Hot on the heels of last week’s sensational “Jealous Guy” cover, Casey James seemingly took a step backward in momentum on last night’s Elvis Presley-themed American Idol telecast. Simon Cowell declared the performance a “wasted opportunity,” while Kara DioGuardi argued it fell short of Casey’s capabilities.
We caught up with the contestant himself after the show and asked why he selected “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” one of Elvis’ lesser-known jams: “That’s pretty much exactly why I picked it,” said Casey, explaining that Elvis’ more iconic numbers are too infused with the King’s personality. “I wanted to pick one that I didn’t really know so that I [wouldn't] have [Elvis] singing it in my head as I’m doing it. That was my thought.”
As for his decision to descend into the Swaybot Pit for his performance,that was more a technical choice than an emotional one. “I was going to sit, originally,” he said. “But the stools are too tall for me to kick my foot; so I wanted a chair, and they said it would look weird because I was too low. So they put me on that [platform], which was totally cool. I haven’t seen it yet, but I hope it looked cool. –Reporting by Adam B. Vary
Never perform in the pit. Never.
Hahahahah.
The pit is bad news for whoever goes in there i.e. Kris Allen and gah….someone else too LOL
THIS! The (bottomless) Pit is not where is at. Casey has now been put in that list alongside you, Kris Allen, and poor Matt Giraud. Who’s the next victim? Tune in NEXT week…?
I like this guy. He doesn’t get the credit that he deserves, and he’s always been a class act regarding the stupid comments and antics that have gone on.
Agree Sharon. I’m glad Ryan has toned it down the last couple of weeks – hopefully for good. Casey handled it very gracefully.
true, I always get the feeling he’s too normal and sane for this show
I agree as well! Casey is an amazing talent who knows exactly who his and the kind of music he wants to play! And except for Crystal,he’s the only contestant who is consistently good!
This was not my favorite performance of Casey’s. But I agree that in general, Casey is not given the credit he deserves. It is taken for granted that he will be consistently good every week. He may not meet some people’s expectations because he is playing himself every week not trying to be something he is not. He’s a skilled musician and has an interesting voice that I enjoy ..a lot. I would like to see him improving his performances as long as he continues to simply be himself.
Casey’s reason for chosing the song was a very good one. His reason is the reason why I couldn’t stand some of the singers last night. They had to perform and sing and not make me see and hear Elvis doing it.
I like Casey a lot too. He always looks so happy to be performing and has a great smile. He’s pretty authentic, too, not all that interested in mugging for the camera. I also feel a bit of a Clapton/Stevie Ray vibe from his music, love that. I’d definitely pay money to see him perform. Go Casey!
His voice reminds me a LOT of Clapton. Good for him!
OH!MY!GOD! Almost from day one, I thought of Eric Clapton too!He sounds like a young Clapton. I keep reading hoping someone else will notice!
While not his best performance, it was still MUCH better than Aaron, Andrew, Katie & Tim’s performances. Casey has been solidly consistent. He’s been about a “B” grade most weeks with an “A” last week and maybe a “C” earlier on. But mostly in the “B” grade range. He’s in tune, not out of pitch, sounds fine, plays the guitar well, and comes across as a good dude. Picking a lesser known song is a risk that can pay off (like last week) or not (like this week.) Still, it takes guts to choose a lesser known song as on AI picking a song that people know helps overcome half the battle.
It is surprising that family-friendly AI allowed Casey to sing a song that has the lyrics, “You ball me in the morning/and don’t come home at night.” Didn’t offend me, just sayin’.
“Lawdy Miss Clawdy” is about sexual enthrallment – how ironic that millions of cougars are sexually enthralled with Casey!!
Anyway, he has a terrific voice and his stage presence has improved tremendously. I hope he makes it to the Top Two!
You are so right. Casey has the it factor and has from day one. He has stage presence that only other one is Crystal. I have rated Casey for that factor alone as Great. I think Simon, Kara and Randy all know that. You can see it. When he take the stage he owns it. It is like Adam Lambert you wait a week to see what he does next. I think he and Crystal should be first and Second as they are both winners and will have great careers. Also they are the only ones that do this for a living. It might not be a good living but that is their jobs. The other idols are beginners and need more practice.
I think picking a more obscure song can really work (i.e. Casey’s brilliant “Jealous Guy”), it just has to be the right song and that’s what makes the competition so difficult. I’m a fan of Casey’s but last night’s song just didn’t have enough going for it to really stand out. Hope he can bounce back next week because I really like his bluesy voice and style!
Oh, and did it bother anybody else that Ryan pronounced the song “Loudy Miss Cloudy”
Yup. But he was drunk.
Nice that you are snagging interviews with the contestants. Hoping for a Andrew exit interview! I like him and think he is going.
The one I’d really love is getting Kara and asking her if she has been gunning for every female contestant not named Crystal since taking out Cystal’s talented niche rival – Lilly.
And despite Katie and Siobhan now standing up to the unfairness – given the judges huge advantage of the bully pulpit, when Kara hopes to be rid of Katie and Siobhan so she can have her two faves in the Finals? (the other is Big Cheeseball, with Lee as backup)
“Love Me Tender” would have been a better song choice for him.
Good for him! Without listening to the judges comments and just listening to the audio – pretty good!
If Casey really wants to win this thing he needs to use what he has and that is his sexiness his amazing voice and he can clinch this thing. Believe me the women will vote him in if he will sing to them like Elvis did!
As handsome and talented as Casey is, his best assets are behind him. Check it out next week.
Casey James’s performance last night was totally soul-less and stiff.
And, hey, who says Tim was in the bottom three?
Dial idol. Go to dialidol.com, click on predictions and see for yourself. Tim was next in line to go.
Forgive she-crest for being giddy last night… it was because of me tee-hee!