It was a night of Queen Songs as Roger Taylor and Brian Mann
helped Jimmy as celebrity mentors. I must say I was still waiting anxiously for
Colton Dixon to appear up there on stage and it was a big reality check when he
didn’t… The performances were split into two categories, okay performances vs.
awesome performances. First round the contestants chose a song from Queen and
the second round they could chose any song they wished to perform.
Jessica Sanchez did a nice job with Bohemian Rap
City (Although my favorite cover of Bohemian Rap City if obviously from Wayne’s
World…Excellent!) Sanchez then took the stage and delivered a goosebump worthy performance
of Luther Vandross’ Dance with My Father (Again). J Lo commented that the
original was one of her favorite songs, and Jessica’s rendition was the best
she had ever heard it sung.
Another awesome performance of the evening was
from front runner Joshua Ledet with Crazy Little Thing Called Love and Ready
for Love. He slowed it down for Ready for Love and for once, he tenderly sang a
song instead of screaming it in his gospel way. Truly amazing performance.
“Goosies” number two!
Country girl Skylar Laine put a little twang into
Queen’s The Show Must Go On and then of course performed Jason Aldean’s Tattoos
on This Town. GASP! Skylar chose a country song; I know you were all shocked
just as much as we were. The contestants this season are very predictable.
However I think that no matter what the outcome in this season of Idol I think
that if Skylar makes an album, it will do the best. She’s young, her voice is
catchy, and the country music/Taylor Swift demographic will eat it up.
Hollie Cavanagh performed the 1980 hit Save Me and
save her they did, Hollie was the last in the bottom next to Elise who went
home on the show last Thursday. Good song choice Hollie, America got the
message. However she probably remains in the competition because of her show
stopping performance of the evening when she belted out Miley Cyrus’ The Climb.
During her stint on stage this round, she gave the judges that emotional
connection they’ve been begging for. Congrats Hollie for proving them wrong!
Phillip Phillips or as some here at Midwest Tape
will refer to him as Mr. Gray sang Fat Bottom Girls and then Dave Matthews
Band’s The Stone. He missed the mark on
Fat Bottom Girls and sounded out of breath the entire time. However, he must
have a huge fan base to still be this far in the competition. And unless you
are a Dave Matthews fan you probably had no idea what his second choice song
was. I will admit to being a DMB follower so I did enjoy his cover of The
Stone. However, this is not a Dave Matthews Cover Band competition.
Sadly though it was the end of the road for one
Idol hope. Rocker singer and Steven Tyler’s favorite Elise Testone was voted
off after I Want It All and Bold as Love. It was kind of ironic that Elise
picked the song with the lyrics “I WANT IT ALL I WANT IT NOW” and then she is
voted off. Sorry Elise but it appears as
if you won’t be getting it all.
Tune into American Idol tomorrow night on Fox at
8pm as the five hopefuls continue their journey as we get closer to the
finale. This weeks theme is BRITISH
INVASION. Hopefully they will leave Adele at home and bring a little Beatle
love to the competition.
Last week on American Idol our remaining contests sang songs from this decade. Surprisingly, we didn't hear any Adele! Disappointed? Turn on your radio! There she is! Akon showed up to mentor, and Tommy Hilfiger attempted to give fashion advice again.
The Gals
Skylar and Jessica both took risks last week, performing songs that weren't exactly mainstream and also challenging.
Skylar performed a Kellie Pickler song. If we didn't know the tune, we would've thought it was a Skylar original! While she picked country, it didn't bother us this week. She sounded phenomenal, played the guitar well, and really packed some emotion into her performance. Skylar is definitely the show's dark horse. If Colton and Phillip weren't thundering down the race track of every teenage girl's lusty heart, I'd say she was the top pony.
Jessica's performance of "Stuttering" was incredible. We'd never heard the song, but the judges knew it and praised Jessica for her ability to tackle a difficult song with such control, poise, and technique. It, too, sounded like an original recording.
Elise took on Lady Gaga. She put her own style on "You and I" instead of trying to imitate the great Gaga, which was probably smart. However, she didn't do the song any justice. In fact, it was kind of bad. As Simon would've once said: "very karaoke." Haley Reinhart sang the stuff out of this song last season before it was even a Lady Gaga radio hit.
