Idol 2012: The Final 2 (plus, my prediction!)

I'll admit: I was a little surprised at last week's results. I honestly don't know which pairing I expected for the final, so I probably would have been surprised by any of them... but no matter.

On to the final.

Simon Fuller's Choices (aka, craptastically boring song choices that took 3 seconds to choose & clear)

• Jessica Sanchez - I Have Nothing (by Whitney Houston) - Well that was predictable. Jessica do a Whitney song? Who cares if she's done one already, and if she performs every song like a Whitney song? And this is just like every other Jessica performance: boring, predictable, and vaguely sound-alike. Snooze.
• Phillip Phillips - Stand by Me (by Ben E. King) - Sad to say it, but this one matched Jessica's snoozer of a performance. More of the same old Phillip performance here... but at least he does some original stuff in it. 

"Round 1" winner: nobody. This round served absolutely no purpose, if you ask me. Waste of time.

Favorite Performances (aka, we need a third song, but don't want to make you learn another one)

• Jessica Sanchez - The Prayer (by Celine Dion) - Meh. I don't even recall Jessica doing this song, but I figured she probably did. It's a Jessica song.
• Phillip Phillips - Movin' Out (by Billy Joel) - *headtilt* Of all the songs Phillip rocked on the show... he chooses this one? Weird. That said, this was better than I remember it being. And this was a very memorable week for me. 

"Round 2" winner: I'll give a slight edge to Phil. Slight. I think this is the dumbest of the three song choices for the finale... especially when both performers are doing "stand there and sing" type songs, what's the point?

Winner's Songs

• Jessica Sanchez - Change Nothing - *yawn*. Another ballad? Somebody's coasting to the end... And how she went all sharp and shrieky in the middle didn't help anything. And Jessica wanted to pick a "winner's song"? Sing about magic rainbows next time.
• Phillip Phillips - Home - If I didn't know better, I'd guess this was a Mumford & Sons song... but Mumford & Sons are awesome. That said... this is Phillip. Heartfelt, just the right vibe, just the right feel... perfect. Took 5 performances in the finale, but FINALLY someone rose to the occasion. 

"Round 3" winner: Phil in a landslide. 

Prediction: to be completely honest, before watching these performances, I was expecting to write something to the effect of "Jessica brought it tonight... and while I'm not sure any female can beat a white guitar playing good looking young male, Jessica should be the winner". Really, I was. It just seemed to me that she did the same thing for so long, she has to have SOMETHING else to use that voice for, plus Phillip has turned in some GREAT performances of late, he's due for a let-down... but nope. I can't do it. With his final performance, Phillip ended the competition. Not only does he fit the usual Idol-winner mold, but he deserves it more than Jessica. 

Idol 2012: Top 3, Hometown Visits

Last week's result was something that should have happened weeks ago. Sure, Hollie turned on the jets big time in the past few weeks, but she really shouldn't have had that opportunity (as bad as that sounds).

I have nothing else to say about last week.

Round One: Judge's Choice

• Josh Ledet - Randy's Choice: I'd Rather Be Blind (by Etta James) - Until the end, this seemed like a song that was given to Josh with the message "sing this". That's it. He did the whole Josh wailing thing at the end that's put him where he is, but meh. Seen it before. Of course, the judges gave him a standing ovation, but we knew that was going to happen, right? Right.
• Jessica Sanchez - JLo's Choice: My All (by Mariah Carey) - Jessica performed ballads as Beyonce for so long now I'd actually thought it was her style too. Silly me. Here, she was Mariah Carey. I've said it before: girl has one hell of a voice, but she's boring. And this performance (along with her prior Beyonce ones) shows she's a great mimic. Of course, the judges praise her originality, but we knew that was going to happen, right? Right.
• Phillip Phillips - Steven's Choice: Beggin' (by Madcon) - What? Josh and Jessica get songs in their wheelhouses, Phil gets something off the wall (for him). I hate this show sometimes. That said… Phil ROCKS it, showing why I love this show. Funny how things change so fast on Idol. 

