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.