Top 16 Performances: The Guys

I don't have nearly as much to say about the guys as I did about the girls. And unless you were canny enough to pick Owl City as one of your musical artists, there weren't any bonus points to hand out beyond first/last performers. So just quickly, I'm going to run through last night's performances, from the best to the worst.

Michael Lynche (sang last +2)
"This Woman's Work" (Maxwell)
Big Mike has finally found his wheelhouse, and within those parameters, he's killing it. He was always going to make Top 12 anyway; it's heartening to see he'll be doing so based on two straight great performances. I do wonder if he's for real as far as a possible winner of the show, but for now, he's in the zone.

Casey James
"You'll Think of Me" (Keith Urban)
After a week in Gavin DeGraw purgatory, Casey returned to making canny song choices that will appeal to exactly who he needs to appeal to. As a bonus, this is the best he's sounded in all three semifinal weeks.

Lee Dewyze (sang first +1)
"Fireflies" (Owl City)
And no, it isn't just because I actually spoke the words "Lee Dewyze, I would so make out with you" last night that I think he did well. He's also a really good singer guy.

Tim Urban
"Hallelujah"
Yes, it's completely pointless to sing a song this overexposed. But in his very limited range, Tim didn't sound awful, which automatically makes it the best thing he's done thus far. It's not world-beating singing, but it did the job; and if he's looking to get a girl into bed and, for some insane reason, taking his shirt off doesn't do the trick, singing this song just might. Witness Ellen's hug-tervention. The woman's a lesbian, but she's not dead.

Todrick Hall
"Somebody to Love"
Well, at least Todrick managed not to get yelled at for a crappy re-imagining again. Now he's just a very limited singer performing a song that many other contestants on this show have performed and better. Good news!

Alex Lambert
"Trouble"
Snooze. I still love Alex and all his diamond-in-the-roughness, but this was a definite step backwards from last week.

Andrew Garcia
"Genie in a Bottle"
God bless him for dipping into the Aguilera songbook, but this was AWFUL. Desperate and nasally and poorly paced. I want to like him again, but I'm worried he's become the Sundance/Sligh of this season.

Aaron Kelly
"I'm Already There"
First of all, when you've chosen a song that was also chosen in Season 4 by my beloved but poor-decision-making Anthony Fedorov, you know you've gone astray. Aaron can still hit the bigger, sustained notes, but everything else was strained, garbled messiness. The good news for him is that this is the first out-and-out bad performance he's had, so he may have the fanbase to keep him around.

Going home? Todrick, definitely. After him? I wouldn't feel safe unless my name was Mike, Casey, or Lee. And while an Andrew ouster wouldn't shock me, I think here is where the Tim and Alex fanbases get complacent and we lose ... Alex.