'American Idol' Season 11 on FOX HD - Page 10

My impressions

Joshua Ledet – Easily one of the best male performance of the night. Some people are calling him “Mantasia” and I have to agree. He has a really throaty, gravelly unique sound and he has fantastic range. I thought he killed it.

Elise Testone – I didn’t think it was as bad as the judges made it out to be. I get the fact that they don’t want her to perform “The Greatest Love of All”, but then why go with something as recognizable as “I’m Your Baby Tonight”? She could have done a really jazzy/blusy version of, say “You’re Still My Man” that no one really knows and it would have been fine. Jimmy painted her into a bad corner.

Jermaine Jones – The man’s voice is as smooth as they come. The man himself? Not so much

Erika Van Pelt – I really like her. She has a very unique, smooth, and mature sounding voice and she has good control of it. I like the straight hair look.

Colton Dixon – What a friggin’ mess. What the hell was he singing? I hardly recognized the song. He better pray teenage girl voting bloc was out strong last night.

Shannon Magrane – As expected, she crashed and burned flying too close to the sun (I thought she was going to try “I will always love you”, but “I Have Nothing” is close enough). As an “artist” you need to know your limits. No matter how much your parents and friends (and AI judges) LOVE your voice, compared to one of the greatest singers of last 50 years, You Have Nothing. It was just fun to watch (like watching a car crash fun).

DeAndre Brackensick – I have to agree with the judges who compared him to “male Naima”. And just like Naima, you should go away after the first or second week. Am I the only one who feels awkward watching him perform? I have no idea what he is going for…

Skylar Laine – Kept it simple and hung on for dear life. Smart move.

Heejun Han – The opening segment with him delivering an autographed photos to Jimmy and Mary J was genius. That alone keeps him safe.

Hollie Cavanagh – Better than last week, but she REALLY walks the fine line between a disaster and success. I get that she has a fine instrument, but it is so raw, it can careen off the cliff at any given moment. I just hope Jimmy really coaches her up.

Jeremy Rosado – I would be surprised if he is not in the bottom three. Just. So. Boring.

Jessica Sanchez – Here is the problem for a 16 year old with a big voice like Jessica. She can replicate the song note for note since she has the pipes to deliver it. But it has no style, it has no panache. There is no fine inflection to represent underlying emotions, just mimicry of what she has heard. And when you do that, no matter how good your voice is, it is going PALE in comparison to the original. I have no idea what the judges were listening to, but this was NOT my favorite performance of the night. Someone saying this was better than Jennifer Hudson’s LIGHT YEARS MORE MATURE (and nuanced) version of the song during the Grammys is smoking something.

Phillip Phillips – He just disarms with viewers with his genuine joy. That is a pretty special quality.

My personal bottom three would be Magrane, DeAndrea and Jeremy, but I am guessing the viewers are going to put Elise in there – and that would be a shame.

I sure hope someone eventually posts some screen caps of Jennifer in that outifit. WOW! She never looked so beautiful or sexy, that thing was barely there!

Well, they have found a way this year to kick off the guys before the girls. First by having the judges decide, then this week we have a guy with a criminal history kicked off.

Plus a desperate Nigel is pushing the theatrics farther and farther this year-they are going to show footage of the contestant being confronted with the information. Maybe even the victims of the guy's crimes will show up! And a special guest appearance by Jerry Springer?!

I had not heard of this, but to save anyone else the trouble of looking it up:

This probably isn't politically correct to say (mods feel free to delete this if I cross a line), but Jermaine doesn't look all there most of the time. He has a strong Of Mice and Men vibe to me, like he could snap at any second. I don't know if he does have violent tendencies or if he's just socially awkward, but it comes off really weird most of the time he's interacting with Ryan or the judges.

And now the conspiracy theory nut in me thinks Nigel and crew knew about Jermaine, which is why they brought him back...only to dramatically dump him. Call me nuts if you want.

*edit* Is it really a "live show" if they're recording the "live" shows on Tuesday and airing it on Wednesdays?

Waitasecond-they are taping the performances on Tuesday, a day before airing? Where did you hear that? I know they did that for a while last year, under the excuse that they had a new director, but I hadn't heard they were doing that this year. If they are, it stinks of manipulation and sweetening.

I had a feeling they were doing it a week ago when both Steven and Randy both slipped and said "Tuesday" instead of Wednesday during the results show when referring to the performances from the "live" night. Maybe I just heard it wrong. But if Jermaine performs tonight and is then kicked off we'll know for sure.

A lot of people are skeptical about Idol's part in this.

Even the normally friendly Hollywood Reporter is speculating about Idol's latest "ratings ploy."

