Idol: The Top 4 Perform, But Only One Takes A Beating

Tonight the final four will perform two songs, involving two different themes: “California dreaming” and “songs the contestants wish they had written.” I'm actually okay with these ideas since Idol often gets repetitive in the themes each season. The contestants will also perform duets, as well as a group number.

Contestant: Phillip Phillips
Song: “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” by Credence Clearwater Revival

P squared adds a little blue to his wardrobe this evening, but don’t worry – he still has a gray shirt on underneath that fancy (?) blue button down. This is a good performance with a good arrangement. I especially enjoy the addition of the saxophone player, but I think he is going to need to start "wowing" people at this point.

Judges’ Remarks: Steven says Phillip is something else. J.Lo says he has a Joe Cocker kind of quality. Randy says it started off rough, pauses with the booing audience and says “Here’s what y’all don’t know that we know, and Phil Phillips knows this stuff.” Apparently when the audience has a good time, Randy also has a good time. Randy is wearing another “Yo” pin on his lapel, and this makes me have a good time, so all is well.

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Contestant: Hollie Cavanagh
Song: “Faithfully,” by Journey

Remember when Randy played guitar for Journey? No? I’m sure he’s about to remind you. In the meantime Hollie emerges from a foggy cloud into a wind gust, which troubles me initially. However, she gives a very sincere performance. She’s faithful (couldn’t help it) to the original version of the song, and I LOVE it.

Judges’ Remarks: Randy repeats himself from last week, letting her know she’s peaked at the right time. He then reminds all of us that he played with Journey, saying “Steve Perry is one of the greatest singers ever in life.” Better than Joshua? J.Lo is so proud of how much Hollie has grown. Steven says Hollie’s creativity has bloomed. I'm surprised by all of this given how close we are to the end and how Hollie isn't "supposed" to be in the finals.

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Contestant: Joshua Ledet
Song: “You Raise Me Up “ by Josh Groban

Immediately my mind goes to The Idol Gives Back show in 2010 when Josh Groban performed this song with the African Children's Choir. I’m not sure that Mr. Ledet can make any improvements on that for me. Joshua starts off very strong, because he has a very strong voice. And though Joshua is backed by a chior at the close of the song, and it's beautiful, he begins to take some liberties with the melody and the lyrics that I’m not a fan of at all. I'm okay with the performance though - he does have one hell of a voice.

Judges’ Remarks: No standing? Are the judges going to scale back the Joshua love tonight? J.Lo calls it another great performance. Steven says Joshua “sang his little tush off tonight.” Randy lets us know that if you’re a real artist, you can sing anything. I feel like we’ve already been here before….

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Contestant: Jessica Sanchez
Song: “Steal Away,” by Etta James

Jessica sits on top of a piano working some sassiness for this performance. As she makes her way from the piano to the stage she absolutely lets loose. Finally! She’s 100% personality with this song, and this is hands down my favorite Jessica performance. Well done!

Judges’ Remarks: J.Lo wants to know how old Jessica was when she started growling. I’m not touching that one. She then calls Jessica “one of the best” when compared to her current female counterparts in the industry. Randy calls her vocals ridiculous and then says she can sing the phone book. Yellow pages or white pages? Let’s do this.

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Duet: Phillip and Joshua take on “This Love” by Maroon 5. I’m terrified because last week’s Joshua/Phillip duet was so awful. They seem to enjoy themselves a bit more this week, and this performance is an improvement, but I think we need to get them different duet partners.

Judges’ Remarks: Steven calls it perfect and  says whoever picked that song is brilliant. Huh? J.Lo notes that both guys are different. Thank you. Randy says they brought something new to the song and the performance was amazing. Maybe it sounded wayyyy better in the room than it did on TV.

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Duet: Jessica and Hollie sing The Bangles’ “Eternal Flame”….from sheets disguised as a swing set. Interesting. I’m so thankful when they walk forward to the front of the stage. They blend incredibly well together, and I’m a fan of this rendition, though I don't know why the producers would want the duets back to back. This one was clearly better.