Poor, sweet Hollie. She dressed up like a pink feather duster and decided to do a sweet and slow version of Pink's "Perfect." Although her performance was better than the previous week, it wasn't at the caliber of Skylar and Jessica. Not even by a long shot. Also, her song choice spoke volumes about her insecurities. Her absolute lack of stage presence didn't help, either.
The judges only made things worse. "You look really pretty tonight" was all J. Lo said, and Steven Tyler said "not your best, but you look great." The audience didn't boo in response to their critiques. Just silence. Awkward, much? Must have been because Randy made a comment, making things more awkward..
The Guys
Joshua Ledet was a true entertainer this week. He went all Bruno Mars, even with his dancing and getup. He blew everyone away and got a standing ovation.
Then there was Colton and Phillip. Shall we compare? Jimmy Iovine likes to, so why not us? Colton says he wants to win and "doesn't want to be compared to anyone...especially Phillip." Ooo, we got a rivalry a-brewing. How does Phillip respond? "Oh I don't care about being compared. Colton is a cool guy." Way to put the kibosh on the rivalry before it even took flight, Phillip. Aren't you just too cool for school. Do you even really want to win this? Or were you just looking for some exposure so you could buy some more gray thermal shirts?
In our eyes, Colton is better than Phillip. There really isn't any comparing, though. Two totally different sounds, styles, and skill sets. Colton is improving, showing us something different every week. We've seen his rocking moments, tender moments behind the piano, leader-of-the-band attempts, and he's done well at all of them.
As for Phillip, he's fading into the shadows of the stage. He's not an entertainer. He's a Dave Matthews-wannabe. We already have a Dave Matthews and he's way better. Stop holding your guitar like him, growling like him, and awkwardly dancing like him.
Phillip may think he's getting far in this competition because of his talent and his "I'm all about the music, man" attitude, but really it is his easy smile and blue eyes. Young girls are voting for you because you're purtty, Phillip. Maybe we're being harsh, but Phil didn't know the Gotye song and that warrants us to make a lot of judgmental comments about appearance. Hot Girl Problems, Phil. Hot. Girl. Problems.
Egad! The Save!
Performance night had a couple stand outs and one flop (Hollie). For some reason, though, the bottom three were Joshua Ledet, Elise Testone, and Jessica Sanchez. Elisa, we can understand, but Jessica and Joshua?! Really, America? Maybe it's Vote for the Worst or the fan bases in the south or that folks just thought that she would be safe, but the lights of doom fell on Jessica Sanchez.
She began to sing for her life on the verge of tears. Not too far in, though, the judges flooded the stage, grabbed her mic, and told her she was safe. For once we agreed completely with the judges and Jimmy Iovine in using the save. Jessica deserves to be in this competition. And golf clap for Randy Jackson who scolded America, saying "This is one of the best singers ever! [Exaggerate much, Randy?] This is a singing competition! You got to vote for the best!"
The show ended in chaos so we have no idea if two contestants will go home tomorrow night. Either way, it's time to get ready for "Songs from Now and Then"? Huh? Here's hoping they mean songs from the film Now and Then and not just a combination of "Songs from the Year You Were Born" and "Songs from this Decade." Get more creative, Idol.
Last week's American Idol theme was music from the '80s. It was music only, though, with no one trying to capture the style of the decade. Way to not have fun, Idol contestants. Also, no one sang "(Don't You) Forget About Me." After the performances, though, we're actually glad no one attempted the classic tune.
So onto tonight's million dollar question: Were any of the remaining contestants even born in the 80s?
The Guys
Joshua Ledet commented that he'd never heard of his song, "If You Don't Know Me by Now". It's surprising that these contestants, who apparently LUV music and immerse themselves in it, don't know top hits from the past generation. Nonetheless, Joshua did an okay job. We're tiring of the soul man because everything is sounding the same—screechy and overly emotional.
Speaking of screeching, what about Phil? Phil's facial gestures indicate that it hurts to sing! Phil, when you slow it down and sing without growling painfully into the microphone, you seem lost. No one should be lost singing Genesis. Jimmy was quite critical of Phil last week, saying: "In my opinion, this was Phillip's worst performance of the entire show...It's difficult to push yourself when everyone's telling you you're so great." Ooo! You tell him, Jimmy!
