Singer: Casey James
Song: "I Don't Wanna Be"
Monkeys As Critics' Take: I actually don't care what Casey James' pre-show ritual is. Oh, OK. I'll play along. What's in the box? What's in the box? What was in the box? What's in the f***ing box?. [It's never a bad time to watch the ending of "Se7en."] Ugh. Talk about a song that didn't need to be covered again on this show. But at least he's actually working some legit electric guitar work. But that part at the beginning where he said he was planning on doing something different with the song? Was that just a joke? Because this is the Gavin DeGraw version without even the slightest embellishment. I guess it's OK bar band karaoke, but is sure isn't an iota more. And by doing this song, Casey probably kept us from hearing Lee Dewyze's far better karoke version of the "One Tree Hill" song. And the silly guitar solo at the end? That's just cocky. Now if he had smashed his guitar on the stage at the end? Now that would have been gangsta. This? Not gangsta. Plus, Casey's voice is thin and uninteresting.
Randy, Ellen Kara and Simon Say: Randy lists a bunch of guitarists who are better than Casey. But Randy can imagine Casey making this kind of album. Ellen thinks you can't go wrong with the song, saying that on paper everything was there, but she notes a stiffness about him. GO ELLEN! Backbone! "We all got the memo, the cougar's a fan," Kara begins, before saying that Casey took two steps back this week. Ha. Clearly Kara got a different memo, one about pulling the tongue back in and maybe delivering constructive criticism. Simon is astounded. "Did he not return your calls, darling?" Simon cracks, before agreeing with Kara. Simon says Casey didn't have the grit to sing the song. Casey is initially confused, finally shrugs his shoulders and admits that the judges might be right. He resists the urge to just wink at the camera and move on.