There's no competition here. Phil took what appeared to be a clear sabotage attempt (to put on my tin foil hat for a moment) and turned it around, making it an Idol moment if you will. If I'm Josh and Jessica, I'm pissed at the clowns on the judges panel.

Round Two: Contestant's Choice

• Josh - Imagine (by John Lennon) - A lounge-y arrangement of a most overdone song is probably not the best choice, Josh. The performance was incredibly restrained considering the vocalist, almost to the point of being by-the-numbers, very karaoke. Not a bad song choice, just not the best choices within the performance.
• Jessica - I Don't Want to Miss a Thing (by Aerosmith) - Interesting song choice, but this seemed to me to be a direct answer to Josh's performance. Nice vocals, sure, but by the numbers. Karaoke. The only "chance" taken was the pop diva ending to the song… which she didn't quite nail as much as the judges raved about. But, as noted before, I expect that of the judges. Sleepy.
• Phil - Disease (by Matchbox 20) - Ah, here's the bus! Phil delivers a very cool performance, changing up the song a bit to fit him, as Phil typically does. A bit by the numbers and karaoke again, but at least he does it well. And the judges trash him for it. Every year at this point in the competition, the judges go out of their way to put through their favorites to the finals (and typically they get their way, save for season 8… but that's neither here nor there). It seems Phil's been put under that bus, let's see how far the judges go in Round 3.

In all, a sleepy, karaoke-like round. I'd definitely say that Phil was the best of the three, but I'm thinking the judges might have neutralized him for the round. Ugh.

Round Three: Jimmy Iovine's Choice

• Josh - No More Drama (by Mary J. Blige) - To me, this is a repeat of Josh's first performance. The first half of the performance was uninspired, then Josh started wailing. There was a difference, though: I wasn't feeling the wailing. In fact, I felt like I was being yelled at. The whole thing seemed very choreographed, very preachy, very yell. This performance was completely lost on me. I'm SHOCKED there was no standing ovation! I would kill to have Simon's reaction to this one…
• Jessica - I'll Be There (by The Jackson 5) - Apparently tonight is Jessica's foray into karaoke land. Sure, she sang it well, but what did she bring to the song? Nothing! I get what Jimmy was trying to do with the song choice, but boring. 
• Phil - We've Got Tonight (by Bob Seeger) - This performance takes me back to season 8, when Kris Allen pulled out the song "Falling Slowly". He did the song pretty much as written, but brought this tenderness, this sweetness, this… brilliance to the song. To me, it was the performance that propelled him to winning the whole show (with other brilliant moments later on, but this one started it). Phil's "We Got Tonight" is his "Falling Slowly". I was absolutely enchanted with this performance. We'll be seeing Phil next week. For sure. And FINALLY, the judges get something right with their ridiculous standing ovations.

Absolutely no competition whatsoever. Phil just gave what may wind up being my favorite performance of the season (much like Kris's "Falling Slowly").

I am not even going to do my winners and losers tonight. Phil was heads and shoulders better than Josh & Jessica tonight, and I'm not even doing an Idol Judge overstatement here. I have honestly no idea who will be eliminated tomorrow, but if there is any justice in the world whatsoever, it won't be Phil. Tour de force evening in my book.

Idol 2012: Top 4, California Dreamin' & Songs They Wish They Wrote

Ugh, Skylar. Gone too soon. I get why (she was pretty meh last week, while Hollie shined), but still not good. Too bad.

I'm feeling wordy tonight. So, sorry. Also, I write this little intro thing after the episode, and apparently I am feeling subconsciously ornery. I blame the absence of Skylar.

