‘American Idol’: Farewell to "Archuleta Clone"

Via Fancast:

It is back to High School and washing cars, shirtless for the Kid!

It finally was Aaron Kelly’s turn to go, with the anxious 17-year-old singer — whose nervous version of “Fly Me To The Moon” was praised by the judges last night — sharing space at the bottom of the pack with Michael Lynche, despite Michael’s past experience singing the songs of Frank Sinatra in his professional life as a party singer.

Aaron was a curious case on this year’s ‘Idol.’ A cherubic young warbler whom the producers clearly saw as this season’s heir to Season 7 runner-up David Archuleta — and the two definitely had some similarities, with their abashed grins and heartstring-plucking backstories. But where Archie, even at his most cloying, at least had something of a stage presence while singing, Aaron often seemed lost onstage. The complaint levied by the judges toward other young singers this year — that they needed more “seasoning” — seemed even more appropriate when applied to him. For some reason, the judges would warm up to Aaron after some of his weak performances; I was rarely sure if they were just being nice, or if this season’s paucity of talent had just rendered Simon Cowell, et al, desperate to at least be able to say something positive, while being handsomely paid to pass judgment on this year’s hopefuls.