3/7 AI 11 Top 13 Performance Discussion **West Coast Spoilers**

[Arielflies]

Here's the thing...I understood the words as the girls enunciated them, but had a hard time with a few of the boys. I like to understand the words being sung. That said I voted for three of the girls tonight; I hope we have an all girl Final Four, not just Final Two.

[jammyjoe]

Here's the thing...I understood the words as the girls enunciated them, but had a hard time with a few of the boys. I like to understand the words being sung. That said I voted for three of the girls tonight; I hope we have an all girl Final Four, not just Final Two.

That's not gonna happen. Jessica and Hollie are the top 2 girls while Phllip and Colton are the top 2 boys

[liedenfrost]

March 07, 2012: The Top Thirteen

1. Hollie Cavanaugh. Not the best performance of the evening; that honor goes to Jessica (again two weeks running) but it was a very good performance. A success vocally, it lacked Whitney’s passion and soul. It just wasn’t there. It seems that song selection will affect her fate moreso than others because she seems fixated on big songs, glory notes, power pipes, and felt emotion. While she can negotiate some of these some of the time, she simply hasn’t lived enough or suffered enough to project such pain. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Aretha, Whitney, Christina, and Adele are better let alone. Like Beethoven and Van Gogh, all are tortured souls with immense talent that can reflect and express those extraordinary emotions. If you’re not one of them, the best you can hope for is a credible copy; you’re can’t better genius. Hollie’s strategy is a minefield but she is a beautiful and glorious human being; someone I want to watch for a long time, so I hope her high-risk strategy pays off..
2. Jessica Sanchez. None of these performances were perfect but this one was close. Jessica has a big voice but with all that power, still couldn’t generate an authentic copy of the original. But it was darn good. At this point, it appears she is a shoe-in for final four. I expect Hollie and Skylar to be there as well. The fourth is a toss-up between Colton and Erica Van Pelt. Jenny is hoping for an all female final but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if that happened as early as final four. This is season eleven and I’ve never seen such a lop-sided competition; it’s been a real beat down so far; the girls are infinitely better. The reason I worry about Jessica’s chances and hold her at #2 is: she can out-sing them all but I’m not sure she can out-wit Skylar or out-endear Hollie. In addition, she’ll need to be careful of the Pia Effect; e.g., too much woman. Pia lost the female vote last season for reasons that include “boring”, “vain”, “over-confidence” and “pretty”. Jessica must endear herself to female baby boomer viewers, but with Skylar and Hollie (every mother’s daughter) in the mix, vote-stealing will not come easy. But she is clearly the best singer here, and by far, so deserves to be ranked here.
3. Skylar Laine. The first half of this song was beautifully sung and beautifully paced; loaded with Dolly Pardon charm. But as Frost wrote, “Nothing gold can stay”; e.g., she bullied the second half of this song and ruined it for me. I’m old school. I love R&B and rock but this song requires delicate care and a controlled explosion. This was a good performance but in my opinion, over-cooked. But Skylar left her mark on the Idol stage tonight; it had to be obvious to everybody that this kid has no fear of genre.
4. Erica Van Pelt. I could write the same thing here. The first half of this song was also beautifully presented; wonderfully paced, very mature; she disappeared inside these lyrics. Unfortunately, that didn’t last for very long. The second half was simply too big for her and even though she fought valiantly; tried to disguise the high notes, ultimately lost vocal integrity and failed the performance. But she is a wonderful and gifted singer, so is likely formidable in a different genre; one with a bit more versatility. Whitney Houston is not her niche.
5. Colton Dixon. I am respectful of Colton’s chances and will continue to rank him among the front runners because he looks the part, sings well, and frankly, dude is pretty, but for an R&B purist like me, a Death Cab For Cutie version of Stevie’s wonderful Lately was too big a leap. For the record, I love Death Cab For Cutie, just not here. To be honest, this was Colton’s second perfectly ordinary performance in as many weeks; he has not, as of yet, lived up to expectation, so I begin to wonder and to doubt, but time will tell.
6. Joshua Ledet. I would have bet everything I own on Higher Ground but got I Wish. Didn’t really like this performance as much as last week; that throaty, gravely, gospel R&B rattle didn’t work as well on this song. I know Mary J told him to, and she knows this business better than I ever will, but I think the dancing went too far. But he is my favorite male singer and I hope he stays around for a very long time. There are show-stopping performances left in this kid; I am sure of it.
7. Phillip Phillips. I love this kid but no longer think he is a legitimate threat to win this thing. It’s become obvious, to me at least, that he’s one-dimensional. It won’t make much difference which song, lyric, melody, or genre he’s given, he will re-create it in his image; e.g., dress it up in dueling guitar, dueling drumlines, a three note melody, minimal melody, and bring it to the Idol stage. He's a great guy but I don’t think his is a winning strategy and I think viewers will tire of it quickly, as they did Casey.
8. Jermaine Jones. As he did last week, he sang it perfectly. There’s nothing to criticize; he can sing; I just don’t see a superstar here; the pieces just aren’t there. Jimmy, Mary J, and the judges love him though, so my opinion won’t matter. I try very hard to be fair to all the contestants; Jermaine definitely got this one right and deserved accolades for a job well done. He tends to sing by note, without any real purpose or passion, but America doesn’t seem to care. They clearly like him.
9. Heejun Han. Whodathunkit? Heejun is an old school big band singer. He was definitely channeling Old Blue Eyes tonight, and it was a pretty good impersonation. He lacks artistry, star quality, and stage presence but give him props tonight because he definitely got this one right.
10. Jeremy Rosado. He fought this thing throughout; never found the heart of this song; and never relaxed into the melody. This was a difficult watch and a difficult listen. He earned my respect though. Jeremy was not after a perfect copy; he went after greatness; attempted some very intricate and difficult runs and transitions. He failed; of course, just doesn’t have the pipes and musical maturity to pull it off, but yes, I believe that, given time and the right mentor (Jimmy Iovine?), he can earn a living in this business.
11. D’Andre Brackensick. This was clearly not the eleventh best performance of the night but America, for some reason, clearly does not like D’Andre, so talent is a non factor in this case. You can’t win if viewers don’t like you and I think he is the most vulnerable to eviction. I think he’s a good guy; a bit vain, but not obnoxiously so, and he did a good job tonight with Master Blaster.
12. Shannon Magrane. This one wandered off track early on and never righted itself. Disappointing really; especially after all that she achieved last week.
13. Elyse Testone. She is a good singer but this was one of the worst picks of the night. I think she got bad advice from Jimmy and Mary J., but to be honest, Greatest Love would have failed her as well. Perhaps there's no one to blame. Elyse and Whitney are oil and water. She was doomed from the start.

