Idol 2012: Top 7, Songs from the Last Three Years

Last week went as it should have. Good.

How random of a theme. They call it "Songs from This Decade"... but my title is more descriptive.

• Skylar Laine - (by Kellie Pickler) - Fantastic. Everything about this performance was fantastic. Bravo. Skylar going first though… that's a concern.
• Colton Dixon - Love the Way You Lie (by Skylar Gray) - broken record: Fantastic. Everything about this performance was fantastic. Bravo. A little safe perhaps, but I don't care.
• Elise Testone & Philip Phillips - Somebody I Used to Know (by Gotye) - Elise pretty much kicked Philip's ass on this… but that's ok. I hope this is on iTunes…
• Jessica Sanchez - Stuttering (by Jazmine Sullivan) - I'm starting to lose any interest I had in Jessica. Hella talented, absolutely… but I'm bored.
• Josh Ledet - Runaway Baby (by Bruno Mars) - I'm 100% certain the judges have never heard this song before. Josh did the song as written aside from needlessly wailing the end of it… but he's dynamic and a performer! Go him! 
• Colton Dixon & Skylar Laine - Don't You Wanna Stay (by Jason Aldean & Kelly Clarkson) - This is like a genre flip that's throwing me for a loop. Sad to say… this was an unfortunate mess. 
• Hollie Cavanagh - Perfect (by P!nk) - A noble attempt, but Hollie's too… rigid for midtempo pop music. Unfortunate misfire.
• Philip Phillips - Give a Little More (by Maroon 5) - I almost didn't recognize this song, but in a good way. I totally admit my bias here, but I kinda loved this. He does do pretty much the same thing every week, so he needs to be a bit careful.
• Josh Ledet, Jessica Sanchez & Hollie Cavanagh - Stronger (by Kelly Clarkson) - Ah, when a trio sings an duo arrangement. Third voice, just wail in the background. The third voice consistently sounded good, the two voices in harmony sounded weird, and the solos were all meh.
• Elise Testone - Yoü and I (by Lady Gaga) - LOVE Elise at the piano. Strong performance overall, but a bit safe for me. Nothing spectacular or really new from Elise. Great vocals as usual, but pretty much as expected.

Overall, this was yet another strong night for the contestants. This is a strong season, methinks. BUT… everyone was rather safe tonight. There wasn't a single moment where you sat back and say "wow, I wasn't expecting that". Or, at least, I didn't have a moment like that.

Winner of the Night… Skylar? Colton? I'll call it a draw between the two of them. Them going so early might even it all out, though.

Better watch out… Hollie. No question. She's likely a goner. The rest of the bottom three will be interesting, though. It seems to me that everyone is pretty bunched up, so there could be a surprise here… but it'll probably be an all-girl bottom 3, because that's how the voters role: Hollie, Skylar and Elise. Unfortunate for the last two, but that's hot it goes.