"Idol" Top 12 Night In A Nutshell: Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday

Well, it's been a week since Tuesday & Wednesday and I still haven't delivered you (whoever you are...are you out there???) a recap from last week's Top 12 performances (and subsequent elimination of one unlucky soul) on "American Idol." Since I am rather pressed for time, and I usually write too much anyway, I am going to attempt an experiment in typing very little for each contestant. (I considered putting all of them in my Twitter box and making sure they stayed under 140 characters, but thought better of it. That would be too annoying... :) ) So here we go. Brandon being concise. This should be interesting. :D

• Michael Lynche, "Miss You": This was kind of fun, but also kind of bland. Michael still sounds a bit flat and stale. And I still haven't become attached to him or his vocals. This is worrisome for him...he could end up an early casualty, after the love wears off.
• Didi Benami, "Play With Fire": Dang, I don't have the time to gush about this. Didi really rocked it last Tuesday...she showed to all those stupid haters that she has a powerful, unique instrument, and that she's here to stay. Her take on this Rolling Stones classic was pitch-perfect, passionate, and just wow. Didi for the win! Or at least for the Final 3. (Crystal, Siobhan, and Didi in the Final 3...I would dance in utter and indescribable joy. :) )
• Casey James, "It's All Over Now": OK, so I did gush about Didi anyway. Casey's guitar playing once again outshined his vocals here. I find little to remember about his performance, except that it didn't really catch my eye. Sorry, Casey. You're just not amazing enough. At all.
• Lacey Brown, "Ruby Tuesday": Poor Lacey. She definitely wasn't the worst this week, and I actually liked her performance a lot. (Maybe it was the spicy string-quartet intro that drew me in. I'm a sucker for strings. :) ) Her vocals were a bit reminiscent of the semifinals' first two weeks' flat-and-pitchy-fest, but they still weren't too bad. So dang that Lacey got sent home. I wish her the best, and hope her and her fellow Southern early-castoff Alexis Grace (from last season) get the dang record deals they deserve.
• Andrew Garcia, "Gimme Shelter": What happened to Andrew? He started off good (I STILL love his semifinal take on "Sugar, We're Going Down", dang it!), then he quite royally tanked. Last Tuesday was no different. It's gotten to the point where I no longer look forward to his performances, when before I awaited them eagerly. He really needs to find his vibe...because otherwise, I won't mind if he gets sent home.
• Katie Stevens, "Wild Horses": Against all odds, I actually kind of dug this. Sure, Katie's low range was neglected like a redheaded stepchild, and she still seems to be a bit pretentious. But those glory notes she hit in the chorus were hints of the goodness she used to bring in Hollywood Week and her audition. I'm not re-attached to Katie yet, but this performance was a vast improvement over the crap she's been delivering lately.
• Tim Urban, "Under My Thumb": Oh my heck, this was dismal. Full disclosure: I'm not familiar with the original song at all, so I'm not as scandalized by Tim's wonky reworking of the (apparently very chauvinistic) Stones song, but that didn't stop me from thinking this performance was quite worthy of elimination. It was sleepy (and I listen to quiet, supposedly 'boring' songs on a regular basis), flat, and disjointed. It was like a poor man's Jason Mrubbish with the flu. For the love of all things Megan Joy, America, SEND THIS BROTHER HOME.
• Siobhan Magnus, "Paint It Black": STOP COMPARING EVERY FREAKING CONTESTANT IN THIS SEASON TO ADAM. The world did not begin and end when Mr. Lambert stepped onto the stage. He was not by any means perfect (he screeched like a wounded crow with a throat infection), and y'all really need to just let him go. As for Siobhan's performance...it just gets better with every listen. The music box-esque waltz beginning was brilliant. The pitch problems I so worriedly noticed while watching the telecast seem to disappear each time I hear the song on my iTunes, and even the "holy crap, did she REALLY sing that???" note at the end, which originally I thought was a good deal less healthy and shouty than Siobhan's similar glory note on "Think," gets less and less out of place. It was truly a fiery take, and while I was unsure of it on Top 12 night, right now is hands-down one of my favorite performances this season.
• Lee DeWyze, "Beast of Burden": It's time to be concise again. He still went horribly flat on long notes. His take was so bland I can't remember much about it. I STILL don't get why people love this hack, and I doubt I ever will. Go figure.
• Paige Miles, "Honky Tonk Women": My mouth pretty much dropped open in shock when she told Ryan she had freaking laryngitis and was still singing, and I have to admit, shockingly, she did better Tuesday. But it was still quite a bit off, and I definitely wouldn't have minded if she had gone home Wednesday.
• Aaron Kelly, "Angie": Boring. Bland. OK. Vocally unimpressive but not a mess. There. That's Aaron's performance in a nutshell. Yawn...
• Crystal Bowersox, "You Can't Always Get What You Want": Very good, though I kept wishing for a gospel choir (a la the original recording) to jump out and jam with Ms. Bowersox. Still, I really enjoyed it. A fine performance by a fine contender for the crown, nothing more, nothing less.

And that was probably the fastest recap I've ever done. Sorry if I missed anything (I'm sure I did). Adios, and my "DWTS" recap along with more "Idol" recapping is to come at a later date!