American Idol 2014 – Live Blog and Recap – Top 11 Results – Video
Welcome to the live blog and recap of American Idol XIII, "Top 11 Results"! Which singer will be in danger of leaving the competition? It's a new time for the results show!
Rickey.org readers predict it will be the end of the road for Ben Briley. The country singer received 28.92% of the vote, which suggests he'll be the one singing for the save tonight. Joining him in the bottom 3 of the poll is MK Nobilette with 25.32% of the vote, and Majesty Rose with 17.22% of the vote. Will MK be safe? Will Majesty and Ben really make their first bottom 3 appearances? It's still not too late to add your prediction, so head on over and vote!
Credit: FOX
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Recap
-My mother watches the show and told me she predicts it's the end for "Jay Leno," which I guess means Dexter. But looking at the recap from last night, I'm having serious doubts. I think Dexter might end up being this season's "suspiciously popular" contestant. This, of course, is different from the "villain" of the season, in that, while the "suspiciously popular" contestant continues to survive each week, he/she isn't necessarily untalented. It's the difference between Syesha Mercado and Sanjaya Malakar.
-Ryan kicks things off by saying tonight's outcome might surprise us, which is such an Uncle Nigel thing to say. This is such an even competition, in my mind, that "surprising bottom 3" could mean damn near anyone. Well, except for Alex.
POST-SHOW RECAP
-On the limo ride home, Jena feigns annoyance at Keith for botching her name again, while MK is amused that Harry actually signed all the copies of the Hope Floats DVDs. Caleb notes that while J-Lo and Keith have no trouble giving a standing O, Harry just "cannot get his ass up." But Malaya observes that when Harry likes a performance, he cracks a little smile, and that's how you know you've done a good job. I've long been a proponent of not handing out standing ovations. These are still contestants on a singing shows. As fantastically as they might sing, I don't think anyone here is in "standing O" territory yet, and Harry is right to withhold that reaction so that it means something if/when he decides to give it.
RESULTS PT. 1
-CJ, Caleb, and Dexter go to get their results. Ryan notes that a spot on the summer tour is on the line, which I guess means last year's low ticket sales didn't sway them on doing a tour at all. At the very least, I'm happy for the contestants, since it means extra revenue and performing experience, even if the shows don't sell all that much.
-We get recaps of the performances, and the big takeaway here is that each of the three men is happy with his performance.
-Ryan reads the results...
CALEB JOHNSON is safe!
CJ HARRIS is safe!
DEXTER ROBERTS is safe!
-So no bottom three yet.
-Before we head to break, Ryan asks if we remember Munfarid Zaidi. Well, of course we do, Idol! (Not that your shoddy editing helped.) Ryan says that Harry Connick Jr.'s performance tonight will be dedicated to him. Um...okay?
CONTESTANTS AS KEITH
-We get a reprise of the contestant impersonations, this time of the judges. Everyone does their impression of Keith, and it's kind of cute, although the only person who actually comes somewhat close to Keith's accent is Jena.
HARRY CONNICK JR.
-Keith and Jennifer give a charming, though pre-written (of course), introduction to Harry's performance. It's not so much what they said, but the sincerity and respect with which they said it. It's evident just how much these two respect Harry, and how much they just plain like him.
-Harry sings a medley of two of his new songs, "One Fine Thing" and "Come By Me". And yeah, I kind of wish we had a crooner like this among the contestants. Someone who doesn't need to do runs or belt it out. Harry is a remarkably subtle vocalist, and it's just a pleasure to listen to. His skill is just so effortless. Case in point, his piano skills. Seriously, his fingers just dance across the keys, it's crazy. And the full backing band gives it an upbeat Louisiana feel to it that makes this one of the most fun performances on a results show in ages. But then, Harry is just my kind of singer, singing just my kind of music. So I totally understand if this wasn't everyone's bag. But there was literally nothing about this that I didn't love.
-Actually, scratch that. I found myself slightly annoyed that after all that talk of dedicating the performance to Munfarid, we heard nothing about him again. Was he in the audience? Was he even in the building? I looked away once or twice to type, so I might have missed a brief crowd shot. But I didn't see anything, so if he wasn't even there, why bring him up at all? Munfarid is pretty much The Contestant That Editing Forgot.
[HD] Harry Connick Jr.. - Medley - American... by IdolxMuzic
CONTESTANTS AS HARRY
-The contestants provide their impressions of Harry Connick Jr., and it's positively SCARY how good Sam Woolf's impression is. Seriously, he has his voice and cadence down pat! I was also charmed by Caleb's impression, as he basically just croons out Harry's name. When we come back, Ryan teases Harry about Dolphin Tale, before asking if he was nervous performing in front of the contestants. He says he never really gets nervous, so he wasn't nervous tonight in front of the contestants. This prompts Ryan to bring up one particular contestant from Harry's past...
