AI Season 11 - 13 Finalists Compete

First off, I'll say that I correctly predicted all the girls America chose for the Top 10, and actually had two of the Wildcard choices too, though I wasn't sure who would prevail there until after they performed. I was a bit uncertain about the boys, and the results showed that America felt the same way. . . I guess I'm glad in some cases (Heejun) but annoyed in other cases (Jermaine has a cool voice, but I don't see how he'll ever get anywhere in pop), and especially with what the judges did with the Wildcard "fixes" (Deandre and Jeremy).

Steven Tyler's Lichtenstein pants are awesome. Whoever made them is going to get a lot of extra attention for this.

What's weird is that even though I like a lot of people this year, I don't see anyone who stands out as my choice right off. For likely picks, I'd say Colton for his teen appeal, Hollie and Jessica for their powerhouse talent, and Skylar for her firecracker performance skills. But with Skylar I'm a little sad because Lauren Alaina was a bigger talent than Skylar and all she got was second place last year.

I love Joshua Ledet. I think he has a very old-school ('50s-'60s) soul sound. But it's unusual, exceptional. I'm just not sure he'll fit perfectly into this competition to the point where he could win it. He has a great tone and talent for tonight's theme of Stevie Wonder for the boys. His performance is spot-on and reasonably relaxed/easy for this stage of the competition. There wasn't anything extra WOW about it, but it was extremely well done.

I knew exactly what Jennifer meant when she said she wanted to punch him in the auditions. He is that good! He's awesome. And he handled this perfectly. It's definitely all he needed to do to stick with it, for now. But I think soon he'll have to pop more. We'll see how it goes, but I wish him well.

I agree with Jimmy (I often do) that Elise Testone's idea to do "The Greatest Love of All" seemed like a bad idea. It didn't sound good there even when she sang the tiny bit she did. But here arises what I see is a major problem with American Idol taking such young people---how could she not know "I'm Your Baby Tonight"? In the final selections I was literally in tears when the boys said they didn't know "I Only Have Eyes for You." And he (I think it was Phillip who said it) wasn't even ashamed! Sickening.

Elise was one of my favorites by the end of the auditions and finalist stages, and I think the delivery tonight was good at showcasing her voice. But she clearly didn't seem comfortable and passionate about what she was saying and singing in the song. It seemed like she was just doing it. I don't know if it was fair to have her sing a song she didn't want to sing, even if she'd chosen the wrong one to start with. Why didn't they suggest a third option, or something? I don't know. But again, I think it was definitely enough to keep her in for the time being.

Jermaine Jones, the big baby man, is singing higher than he ever has before, and finally I see how he could work in some areas of R & B. He wavered a little, but he sounded good for the most part. He's not my flavor, because in general he still sings deeper than I enjoy hearing. But with this I could hear how he'd be something someone else would like to listen to.

Erika Van Pelt is finally wearing a flattering outfit. I don't know what the stylists did to her in the girls' finals with that sad sack blazer outfit, and the purple strapless affair didn't help much either. But this red dress is just right. Her use of "I Believe in You and Me" seems like it's going to be just right also. I don't like the depths she goes to on some of the words (believe, fool, etc---the low digs she makes), but with the rest of it. she sounds good. And not like she's trying to be Whitney Houston. I like her feeling the song way more than I liked Elise Testone, who didn't seem to feel anything. But her voice didn't seem to quite measure up, even though it was good. I think she could have been a lot more stable and could have pushed and shown a lot more. I didn't feel that way as much when Jennifer said it in the girls' final show, but I agree with her about it tonight.

Colton Dixon has to be careful this week, since Stevie Wonder's usual sound isn't really something that goes with what he does. But tons of people have sung Stevie Wonder songs, and you don't have to do it like Stevie Wonder or even like any of them. Jimmy and Mary gave him good advice, and I hope he takes it.

