American Idol 2014 – Live Blog and Recap – Top 12 Results – Video
Welcome to the live blog and recap of American Idol XIII, "Top 12 Results"! Which singer will sing for the Save?
Rickey.org readers predict that tonight's bottom 3 will be MK Nobilette, Emily Piriz, and CJ Harris! MK is predicted to leave the competition tonight, having garnered 32.4% of the poll vote, followed by Emily Piriz with 19.5%. CJ Harris finishes third in the poll with 16.03% of the vote. However, it's still not too late to add your prediction, so head on over and vote!
Credit: FOX
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Recap
-We open with a video of each of the Top 12 contestants singing "Home" by Phillip Phillips, and some sound better than others, clearly. Alex Preston and Majesty Rose, in particular, sound terrific. It's a fun little video, although I'm getting weary of how the show spams the song, as if relieved to have another success to hang its hat on. With that said, I did find it cute that the crowd was singing along.
-Ryan introduces the judges, and I have no idea what the hell J-Lo is wearing. Looks like a skirt/shorts combo that's so short she might as well have not even bothered. She's, like, 90% legs in that outfit. Phillip Phillips is here to perform, as is Kodaline, continuing in Idol's "one alumnus, one obscure act" approach to the results show, although I doubt it'll last once the results shorten to a half-hour in a few weeks.
POST-SHOW RECAP
-The finalists chat in the limo, with Emily's dancing, Caleb's collapse, and Jessica's sharpness. Majesty wishes the judges would just send them to a class, since she just doesn't understand their inconsistent critiques about sharpness. MK encourages everyone by saying that if the judges didn't like them, they wouldn't be here. Majesty notes that while they're here, they're a family, declaring this their "home away from home."
-Back in the studio, Harry defends himself by saying he's been hired as a judge, and has a very short window of time to offer critiques that will help them. "I'm not gonna belabor the fact that you're great," Harry says, adding that most of them are grownups and don't need to hear it, they need constructive criticism. Harry says this is the best group of talent since the first season, but that wasn't in evidence last night. Harry throws shade at Randy's mentoring approach by saying, "I'm a judge! I can't fraternize with you."
Harry Defends His Judging Style - American Idol 13 by IdolxMuzic
-Ryan throws to a video from Drew Brees, calling Harry out for being too harsh on the contestants, but applauds him on having fun. Harry is positively stoked by the video, smling like a little kid who's just been taken to the Toys R Us in Times Square. He makes a good point though, by saying that if Drew throws a bad pass, his coach isn't going to tell him how handsome he is. He's going to work with him on improving.
-And now it's time for...
RESULTS, PT. 1
-In the backstage recap video, Emily feels she did her best with her performance, while Randy tells Sam it's "go big or go home" (a phrase that needs to be retired from reality television along with "I'm not here to make friends"). Jessica is discouraged by the response to her performance, while Ben is determined to move forward despite the bad reviews.
-Ryan cuts right to the chase...
EMILY PIRIZ is in the Bottom 3!
-Sounds about right, given how last night's performance went. Rickey.org readers are 1/3 so far! Two more to go.
-Back from break with a picture of Keith as a kid, when he formed his own one-man band, Rock Fever. He painted the band name on the side of the garage against the expressed wishes of his father. Kind of a pointless video, but I guess it ties into the theme of Home? Either way, it's cute nonetheless.
PHILLIP PHILLIPS
-The introductory video, in which "Home" is declared an "anthem for the entire nation," seems a bit much. But it's intriguing, as it shows Phillip hard at work in the studio, working on his sophomore album. He talks about how blessed he is to have received the opportunity Idol gave him, and he intends to work hard on making the album everything it can be.
-Phillip performs his new single, "Raging Fire", and he somehow sounds even more like Dave Matthews now than he did when he was actually on the show. Not that this is a complaint, since it suits his style perfectly. Of course, I imagine if he were a contestant, Harry would be up his ass about how frequently he falls out of tune during this vocal. But I find the song so damn catchy that I hardly notice, and barely care at all even when I do. His songs are always so anthemic, which I suppose proves the point the video was making about "Home" as an anthem for the nation. That drum section in the bridge is just so terrific, and it has Emily singing along and the judges giving a standing O, even from Harry (which I don't think happened last week for Candice Glover).
-Added plus: Phillip's got serious "boogie foot" going on, moving his left foot along with the beat like he's about to start gliding across the stage.
-Phillip talks about going on tour with John Mayer and Bruce Springsteen, and it's an endearing little moment, as he gets flustered even talking about them, as if he still can't believe how far he's come.
[HD] Phillip Phillips - Raging Fire - American... by IdolxMuzic
-Back from break with Harry talking about the song that reminds him of home, "When the Saints Go Marching In". It's the first song he learned on piano, and reminds him of days in the French Quarter.