-Aaaaaaand now we have our Munfarid mention! Glad to see he wasn't forgotten. Ryan parts the Idol doors as Munfarid walks out in a suit, and Harry rushes over to him and scoops him up. Harry asks Munfarid if he wants to sing while being scooped, or if he'd like to stand. "I think you know the answer to that question," Munfarid says, as he begins belting out Harry's own "Every Man Should Know." WHY WAS HE NOT PUT THROUGH?! WHAT THE HELL! Even Harry wonders why Munfarid isn't in Hollywood!
RESULTS PT. 2
-Ben remains upbeat about his performance, while MK feels she proved that she wants to be here. Majesty was simply happy to sing such a popular song, and Malaya is happy that her performance went over so well.
-Ryan gets to the results...
MALAYA WATSON is safe!
MK NOBILETTE is safe! (YES!)
BEN BRILEY and MAJESTY ROSE are in the Bottom 3! (OMG!)
-So Rickey.org readers nailed that one. Damn, I didn't even believe that would happen. Not BOTH of them. So who's the third person rounding out the bottom three? And does Ben Briley go home like our readers predict?
CONTESTANTS AS J-LO
-Back from break with the contestants offering up their impressions of Jennifer, and I'm immediately charmed by Malaya's J-Lo dancing. That girl has such an infectious personality that it's hard not to love her, even if I'm not always crazy about her performances some weeks. Sam also looks pretty silly in the J-Lo wig, although he nails her overuse of the word "baby".
MALI MUSIC
-I've never heard of this act before, but apparently J-Lo is the one who suggested him to the producers, as we continue the tradition of each week featuring a different results show performer suggested by one of the judges.
-Mali Music both sings and raps, which already makes him a versatile performer. But the kicker is that he's really damn good at both. His single, "Beautiful," is really catchy and heartfelt. It's also got a bit of a groove to it, particularly once he gets behind the piano and starts rocking out. I was really impressed with this, and I'm definitely looking him up on iTunes as soon as this show is over. Just a really great performance.
[HD] Mali - Beautiful - American Ido 13 by IdolxMuzic
-Ryan says we're going to get an exclusive preview of J-Lo's new song, called "I Luh You Papi," which I hate already on grammatical grounds. It's not the most annoying song J-Lo has ever done, but I hope that if she's performing on the finale, she does something else. Jen is a lovely woman and a great dancer, but I don't think I've ever heard a song of hers I liked.
RESULTS PT. 3
-Randy notes that Sam needs to get more comfortable onstage, while Jessica talks about how her timing with the band was off. Randy feels her lackluster performance will hurt her with the voters tonight. As for Alex, Randy feels he's "everything an artist should be." Alex is touched that Harry said he's proud of him, given the comments he received last week. Jena is overcome with excitement over J-Lo saying she was the best performance of the night. Randy says he felt like a proud parent, watching Jena.
JESSICA MEUSE is safe!
ALEX PRESTON is safe!
JENA IRENE is safe!
SAM WOOLF is in the Bottom 3! (SHOCKER!)
-SO GLAD that Jena is safe, and not really as surprised as I probably should be about Sam. Teen girls can vote infinitely anymore, and Sam is a guy whose stock has dropped like a hot rock over the last three weeks, so I'm not even sure I'd be that surprised to see him sent home. If so, I think it'd be one of the quickest falls from grace in Idol history, as Sam seemed like a sure-fire Top-Sixer, at least. Or rather, it seemed that way when the competition started. If he's the bottom vote-getter, though, I'd be genuinely surprised if the judges dusted off the Save. Granted, it wouldn't be the earliest they've ever used it, as Casey Abrams was saved at Top 11 in Season 10. But that could create another Pia situation. So yeah, this could be a mess if it's not handled correctly.
FINAL RESULTS
-J-Lo explains that she feels America voted based on what they saw, and while she doesn't agree with the result, she understands it.
-Ryan announces the first result...
SAM WOOLF is safe!
-Ryan declares that the vote was the closest of the season so far, as only .07% separated these two contestants. The final result...
MAJESTY ROSE is safe!
BEN BRILEY received the fewest votes!
-Ben sings for the save, and of course, he sings "Stars" and I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! I JUST CAN'T TAKE IT! Seriously, the boner this show seems to have for Grace Potter and the Nocturnals is unlike anything I've ever seen. Sure, he sings it well, but come on, Ben. Really? "Stars" is your choice?
-Keith says he wishes they'd have seen more of an artistic quality from Ben, but they don't feel they've gotten enough from him at this stage. They like him, but unfortunately, they won't be using the Save.
BEN BRILEY is eliminated from AMERICAN IDOL!
-After Ben's farewell video, including his own awkward sounding (and far too muffled, in the sound engineering department) cover of "Breakaway," his photo is dimmed from the Idol arena.
Final Results & Elimination (Top 11) - American... by IdolxMuzic
-Ryan announces that next week's theme will be BILLBOARD HITS. Hopefully, they mean stuff from today and not the hits of yesteryear. I love a classic as much as the next guy, but this show needs more current themes.
-So what did you think of the result? Did you agree with the bottom 3? Would you have used the save? Sound off in the comments!
Until next week, thanks for hanging out!