Somehow it comes off sounding a little '70s Barry Manilow to me with only touches of Thom Yorke or something more modern. The second half was a little rock musical. None of that is too bad, and his voice sounded good, stable and on key. I just don't know if it was perfect to appeal to the kids. I'd say in its way, it tied with Joshua Ledet, but maybe I'd put Joshua a little higher for a solid delivery all around.

Whoo, Shannon Magrane is going with "I Have Nothing." This kind of thing makes me wish they wouldn't do Whitney Houston. I mean, I know why they want to honor her, but yikes, it's scary. And then it makes you sad because you know there's never going to be any more Whitney Houston.

Shannon starts off more like a timid girl on a Broadway stage. I like the styling---very '80s Whitney. I don't like the fact that she looks scared, and I don't like the growl, which Whitney didn't do (the right choice). Also, when I think she's trying to look passionate, she looks angry. Then scared. And I guess she was scared because she was going for the big note again, and she screwed it up. Then she put in more growling, and I don't think she ever fully regained it. This, again, is why they shouldn't take people this young. All along I didn't think Shannon or Eben should get through, because I think they're just too young. There are some people that age who are mature enough to do this, but those two clearly were not, even though in Shannon's case her voice definitely sounds mature most of the time. But I don't think she is old enough to do this properly, and comfortably.

Deandre Brackensick is like a girl in his vanity. It's embarrassing for him, and I don't even think he realizes it. If he's not gay, he's in trouble, because no girl wants that! "Master Blaster" may be too much for him, I think. I don't think he has enough depth to make it through this whole competition. Tonight keeping his hair pulled back was a genius choice to show he's not just a hair flipper. And maybe cutting that complication is what makes it possible for him to work this song as successfully as he does. It's good, and he's pretty on it. I was remarking to my fellows that he should cut that hair as soon as I saw him flinging it around, and it looks like he should, or should at least keep it back.

I totally disagree with Steven that he is anything like Naima, and in fact he's the perfect example of how to do right what she did wrong. He was natural and real and in sync with the song, while she was put-on and uncomfortable to watch. He's won my second or third place guy's spot, which is saying a lot because I haven't liked his personality and didn't agree with the judges giving him a Wildcard spot.

Skylar Laine is one of my favorites even though I don't like the country growl sound and she's more nasal than I like. I love that Mary told her to be softer---it drove her right to a new sound that we haven't gotten to hear before, and I'm excited to hear her "Where Do Broken Hearts Go?" now. Oh, it started off good, giving me goosebumps and a little welling. She went a little off on a note, but she's good. It seems to be the ends of phrases where she gets a little wobbly on the notes. I still don't like the growling and don't understand why she puts it in here. But she's awesome in her ending here. She's much better in the power than the soft singing. She should get some more control there. This was really great performance from her, though not as confident as her last performance in the girls finals. I'd like to hear more of the softer vocals from her, in perfect control.

Heejun Han is hilarious and I love him. Love him! He should have his own TV show. But I'm a little worried about him, because he sometimes doesn't anunciate enough and maybe that's with songs he knows less, which I assume is the case with "All Is Fair in Love." It's not too much of a problem, though. He sounded a little off when he started, flat or too low or something, though it was a whole line so maybe it was hard to catch. He made Stevie Wonder sound more like an adult contemporary ballad, and he continues to be a little to soft and breathy. I agree with Randy that "it wasn't perfect, but it was really good." It definitely puts him above Jermaine, so I hope that's enough.

Oh, I'm so excited about Hollie Cavanagh. She's awesome. I'm still worried about her doing "All the Man the I Need," though I think Mary's advice helped her a lot. But it's another case of nobody can be Whitney. And then you get upset thinking how there's no more Whitney! But I guess there wasn't really a Whitney vocally for a while, which is its own sad thing.