While the comment probably bothered Phil, he tried to play it cool. However, his retort seemed to show his lack of appreciation for his fans rather than Jimmy: "I don't care about the hype or shakin' hands with the crowd, or dancing around stage. I'm just hear to sing and play music." Phil, listen. If you don't please your fans, you'll soon be singing in a garage to no one.
As for the other guys, Colton put his emo spin on "Time After Time." The judges really liked it with Steven telling Colton that he could make a record right now. DeAndre did well, too, and his hair totally matched the theme. In all seriousness, we think he gave his best performance yet. He could be the next El DeBarge!
The Girls
How did the girls fair? Well, poor Elise couldn't find a note in her rendition of "I Wanna Know What Love Is." Unfortunately, it was her worst performance yet. I don't know if she couldn't hear the band/melody or what, but she was flatter than a pancake. She deserved to be in the bottom three (again).
Hollie followed Elisa dressed in an outfit from homecoming circa 2001 and singing "What a Feeling." She definitely did not perform well, but the judges were a bit critical of her pitch. Sure, the beginning was pitchy, but once she hit the chorus, she was on a roll. J'Lo gave her honest advice about letting go and just singing, which was spot on. Hollie shook her head in agreement, and Jimmy said she'd be there with DeAndre possibly going home.
On the opposite end of the spectrum were Jessica and (for once) Skylar. After a series of predictable performances, Skyler wow'd us. She sang "Wind Beneath my Wings" fantastically. We finally got to hear her range without the unnecessary screaming of the entire song. Nice job, Skylar!
Jessica's choice of "How Will I Know" came across well. It was her second successful Whitney Houston performance. She was entertaining—using the stage and dancing a bit. In her attempt at another upbeat song, she controlled her vibrato much better than when she sang Gloria Estefan.
The Results
So following 80s-cover night, the results show had DeAndre, Elise, and Hollie in the bottom three. We thought for sure Elise would go because of her awful performance, but no, the lights of dejection fell on DeAndre. He sang for his life, and Jimmy gave his two cents:
"No, Jennifer. No, Randy. No, Steven! DeAndre was not great," Jimmy said. "DeAndre needs to come out and grow at a much faster pace. If you look at the boys, Joshua is growing leaps and bounds; DeAndre is growing marginally. DeAndre was the weakest of [the] boys last night. He could be going home unless Jennifer, who's been supporting him this entire show, saves him. Jen?"
Alas, J'Lo couldn't convince Randy and Steven to save the young man and DeAndre was sent packing. Not that we would've saved DeAndre either, but we get the feeling the judges are holding onto their save for Colton or Phil, especially after last year's Pia-Casey debacle. Got news for you, though, judges. Those two will make it to the final four along with Skylar and Jessica. Can you even use the save that late in the game?
So that's the recap. Onward to this week's show where the contestants will undoubtedly butcher songs from...this decade? Like 2010-2012? Because we haven't heard these songs enough on the radio. Adele anyone?
Last week on American Idol the remaining nine contestants sang songs from their own musical idols. Big shoes to fill! Among the judges and online recaps, the general consensus seems to be that the Top Nine did fine. Mentored by Stevie Nicks, the contestants seem to have lived up to expectations.
Not! How can so many folks think the night was an overall success, when in reality, everything was pretty much karaoke?
The Average
Elise Testone chose “Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin. No one got the choice, but then she performed, and we all nodded our heads and said, “well, I guess she actually does an OK Zeppelin impression.” Elise had fun with the song and busted out just about every dance move in her arsenal for this performance. Unfortunately, it all came off a bit dated and spastic. Also, she wore Miranda Lambert's pants. Don't tell Skylar. Also, don't tell Miranda Lambert that her pants look like something Steven Tyler would wear.
Heejun Han rebounded from the awful awfulness that was Billy Joel night and showed off his wonderful tone with Donny Hathaway’s “A Song for You.” Heejun did a great job being professional and serious. Unfortunately, he was too serious. He lost all his charm, and while he sang well, his performance was nothing special.