This is the type of garbage they pull on the UK competition shows. It's why Simon did the incredibly stupid Melanie Amaro ploy (Send her home, admit mistake, go back and "beg" her to forgive him). The Brits concoct these idiotic stories and feed them to tabloids (Mirror, Sun etc) and then watch the dull masses tune in for the sideshow. I'd say we're smarter than that here, but we're not. Ratings will be way up tonight.

Unlikely. If they let him perform knowing that they were going to kick him off, then a lot of people are going to come down on the show for exploiting this situation.

Anyone remember how they handled the Corey Clark (top 9 second season) disqualification? Was it just a quick announcement on the show, a "confrontation," or something else?

I don't know about that. Its competition is airing mostly new shows tonight. A lot of season lows in the ratings for Tuesday night, with Daylight Saving Time and extremely nice weather possibly contributing. And really, are people that excited about a so-called "confrontation?" He wasn't a favorite, having been in the bottom 3 last week. They'll have to show it in the first few minutes of the show, presumably. Ultimately it's a big "so what?" This isn't the first week this season that Idol has been in the headlines-Jim Carey's daughter, the fainting, the overblown praise of Jessica Sanchez last week. All that trumpeting in the news hasn't done much for the ratings.

Phillip Phillips - Should be good enough to fly safely this week even with the lead-off spot curse.

Jessica Sanchez - I liked the performance better than the judges did. I really don't want to hear her sing one ballad after another. I thought it was pretty fun.
Heejun Han - It is a good thing he has built enough goodwill through his humor to survive this disaster.

Elise Testone - Hands down my favorite performance of the season by anyone. That was so rich, relaxed, and cool. If I was in the same room, I could have sat there and listen to her singing that song all day. That is not something I would say about any other Idol contestant. That was just great.

The Hair - I just don't see what the judges see in this guy

Shannon Magrane - This girl needs a serious intervention. A friend does not let Shannon sing any Whitney, Mariah, or Celine songs. You just don't. Not when your voice is so thin that the comparison to the real divas leave it so wanting. That was painful. Somebody needs to tell her that any diva songs in the future are strictly off limits.

Colton Dixon - Did his best Daughtry imitation after meeting him for dinner. Not a smart move. Whinny, nasally, and annoying.

Erika - I really like her voice, it is smooth and mature. She also has really great control. But this wasn't her best. The song really did not suit her range and it just made me sleepy. I would be very nervous if I was her.

Skylar Laine - Yawn. Probably was wise to just stick with what she is comfortable with. Good thing there are so many other poor performances.

Joshua Ledet - The difficulty level on that song is off the charts. It is just so hard to do that song justice if you do not have the voice to back it up, it is not something that most AI contestants should ever touch. This does not apply to Joshua. His voice has enough texture and layers to pull of something this difficult. He has the voice Shannon thinks she has.

Holly Cavanagh - She is like Ford Mustang. Looks pretty good and its got a lot of power and it is a legit sports car. What it does not have is refinement. Power alone will only get you so far. With proper training, she can be REALLY REALLY good. She is just not there yet.

Interesting, Ryan said the person with the lowest vote is at risk of elimination. He did not say he/she WILL be eliminated. Hmmm..

Hasn't he said the same thing ever since they gave the judges the save option?

Last night was down 7% from the previous week. Most shows dropped last night. Don't know if the "confrontation" or last week's Jessica Sanchez "viral" performance helped to keep the audience from shrinking further.

Beat The Voice this week.

The Good:

Joshua Ledet: A throwback soul singer who has the voice to crush a "rock" song, but he will probably never will attempt it.

Jessica Sanchez: I really did not get what the judges was talking about. I thought she was good. She may have been a bit off rhythm at times, but not enough to justify the criticism.

Hollie Cavanagh: I find it strange that I do not remember what she sang, but I thought it was good.

The OK:

A lot of OK performance that really did not break through. Phillip Phillips was so close to original that nothing stood out for me. For such a funny guy Heejun picks some really boring songs. Erika Van Pelt would have been better service if they did not mention the break in the middle of the song. Live it did not seem as dramatic as the little bit of the taped version we saw.

The Bad:

Shannon Magrane: This girl is singing songs that are way out of her skill set. She does not have the kind of voice to compete with some of the other girls, and in comparison she suffers greatly.

Awful, uninspired song choices this week. If you don't have to, why would you pick a song associated with a singer who is out of your league? The actual performances were BORING whether or not they managed to sing the song properly. I also noticed that the sound mixing was a lot like X Factor where sometimes the singer's voice is obscured by the music and the background singers. That is NOT how they used to mix it. It used to be entertaining watching singers mangle songs during this part of the season. Instead Idol has made a concentrated effort to pick a lot of "solid" singers and further protect them by giving them a huge list of songs to pick from. The result-BORING.

