American Idol: It’s All Happening

“Get ready!” my friend Buddy warned when I told him my plan to watch Wednesday’s American Idol on DVR before seeing who was eliminated on Thursday. “You’re about to hear ‘Superstition’ for the 900th time on Idol!”

And on a night dedicated to Stevie Wonder and Whitney Houston songs (I understand the tribute, Idol, but why, why, why set your contestants up for such amazing possibilities of utter embarrassment?), I knew I had a good chance of hearing some really great performances—and some really bad ones.

(Also, sidebar: please let’s just say no to jumpsuit/romper outfits like J.Lo was wearing. PLEASE!)

Here are my thoughts:

Joshua Ledet “I Wish” • He’s a good performer, but there’s a quality in his voice, at least in this performance, that grated on my nerves. • He can sing, but my question on hearing his rendition of this song is how is this current? It was awesome, but it was very throwback. What can he offer that we haven’t heard before? (The judges LOVED him!)

Elise Testone “I’m Your Baby Tonight” • That dress was a miss. • There are places in her voice that are beautiful and this song shows some of them off. Then, there are some really, raspy, not pretty spots that the verses really seemed to highlight. And the growling. . . it’s awesome until you overuse it. And Elise does. • Felt a bit shouty/screamy in places, and Elise has to work on her stage presence. (Judges complimented her voice, but pointed out it wasn’t her best. Randy’s analogy of boxing with the song was very good, actually.)

Jermaine Jones “Knocks Me Off My Feet” • Jermaine can sing. I get it. But how is he current? • First half of the song was nice, but boring. Second half seemed like it was going somewhere, then really didn’t. • For me, it was nice, but forgettable. (Judges loved him, but Jennifer asked him to connect with the song more, which was good advice.)

Erika Van Pelt “I Believe in You and Me” • A little shaky on some notes at the beginning, and the whole song, I worried that she didn’t really have the range to sing this song. • But then she proved me wrong. It wasn’t perfect. It didn’t outshine the original and it didn’t completely rework the original. But it was good and proved she can sing. • Plus, she’s the only one so far I felt like really felt what she was singing. (Judges complimented her tone and called it amazing.)

Colton Dixon “Lately” • I want to like Colton, but sometimes I can’t understand what he’s saying. Enunciate! • This song showcases some really nice breaks in his voice, some nice vulnerability. • Beginning half had me worried; second half, he used his rocker voice to great effect. Maybe not earth-shaking, but good. (Judges loved it.)

Shannon MaGrane “I Have Nothing” • I wanted to love this performance. And parts of it were absolutely amazing. But I think she got nervous. Missed some key changes, forced it, and it was so much better in the rehearsal. And halfway through the song, I think she realized this wasn’t going the way she had planned it would and kind of gave up a little. Her nerves got the best of her. (Jennifer encouraged Shannon to tell the story of the song, not overthink stuff.)

Deandre Brackensick “Master Blaster” • Deandre shouldn’t dance. • He may have made the perfect song choice. It’s not my favorite style at all, but he did it well. (Judges loved it.)

Skylar Laine “Where Do Broken Hearts Go” • Skyler is only 18, but she knows who she is as an artist. • A few shaky places in the opening verse and chorus. The modulation was absolutely amazing. While she got a little shouty at the end, this was one of my favorite performances so far of the night. (Jennifer agreed with me that the front part wasn’t perfect; all judges said it was well done, especially at the end.)

HeeJun Han “All Is Fair in Love” • HeeJun is so quirky that I kind of want him to do well just because he’s funny and different. • Beginning was pretty shaky; chorus was better; ending had some really nice, unexpected crooner moments, but it didn’t knock my socks off. There’s something about him that I like, even if he’s never spot-on. (Judges loved it. )

Hollie Cavanagh “All the Man that I Need” • She has some weird enunciation/articulation issues. Maybe it’s just me. • Once she gets to the chorus, it’s really good. She was a bit shaky on the modulation, but ended the song perfectly, beautifully. Amazing. (Judges said she nailed it. I agree)

Jeremy Rosado “Ribbon in the Sky” • This song is weird. Jeremy sounded nice, but front half is kind of boring. • I think it was supposed to get exciting toward the middle, but I didn’t know the song and couldn’t understand what Jeremy was saying except “Ribbon in the Sky” and sort of checked out. It was nice, I guess, but not riveting. (Judges said it was beautiful. It was, but it was beautiful and boring.)

Jessica Sanchez “I Will Always Love You” • OK, pause. I have a thing about this song. I. LOVE. THIS. SONG. And I love Dolly Parton who wrote it. And I’m one of the weird people who prefers Dolly’s performance. That said, Jessica better knock this one out of the ballpark! • Love the almost a capella beginning; beautiful performance. Not as good as Whitney’s, but good. (And Jessica, when you sing a run, you don’t have to trill your fingers. It doesn’t make it happen any better!) (Judges gave her a well deserved standing ovation.)

Phillip Phillips “Superstition” • I still think Phillip is going to damage his vocal chords with all that pushing and yelling he does. • It’s very loud and oddly entertaining, but it’s not quality singing. It’s shouting and growling and rasping in time to the music. But, hey, many people have made tons of money doing that (i.e. Bruce Springsteen). • Phillip isn’t my favorite. (Judges thought it was great.)

(BTW, Mary J. is THE BEST MENTOR!)

In the bottom for me: Jeremy Rosado, Elise Testone, Shannon (though I don’t want her to go!), and probably HeeJun

Who actually went home: Jeremy Rosado (which means I called it.)

(Also, Idol stop with the group sing. It’s just bad and painful.)