Thanks to the judges’ save, Michael Lynche is still a cast member on American Idol 9. Therefore, we were treated to a Top 9 performance on Tuesday, the second of the season. Ryan Seacrest was very energetic as he started things off for the night.

A night which was dedicated to the King himself, Elvis Presley. Though he reached his peak in the 1960s, Elvis is still widely-regarded as the best-loved rock performer in music history. He is certainly one of the most successful. It being Elvis night and all, the mentor for the week was Adam Lambert, naturally. Because that makes sense. Both men, at least,  were and are incredible showmen. Lambert is the first former contestant to mentor his fellow Idols, an honor I feel should have been given to someone with better record sales.

Crystal Bowersox impressed Lambert during their session together, as she has every other mentor of the season. He advised her to accompany herself with an electric, rather than acoustic, guitar. Crystal followed his advice, stepping on the stage to deliver a rollicking version of one of the earlier Elvis tunes, “Saved.” Her energy immediately got the show off to a good start, and as always Crystal sounded great.

“That’s the way to come out and give it up! You had energy, it was dope…I thought I was listenin’ to somebody’s record!” Randy Jackson was fully enthralled by Bowersox. Ellen DeGeneres joked that she’s tired of complimenting Crystal, adding “it was fantastic, Crystal.” Kara DioGuardi liked the “drama” and thought Crystal “did some really good things” in her performance. “You didn’t choose an obvious song. You chose something which suited you. You put your own slant on it,” Simon Cowell, for a change, had plenty of compliments to give.

Andrew Garcia did a sit-down with Ryan Seacrest before he had a chance to take center stage. They talked about Michael Lynche’s amazing performance the week before, when he successfully sang for the judges’ save to prevent his own elimination. The final vote came down to Andrew and Michael, though both would end up sticking around for Elvia week. Garcia chose “Hound Dog” to celebrate the theme, though Adam Lambert found the practice performance “boring.” He advised Garcia to change the tune around.

That’s just what Andrew did when it was time to deliver the performance - but it absolutely did not work. His somewhat lounge-y performance certainly wasn’t Idol caliber, though he should get some points for the valiant effort. I’m not sure if he changed the song too much or not enough, but really the tune isn’t in his wheelhouse anyway. Song selection, song selection, song selection. On a positive note, Andrew has really, really good vocals.

“Simon Cowell kind of predicted it earlier…that was definitely not good, karaoke,” Randy Jackson admitted. “I didn’t like it,” he was point-blank in his displeasure. “I wish you had put a little more swagger into it…and I thought you pulled it off,” Ellen DeGeneres remained positive. “It’s Elvis, you gotta own it,” Kara DioGuardi explained. “I wanted to feel more from that performance,” she told him. “I thought it was lazy, unpredictable,” Simon Cowell, as usual, pulled no punches. “Like, when you see one of these musicals, there’s always the one part in it which no one wants to see and hear, and that was the part,” Cowell summed it up. Ouch. He just likened Andrew Garcia to a bad Lerner and Lowe joint, y’all.

Tim Urban chose “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” which might have been a nice tune for Michael Lynche. Adam Lambert liked Tim’s soft version of the song, saying “that’s pretty!” with enthusiasm during the practice session. Lambert encouraged Tim to add a falsetto to the end of the performance, though Urban did not follow the advice.

Tim appeared on the high platform of the Idol stage with his acoustic guitar, singing softly to the ladies in the crowd. I have to say, Tim Urban is improving by leaps and bounds. His pretty performance was very vocally sound, his emotions were very compelling, and I’m sure more than one new fan was won over when Urban displayed more range and depth than he’s done all season. Best performance of the night, surprisingly so.

“I actually liked it!” Randy Jackson was surprised, too. “I can’t help falling in love with you, Tim. I thought that was beautiful,” Ellen DeGeneres was genuine - after she made the required joke to precede her comment. Kara DioGuardi likewise loved the performance, giving Tim a “well done!” “That, by the way, was beautiful,” Simon Cowell complimented. “You have managed to go from zero to hero in two weeks,” the judge added, and Tim got the big stamp of approval from Idol‘s harshest critic.

Lee DeWyze made the smart decision to sing “A Little Less Conversation,” a great song for his unique vocal sound. Adam Lambert wanted more showmanship from Lee, though he found no fault with the vocals. “I think he’s got the chance to do really well,” Lambert told cameras before Lee took the stage.

Playing his acoustic guitar, Lee looked and sounded completely natural on the big stage. He definitely put more flair into the performance, and his vocals are always easy on the ears. DeWyze definitely has a distinct sound, very radio-friendly. The arrangement of the song was great, helping Lee offered up one of his most entertaining performances of the season.

“You are definitely in the zone, dude,” Randy Jackson found himself blown away. “You made that so current. That really sounded like a brand-new song,” Ellen DeGeneres enthused. “You really went for it, and I loved it,” Kara DioGuardi also waxed excited, saying “the vocals are fire.” Simon Cowell didn’t care for Kara DioGuardi’s comments, which he told her about before he went on to say that Lee’s performance was “on the money.” Lee credited Adam Lambert’s help for his strong performance.

Aaron Kelly picked “Blue Suede Shoes,” singing it so well during practice that Adam Lambert found himself pleasantly surprised. He instructed Kelly to put more energy into his vocals, pinpointing Aaron’s lack of self-confidence. Kelly’s definitely got the vocal chops, but he’s displayed a dismal lack of showmanship thus far.