On to Jessica Sanchez. The judges don’t want her to take risks. They only want her singing ballads, so she did a hypnotic and slow cover of Beyonce’s “Sweet Dreams.” She did a great job—as did the set designers, so much fog and doorways! But was the cover too slow? Can Jessica really only sing ballads? The girl has got to find one perky song to cover. Everyone has an up-tempo track on their album.
When Stevie Nicks first heard Phillip Phillips in rehearsal, she said: “I think he’s going to be very famous.” Way to give Phil an unneeded confidence boost. He already turned his nose up at Tommy Hilfiger and Puff Daddy for goodness sake! Phil sang “Still Rainin’” by Jonny Lang. Why on earth did he not pick a Dave Matthews Band song. That would’ve been the best. Dave Matthews sound-a-like sings Dave Matthews. Ha!
So Phil did the Johnny Lang song and it was safe. He rocked out on his electric guitar and everyone cheered. The end.
The Bad
Gospel aficionado Joshua Ledet sang Mariah Carey’s “Without You.” Jimmy Lovine called the song one of the top five most difficult pop songs to sing. Joshua Ledet didn’t let that scare him, though, and he went out and gave a somewhat pitchy rendition. Who's voting for Joshua really? Can he just keep doing the gospel thing with every song? Branch out, Joshua. Also, show us some personality beyond loving crawfish.
Don’t get mad at us, emo teen girl. We like Colton Dixon. We do. We just don’t like him singing “Everything” by Lifehouse. You could tell Colton loved singing this song, but it was just too safe. There were no surprises, no changes. Just Colton looking like he’s going to burst into tears as he wails into the mic. Hold it together, Colton. Sure, you’re a front runner, but Lifehouse doesn’t match your musical style or image. You seem more like a Dashboard Confessional kind of guy.
The Gotta-Go
So, Skylar Laine, we hear you absolutely LOVE Miranda Lambert. Can you show us how much by yelling “Gunpowder and Lead” while dancing like you’re at a honky tonk? Ok, now while dancing, get out of breath and start panting some of the lyrics. Now, act really excited like you’ve been performing this in your bedroom since you were toddler and it has always been your dream to do this song on Idol. Perfect. Thanks.
All right, DeAndre Brackensick! Bring that falsetto back! Wait, wait. Don’t do it through the whole song. And why choose such a sad number? “Sometimes I Cry” is a beautiful tune, sure, but it’s sad and just doesn’t suit you.
Someone also has to pick a former Idol winner as their idol. For this round, it's Hollie Cavanagh and she likes Carrie Underwood. Hollie should’ve taken a risk and done one of Carrie’s more up-tempo, edgy songs. Instead, she sang “Jesus take the Wheel,” which has been done numerous times. Hollie sounded like any girl who loves country. And that’s the problem. It was forgettable. No wow factor. Hollie needs a moment in the worst way or she’s outta here.
Lucky for Hollie, American didn’t like Heejun’s seriousness and sent him packing. Before Heejun got the boot Nicki Minaj performed this year’s “Super Bass,” a new club jam called “Starships.” In case you didn’t notice, Nicki Minaj is terrible at lip synching.
And then there were eight. Tomorrow they’re breaking out the leg warms, hairspray, and neon for 80s night. Fingers crossed for a karaoke-free evening — and for someone to sing “(Don’t You) Forget About Me” from The Breakfast Club.
Last week on American Idol the Top Ten performed Billy Joel songs. It was a vast improvement on the previous week when they sang songs from the years they were born. However, the night still had many moments of mediocrity, which is a bit surprising seeing that the Billy Joel songbook is, well, the Billy Joel friggin' songbook!
Billy Joel wasn’t actually there to mentor the kids, so Idol got the closet thing: Diddy (Puff Daddy) and Tommy Hilfiger. Puffy gave some singing advice and Tommy gave style tips. Of course, pretty much no one took the fashion advice.
Phillip Phillips was told not to wear gray. What did he do? He wore TWO gray shirts!
His reasoning for ignoring the Hilfiger: "I don't care about image. The music has to be noticed first." We get what you’re saying, Phil, you groovy hipster, you. But listen, you’re on a pop star talent show not a competition to put together a Dave Matthews cover band. This isn’t the early 90s. Nowadays, no matter the genre, looks and style matter. Notice Dave Grohl no longer looks like he’s in Nirvana.
