Last week, I said: “I hate to say it, but again — based on the leverage the judges’ words can sometimes hold — Hollie will be the ousted during elimination.”
I’ve never been so happy to be so wrong about one of my American Idol predictions.
Finally, we saw results that went against the grain of what the judges have been saying about some of the Idol hopefuls over the course of the last few weeks, the conclusion being they’ve been wrong in the eyes of the voting public. Dead wrong. It’s nice to see viewers give the shaft to what Randy, JLo and Steven have been saying for quite some time now. As a matter of fact, it’s downright refreshing. All that praise, all that “It gave me goosies!” blathering has been effectively tossed out the window. It’s a brand new game.
The wild cards — Jeremy Rosado, Erika Van Pelt, DeAndre Brackensick — are long gone. (None of them should have been picked as a wild card in the first place.) There are no longer any saves left in the competition. The “stand-out” performer the judges have been crowing about from day one — Jessica Sanchez — was at the bottom of the heap last week (her first appearance there) and remains on the show courtesy of the final judge’s save. Along with Jessica, the other stand-out hopeful — Joshua Ledet — has been in the Bottom 3 twice, most recently a week ago with Elise Testone who has been in the Bottom 3 four times now and saved one of those times.
The bottom line? Things got shaken to the hilt, something to consider going into this week. So the above things were kept in mind as the Top 7 performed again. (Interesting Side Note: Know who has yet to make an appearance heading into the start of this episode? Both Colton Dixon and Phillip Phillips. Interesting … don’t you think?)
Meanwhile, the Idols have two songs each to perform — a “now” and “then” pairing, one song from the year 2000 and up and a soul song from “back in the day” …
Hollie Cavanagh “Rolling In The Deep”
Stripped down and basic, Hollie took a “you’ve-been-living-under-a-rock-if-you’ve-never-heard-this-before” Adele tune and did a pretty adequtate job of regurgitating it with a bit of spin. (Again, with the Adele. Will it never end?)
Colton Dixon “Bad Romance”
I couldn’t get over the fact Colton looked like a live version of Jack Skellington from A Nightmare Before Christmas with an all-female backing band. He said he wanted the rock element and he got it … but it didn’t translate well.
Elise Testone “No One”
Just an average performance. Letting us know she may be losing her beloved pet dog may possibly be her only hope in garnering votes.
Phillip Phillips “U Got It Bad”
Nice spin and interesting take on an Usher song … and I’m not an Usher fan.
Jessica Sanchez “Fallen”
Technically, Jessica was flawless. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Skylar Laine “Born This Way”
Gaga … with a twist. Kick of a version. I actually enjoyed Skylar’s take on the tune.
Joshua Ledet “I Believe”
This song did nothing whatsoever for Joshua. It didn’t do anything for me. Hands down, this was definitely a wrong choice for Joshua.
And the soul outings … which, off the top of my head, believed would be outstanding or otherwise with little, if any, middle ground.
Hollie Cavanagh “Son Of A Preacher Man”
She did much better in her first effort with Adele. This was a mess.
Colton Dixon “September”
Oh, Colton. Dopey arrangement, strained and uneven vocals and absolutely an incorrect way to go with this song. This was a completely opposite direction for him to go. If anything is going to put Colton in the Bottom 3, this rendition will do it.
Elise Testone “Let’s Get It On”
*ouch* When Elise bottoms out, she really bottoms out. Terrible stuff.
Phillip Phillips “I’m Gonna Wait ‘Til The Midnight Hour”
Nice! Leave it to Phillip to not only put his spin on a classic, but also to leave it alone enough that it’s instantly recognizable with just a bit of an edge.
Jessica Sanchez “Try A Little Tenderness”
Whereas Jessica absolutely nailed her first effort of the evening, this turn was gag-making. She over-sang and made a mockery of it.
Skylar Laine “Heard It Through The Grapevine”
Bottom line: This was not a song that should have been “countrified.”
Joshua Ledet “A Change Is Gonna Come”
As with Jessica, but not quite to her extent, it appeared Joshua tried way too hard to make this song his own. If not for some of his signature moves to distract everyone, this effort would have been overwhelmingly mediocre.
So … the results? In many ways, they were the same as they’ve ever been, at least with the judges patting the contestants on their backsides and giving them undo praise. The Idol hopefuls, however, took steps backward overall. The only one who had a win-win night was Phillp² who can hold his head high. Everyone else should be worried going into Thursday’s elimination. A repeat of last week will suit me just fine.
Notes:
Quote:
“If you want to get to the other shore, you’ve got to loose sight of this one.” — Steven to Colton
Clacked by Michael Noble 
on Apr 19, 2012 @ 01:02 EST5EDT
“I couldn’t get over the fact Colton looked like a live version of Jack Skellington from A Nightmare Before Christmas…” Good call with that description!
None of these performances really impressed or disappointed me. But I honestly think all of these contestants are decent. As a musician from a family of musicians, I am drawn to Phillip, even though he doesn’t have a great voice. He loses himself in the music, is a half-way decent guitarist, and yep he’s damn cute. Elise, while being technically skilled, has a “whisky voice” that is an acquired taste – one which I have not acquired. I enjoyed her Led Zepplin cover, so if she survives elimination night, I hope she will stick with rock. I also want her to stop squatting while she’s singing, because it looks like she has to use the bathroom. Joshua’s consistent each week – rousing, emotion-packed, gospel-style singing. You either like it or you don’t – I happen to like it. Colton is hit or miss. I generally like him, except when he does too many breaks in his voice. I would like him much more if he lost the skunk on his head. Skylar is an example of a singer I feel predisposed to dislike (not a country fan), and yet I can’t help but enjoy her stompy performances. Who cares if she can sing high notes? She’s FUN! As for Hollie and Jessica, I feel like they suffer from the same problem – they seem too young and innocent to be believable as divas. Both have impressive vocal ability – Jessica moreso – but they lack the magic combination of brassy confidence and inner vulnerability that makes a diva. Skylar has that (dare I say it?) x-factor. If only we could combine Jessica’s pipes with Skylar’s personality – then we’d have a standout contestant!
I was typing a comment and the grandbaby interrupted me.
I got back to make a comment, and SIL wanted to be tutored in Algebra.
Before I could even try to turn on the computer, another family member decided this was a good day to spew vitriol [definition 2] all over everyone else in the room.
Now I’ve just seen the results show, so any comment would be slanted. Hope I have better luck next week.
Enjoyed the column.