Judges’ Remarks: Philip and Joshua swing behind Hollie and Jessica during Randy’s critique. This was not planned, and I think it's hilarious. Randy doesn’t like the performance because it was weird for him. J.Lo agrees that it was off and pitchy (mainly directing her comments at Hollie). Steven says to the girls “you are our favorite swingers,” and I grin at their embarrassed faces. Jessica is 16!

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After the commercial break the Top 4 perform “Waiting For A Girl Like You” by Foreigner. Man, we are really milking the 2 hour time slot tonight. Not bad. They all have the chance to shine here, and they do a pretty good job coming together as well. The judges to not have an opportunity to comment, and that is just fine.

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Contestant: Phillip Phillips
Song: “Volcano,” by Damien Rice

P squared sings from an almost completely dark stage. The cellist comes into view, followed by Phillip’s backup singer who looks a lot like Erykah Badu. I’m not sure who staged this performance, but it’s breathtaking. This is a "moment" for him.

Judges’ Remarks: Steven says he could listen to this performance on the headphones over and over. J.Lo says not many people could pull this off on a “contestant show…competition show.” Whatever this is. She then calls the performance “one of the most beautiful moments a contestant has had on the show.” I think that's on okay statement. Randy says “Dude. So yo. Dude, that right there? Dude, that was one of your best performances of the whole season.” I challenge the Idol big wigs to give money to charity each time Randy says "yo" or "dude."

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Contestant: Hollie Cavanagh
Song: “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” by Bonnie Raitt

I love this song. I’m so excited to hear Hollie’s rendition. She keeps it very simple, accompanied by a piano and violins, and her voice is incredibly controlled. She feels the lyrics, and I feel for her as if someone broke her heart just this morning (the judges?). Amazing.

Judges’ Remarks: Annnnnd the "we're going to need Hollie to go home now" bashing begins. Steven says Hollie fell short on the dynamics of what she can sing. J.Lo wanted Hollie to sing to America. Um, who was she singing to? Is this show televised worldwide tonight? She also says Hollie had too much vibrato (and not enough screaming perhaps?). I boo them SO loudly. Randy says Hollie is too different because she doesn’t sing like Bonnie Raitt, and that type of song doesn't allow her to "do anything." That type of song? Has he not heard Kelly Clarkson's cover? (Yes, I went there). I’ve been wondering when the BS was going to return – we’re back to “Hollie’s not supposed to win, so we can’t give her too much praise in one night.” Ridiculous. I’m done with them.

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Contestant: Joshua Ledet
Song: Does it matter? It’s going to be amazing, right?

Joshua sings “It’s a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World,” by James Brown. Look, I get it - he has quite a voice and quite a stage presence. This is all just grunty, shrieky and screamy for me though, and I prefer his earlier performance. I have to imagine Juliet Simms and her recent cover of this song on The Voice. That’s my happy place right now.

Judges’ Remarks: Standing… oh hell. I don’t even care anymore. 

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Contestant: Jessica Sanchez
Song: “And I am Telling You,” Originally sung by Jennifer Holliday

Oh my. This is another huge song for her. Jennifer Hudson won her OSCAR because of this song. Her dress is questionable, but her voice is amazing. I would have preferred to hear the whole song, as the chopped up version doesn’thave quite the same emotional factor. I mean, notes are great and all, but I wonder if anyone will call her out on her actual connection to the song.…

Judges’ Remarks: Nahhhh. Standing ovation and tons of praise. Poor Hollie. Randy goes so far as to say "Jessica, Joshua and Phillip are in it to win it!"

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Tomorrow we’ll find out who makes the Top 3, as well as whether either of the Bottom 2 stools has a“For Hollie” sticker on it. As the show closes, she is fighting back tears. I feel bad for the kid, and I will be voting for her this evening. We’ll see if she makes it through!