The two contestants that did listen: Erika Van Pelt and Hollie Cavanaugh. Erika chopped and colored her hair and donned a more rocker, predominantly black getup. While according to Best Week Ever she resembled Kris Jenner, she looked great overall and seemed more confident.
Young Aussie-Irish-Southern Hollie adorned sparkles in a more age appropriate outfit. Bravo to both Erika and Hollie. You’re only on Idol once. Take advantage of the entire experience!
Shall we discuss the singing?
Stand Outs
Colton Dixon covered “Piano Man.” Perhaps it was the emotive lighting or the bangin’ red piano, but this was quite the performance. Colton made the song his own, appealing to the masses of young girls adorning black eyeliner for the first time and reading YA dystopian fiction. America (including the Judges) must all be rocking eye liner and reading Divergent because it would seem we all have Colton Fever.
Did you know everybody has a dream? Jessica Sanchez does. Of course, her dream might be grander than others as proven with her heartfelt rendition of “Everybody Has a Dream.” That girl just keeps bringing it. She definitely has the “it” factor—stage presence and immense vocal talent. Lots of people swear she’s going it win it all. Sure, she has a solid chance, but so did Jennifer Hudson, Melinda Doolittle, and Pia Toscano. Let’s hope the odds continue to be ever in Ms. Sanchez’s favor.
Good
Elise Testone has a raspy voice, and it’s growing on us—in a good way. She is a natural performer, and while her singing isn’t flawless, it has a quality that is lacking from modern pop music.
Erika Van Pelt is from Rhode Island, but she still sang “New York State of Mind.” And with her new Kris Jenner meets Pink look, she sang it with confidence. Of course, she didn’t take any risks with the song and it was a bit lounge singer-like, but all in all, she did well. The judges seem to genuinely like her, or they’re just really desperate for a woman to win.
Idol’s soul man, Joshua Ledet, let us down a bit this week. Performing “She’s Got a Way,” Joshua laid it out with tons of gospel, but very little soul. He hit all the notes, did some runs, and probably gave America goose pimples, but—as pointed out by J. Lo—he didn’t seem to connect with the lyrics. In order to truly have a moment, as he has in previous weeks, Joshua has to connect emotionally with his songs. It is very difficult to pull off gospel if you’re not fully immersed in the melody, lyrics, and mood of a song.
While he ignored Mr. Hilfiger’s fashion advice and Puff Daddy’s recommendation to sing without his guitar, Phillip Phillips still did fine. He did a very angst-filled, rock rendition of “Movin’ Out,” and the judges ate it up like a hot fudge sundae. We’re not so easily convinced, though. America will keep voting for him because he’s easy on the eyes and fun like Taylor Hicks. But does anyone remember Taylor Hicks? Phil, listen, you do not want to end up like Taylor Hicks.
Phil needs to start taking risks. In addition to his fans, he needs to appeal to the music industry, too. Challenge yourself, Phil. This is a once in lifetime opportunity. Learn something from this experience.
Supremely Awful.
Wow, there are so many. Let’s start with poor, sweet Hollie. She’s a doll, really, she is. The outfit, while more youthful, was distracting, and Hollie seemed uncomfortable wearing it. To top it off, she sincerely struggled through “Honesty.” Her voice is powerful, but her rendition was uber pitchy.
Skylar sang country? Plain, ol’ simple, safe country? Ya don’t say. We didn’t see that coming at all. She sang a Garth Brooks version of “Shameless.” That’s all we can really say. We’ve pretty much forgotten it entirely at this point.
Oh boy, DeAndre needs to get the boot. To quote Best Week Ever, “He’s a sweet kid with a good heart but I’m kind of over the whole hair down Carlton dance move, which funny enough, is his only move.” He also has yet to blow us away with any performance. And his cover of “Only the Good Die Young” was awful. It was like DeAndre was performing at Disney World in the 1990s and he actually was trying to perform “Under the Sea” from the classic animated film The Little Mermaid. Give it a rest, DeAndre. You can’t even compete with Sebastian and he’s a talking lobster.
