Rewind: Live blog from 'American Idol' Top 9 performances

We blogged live during Tuesday night's "American Idol" show. The Top 9 tackled the Lennon/McCartney songbook.

Here's how the evening unfolded:

5:00 - "This ... is 'American Idol.'"

5:01 - So what do all think of the backstage shots they started last week? Today Ryan started the show from the control room. And are they going to have a mentor tonight or not?

5:03 - Ryan's telling us how great the Lennon/McCartney songbook is. Sir Paul sent a video message of support to the singers, so I guess that means he will not be the mentor. Now the judges are saying how great these songs are. More filler. Aaron Kelly gets the dreaded opening spot tonight. He'll be up after the first break!

5:09 - Our filler ploy tonight: as each contestant is introduced, we get vignettes of the other contestants describing them. They call Aaron "Yoda." Young but wise. Oh man, he really is David Archuleta! He's singing the same song Archuleta did for a Beatles week two years ago: "The Long and Winding Road." OK, now this is where the comparisons should come to a complete and solid STOP. While this is not bad, the vocal talent here is clearly not Archie-caliber. He seemed to miss his timing a couple of times. Go here to see Archie's version.
Randy: "It felt flat."
Ellen: "That's a big song to take on. But it felt like a long and winding road."
Kara: "Every week it feels like the same performance. Move around on the stage and change the tempo."
Simon: "It was very old-fashioned, and very boring. You've got to become young and relevant."

5:19 - Katie Stevens, another youngster, gets the No. 2 spot tonight. Ryan tells us five guys have asked her to prom back home. She says she'll choose the guy who has voted for her the most. Little known fact: Katie does the Single Ladies dance. She'll be singing "Let It Be." This is the second slow song on the night -- Somebody get to L.A. and liven up this party! Yeah, it's slow, but I like her rendition. It might be my favorite song by her so far in the finals.
Randy: "To me this is your best performance - ever! Those were hot vocals."
Ellen: "That was amazing. There's no way you'll be in the bottom three."
Kara: "You're blossoming on that stage. You're confident tonight. You never looked better. And you never sounded better."
Simon: "Tonight you got it right. It like you were singing about somebody rather than being robotic."

5:33 - I'm interested to see what Andrew Garcia's got for us tonight. I think he could do well with this theme. He's singing "Can't Buy Me Love." He's behind the judges like Michael was last week. He's definitely giving this an Elvis-honky tonk kind of vibe. Almost rockabilly. But the different take might confuse some people. I like it! I didn't love his performance last week like everybody else did, but I like this one.
Randy: "It was a solid performance."
Ellen: "First of all, you can buy love. It was a lot of fun and I loved it."
Kara: "I don't know that I saw anything new from you. I did like the breakdown though - that was hot."
Simon: "The problem with that performance was the band overpowering that performance. It was corny. I think you and the band got this all wrong tonight."

5:43 - Any guesses on what Michael Lynche will sing tonight? Casey James says "Big Mike" snores really loud. He's singing "Eleanor Rigby," last done on Idol by Season 7 winner David Cook. I'm not digging this arrangement. I think the judges are gonna ding him tonight. I give him credit for a decent ending though.
Randy: "I'm not sure all of that worked. The parts that did work were great."
Ellen: "I thought that was a huge risk. I thought that was incredible."
Kara: "Those vocals were amazing. You sold the story. you made that song commercial today."
Simon: "I didn't love it as much as the other three. This is the kind of thing you see and hear in musicals. I think if anything it made you go slightly backwards. It was just too over the top."
[Thank goodness Simon saved me on this.]

5:56 - Next up is Crystal Bowersox. She's got a little cold. Her knickname is MamaSox. (An aside: Siobhan needs to wear those glasses ALWAYS.) It's clear the other contestants have a lot of respect for her artistry. She's singing "Come Together." I love it - the band has a didgeridoo player! seems like she was a little distracted with the guitar playing tonight. But that's a quibble -- she was still a vocal powerhouse and the most compelling artist of the night so far.
Randy: "Another solid performance. It definitely worked. you're in the zone right now."
Ellen: "I always have to find a new way to tell you how great you are."
Kara: "I think this is one of my favorite performances of yours. It was playful. I felt you were more accessible tonight."
Simon: "That's a performance I could hear on the radio. It was quirky. That's how you make a song contempary. Terrific, and much better than last week."

6:10 - Here comes Tim Urban. The other contestants are making good fun of his constant smile. He's picked "All My Lovin'." It sounds like he's singing for a high-school talent show! Nice guy, but not a contender here. Let's move on!
Randy: "I think it was much better performance than the last couple of weeks."
Ellen: "It was your second best performance after 'Hallelujah.'"
Kara: "You can smile. It's hard to take what we've given you every week."
Simon: "Taking everything into consideration, I thought you did really well with that song tonight."

6:24 - Casey James is sportin' a schnazzy white blazer tonight. The other contestants all love his big laugh. He's singing Lennon's "Jealous Guy." The acoustic guitar is helping put more of the emphasis on his vocals this week, which is a good thing. This might be his most significant performance of the season strictly in terms of vocals. Nice job on a song that a lot of people probably are not very familiar with. Hints of Eddie Vedder.
Randy: "I was really impressed that you took this kind of leap. I loved that you did this."
Ellen: "That to me was your best performance to date - It was so soulful."
Kara: "What you showed tonight was vulnerability. It's just showing depth."
Simon: "I think it was the best performance of the night so far. I am very, very impressed with you tonight."
[BTW, Casey is like a foot taller than Ryan Seacrest.]

6:37 - "Siobhan [Magnus] ... is just amazingly weird," says one of her fellow contestants. She's singing "Across The Universe." Dang, whe's not weiring those glasses for her performance. Siobhan is going for subltey tonight. No screaming with this song. It's a little on the slow and boring side, but still pleasant. Hmmm. I don't know what to think about this.
Randy: "I love the outfit, it's crazy wild. I like the whole tender side. I loved seeing that side of you."
Ellen: "I think you should always honor who you are because you are really special. I thought it was beautiful."
Kara: "You showed control, it was good. It was restrained and polite, which something we're not used to seeing from you. But I am still a fan."
Simon: "I think you came back much, much stronger [than last week]."

6:50 - The guy with the pimp spot tonight is no-longer-a-sleeper Lee DeWyze. He's singing "Hey Jude." He's really taking the advice to get more animated with his performances. His voice has always been great -- he just needed some charisma. This isn't as powerful as his performance last week, and the bagpiper on stage (yes, true) was more of a distraction than a help tonight. This song really doesn't showcase his vocals at all. Crowd really loved it though.
Randy: "You don't have to be nervous baby - you got this."
Ellen: "You were smiling more. I loved it."
Kara: "You definitely feel more comfortable up there. There were good moments and some off moments."
Simon: "I wouldn't have done that [the bagpiper]. It was like he turned up on the wrong show."

What did you think of tonight's performances?

Here's my ranking from best to worst:

You've got a ticket to ride!
Crystal Bowersox
Casey James
Katie Stevens
Lee DeWyze
Andrew Garcia

I want to hold your hand:
Siobhan Magnus
Michael Lynche
Tim Urban
Aaron Kelly

Help, you need somebody!
[nobody -- no one had a really bad night.]