Will Tomorrow Night's American Idol Be the Third Strike for Casey James?

For the last two weeks on American Idol, Casey James has landed a spot in the bottom three. Will tomorrow night's results show be the end of the line for him?

Last week when I heard that the theme for this week's show was going to be Frank Sinatra, I immediately began to worry whether Casey would do well with that particular type of music. This week's mentor, the multi-talented Harry Connick Jr., in his meeting with Casey, stated that "sometimes it's not about the lyrics, it's about the groove." Did Casey have a hard time getting "into the groove" when he performed Sinatra's "Blue Skies"?

Despite the audience's usual screams and cheers, the judges weren't impressed. Randy Jackson started by saying that it was Casey's "worst performance." He added that the song was "pitchy" all the way until the "last note maybe." He also said that Casey was "out of his element" and that it "didn't work." Ellen DeGeneres said that it "felt stiff" and did not seem effortless. Kara DioGuardi then said that although Casey had held some notes longer than he had in any of his other performances, he "sounded like a lamb" and "needed to work on his bravado." Simon Cowell then remarked that it wasn't "fantastic" and that he "came over embarrassed and a bit awkward."

At the end of the judges harsh critiques, Harry Connick Jr., who played the piano for the five contestants, defended Casey by saying that it was hard to hear on stage. He also said that was probably to blame because of the fact that two hours before the show, Casey had "killed it."

Whatever was to blame, I have a gut feeling that tomorrow night may be Casey's last night in the competition. Although I thought he had done well considering the Sinatra theme, I'm pretty sure he will once again be in the bottom three if not sent home tomorrow night. Last week's performance was wonderful and had all four judges raving. I thought that for sure he would not have been in the bottom three last week, but I have learned that results are hard to predict. If it were up to me, Casey James would have another chance to show us what he's got next week. I just hope the voting audience agrees.