This week on American Idol, the contestants were granted the privilege of singing songs by their favorite musicians, which made me extremely excited. Not that I don’t enjoy the theme weeks, but there’s something special about when the contestants are allowed to choose freely. We can finally see who they want to be as artists and less restrictions allow room for some extraordinary performances. And with guest mentor Stevie Nicks on board, we certainly weren’t short of any entertainment tonight. But before we get to the show, let’s cue the rabid fangirling at Ryan Seacrest’s “may the odds be ever in your favor” line. Nice, Ryan. Nice.
Colton Dixon – Colton opened the show tonight with Lifehouse’s, ‘Everything.’ And I almost broke down in tears before he even performed. THIS is what I’m talking about when I say that the contestants choosing any song they want to sing is the greatest move the show can make. ‘Everything,’ like Colton said, is his favorite worship song, and it also just happens to be one of my personal favorite songs of all time. I adore Lifehouse. Adore. And when I heard Colton was going to sing this song, I couldn’t contain my happiness. I knew before he even sang that it would be the perfect song for him. And it was. Colton delivered a tremendous and powerful opening to the show, moving him to tears by the end of the song, and probably a whole load of viewers as well. If this is any indication of the type of artist Colton could to be, I’ll be the first on line to buy his record. We need a revival of good Christian contemporary rock music. And I could just see Colton fitting perfectly into that mold.
Skylar Laine – Skylar sang ‘Gun Powder and Lead’ by Miranda Lambert. And she once again proved why she is still a powerful contender in this competition. Skylar has a certain sass and quirk that she brings with her on stage. This girl is just pure country fun. I love when she just jumps around on stage, letting loose. I’m not the biggest fan of country music, but it’s hard not to root for Skylar when she can perform this way.
Up next was a trio performance consisting of Colton, Phillip and Elise singing to numerous Fleetwood Mac hits. They sounded great, although, Phillip was barely audible when trying to harmonize with Colton and Elise.
Heejun Han – Next was Heejun. And let the cringing ensue. Like I said in last week’s post, I love me some Heejun. But I just don’t think his voice is Idol material. This week he chose to sing ‘A Song For You’ by Donny Hathaway. And unlike the swell of excitement I felt at Colton’s song choice, I felt nothing but impending doom at Heejun’s. This is one of my favorite songs ever created. Not only that, but it is ridiculously hard to sing. So I braced myself for the performance. I soon found out, though, that it wasn’t necessary. Heejun actually did good. Not amazing. But very good. I was pleasantly surprised. The judges gave him a standing ovation. Was it deserved? No. But I understand where it was coming from. Heejun put it all on the line tonight to prove to America that he does really want to be in the competition. And for that, I can’t fault him.
Hollie Cavanagh – Hollie sang “Jesus Take The Wheel” by Carrie Underwood. I love this song but I didn’t love it as a song choice for her. Similarly to last week, it was just a bit boring and she didn’t quite live up to her full potential. I keep asking myself why she chooses songs that she can’t really commit to. I want to hear Hollie sing something current and fun. Something she can bring a little personality to on stage.
Deandre Brackensick – Deandre chose to sing ‘Sometimes I Cry’ by Eric Benet. I had been hoping that he would choose to sing ‘This Woman’s Work’ by Maxwell, considering America never got to see the full performance, but I’ll settle for some Eric Benet. And boy, oh boy, did Deandre do the song some justice. He maintained his falsetto throughout the entire song and went higher and higher. It was… how should I say this? Sexy. Just saying that makes me feel like a pedophile. The judges gave Deandre a standing ovation, which again, I feel as though it’s a method to get votes for Deandre since he was in the Bottom Three last week. But since I think this is actually a contestant who should stick around, I’m not complaining. I only hope that American voters will appreciate the song choice. Because it’s been proven time and time again that real, true, and authentic R&B music no longer has a place in this country’s music scene. Let’s see if America has finally decided to embrace this genre of music again.
Jessica Sanchez – Jessica sang ‘Sweet Dreams’ by Beyonce. Joy! A current and relevant pop hit. And what did Jessica do with it? She turned it into a slow, sad, ballad. Basically, everything that was once good about the song was gone. I fear Jessica did this because she has been getting critiques thrown at her that she is only a good singer and doesn’t have her own identity. So she tried to change it up and rearrange a song to prove that she is a real contender and musician. I applaud the effort, but this is just not the type of song that allows for that type of experimentation. I also, once again, noticed the heavy pimping of Jessica’s staging. Jessica sang it phenomenally though, so kudos to her. Still not on the Sanchez bandwagon. I’m just waiting for something special. Something like what I had seen of her during Hollywood week when she sang ‘Doesn’t Matter Anymore’ and I did a double take at her voice. I need to see something like that again. I need her to distinguish herself from just being a good singer.
Time for another group medley. This time it was Deandre, Heejun and Joshua singing Michael Jackson. I loved it! I wanted to get up and dance. Their voices fit perfectly together. But Jennifer did comment that they would have never survived had they auditioned for So You Think You Can Dance instead of American Idol. True words. Luckily, their voices made up for it.
Phillip Phillips – Phillip sang ‘Still Rainin’ by Jonny Lang. Phillip tried to change things up this week by trading in his acoustic guitar for an electric guitar and amp. Once again, the judges showered nothing but praise and gave the third standing ovation of the night. The judges need to understand that if they continually give out standing ovations, the gesture will lose it’s value. That being said, Phillip nailed it. He rocked out like the best of them. And I wholeheartedly agreed with what Stevie Nicks said to him. Phillip will be a star because he does have that something special. And yes, he is damn good looking. I can get away with saying that this time because we’re the same age.
Joshua Ledet – Joshua chose to sing Mariah Carey’s ‘Without You.’ And my jaw immediately hit the floor when I heard that he was attempting it. This is just one of those songs that no one should ever touch because it’s been done to perfection. Joshua’s performance was intense to say the least. Yet again, the judges were on their feet. Seriously? It was good but it was extremely overdone. Joshua has a tendency to scream in his songs. And while that quality is appealing in a gospel song where that level of emotion is needed, it just didn’t fit with this song. This song just needs a nice, smooth, powerful vocal. The type of vocal that only Mariah can pull off.
The next trio performance was of Madonna hits sung by Jessica, Skylar and Hollie. I couldn’t help but feel a pang of annoyance when Hollie started to sing. Why can’t she bring all that sass and fun to her actual performances? I know she has it in her. This performace proved it.
Elise Testone – Elise sang ‘Whole Lotta Love’ by Led Zeppelin. Similarly to Colton’s song choice, my heart leapt with joy as soon as I heard she was going to sing it. It’s one of those rare songs that hardly ever makes it to the Idol stage. Only someone truly bold would ever attempt it. But could Elise pull it off? Yes! She most certainly did. Who knew Elise could rock out like that? Needless to say, Elise received a standing ovation and I was standing along with the judges. I remember when Adam Lambert sang this song on the American Idol stage. He’s a tough act to follow, but Elise completely held her own. She stepped up tonight and I am now officially on the Team Testone.
I think the people in danger of going home tomorrow night are Hollie, Joshua or Heejun. I’d be really surprised if it wasn’t one of these three. I’m excited though. We’re finally getting to the good stuff on Idol. If the rest of the season pans out like how I think it will, this could be one of the most exciting seasons of American Idol yet. And once of the most talented batch of contestants since Season 9.