Mentored by Jimmy Iovine and the very talented Mary J. Blige -- the top 7 guys performed songs by the great Stevie Wonder and the top 6 girls performed songs by the late great Whitney Houston.
And it is no surprise that Ryan Secrest announces yet another American Idol "twist". America's votes will determine the bottom guy and the bottom girl and then the "judges" will decide from the two who stays and who goes.
So here's how the night went:
Joshua Ledet sings one of my favorite Stevie Wonder songs, "I Wish". I liked the upbeat song for him. He did a great job.
Elise Testone sings a classic Whitney Houston song, "I'm Your Baby" and I thought it was good, but the judges didn't like it as much as I did. I can appreciate her no excuses comments. I hope that she makes it through.
Jermaine Jones sings a song that I've not heard before called "Knocks Me Off My Feet". What a great performance. I'm a huge fan of Jermaine and I, too, am so glad he got a second chance on the show after being initially cut from the top 24. I think Mary J. Blige is giving some really cool mentoring advice. I'm a fan of hers too.
Ericka Van Pelt sings "I Believe in You and Me" and I loved it! A real "meat & potatoes" performance by Ericka. Great job!
Colton Dixon sings "Lately" and I was pretty impressed.
Shannon Magrane sings a big Whitney Houston song in "I Have Nothing". I thought she was okay, but the judges were united in saying that they thought that her nerves got the best of her in tonight's performance.
DeAndre Brackensick sings an upbeat "Master Blaster" and I loved his performance. He brought great energy.
Skylar Laine sings "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" and I loved her country flavored take on Whitney's song. I thought it was a terrific performance.
Heejun Han sings "All in Love Is Fair". It's sometimes hard to take Heejun seriously because he is such a jokester, but I thought he had a great performance. I think that he has a fun personality and he is a wonderful singer and artist as well. He's proving that he can be both. I loved that he signed his photo for Jimmy Iovine and Mary J. Blige.
Hollie Cavanagh sings "All the Man That I Need" and I loved her performance. She wasn't on my radar during the auditions, but she certainly is now. Great job.
Jeremy Rosado sings "Ribbon in the Sky". Aka, Jear Bear, does a wonderful job. He received a mixed review from the judges with of course JLO singing his priases as usual and Randy being the most critical. I'm siding with JLO and Steven on this one. I enjoyed Jeremy's performance.
Jessica Sanchez sings Whitney's signature song, "I Will Always Love You"and wow that was just awesome. Randy is right, this is a difficult song to sing and at 16 she did a really great job with it.
Phillip Phillips sings "Superstition" and I thought it was the best performance of the night. Awesome job.
Here are my favorite performances of the night: Phillip Phillips, Jessica Sanchez, Ericka Van Pelt, Skylar Laine, DeAndre Brakensick, Joshua Ledet and Hollie Cavanaugh and Jermaine Jones.
But I thought everyone did a wonderful job and America has a really difficult decision to make. Best of luck to all the Idol contestants.
And that's my Recap. Keep on Rocking AI . . .
Wasn't Mary J Blige a fantastic mentor? I think she really helped some of these guys out. Overall, some good performances. I like the "twist" and can't wait to see what happens tonight.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recap!
Hi Annie, I totally agree that Mary J. was a fantastic mentor and helped some of the contestants to improve their performances. I also like the twist because sometimes the popular vote can be a little iffy on the show. And I just the east coast feed and found out the Jeremy was eliminated. That's too bad. He may have been one of the weaker boys to perform but if Shannon instead of Ericka would've been in the bottom for the girls there's no question that Jeremy would have stayed and Shannon gone. I'm really surprised that Ericka was the bottom for the girls.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your recap comments too. Can't wait to watch Mary J. perform tonight but not looking forward to seeing Jeremy's farewell. :(
Thanks Annie.
I agree that Shannon was the weakest of all and was surprised that she wasn't at the bottom for the girls. I have a feeling she will go home soon anyway.
ReplyDeleteMary J was awesome! She's amazing.
Oh, something I forgot to mention. For years now, the AI judges have been telling contestants not to try to do Whitney songs because they can't live up to the originals. I thought it was kinda funny that they made them all do it this time!
Hi Annie, you are right. Usually the judges will criticize them for selecting a Whitney song because Whitney was one of a kind. Maybe seeing them sing her songs (some of whom did it so well) that it will change their perspective a little.
ReplyDeleteThanks Annie. Have a great weekend!