Idol 2012: Top 9, Songs from their Idols

Blech, America. The 'vote out the girls!' voting tendencies claims another talented female vocalist. I wouldn't say Erika was the most talented of the contestants, but she most certainly should have lasted another 3 weeks or so, at least. Ugh. I think they should have kept the So You Think You Can Dance-like voting, with a bottom girl and a bottom guy, with the judges ultimately deciding for a few extra weeks. This is getting silly.

Anyhoo. I love the "choose anything you want, we'll slap a name on it" themes. Really, I do. I am usually annoyed by the theme nights, so theme-less them nights are awesome.

• Colton Dixon - Everything (by Lifehouse) - Messy vocals, but the usual strong performance.
• Skylar Laine - Gunpowder and Lead (by Miranda Lambert) - YES. A little karaoke, but spunk to share. Loved it.
• Heejun Han - A Song For You (by Donnie Hathaway) - I shrugged. I really did. I didn't feel a thing.
• Hollie Cavanagh - Jesus Take the Wheel (by Carrie Underwood) - Karaoke… but the first time I've felt Hollie. Great vocals.
• Deandre Brackensick - Sometimes I Cry (by Eric Benet) - Ugh. I hate Deandre's falsetto. So I hated this.
• Jessica Sanchez - Sweet Dreams (by Beyonce) - The doors were weird. Strong vocals… but didn't love it.
• Phil Phillips - Still Rainin' (by Jonny Lang) - I think I loved everything about this performance. Absolutely everything.
• Josh Ledet - Without You (by Mariah Carey) - Made a classic his own. Easily Josh's best. Well played.
• Elise Testone - Whole Lotta Love (by Led Zepplin) - Surprisingly fabulous. Best of the night. 

Wtf is with the trios, Idol? I hate the cheesy extra performances in competition for the sake of time filling. I mean, I'm more than fine with extra performances, but forcing the contestants into cheesy karaoke medleys is just lame. Save them for time fillers on the results shows, or on tour when cheesiness reign supreme.

Winner of the night... Elise. Elise. Phil. Skylar. Elise. Loved those three, with Elise my absolute favorite. Speaking of tour, those three songs need to appear on the road. Yes, yes and yes.

Better watch out... I'm just going to put Deandre in here permanently until we are all put out of our misery and he's gone. Seriously. He's a trainwreck. But given the predictable voting patterns... Hollie and likely Elise will be here too. Heejun should be as well.

Idol 2012: Top 10: Songs from THE MAN, Billy Joel

Billy Joel. Billy Effing Joel. My favorite artist of all time. I'm not one to actually believe that only one artist can do a specific song… but fair warning, I'm sure to be very tough on the Idols this week.

Diddy mentoring the Idols during Billy week. Yep, perfect match. Yep.

And because I know the Billy songbook so well, I'm going to give better song choices for those that fail at that. Or alternate songs I want to hear the contestants sing if they picked right. Yes.

• Deandre Brackensick - Only the Good Die Young - Bad karaoke. Ugh. - "Keeping the Faith" would have been a far better (if obvious) choice.
• Erika Van Pelt - New York State of Mind - Sadface. Sounds great, but way over singing the song. - "Downeaster Alexa", anyone?
• Josh Ledet - She's Got a Way - Awkward yet fitting arrangement. Predictable OTT vocals. - "Everybody Has a Dream" has somewhat of a church-feel… so that'd probably have been a better choice. Also… STEVEN TYLER HAS NEVER HEARD THIS SONG BEFORE?!?!?
• Skylar Laine - Shameless - Seemed forced until the end. Strange key to start. - Absolutely obvious (and best) choice. "Just the Way You Are" would have been sweet too.
• Elise Testone - Vienna - Yes. Yes. YES. Weird ending, but YES. - This was the song I had in mind for her from the get-go. No other suggestion. Perfect.
• Phil Phillips - Movin' Out - I love Phil. Predictable, sure, but I love him. - How 'bout some "Big Shot" or "You May Be Right"?
• Hollie Cavanagh - Honesty - Fabulous, if a bit pitchy. - I was thinking something a touch more low-key. Perhaps a gender-switched "She's Got a Way"?
• Heejun Han - My Life - Super awkward, that's for sure. - I thought a ballad for sure. "Just the Way You Are"? 
• Jessica Sanchez - Everybody Has a Dream - Nothing new, but a return to form after last week. - I have no idea what song Jessica would do. This is one of the few she could wail on, so there you go.
• Colton Dixon - Piano Man - Without a doubt the best of the night. Stunning. - A nice, chill, smooth ballad was exactly what I was thinking for Colton. Specifically "Summer, Highland Falls" for an unexpected choice… but yeah, "Piano Man" worked. 

