Idol 25 - Crystal Bowersox

25. Crystal Bowersox

Season 9, Runner-up

For the first few weeks, I didn't really care much about Crystal Bowersox. Yes, she's an amazing artist but something about her didn't really connect with me. But, I admit, she managed to make me like her. Really. Let's go back from the start, shall we?

To be honest, her audition was good, although she did look odd and not the typical cookie-cutter American Idol contestant. I didn't care for her that much though as I thought I saw better audition performances. Then, she performed Natural Woman during Hollywood week and I thought it was spectacular. Did I become her fan after that? Not really, but I already acknowledge that she'll be a good contender for the title.

Now, when the semifinals round came, it was not much of a surprise that she slayed all three performances. Crystal was one of maybe three performers who didn’t show any trace of nerves during the semifinals - this is what Crystal does for a living. It’s what she was born to do. I mean, everything about her performances was completely natural and organic. Plus, Crystal showed that she could rocked out on two instruments.

By then, I knew she was the clear front-runner of the season and she didn’t show any signs of faltering or slowing down. If anything, she even got better as the weeks go on and that was a really ominous sign for the rest of the contestants. Crystal was like a snowball rolling down a hill and the other contestants were just harmless twigs in her way. Oh, and Simon was right, this was her competition to lose.

Unfortunately,Crystal, like any other early front-runner, suffered the issue or fate. Yes, she still went out and fought tooth and nail for a victory every week until the Finale but that was made impossible by Lee Dewyze’s ever-growing momentum on the show. Fans of eliminated Idols usually don’t jump on board late in the game but instead, they move to the alternative, and Lee was that alternative.

To me, Crystal probably lost the competition when she allowed Lee to practically be crowned during the Top 3 stage of the competition. I mean, that episode was all about setting up a competition environment for the Finale. They desperately needed a competitor over the past few weeks so Crystal Bowersox wouldn’t run away with it and they were very lucky that Lee Dewyze stepped up to fill that plateau.

But second place is nothing to sneeze at for Crystal Bowersox. So, here's hoping she'll have a decent career after Idol.

Favorite Performance(s): I thought Me and Bobby McGee was phenomenal. Her rendition of People Get Ready was probably one of her finest moments as well and proved that she was a force to reckoned with. But, seriously, Up To The Mountain physically assaulted most performances of that season. I mean, it grabbed every “great” performance we’ve seen over the past few months and slapped them into submission. Haha.

Me and Bobby McGee

People Get Ready

Up To The Mountain

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