• Phillip Phillips - Have You Ever Seen the Rain? (by CCR) - As I stated last week, I love Phil's style, and I enjoyed this performance. But I'm not blind or deaf: Phil does basically the same thing week in and week out, and this performance is no exception for the most part. I'm not saying he's coasting, because I don't think that's the case... I just wonder if Phil's style doesn't really have that extra gear you sometimes see from contestants at the end of the competition (see: Kris Allen, Haley Reinhart, even Hollie this season). Perhaps he's just shown everything he has to show?
• Hollie Cavanagh - Faithfully (by Journey) - This performance is exactly why I can't fully get behind Hollie. Sure, she sang this song well... but she didn't bring anything new or different to the song. You're told Hollie is doing "Faithfully", and you can already hear the entire performance in your head. Girl has come a long, long way in this competition... but I'm just not seeing anything consistently special in her performances.
• Joshua Ledet - You Raise Me Up (by Josh Groban) - Oh, come on. Why this song? Of everything Josh could pick... this song? Nothing new here. In fact, I'd put this song towards the bottom of the "Josh highlight" reel, if you will. I got the whole gospel approach to the song, but the arrangement came off a bit weird, the performance shaky. Not really up to Josh's high level. I think the best part of this performance was afterwards when the judges were reacting, the camera was clearly aimed for the ubiquitous standing ovation from the judges that didn't happen. I'm shocked the judges didn't stand anyway.
• Jessica Sanchez - Steal Away (by Etta James) - Again, nothing new. Like Phil, I'm pretty sure we've seen everything there is to see from Jessica. Unlike Phil, I wasn't ever enamored with Jessica. Big talent, sure, but never drew me in. 
• Phil & Josh - This Love (by Maroon 5) - Good stuff. I hate Idol duets.
• Hollie & Jessica - Eternal Flame (by The Bangles) - LOL, swings. Oh, Idol 2012. Keeping you guessing even when the contestants typically don't shock.
• All Four of Them - Waiting for a Girl Like You (by Foreigner) - Oh goodie. Group number. I didn't pay attention to this, sorry. I'm a bad wannabe Idol blogger.
• Phil - Volcano (by Damian Rice) - I don't know this song at all... but perhaps I was wrong about Phil not having another gear. This performance was, quite simply, Phil's best of the competition. It's easy to see that this is the type of music Phil is going to be making, and he has a chance to be as successful as this genre allows. Great stuff. Now see, I knew I could effect the show with my idle musings that don't get posted until after the show. 
• Hollie - I Can't Make You Love Me (by Bonnie Raitt) - before the song: If Hollie doesn't feel this song, like she did with her Leona Lewis song last week, this will fall completely flat. after the performance: Yep! There were moments where Hollie connected, but they were fleeting, almost artificial feeling. 
• Josh - It's a Man's World (by James Brown) & Jessica - And I'm Telling You (from Dreamgirls) - these songs, to me, go hand and hand (along with other some other songs you see EVERY year). These songs are what you could call 'judge bait': meaning, do them capably, and the judges of whatever show you are on will go NUTS. You don't have to do anything new to them, either. Just perform them as written, swing your arms around, add in some growls if they are in your repertoire, emphasize the changes to the dynamics of the songs... and bam, pant tents in all of the judges, standing ovation, and statements like "best singer ever on this show" or "best singer of the last 50 years" (both statements used by Jennifer Lopez in the past two weeks). Formulaic, really. As for tonight, Josh and Jessica were both solid tonight with their songs. Neither brought anything revolutionary to the pieces, but as noted, who needs to? Both received standing ovations. Josh even moved JLo to yelling in Spanish. Neither performance deserved the ridiculousness, but they sure got them.
  
  Damn it, do I miss Simon Cowell.

Ok, had to get that mini-rant out of my system.

Winner of the night... I'll go with Phil, mostly for his second song. I know the judges will insist on Josh or Jessica, but they can't be trusted with anything, they've shown. While the two Js screamed through their judge bait songs, Phil did a somewhat off-the-map tune and showed once again what kind of artist he is. 

