, American Idol 5/18/2010

Terence Jeffrey, http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=66228