Aaron started his performance out with much more energy than is customary for him, but the number was still very lackluster. I wanted him to come out on the stage like a firecracker; he was much more like a Bic disposable lighter. All the same, Kelly’s vocals were, as always, very lovely and technically impressive. He should’ve worn blue suede shoes. Missed fashion opportunity, there.

“It started out kinda weird,” Randy Jackson admitted, though he grudgingly added that the second half of the performance was much better. “I thought that was a big song to take on, so I have to give you an A for effort…I don’t think you got all the way there, but I think you did a really good job,” Ellen DeGeneres offered. “You’re out of your comfort zone, and I like it,” Kara DioGuardi smiled. “It felt more current…so, I actually liked it,” she told him. “I don’t think it made you younger. I think it did the opposite, in my personal opinion,” Simon Cowell remarked. He likened the performance to “somebody at a high school doing a concert at the end.” Cowell thought the performance was “very karaoke,” and admitted he “wasn’t crazy about it.” Neither was I. Perhaps Kelly should have simply softly crooned a love song, which is much more his style.

Siobhan Magnus looked great for her moment on stage, which began with a sit-down. According to her comments to Ryan Seacrest, Magnus has always been a big Elvis fan. She picked “Suspicious Minds,” which I’m not sure is such a great song choice for her. Lambert stepped up the tempo on her song, a change Siobhan immediately liked.

Siobhan started the song out on a slow note that beautifully displayed her lovely vocals. There was something a little 80s-era telethon about the whole thing, however. I wanted a rock performance; Magnus gave us piano bar. Her vocals are the saving grace of everything she does, but the performance was painfully old-fashioned.

“You took a couple of risks tonight,” Randy Jackson commented, praising “that girl can sing, right there.” “You look fabulous, you look great,” Ellen DeGeneres complimented, saying she loves Siobhan’s voice. “It’s getting confusing for me,” Kara DioGuardi remarked, admitting “I’m sorry, I wasn’t crazy about it.” “To me, it was like you were put in a time machine,” Simon Cowell sighed. He found the performance “very erratic, very screechy.” “I just love to sing,” Siobhan sincerely stated as the comments came to a close.

Michael Lynche performed this week only by grace of the judges’ save. Under the influence of Siobhan’s advice, he chose “In the Ghetto” for his important second chance. Adam Lambert advised Lynche to “bring that actor out” and told him to perform the song more. “I think he deserves to get right down to the end,” Lambert said of Mike after their meeting.

Playing his acoustic guitar, Michael Lynche very beautifully delivered his tale - which it must be called, for Mike’s performance was no mere song. I have absolutely always hated this ditty, the only one in the Elvis catalog which I just don’t want to hear, but coming from Lynche I absolutely felt it. His vocals are truly amazing, something which was made clear under the guidance of the soft arrangement.

Randy Jackson called the song “a little sleepy,” but thought the vocals were “hot, hot.” “I’m glad we saved you,” Ellen DeGeneres said simply. “It’s a beautiful song, and you definitely sang it well,” Kara DioGuardi quickly offered. The judges were obviously pressed for time, what with the season premiere of Glee panting on American Idol’s heels. Simon Cowell heavily praised the performance, and the entire show began to noticeably pick up its tempo as it rushed off to commercial break.

Katie Stevens didn’t display enough emotion for Adam Lambert, who advised her to rough up the song a bit. She chose “Baby, What You Want Me To Do?” The number was a bit of a tongue-in-cheek joke to the judges, who have given her conflicting advice all season. Katie offered up a very rock n roll number with some of the best showmanship she’s displayed all season. Stevens might have pushed herself too hard, as she seemed to lose her notes every once in a while. As usual, Katie’s performance seemed more than a little forced. She has no idea who she is as a performer.

“Katie’s gettin’ a little sassy…I liked that, I was entertained,” Randy Jackson admitted. “Man, you can sing. That was great,” Ellen DeGeneres complimented. “I think you just showed us judges!” Kara DioGuardi enjoyed Katie’s attitude. “For me, I just found it very loud and a bit annoying,” Simon Cowell admitted.

Casey James chose an unrecognizable Elvis tune, “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” which I absolutely didn’t expect. I figured James would go for “Jailhouse Rock,” maybe “Heartbreak Hotel,” something in that vein. His very country-infused version of the song was classic Casey James. It would be great to see him step in the spotlight to deliver a show tune, or something very different for a change. But, I often made the same complaint about David Cook, and he went on to win the show.

“I didn’t see anything different, but it’s another solid performance from you, man,” Randy Jackson commented. “It wasn’t as exciting as I would liked to have seen, but you’re always good,” Ellen DeGeneres offered. “There’s so much more to you. I want to see that next week,” Kara DioGuardi was also disappointed. Simon Cowell thought the performance was “a wasted opportunity,” though he did say “the vocal was good.”

The clock was winding down as the much-anticipated premiere of Glee waited on the wings, so the show rushed through its last few minutes quickly. Tomorrow night, it will be back to business as usual when the Top 9 faces elimination - for the second time around. Because the judges’ save deprived us of Top 8 week, we’ll skip straight to Top 7. This means that two will go home tomorrow night. Will one of them be your favorite Idol contender?

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