Holly's performance of "The Power of Love" is what I would label a slightly thin and strained performance. Most people are probably already familiar with the Celine Dion version. Two other versions-
Laura Branigan
Jennifer Rush (who sang the original version)

Idol staying with 2 hour broadcasts on Wednesdays for remainder of season.
So does this mean
1) more bloat?
2) more songs?
3) more time per song?
4) more commercials?

Well last night convinced me that Jimmy doesn't really know what he's doing. He just throws out ideas and hopes something works.

I'm a big Gin Blossoms fan and living in Phoenix, I've actually met some of the band members. But suggesting that a 17yo girl on what's essentially a popularity contest, sing some of the darkest songs involving alcoholism and broken relationships ever written was nuts.

Let's explore some of the lyrics that Jimmy suggested putting in Skylar's mouth:

How about Hold Me Down:

When those doors swing open and all the drinks are passed around
When half the party moves into the bathroom...hold me down
Or if you're at the tail end of the evening
And Dr. Feelgood comes around
Anytime the pickins look too easy...hold me down

how about Lost Horizons:

The lost horizons I can see are filled with bars and factories
and in them all we fight to stay awake...
I'll Drink enough of anything to make this world look new again
Drunk drunk drunk in the gardens and the graves
...
I'll Drink enough of anything to make this girl look new again
...
I'll Drink enough of anything to make myself look new again
How about Mrs. Rita:

Every day's much better since I've slowed my drinking pace
There's no swimming in the bottle it's just someplace we all drown
I lost myself in sorrow lost my confidence in doubt
Or the real topper, how about Keli Richards:

Well I bought a gun, there's just one thing left to do
Now I can't make up my mind it comes down to me or you
Yeah, let's have 17yo Skyler sing about contemplating a murder/suicide! That should be a real audience pleaser.

And it gets creepier when you know the history of the band, where one of the founding members had to be kicked out due to alcohol abuse and committed suicide by gunshot about a year later.

Philip and Hollie were the only two performances I enjoyed last night. Not a fan of the "churchy" thing that Joshua does. For being the big star of the season, Jessica sure picked a stupid song to sing to share her "talent". Hollie week in and week out picks songs by the biggest female singers and slays them.

Fast forwarded through most of the night. Yawn-fest. Felt embarrassed for FOX and Idol for televising that crap with Jermaine. This manufactured bulls*** drama didnt even net them more viewers than the previous week.

Listen to the other versions of "The Power of Love" and you still think Hollie's version "slays them?" Just because Hollie sounds better most of the other singers this year doesn't suddenly put her in the same realm with Celine Dion and Laura Branigan.

American Idol stealing another idea from X Factor's playbook-Lana Del Rey's upcoming performance is actually being taped after this Thursday's elimination show. Evidently her handlers don't want to take a chance on her performing "live" without the chance to do some sweetening in the editing room. And this is the singer Iovine thinks so highly of?

Yeah, she slays them. She's got a great voice and guts that exceed her tiny frame.



Ugh. She's awful.

I'm not hearing what you are hearing. Good singer and top 5 material (potential winner THIS year), but that's it.

She slays them like a steak eater slays already dead cow...

Seriously, the girl has a powerful voice, but she has no clue what to do with it.

Clearly she knows what to do with it. She slays big songs with it.

Just because she can sing the notes (mostly) does not mean that she is slaying them...

For example, this is "slaying" a song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXHWyuNDu2w

This is "NOT slaying" a song and hanging on for a dear life:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ul4vOI6gTJ4

If you do not notice the difference between the two examples above, there is not much I can tell ya.

My spin on last night:
Great:
Joshua Ledet took it. My husband and I both REALLY enjoyed his performance. So much soul.
Hollie Cavanaugh has a seriously powerful voice. I'm impressed at what she's willing to tackle! No fear. I'm watching to see how she grows in the competition.
Colton Dixon makes it look easy and he comes across like he's already a professional doing a tour. Most of the time when they sing something I've never heard before it leaves me cold but I loved his performance.
Elise Testone - I'd buy her record. Love the sound of her voice. She sang it like she meant it.
Phillip - He's just adorable. He's the one I want to adopt this year. Sang well too.

Good:
Deandre - What a beautiful face on that kid. He picked the wrong song for sure but sang it pretty well.
Jessica - What a little powerhouse! Judges gave her good criticism. Hope she does better next time.
Skyler - I was entertained and enjoyed her song. Pretty good.

Hmmmmm:
Erika - Great voice - Not great performance.

Not so much:
Shannon - I was straining with her through the entire song. Didn't seem to help. What planet were the judges on?

Oh Dear:
Heejun - Just this side of good. I was pulling for him to make those money notes and he almost did. The judges gave him good criticism and kind support. I do believe we won't be seeing him next week.