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.
