Pa. high schooler Aaron Kelly’s meek Sinatra rendition sends him flying off ‘American Idol’

By Derrik J. Lang, AP
Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Pa. high school student latest booted off ‘Idol’

LOS ANGELES — Aaron Kelly won’t be doing it his way on “American Idol” anymore.

The sheepish 17-year-old high school student from Sonestown, Pa., was eliminated Wednesday from the Fox singing competition. Kelly, the ninth season’s youngest finalist, received the fewest viewer votes following his lukewarm interpretation of Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon” on Tuesday’s Chairman of the Board-themed performance show.

“I’ve had a great time,” he said following his dismissal.

Joining him in the bottom two was personal trainer Michael “Big Mike” Lynche, 26, from Queens, N.Y. Lynche, who was unanimously rescued by the show’s judges three weeks ago, wowed the panel with his soulful rendition of “The Way You Look Tonight.”

In recent weeks, Lynche has remained consistent, while Kelly struggled with the song selection.

Before the elimination, outrageous pop star Lady Gaga, outfitted in a fishnet body stocking and temporarily covered by a black veil, performed her song “Alejandro” with a troupe of throbbing topless male dancers. Harry Connick Jr., who served as this week’s mentor, later crooned “And I Love Her” before accompanying the five finalists on a medley of his tunes.

The other contestants remaining in the singing competition are 24-year-old musician Crystal Bowersox of Toledo, Ohio; 24-year-old paint sales clerk Lee Dewyze of Mount Prospect, Ill.; and 27-year-old musician Casey James of Fort Worth, Texas.

Next week, the four finalists will be mentored by singer-actor Jamie Foxx and will perform cinema-themed songs.

Fox is a unit of News Corp.

On the Net:

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Discussion

Jim Lacey
May 5, 2010: 10:22 pm

I don’t buy for one minute that Mike’s performance this week, compared to Casey’s
performance, was deserving of the bottom 2. On the other hand, it’s the time of
the season when personalities get the votes — not voices — so I understand.

Aaron Kelly needs mention too. Harry Connick did wonders with him. He sang
circles around Casey this week. For Mike and Aaron to fall in the bottom 2,
lower than Casey, says the competition has reached that point it does every
year when it’s all about personality and nothing about talent.

I keep saying every year it’s my last year to watch, that until they install a
one-vote system I’m done with the b.s. of being able to vote 100s, 1000s,
even 10s of thousands of times.

What does this measure? How fast your phone is? How exceptional the
software on your computer is?

It may speak to technology, but then I thought this competition was supposed
to be a singing competition.

American Idol need to get over its need to claim that 32m+ people vote
every week, when in fact it’s more like 320,000 people — willing to call in
100 times each.

I’m especially disappointed that Randy, Ellen, Kara and Simon would be
willing to lend their otherwise good names and honest judgments to
a total sham in which their positions and responsibilities are absolutely
meaningless.
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