Dick Clark

America, somebody done told you wrong. If you’re a Colton fan, I get it. If you’re a Skylar fan, I get it. Phillip? Sure. Joshua? Yes. Maybe there’s an argument for Elise somewhere. But With Hollie Cavanagh still on this show, there’s no way that Jessica Sanchez should get the least amount of votes, no matter what. Okay, I could see it if after her performance last week that she got on stage with the Tupac hologram and flipped everyone off. But since that didn’t happen, America, you just screwed up. And my fear is that because you didn’t get your way last week, she’s going to be voted off again Thursday.

Ugh, I hate this show sometimes.

Ryno gave a nice shout out to the guy who Seacrest modeled his career after, Dick Clark. RIP Dick. There’s no American Idol without Dick Clark for sure. In fact, there’s no Ryno Seacrest.

The contestants are singing two songs today. The first one is a post-2000 song and the second is soul song from the past.

Hollie Cavanagh is singing Adele’s Rolling In The Deep. This simply may be because I expect her to do badly, but while it was a pretty darn decent vocal performance, it lacked originality. I will give it to her for her stage antics though. She looked much more confident. It was a good Hollie performance. Steven says it was perfect. Jenny Lo says she did it. Randall says it wasn’t perfect, but it was close to perfect.

Colton Dixon is hitting us with some Lady Gaga. He’s performing Bad Romance. I know I pick on Colton for being an emo-rocker and it’s because I’m not a fan of his style. But since he’s continued to stick around, I’m guessing most are totally fine with it. It was a solid performance, though maybe a bit uninspired compared to his last couple weeks. Randall says it was a smart interpretation. Jenny Lo says it was really good. Steven says to keep taking chances and risks.

Elise Testone is singing No One. She took a fairly dramatic song and made it way more dramatic than necessary. She sat in the middle of the stage and just bent her knees and bounced up and down. I think she tried way too hard with this one. Jenny Lo says she got goose bumps. Steven says he wished she had a better chorus, but she sang her butt off. Randall says it was very good and a great lesson in restraint.

Phillip Phillips is trying to flip an old Usher ballad U Got It Bad. It was a pretty fun interpretation. He even hit the small falsetto parts of the song. I think some of these contestants get a little bit too much credit for flipping a song like that and he may get it here, but it was still pretty interesting. Steven says it was great and he felt like a chump for being surprised. Jenny Lo says it was sexy. Randall says Phillip is a true artist.

Jessica Sanchez is singing the second Alicia Keys song of the night, Fallin’. I usually hate hearing this song on this show, but I’m excited to see what Jessica’s going to do. I think she’s going to compete and sing the hell out of it. And yes, she did. The song didn’t allow her to really get the crowd into it, but it allowed her to show off that voice. Damn. Steven says she released passion. Jenny Lo says she did some vocal juggling. Randall says her talent is so other worldly.

Skylar Laine is also singing Lady Gaga. She’s singing Born This Way, the twangy version. Skylar has some confidence now. She’s walking the stage like she owns it. She was near shouting, but it was still good. She hit a strong note at the end. Jenny Lo says she loved the version and it was perfect. Steven says she’s so good and he really enjoyed it. Randall says he’s so talented and she’s beyond ready.

Joshua Ledet is performing Fantasia’s closing song from when she won season three. I Believe can be strong for him, but it’s not as recognizable as the rest of these songs. Well, he put his everything into that. It still may have been the wrong song, but he put his Joshua into it. Damn. Randall says he’s one of the most truly gifted singers. Jenny Lo says he’s amazing to watch and she feels blessed to watch him. Steven says he could sing the phone book and there’s nothing to say.

Hollie is back singing Son of a Preacher Man. I’ll give it to Hollie. She’s taking her criticism and learning from it. If anything, her confidence is much better and she looks like she knows what she’s doing. She’s still the worst singer left though, and that counts for me. Randall says she worked it out. Jenny Lo says this was better than the first one. Steven says to use her voice and push it over the top.

Colton is singing some EWF for his second song with September. It was interesting, though I’m not sure if it was the right flipping of a song for him. Steven says his voice is more powerful than that song. Jenny Lo says he sounded good, but it wasn’t the perfect performance. Randall says he sounded good, but it wasn’t exciting. I doubt Colton has to worry about being eliminated. America has his back.

Elise might be singing to me with her version of Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On. This was weird. I really love Elise, but she didn’t have enough Marvin in this song for it to completely work. She definitely tried her hardest, but it came off corny. Jenny Lo says she’s not connecting with the audience. Steven says she needs to pick it up a notch. Randall says there’s an easiness to the song that she didn’t pull off.

We go from someone not choosing the right song to someone choosing the perfect song. For his second performance, Phillip is singing In The Midnight Hour. He’s having more fun with this song than maybe anyone else has had with a song so far this year. It was really entertaining and fun to watch. Randall says Phillip is always Phillip. Jenny Lo says he’s spontaneous from the soul. Steven says he was brilliantly awkward. That’s actually the perfect description for Phillip.

Jessica is back with Try a Little Tenderness. She’s really getting her Jennifer Hudson on right now with some of these notes. It took a little while for the song to get going, but by the end of it, I wanted to see her on the stage with Kanye West and Jay-Z. Steven says it’s about stepping out and winning hearts. Jenny Lo says she needs to continue pushing her performances. Randall says to continue to grow the emotion with the audience.

Skylar is singing what? She’s singing I Heard It Through the Grapevine. She may have taken the lead in this race tonight. Talk about confidence. Randall says it was brilliant and she wants it. Jenny Lo says everyone loves her spunkiness. Steven says she’s a wild horse refusing to be tamed.

Joshua is looking to steal Skylar’s crown with A Change Is Gonna Come. He did a great job with it, but it took a little while to get going. It was a great vocal performance, but Skylar takes the night. Steven says his voice climbs into everyone and changes them for that moment. Jenny Lo says to not send this boy home. Randall says it was perfect for him.

And with a shot at The Voice, Randall says that the talent on this show is better than any show on TV.

Sadly, I feel my droopy dog Elise is going home. If she does on Thursday, I might have to pour out a little liquor.

Top 2
1. Skylar
2. Joshua (edges out Phillip by a some chest hair)

Bottom 2
1. Elise
2. Hollie