[bee stung lips]

Loving me some Deandre. I thought he did that song justice.

[ibot2much]

For making them perform songs that AI always steers the kids away from, the show overall was good. Interesting to see if they stay in the categories I put them in last night---a)potential winner, b) some good performances c) cannon fodder. I don't expect that to happen...there wil be moves up and down all season

[CookieJ]

I think Jermaine has a great voice, but he's not American Idol material. I see him on Broadway. Phillip Phillips is way too one-note and will get really boring really quickly. Erica Van Pelt has unique voice and I hope she can go far, but nothing compares to Jessica's voice so far this season. I also am reminded of the Pia Effect. Just because one has a great voice doesn't make them star material. Jessica has to do something to endear herself to America or she won't stick around. I feel the same way about HeeJun. The guy has a fantastic voice, but his attitude comes across as arrogant and "I don't give a crap". He's more content to make jokes and sarcastic remarks than play to the audience. America is voting now Dude, you have to make US like you.

[jmb]

"13. Elyse Testone. She is a good singer but this was one of the worst picks of the night. I think she got bad advice from Jimmy and Mary J., but to be honest, Greatest Love would have failed her as well. Perhaps there's no one to blame. Elyse and Whitney are oil and water. She was doomed from the start. "

Elyse just does NOT look happy to be there and sucked the life out of the song. She didn't even look happy last week when she made the Top 10. I say put her out of her misery and send her home. She isn't going to win anyways.

Sign me up for the Jessica/Holly/Skylar/Erica band wagon!
I don't particularly like country music but that Skylar can Sing! I think she will go far regardless how she finishes on this show. If Kellie Pickler can do it this girl can. I think she is Dolly & Reba's love child.

[MiaT2]

I missed Joshua, Elise and Jermaine but of those I did see, the girls far exceeded the boys IMO. I thought the best girls were Skylar, Erika and Hollie. You may notice that Jessica is not on my list. The main reason for that is that I felt her song was a note-for-note rendition - right down to the little flutter at the very end exactly.like.Whitney. Sure she hit the notes, but she did nothing interesting or new with the song while the other girls hit all their notes and added some personality to make it their own. Skylar has the most raw talent and ability while Hollie belts those big notes effortlessly. Hollie and Erika have a gorgeous tone in their voices.

However, quite possibly my favorite part of the entire night - Mary J. Blige!!!! She was so awesome as a mentor - singing along and supportive while also being constructive. I wanted to hang out with her!!

I'm guessing Shannon as the girl going home tonight.

[yourefired]

Love Shannon! ♥

Shannon's voice was reminding me of Vanessa Williams in parts. I think she's great. The nerves did get her a bit, but it wasn't like what the judges said. I hope she goes through. She's my favorite girl.

[yourefired]

I like his personality. When he was looking at the clips from backstage and he said "Lawd have mercy" I was dying. He's a funny guy and easy on the eyes. I'm liking him more now that I see that side of him. And the singing was good tonight too.