Better watch out... Hollie. I'm writing this line at 10:41PM, just 41 minutes after the show ended. Maybe it's because the other three got me worked up... but I don't remember much about Hollie tonight (which is another reason why I blog, incidentally). That doesn't bode well at this stage in the competition. But who knows, maybe she has legions of fans that I don't understand. 

Idol 2012: Top 5, British Pop and Songs of the 1960's

Elise :(

I knew it was inevitable. Hell, I even knew it was at least a 50/50 chance it would be last week. Still doesn't make it ok.

• Hollie Cavanagh - River Deep, Mountain High (by Ike and Tina Turner) - Innnnnteresting, possible train wreck of a song choice… the result isn't really a train wreck, but definitely lacking the spark the song needs. I didn't hate it, but didn't love it.
• Philip Phillips - The Letter (by The Box Tops) - I don't think I know that song… but I really don't care. That was fabulous. I love Phil's vibe and style, so I'm pretty sure I'd love anything he does that is true to what he does.
• Skylar Laine - Fortunate Son (by CCR) - Very interesting performance. On one hand, I loved the energy Skylar brought to the song and the vocals were great, both as usual… but as a whole, the performance didn't work for me. I don't know if the song didn't translate to the required countryfication or what, but I didn't love this as I usually do Skylar's performance.
• The Boys - You've Lost That Loving Feeling (by The Righteous Brothers) - I don't think Phil and Josh could have any less chemistry. A Phil duet without Elise makes me sad. All that said… this duet got better and better as it went on. Also, Phil cracks me up.
• Jessica Sanchez - Proud Mary (by Ike and Tina Turner) - Yeah, that was a good time. You know from my previous reviews of Jessica that I'm not the biggest fan, but I was definitely a big fan of this performance.
• Joshua Ledet - Ain't Too Proud to Beg (by The Temptations) - Joshua just makes it look easy. I know, I know, that is Josh's genre, but damn. So easy. 
• Hollie Cavanagh - Bleeding Love (by Leona Lewis) - For my money, the best performance of the 6 so far. Wonderful vocals, spot on tendernesss and connection. Just beautiful. Hollie is making this competition very, very interesting.
• Philip Phillips - The Time of the Season (by The Zombies) - Predictable performance… even a bit boring. Interesting that Phil hints that he wanted to play more guitar in the song…
• The Girls - Higher and Higher (by Jackie Wilson) - The only thing more silly than duets on Idol… trios! They are especially useless when the songs aren't written as trios, so it literally becomes a rotation of solos. Which this was. Skylar comes off the best. 
• Skylar Laine - You Don't Have to Say You Love Me (by Dusty Springfield) - Another very interesting performance. This song was a return to form for Skylar in parts… but at times, it almost seemed like a desperate contestant trying to cling to her chances. That said, more hit than miss. 
• Jessica Sanchez - You Are So Beautiful (by Joe Cocker) - And a return to the beautifully sung yet super boring Jessica. We get it, you can sang. brb, nap time.
• Joshua Ledet - To Love Somebody (by Tom Jones) - I generally don't like all the things Josh did in this performance. The gyrations, the screaming, the judges giving yet another standing ovation… but screw that. Easily the best performance of the night, and by far my favorite performance from Josh this season. The first time I've truly bought into the Josh hype. 

I don't want to do my own version of a power rankings system, but if I did... I think I'd move Josh to the top this week. I wouldn't go as far as proclaiming him my favorite for the season, but I can easily see him winning at this point. Onward.

Winner of the night... Josh. Definitely Josh. Hollie is also up here in this category. 

Better watch out... You know, I have NO idea. As I wrote after her second performance, Hollie has made this competition very interesting. I could easily envision a scenario where any of the five contestants could go home this week (Hollie was underwhelming for SO LONG. Josh has been over-hyped to the point of nausea. Skylar is been in the bottom 2/3 multiple times. Phil was very safe this week. Jessica has been eliminated once already.). So, I'm not going to do this category this week. All five contestants better watch out.