The Lee vs. Crystal Matchup

[MsFroggy]

Just curious, which contestant this year do you think had the best personality? Who reacted to the judges in the most appropriate way, in your opinion?

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This is not a matter of comparing one contestant to another and I really don't care enough about any of them to evaluate their personalities. However, none of them stood out in the same negative way that Crystal did for constantly mouthing back at the judges. And I don't like it when they go on and on after being judged and offer reasons and excuse. Crystal is the Gokey of this season in that regard. And I couldn't stand Gokey.

[TopCatDC]

... If you don't want to reveal a particular name, what do you think makes for a great interaction between a contestant and a judge?.
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For me, interaction between contestant and judges (and Ryan, I would through his conversations in the same mix) is just one more aspect of being on the show. Sometimes things go well and sometimes they don't, and the responsibility for the failures does not always lie with the contestant. So, here's some good and bad:

• Tim Urban's response to Ryan regarding comments made by Kara and Simon about Tim always smiling (Simon) and Tim not even understanding what they were saying (Kara at her most dismissive) was, for me, one of the highlights of the season. In about three sentences he conveyed that the smiling was only a result of his overwhelming sense of gratitude for the chance he has been given - and without any kind of attack he just reduced the judges to looking like posturing idots. Bravo!
• Ryan trying to squeeze a sob story out of Didi Benami about her dead friend was painful to witness. Didi clearly didn't want to go there and tried to give Ryan indications to that fact, which Ryan just blew past. In hindsight she probably should have just bluntly and directly said "I don't want to talk about it" and shut Ryan down. People would have understood. But instead we had to watch that torturous tug-of-war.
• Siobhan Magnus and her twisted Sarah Palin like answers to Ryan's questions just left the judges and the audience stupefied. You could just see the thought bubble over their heads "What the hell did she just say?" Yet Ryan just loved to get her to talk - maybe the show was running short and he knew that she would be good for an extra couple of minutes?
• Crystal addressing Simon's comment that she thought she had already won during her Rolling Stones week critique was well handled. She set the record straight they she had never said that; people were reacting to something Simon had said that was reported in the press. "But thank you, Simon, for saying that" struck a perfect balance of gratitude, standing up for herself, and placing the blame where it actually belonged. Ryan, once again, stepped in during the results show to try to make things even more awkward by bringing up the "Do you think you have this in the bag?" question. Which forced her to cover the ground once more - which she did and just as gracefully.
• Simon told Crystal that Siobhan had beaten her on Rolling Stones night to which Crystal broke in with a smile and said "She is amazing!" No ego there at all; yet there was also an underlying message: "I am not taking anything you say personally; we are just two people having a conversation about the work I have just done." Brilliant.