American Idol 11 - Top 10 Perform - Live Blog Recap
Tonight, the Top 10 of American Idol 11 take on the Billy Joel songbook. The mentor is P. Diddy. Come on, Nigel. How about a theme from the past decade? Maybe, guilty pleasures or songs by former Idols. Anything!
I predict some "Piano Man," "New York State of Mind," and "Uptown Girl" will be definite song choices. UPDATE: Well, here's the song list. What do you think?
Don't forget to join the Office Pool as well as the side office pool down the right side of the blog.
There have been quite a few interviews with Zap2it to come out this evening. One of which is with Colton Dixon. In the interview, he declares that tonight could be a huge night for him. Hmm. We shall see.
Anyways, I will be live blogging the events of the night right here. Come back soon and often to check out my thoughts on the talent. Fingers crossed for Elise and Erika, baby!
This...is AMERICAN IDOL!!!
"For the 10 that remain, it's time to look ahead!"
For each contestant, Tommy Hilfiger and Soyon An gives some fashion advice.
Deandre Brackensick is up first! He's singing "Only the Good Die Young." Hmm. Jimmy tells him to look at J.Lo during the first part of the song. Oh geez. Oh, some MJ shadow lighting. There's some classic '90's color action going on. I love this song, but I'm not totally sold on this performance. It seems...middle-of-the-road at best.
The judges, of course, just love the heck out of him...Check out his full performance HERE.
Next is Erika Van Pelt! She's singing "New York State of Mind." OMG. I love this song! She gets the second death spot?! Ugh. She's standing by the piano. I'm really loving this. Her bluesy alto is perfect for this arrangement. OMG her hair! I love it! Her vocals are like butter. I just hope America gets her. She seems so confident and poised on the stage tonight.
They love what she did, but thinks she could have added even more to it. Check out her full performance HERE.
Joshua Ledet is up! Can he outdo himself after last week's stellar performance? He's singing "She's Got a Way." He's never heard this song before. He's seated on a chair center stage. He seems a little tentative on the first verse. His vocals are pretty spot on, but so far, it isn't better than last week. This theme isn't doing anything for these kids. Midway through, he starts bringing it to church! He gets a choir! I love that he can take any freaking song and make it a gospel song. I'm not a fan of that type of the music, but kudos to him.
J.Lo doesn't want to say anything negative about him. She wanted him to be more connected to the lyrics, and oh, she drops "baby" in there. Check out his full performance HERE.
Skylar Laine takes the stage! She's star struck. She's singing "Shameless." In her session, she was pushing too much. She countrifies BILLY! She's seated on the edge of the stage. She makes her way through the mosh pit and onto the stage. Wow. Her style and her voice are so specific. It's like this song is hers. She's really laying it out there. GO GIRL!
Randy thought her intro was pitchy at the beginning. "It was pretty good," he says. J.Lo calls her fearless. Check out her full performance HERE.
Elise Testone is next! Why is she smack dab in the middle?! UGH. She's singing "Vienna." Oh. I love this song! The arrangement is pretty sparse, which lets her vocals really shine. Her bluesy and raspy voice is great for this. She then makes her way to the stage in a gorgeous red dress. She looks so classy. She really is rocking this tonight. GO ELISE!!!
The judges give her a standing O!!! HECK YES!!! Check out her full performance HERE.
Next we have Phillip Phillips! He's singing "Movin' Out." He has his guitar in his session. Diddy advises him to go without it, to take a risk. He needs to groove on this song. He has his guitar! Well, at least he stands by his choices. His hacking growl isn't bothering me as much tonight...until midway through. Hmm. He is certainly grooving his little body up there, but I'm not jumping up and down over this. He's done better.
The judges absolutely love him. Randy calls him an unbelievably talented artist. Check out his full performance HERE.
Hollie Cavanagh is up! She's singing "Honesty." Another ballad? OK, Hollie, girl, please. She does look glam though, I give her that. Her vocals are superb as always, but I predict an early ouster for this girl. Why isn't anyone telling this girl NOT to sing a ballad...again. Sure, she has a great set of pipes...but, I wanna see this girl rock the stage. She's only 18, and she should be showing her youth. With that said, that was "beautiful."
Steven said it was pitchy. J.Lo loves the sound of her voice, but said she has to nail those notes every single time. Check out her full performance HERE.
Let's go Heejun Han! He's singing "My Life." Ohhh. OMG OMG OMG FAKE OUT! He acted like he pianist messed up, but NO. Way to pull the comedy card into his performance. That should get him some votes. Sometimes, I'm not sure how seriously he's taking this competition. This is way too laid back for me. I give him points for going uptempo this week. Overall, meh.
I just don't want someone like Erika to go home because the judges love, love, love this guy. Sigh. Check out his full performance HERE.
Jessica Sanchez is up! She's singing "Everybody Has a Dream." Diddy said he doesn't believe her when she's singing this song and that she's over singing it. Less is more. Bathed in red light, she takes to the mic. This girl, man, she has some chops. I'm glad Jimmy and Diddy advised her about connecting to her material. That's the only thing that's missing from her until now. She gets a special light show behind her at the crescendo of the song. Pimping her to win? Heh. I thought that was terrific, especially when she hit those last notes. Powerhouse!
Steven says she's past judging. Wait...what?! J.Lo said this was her defining moment. Check out her full performance HERE.
Colton Dixon gets the pimp spot! He's singing "Piano Man." OH. Great song. He's back at the piano. WGWP. Heh. I dig his artistry. The piano is RED. Sometimes his vocals are a bit whiny, but I'm really liking this. It is a bit sleepy, however, it really highlights Colton as an artist. Midway through, the drums kick in. That was good, certainly one of the better performances.
J.Lo had goosies. They want a girl to win, but yet they pimp the hell out of the guys. Check out his full performance HERE.
Well, another lame theme week is in the books. Here's my breakdown:
Top 3: Elise, Erika, Jessica
Middle: Hollie, Colton, Phillip, Skylar
Bottom 3: Heejun, Deandre, Joshua
If America is smart, it will NOT send three ladies to the bottom three. Sigh.
Who was your favorite tonight?