Tonight the Top 3 will perform for two(!) hours as we get closer and closer to the finale. Phillip, Jessica and Joshua each had the super emotional home town visits in the past week, and tonight we’ll see footage (which I will not be recapping) as well as three performances from each contestant. Round 1 songs will be the judges’ choice, Round 2 songs will be chosen by the contestants, and Round 3 songs are up to Jimmy Iovine. At this point in the competition, we tend so see a bit more favoritism (if that's even possible now) given the songs picked for the contestants. Perhaps they will all be on an equal playing field tonight...
Contestant: Joshua Ledet
Song: “I’d Rather Go Blind” by Etta James (Randy introduces it as “I’d Rather Be Blind”)
My recaps are meaningless for Joshua. The man spits gold, and the judges will stand. As always, I am listening contently at the start, captivate by his voice for the first three quarters of the song, and then he loses me. This is only one performance though, and I will keep an open mind for him going into rounds 2 and 3.
Judges’ Remarks: Standing ovation. J.Lo says the judges struggled picking a song for him, but notes "we fed you what we knew you would feed back to us." That does not make for a pretty mental picture. Steven sticks to his 2011 script and says the performance was beautiful. Randy asks "why fix what's not broken?" then tells Joshua this was another amazing performance.
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Contestant: Jessica Sanchez
Song: “My All,” by Mariah Carey (J.Lo’s pick)
Jessica is center stage in a very fancy, classy dress. Between that and the song content, they seem to be making her much older than she is (I thought we were playing up the "she's only 16!" bit?). Her lower register is rough, and though she is incredibly talented, I think this song may have been too big for her. I'm not sure any of the judges will admit Jessica was steered wrong on this song though.
Judges’ Remarks: Randy thinks it’s “perfectly the right song.” Randy also worked with Mariah. He then blows my mind, saying “this was the best a Mariah song was ever performed on TV.” I hope Mariah has him on speed dial. Steven says he hopes Jessica gets used to encores because she will be the last one standing. Whoa. He’s going to have to think hard about that statement when he gives Joshua a standing ovation again in about 15 minutes. Were they hearing the same song I was hearing?
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Contestant: Phillip Phillips
Song: “Beggin,” Madcon's version (Steven’s pick)
P squared and his gray t-shirt are backed by a full band for this performance, and he looks incredibly comfortable with the song choice. Phillip does switch up the melody, however (strange), and this is probably the craziest he has gone on a song in a while. Welcome back, angry forehead vein! Nicely done.
Judges’ Remarks: J.Lo says Phillip is funny because he messed with the melody, but the performance was great. Steven says “when you’re facing the sun, the shadows fall behind you.” He also says Phillip could be a “new age Boss”...meaning Springsteen. That's QUITE a compliment. Randy has already tried to interject several “yo’s” at this point, and he notifies us that we were at the Phil Phillips concert (because Phillip performing live on stage was not a clear indicator).
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Contestant: Joshua Ledet
Song: “Imagine,” by John Lennon
This song has been covered a few times on Idol - David Archuleta’s comes to mind as one of my favorite Idol renditions (think less of me if you like - the kid has talent). While I'm not sure Joshua's rendition will become my new fave, this is absolutely a song that can be gospel-y. Scaled back Joshua is my favorite Joshua, and I really enjoy this performance.
Judges’ Remarks: No standing?!?!?! This was better than the first song for sure. Now I'm just confused. J.Lo calls it a pulled back and controlled performance. She notes that there a three different voices in this finale (didn’t realize we were there yet), but calls his voice special. Randy asks Joshua why he chose the song, and Joshua wanted to deliver the message. He also heard the song playing in the car right around the time he needed to pick a song.
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Contestant: Jessica Sanchez
Song: “Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing,” by Aerosmith
Choosing an Aerosmith song is gusty in the semi-finals. This is a good rendition – accompanied by strings without the rock edge to it. I think Lauren Alaina slayed this song last year, but Jessica hits some great notes at the end, and I definitely prefer this performance to her first one.
Judges’ Remarks: Steven stands for her. He thanks the song writer, as well as Jessica for singing it well. Randy says it started a little slow (it’s a ballad), but when she got to the end, he was like “yo, whoa.”
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Contestant: Phillip Phillips
Song: “Disease,” by Matchbox Twenty
P squared switches back to the sultry Phillip, flanked by a saxophone and bongo drums. This is not as awesome as his "Volcano" performance last week, but it's a solid performance just the same. I, like Steven, can’t wait for Phillip to write and release his own songs.
Judges’ Remarks: J.Lo calls it an easy flowing performance, but not a wow performance. Steven says it wasn’t over the top, but it was very Phil Phillips. Randy goes through a really stupid “did you like it? You didn’t love it?” exchange with J.Lo and Steven and then says he didn’t like it either. (Now paging a Jessica/Joshua finale).
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Contestant: Joshua Ledet
Song: “No More Drama,” by Mary J. Blige
Joshua is doing a lot of moving and bopping around during this song. He even loses his ear pieces and jacket as the song ends. The crowd goes absolutely crazy when this happens. He reminds me of Fantasia in this performance, which is fine, but I still don’t need all the screaming. Mary and Fantasia both "bring it" with their level of emotion, not their level of volume.
Judges’ Remarks: No standing again…Interesting. Randy says “at this point, it doesn’t matter what you do, what your sing, you’ve left everything on the stage.” J.Lo spouts some narrative about Joshua’s jacket and church. Steven says it was over the top.
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Contestant: Jessica Sanchez
Song: “I’ll Be There,” by the Jackson 5 (not the Mariah Carey version, clearly. You know…Randy worked with Mariah).
Jessica sings this song well, but I’m not “wowed” here at all. I think Joshua had a much more dynamic song chosen for him. The same way the judges were looking for a moment from Phillip last round, I wanted one from Jessica this round. We’ll see if they call her on it or if we’re still just going to shoot for that Jessica/Joshua finale.
Judges’ Remarks: Steven says “perfect song, perfect choice – you nailed it.” J.Lo notes that she killed it so hard at the end. Yup. Randy liked it, but didn’t love it. He would have preferred more of a Mariah version. HA! I’m inclined to agree, and that hurts me a little.
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Contestant: Phillip Phillips
Song: "We've Got Tonight," by Bob Seger
P squared is vulnerable in this performance, singing with no guitar and accompanied by a piano and strings section. It’s hard to stray too far from the melody here. This is the most toned down performance we’ve seen from Phillip. LOVE it. A moment perhaps? Some people wait a lifetime….
Judges’ Remarks: STANDING O! Nice. Randy says this was “the perfect song at the perfect time, and your best performance on the show yet!” J.Lo says it sounded like a lullaby. Steven is bleeped for about 15 seconds. I’m assuming he thinks it was beautiful.
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Tomorrow we find out who will make it to the finale, and I’m pulling for a Phillip/someone show down. We will also see the return of Adam Lambert during the results show, which I’m pretty excited about. Til then!
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