I thought I was going to hate this week... but I didn't. Loved it. Maybe I'm still reeling from Colton's performance, but this is easily my favorite week of Idol since season eight.

Winner of the night... is this even a question? Colton by a mile (which is saying something because I really loved Elise and Phil this week, too).

Better watch out... this is tough. Perhaps it's my bias talking, but Deandre's bizarre fangirl backing could be tested. Hollie could be in trouble too. And to round out a bottom three... Heejun?

Idol 2012: Top 11, Songs from the Year They Were Born

Or, I should say, "Idol 2012: Top 11, Songs Done to Death"

Seriously, these themes! So overdone.

• Phil Phillips - Hard to Handle (by Counting Crows) - Obviously restrained, but 100% for the better. Great opener.
• Jessica Sanchez - Turn the Beat Around (Gloria Estefan) - Somewhat of a forced performance, but she handled it decently.
• Heejun Han - Whatever It Takes (by Richard Marx) - I think we get the picture, Heejun.
• Elise Testone - Let's Stay Together (by Al Green) - Started strong, got awkward. Love her tone though.
• Deandre Brackensick - Endless Love (by Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey) - On autopilot? No connection. Blech. 
• Shannon Magrane - One Sweet Day (by Mariah Carey) - Safe and predictable, yet seemingly desperate. Seemed forced.
• Colton Dixon - Broken Heart (by White Lion) - Here's a kid that knows what he's doing. Well done.
• Erika Van Pelt - Heaven (by Bryan Adams) - Loved the song choice, but disappointing. Messy. Too much.
• Skylar Laine - Love Sneaking Up On You (by Bonnie Raitt) - Not Skylar's best, but bravo for holding her ground.
• Josh Ledet - When A Man Loves a Woman (the Michael Bolton version) - I like the passion, but a bit OTT for me.
• Hollie Cavanagh - The Power of Love (by Celine Dion) - Nothing new here. Some pitch/screaming issues. Moving on.

The Jermaine Jones ordeal… awkward and tasteless. Why not just have Ryan break the news at the top of the show, say the 'Idol family' is sad to see him go, then move on? The whole tease and confrontation just reeked of a ratings ploy. Sad.

Overall, an uneven night. Some bad choices, some good. Some bad performances, some standouts. So, just another Idol night.

I did find it interesting that no definitive plan was laid out about this week's elimination. Seacrest said that the lowest vote getter would be "in danger" of being voted out. Given the whole TV schedule being laid out, guess this means the save is back in the picture. Oh joy.

Winner of the night... For me, I'm going to go with Colton Dixon. He made an unknown song memorable, which is always a good thing. That said, I'd say Josh Ledet is the ultimate winner of the night, with a solid performance and the judges slobbering all over him. Honorable mention to Phil Phillips, too. I love that guy.

Better watch out... Shannon Magrane. Didn't do anything for me to take her out of this category, unfortunately. Heejun and Deandre are probably down here, too.

Idol 2012: Top 12, The Songs of Stevie & Whitney

Whitney/Stevie week. Probably the two most over-done artists in Idol history, in one night. Love it. And dueling themes! Guys do Stevie, girls do Whitney. Doing the opposite would be too interesting and unexpected. Ah well. Here goes nothing.