I think Hollie has to be even more confident in herself and her ability. She's strong and steady, but I want her to be almost cocky, because she deserves to feel that way, and I think it would put her over the top. Her delivery was earnest and heartfelt, with a lot of power. I get more of a Celine Dion feeling from her power---the sustained notes rather than undulating melody---than Whitney, but it was a beautiful performance.

J. Lo's Jeremy Rosado should never have gotten through. His voice is okay, but I don't think he should have even made it to the top 24. He's a nice guy, but that counts for nothing. Surprisingly, he sounds on key and even on "Ribbon in the Sky." His voice is all one tone and sadly monochromatic against the lyrical backdrop of rainbow color here. Eh. He was okay, but his voice isn't so special. I think maybe Jennifer listened to too much cheese and she thinks this is quality. Shades of Stefan from last year. For me it was thin and light and not much of anything.

Uh-oh. Jessica Sanchez is doing "I Will Always Love You." She was awesome last week in the girls final, but you have to be more than awesome to do this Whitney style. I love Dolly Parton's version too, which is simple and honest and sweet. But this is supposed to be the Whitney Houston week. Can Jessica pull it off? Maybe so. The quiet a cappella opening was great. She did a little too much vibrato (still, in spite of Jimmy's advice) in the middle bits. And she needs to stop that damn hand flickering on the microphone that they all do. The end was lovely, and I even liked the breath she took at the end drwaing the microphone away. She's not Whitney Houston by any means, but it was extremely good. I think if she'd have ended up doing this closer to the end of the competition, she'd come close.

It's easy to agree with Randy that she's one of the best in the competition. That's obvious. She and Hollie are easily the best female vocalists. I wish they had ended on this instead of something else, as a better Whitney tribute. But no, they have to follow the stupid boy-girl thing and end on a boy.

Phillip Phillips has an obvious choice here with "Superstition." I like his thing, and I don't usually like that jam man with a guitar thing, but sooner or later (preferably sooner) we're going to have to see him break out of it a little. It's hard with him, because he performs like a professional, and I can easily see people going to see him perform this exactly as he did. But in judging his vocal delivery, he wobbled at a few points, and it was fairly predictable. It was fine, but nothing new or surprising or especially incredible. But apt, professional, and sounding good. It just sounded like everything else he's already done (except "In the Air Tonight was a little more inventive than the rest).

I don't know what Jennifer and Randy was talking about with "interpretation" and "reinterpretation" here. I was more on Steven bus with the "you just are," and I don't think the Phillips version was that far from the Stevie version. The most important thing is that Phillip Phillips has to be himself expanding to make it on this show. If he is only going to stay what he is, he's going to be back doing that own thing again. I think it's likely that will happen, which is why in spite of his talent, I don't see him as a winner in this competition.

I agree with Randy's top picks and Jennifer's choice of the girls as tops. I don't know what Steven was doing saying Elise was in danger, because she was miles better than almost all the boys. Unfair!

Taking into account the fact that they're taking the bottom boy and the bottom girl to an elimination round, I've done rankings for boys and girls separately, and together to show the usual fair play way. I don't know why they're separating the sexes, because it shouldn't have anything to do with who carries on. . . except I think they know they have some sluggard boys and for some reason, they want to keep them even though they shouldn't stay.

Chicks:

1. Jessica Sanchez

2. Hollie Cavanagh

3. Skylar Laine

4. Elise Testone

5. Erika Van Pelt

6. Shannon Magrane

Fil-as:

1. Joshua Ledet

2. Deandre Brackensick

3. Colton Dixon

4. Heejun Han

5. Phillip Phillips

6. Jermaine Jones

7. Jeremy Rosado

Everybody get down:

1. Jessica Sanchez

2. Hollie Cavanagh

3. Skylar Laine

4. Joshua Ledet

5. Deandre Brackensick

6. Elise Testone

7. Erika Van Pelt

8. Colton Dixon

9. Heejun Han

10. Phillip Phillips

11. Shannon Magrane

12. Jermaine Jones

13. Jeremy Rosado