RESULTS, PT. 2
-In the backstage video, Dexter is thrilled with how well his performance went. Jena also feels her performance went well, despite criticism that she hasn't come far enough out of her shell. Alex takes the criticism by saying he puts his own twists on songs because if he does each song straight, it reminds him too much of karaoke. Majesty Rose, meanwhile, tears up backstage when talking about how the performance was the culmination of a very emotional day.
DEXTER ROBERTS is safe!
MAJESTY ROSE is safe!
-Ryan then muddies things up by saying, "Alex, Jena. You two will have to head to the stools because you are in the bottom 3." Alex looks terrified and confused, until Ryan clarifies and lets Alex know he's safe. So Ryan was actually saying, "Jena, you TOO will have to head to the stools because you are in the bottom 3." He was singling out Jena but made it sound like he was including Alex, and it confused the hell out of me. Long story short...
ALEX PRESTON is safe!
JENA IRENE is in the bottom 3!
-Well, Rickey.org readers missed Jena Irene, but they might still wind up getting the right result if MK rounds out the bottom 3 and is sent home.
KODALINE
-In much the same way Jake Bugg's appearance last week was all Keith's doing, this week's special guest is at Randy's suggestion. He introduces the band by talking about how they're a big group across the pond, and are likely about to explode stateside. Ryan jokes that, with an introduction like that, Randy could probably host this show and OH MY GOD PLEASE NO, DON'T EVEN JOKE ABOUT THAT S***!
-They sing "All I Want," which is a song someone really should do this season. It's such a gorgeous song and an absolute favorite of mine right now. The performance might be a bit of a snoozer to some, but this is totally in my wheelhouse. Full disclosure: I may or may not be a hipster.
Kodaline - All I Want - American Idol 13 by IdolxMuzic
-Back from break, and J-Lo talks about "Saturday in the Park" by Chicago as the song that reminds her of home. I didn't know her birthday is in July! So is mine! This is now two things we have in common, other than both being Puerto Rican.
RESULTS, PT. 3
-The backstage video recaps Malaya's performance, and they just played the incredibly sharp parts. Man, this grates on me something fierce. Meanwhile, MK refutes Harry's notion that she doesn't want to be here, saying she wants to be here more than anything and will work as hard as she needs to in order to stay. CJ and Caleb, meanwhile, are both stoked with the positive reviews.
-Ryan reads the results...
CALEB JOHNSON is safe!
CJ HARRIS is safe!
MALAYA WATSON is safe!
MK NOBILETTE is in the Bottom 3!
-I'll be floored if it's anyone other than MK, and that's disappointing, to me. I voted for her, but I don't think audiences are really gravitating towards her. And I'm not sure they're wrong not to, given the lifelessness of her performances the past two weeks. Still, she has a better voice than at least two other people in the competition, and she has all the potential in the world to become the most exciting contestant in the competition. I'd love to see her stay, but I just don't expect her to, unfortunately.
-Back from break with...
FINAL RESULTS
-Ryan asks Keith about what MK needs to do to gain momentum in the competition, and he says it's all about connecting.
-Results time...
JENA IRENE is safe!
MK NOBILETTE is safe!
EMILY PIRIZ received the fewest votes and will sing for the Save!
-MK is STUNNED. Seriously, I haven't seen a contestant look that shocked to be saved since Katharine McPhee outlasted Chris Daughtry. Or maybe when Sanjaya's jaw dropped in confusion when he realized he wasn't going home after "Steppin' Out With My Baby".
-Emily sings "Stars" by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals AND WHEN CAN WE BE FREE OF THIS SONG?! With that said, she sings it well. She starts crying midway through, but soldiers on despite the tears, and even hits the majority of the notes. Unfortunately, the judges don't appear to be talking over a decision, meaning their minds are all but made up already.
-J-Lo lets slip that it's not unanimous, spoiling Harry's announcement that they will not be using the save. However, Harry still takes way too long to actually relay the result.
EMILY PIRIZ is eliminated from American Idol!
-Her farewell video is Emily singing a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "Breakaway," and my enthusiasm last week over each contestant singing his or her own farewell song has been dimmed by the realization that they'll all be singing the same damn song. Blech.
Final Results & Elimination (Top 12) - American... by IdolxMuzic
-Ryan reveals that next week is "Songs from the Cinema," which is always a theme that has more potential than is ever realized, save for one or two song choices. But I don't think they've ever done it with this many people still left in the competition. And this is a group with riskier, more out-of-left-field song choices (last night's show notwithstanding). So count me among the excited.
So what do you think of the result? Was this the right bottom 3? Did the right singer go home? Were the judges right not to use the save? Sound off in the comments! I'll continue adding videos as the night rolls on, so keep refreshing!
Until next week, thanks for hanging out! It's been fun chilling with you all, as always.