• Joshua Ledet - I Wish - Dug this completely. Nice change of pace from last week.
• Elise Testone - I'm Your Baby Tonight - Struggled to make it her own. Kind of got screwed…
• Jermaine Jones - Knocks Me Off My Feet - Song sat right in his voice, but awkward performance.
• Erika Van Pelt - I Believe in You and Me - Played it straight, but trusted her stuff. Well done.
• Colton Dixon - Lately - Pitch issues, but I don't care. Such honesty, such tenderness.
• Shannon Magrane - I Have Nothing - Didn't listen to coaching. Voice crack aside, not organic enough.
• Deandre Brackensick - Master Blaster - I really don't get Deandre. 
• Skylar Laine - Where Do Broken Hearts Go - Hands down, the best of the night so far.
• Heejun Han - All Is Fair in Love - Sleepy and super dramatic, but not bad. Not my favorite.
• Hollie Cavanagh - All the Man That I Need - Nailed it, but I wasn't enthralled for some reason.
• Jeremy Rosado - Ribbon in the Sky - I felt nothing from this performance, positive or negative. Meh.
• Jessica Sanchez - I Will Always Love You - Wonderful, yet by the numbers. Simultaneously awesome and disappointing.
• Phil Phillips - Superstition - Strange performance. Definitely made the song his own, but… yelly.

Decently strong, entertaining night, all things considered. I really wish they'd retire these themes, however… I mean, Whitney had to have her own theme this year, but talk about played out. Anyhoo. Going on.

Oh, random sidetrack. Last week, someone said something about a contestant singing their own stuff, and how awesome it must be (after Elise Testone was declared safe, I think? I'm not 100% sure). This week, Jimmy Iovine had Colton Dixon sing an original piece to get into the right mindset to sing his Stevie song. Disregarding how silly (yet effective) that is... are these signs that we are going to see an original song theme this year? Fingers crossed!

On topic!

Winner(s) of the night… I'm going to go with, for the guys, Colton Dixon. Josh Ledet's performance was better, I think, but he went first, which is not a good thing for him. The obvious choice for the girls is Jessica Sanchez. She did *THE* song and brought the house down with it. Skylar Laine is a closer than expected second for me.

Better watch out… Shannon Magrane and Jeremy Rosado. Neither blew me away last week, and turned in meh performances. Elise Testone, Jermaine Jones and Deandre Brackensick are also towards the bottom for me, as well.

Idol 2012: Top 13 Revealed (with Wild Cards!)

I again opted to skip watching the live show tonight, so I'm writing this after the fact (again with help from mjsbigblog.com). My thoughts…

Top Ten

• Phillip Phillips
• Joshua Ledet
• Heejun Han
• Colton Dixon
• Jermaine Jones
• Jessica Sanchez
• Hollie Cavanagh
• Shannon Magrane
• Skyler Laine
• Elise Testone

No major surprises here, really. On the guys side, I'd have to say my top four based on Tuesday night are through, with Jermaine Jones thrown in as well for some reason. I guess I shouldn't be surprised Jones is there, given the whole "special wild card" thing. The girls side is a bit tougher, simply because there were a bunch of them worthy of moving on. None of the names voted through are surprising, but I do wish Erika Van Pelt and Hallie Day were among them.

"Sing for Your Life"rs

• Jen Hirsh - Oh Darling (by The Beatles) - Sleepy yet indulgent version of an exciting song. Disappointing.
• Jeremy Rosado - I Know You Won't (by Carrie Underwood) - Like "Gravity", just a different song. Oversung, but tender.
• Brielle Von Hugel - Someone Like You (by Adele) - Yay Adele karaoke! Screamy, but nothing really new here. 
• Deandre Brackensick - Georgia On My Mind - Better than Tuesday… but ugh, indulgent is the word.
• Erika Van Pelt - Edge of Glory (by Lady Gaga) - Best so far. Poured her heart into this. Bravo.
• Reed Grimm - Use Me (by Bill Withers) - Waste of a wild card chance. Underwhelming and annoying.

I skipped over the spoilers of the recap blog post, so I'll make a prediction here. I'd absolutely put Erika Van Pelt through, with Jeremy Rosado and Jen Hirsh to round out the top 13. I would have loved to see other people get the chance to sing instead of some of the selected people (Reed Grimm? Really?), but that's what I have to go with.

Wild Cards

• Erika Van Pelt


• Jeremy Rosado


• Deandre Brakensick

Ugh. Well, fortunately, Deandre is likely cannon fodder.

This shall be an interesting season of Idol...