Casey James Sings "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" on American Idol

It was Elvis night on American Idol. Contestants got to pick a song from more than 800 Elvis songs, and Casey James picked "Lawdy Miss Clawdy." American Idol chose last year's runner-up, Adam Lambert, to mentor the contestants for Elvis night. This is the first time that a former contestant has been asked to be a mentor.

Adam Lambert's Advice to Casey James

Adam Lambert's goal as a mentor to the American Idol contestants was to be honest but constructive. He said that he just didn't want to tell them they were good or bad. He wanted to let them know how they could improve. Overall, he told all the contestants they need to "wake up" and get some energy.

Adam suggested that Casey should build more dynamics into the song. He gave him suggestions on where to climax his vocals in order to make the song more interesting.

Casey James's " Lawdy Miss Clawdy" performance

Everyone knows Elvis' songs, and it is a daunting task to make them new and current without changing the song too much. Casey James's "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" performance was good vocally.

Casey stood on the small side stage surrounded by fans. He had his hair in a ponytail and his guitar in front of him. He looked very comfortable and sang the song with ease. His performance was good but not great. There was no excitement in his performance, but he smiled and sang it well.

Casey's rendition of "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" had more soul and was a little more blues-like than the original. He increased the tempo to a foot shaking level. Even though it was good performance it was also a forgettable one.

Casey did not take Adam's advice to its fullest potential. There was no climax to the song even though he did put in a few extra runs and a touch of soul.

Will Casey James be in the Bottom Three?

Casey James did a spectacular job with the British Invasion theme, but he may have disappointed his fans with his version of Elvis' "Lawdy Miss Clawdy." It wasn't as spectacular, but it was still a good, solid performance. This performance is difficult to critique because it wasn't bad, it wasn't good, it just was okay.

Casey will be safe this week. His American Idol performance fell right in the middle of the performers. Simon Cowell said that it was a wasted opportunity. It may have been wasted, but it wasn't a death sentence.