To round out the supremely awful: Heejun. What a silly guy. We agree with Steven Tyler—it's time to get serious. Heejun started off with a ballad and then told the pianist to stop because he wanted to dance. Even though the whole thing was planned, it was awkward. Still, he owned the song. Owned the whole horrible thing. Did he sing? Scream? Grunt? Did he even really dance like he wanted to? We’re not sure. We averted our eyes half the time.
Based on this summation you’d think Heejun went home, right? While he was in the bottom two, the guillotine actually fell upon Erika Van Pelt. America couldn’t connect with her old look and they didn’t embrace her new one, either. At least she got a free makeover out of the whole thing.
The Top Nine now move into the haunted Idol mansion (it's probably a different mansion than last year, but let's hope this one is haunted, too) where they will prepare for tomorrow night. They’ll be singing songs by their own musical idols. Producer Nigel Lythgoe has hinted that the contestants will be covering songs by such artists as Beyonce, Mariah, Miranda, Lifehouse, Daughtry, and Led Zeppelin. Can you guess who is singing which artist?
Our marketing team members are long-time American Idol viewers. This year we decided to share our take with News & Views. Every week we’ll recap the show and share our critiques. This week, CD Marketing Coordinator Danielle Desmond, Graphic Designer Heather Brown, and Marketing & Social Media Coordinator (and News & Views editor) Char Bohnett give their two cents.
Danielle:
Over 33 million votes were cast to narrow down the Top 10 American Idol contestants. And the judges told six contestants that they still had a shot at a wild card position. So here we have them: the Top 13. And thank goodness for the wildcard spots. As proven in the past and with this round of cuts, America doesn’t always get it right.
The Top 10 as chosen by viewer votes:
Phillip Phillips
Jessica Sanchez
Hollie Cavanagh
Joshua Ledet
Heejun Han
Shannon Magrane
Skylar Laine
Elise Testone
Colton Dixon
Jermaine Jones
Following the top ten, each judge chose a wild card contestant. Randy Jackson went with my favorite (second to Reed), Erika Van Pelt, who delivered an amazing and powerful cover of Lady Gaga’s “Edge of Glory.” Her song choice was risky, but thankfully, she didn’t butcher it. She also made audiences—well, me, at least—excited to see what other songs she’ll cover this season. Next week is Whitney week after all.
Jennifer Lopez chose Jeremy Rosado after his cover of Carrie Underwood’s “I Know What You Want,” which brought her to tears—no surprise there. And the final wildcard, given by judge Steven Tyler, went to Deandre Brackensick, who blew Steven away with his version of “Georgia on My Mind.” How many times has this song been done on this show? I mean, honestly, how much faith can we have in Steven as a judge if yet another rendition of “Georgia on My Mind” is what convinced him to pick Deandre? I guess we've never had much faith in crazy Steven Tyler anyway, so pick Deandre, Steven. Pick him!
Heather:
America got some voting right and some wrong. I was actually glad to see Reed Grimm get cut. If you close your eyes and listen, he’s a great singer, but his gyrating on stage is obnoxious.
I was disappointed to see that Creighton Fraker didn’t make the top 12, but that’s the name of the game on this show. Two contestants whose fates were unpredictable were Jermaine Jones and Hallie Day. Jermaine made it for the guys. He is different, but I’m not sure he’ll be received well enough once the competition gets going. And Hallie Day should’ve made it. The girl can belt it out.
If I were to predict the ending, all hail Jessica Sanchez; she’s the strongest competitor in my opinion.
Charlotte:
Tonight and Thursday’s Idol shows will be huge! The guys will cover Steve Wonder tunes and the ladies will try their darnedest to fill Whitney Houston’s shoes. I’m quite surprised Idol decided on a Stevie and Whitney night. These are two artists that the judges have consistently berated contestants for covering. I’m wondering if Randy will just be on repeat tonight: “I don’t know, dog. I just wasn’t feeling it. I mean, no one does Stevie like Stevie!” And with the recent death of Whitney, I can imagine the judges—especially J. Lo—will be hyper-critical of the girls’ performances.
Let’s hope the contestants’ mentor for the week, Mary J. Blige, gives sound advice and helps these starry-eyed singers do these amazing songs justice, because—while I know Idol chose to do Whitney songs as a way of memorializing the musical icon—I don’t think a bunch of green pop hopefuls butchering her hits is truly an honor. Fingers crossed for some incredible, moving performances!
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