Idol: The Top 5 Perform

Tonight the remaining contestants will take on two themes – the 60s and British Pop. As we let these two themes sink in (wasn’t there British Pop in the 60s?), Ryan introduces the Top 5 and lets us know that one of them will be the next American Idol…we should save that kind of narrative for Randy.

Contestant: Hollie Cavanagh
Song: “River Deep, Mountain High” by Tina Turner

With Elise gone, Hollie is the only contestant left who has had a permanent seat in the bottom 3. Do we think Elise passed on any bottom 3 words of wisdom before she went home? Hollie hopes that by singing this song well and letting loose tonight, she’ll please the crowd as well as the voters.  Hollie sings the hell out of this song. She even shimmies, and she looks EXTREMELY comfortable. J.Lo has no business telling her to feel her songs more or open up a little tonight.

Judges’ Remarks: Steven and Randy stand, and J.Lo remains seated because she bitterly knows she can’t sing live like Hollie can. Steven thanks The Lord for Hollie's performance. I imagine that somewhere in America, Tim Tebow does this as well. J.Lo likes that Hollie was biting into the words. Grrr? Randy asks both judges if they loved it…so he must not have been listening. And here we go: "Yo. That second verse? You wore that verse out. I was like,  'Yo, she diggin in. She’s goin in.'” Do whatever you like with that.
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Contestant: Phillip Phillips
Song: “The Letter,” by The Box Tops

P squared changes the arrangement of this song, so I already like it better than the Dave Matthews carbon copy he did last week. I could do without all of the falling pieces of mail on the screens in the background (I get it – the song is about writing a letter. Overkill.). This is a good performance. Not a “moment” but he deserves some praise here.

Judges’ Remarks: Randy enjoys that Phillip made the song new for him. J.Lo doesn’t know this song…even though it has been performed on this show before (see Carly Smithson and Michael John's duet), and J.Lo claims to have always been a huge fan of the show. Just sayin. Steven misses the melody of that song, but he also says Phillip got away with it.
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Contestant: Skylar Laine
Song: "Knock on Wood," by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Crazy, energetic, all over the stage Skylar returns to us tonight. She loves what she’s doing, and the joy she gets from performing is infectious. I’m not even super familiar with the song, but I want to get up and dance and clap along. I really like this kid.  

Judges’ Remarks: J.Lo thinks her energy is amazing, and she calls Skylar fearless. Steven likes it when Skylar boot scoots. Randy wants everyone to give it up for Creedence Clearwater Revival. I hope The Lord wasn't expecting another shout out here. He then lets America know that Skylar was born to be on stage. She was born this way?
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Duet: Joshua and Phillip attempt to sing “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” by The Righteous Brothers. This is just bad. So bad. Phillip is clearly not comfortable with this song, and Joshua is entirely too low on his verse. They make every endeavor not to make eye contact with one another, and Phillip just smiles as if he knows how awful this duet is. So awkward. By the end he just lets Joshua screech over him, and I am soooo glad when this is over.

Judges’ Remarks: Steven wishes they had loved and embraced each other during the song. “That’s back when a song was a song,” he says. Is a song something else now? J.Lo says they shouldn’t have been afraid to sing that song. Randy says “Yo, you delivered it,” so I must have been listening to something else - perhaps a different song that was also a song.
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Contestant: Jessica Sanchez
Song: “Proud Mary,” by Tina Turner (Tina must have been one of the only artists in the 60s)

I’m so hesitant about Jessica singing a this song because she is really more of a ballad singer. Her backup singers double as dancers, and Jessica is kind of hopping/skipping and trying to insert some personality in her performance with some Tina-ish moves. But I really don’t know what else to say here. It just doesn’t work for me because all I can think of is how awesome Tina Turner’s legs are…I mean, how awesome Tina Turner is.

Judges’ Remarks: J.Lo says Jessica is grown, and tells us Jessica is a little Tina and a little Beyonce. Hmmm. Steven says Jessica did it again. Randy and I finally see eye to eye on something as he says the performance was just okay based on how Tina is able to perform “Proud Mary.” J.Lo jumps back in and says “you can’t compare a 16 year old to Tina Turner.” Um, yes you can. If she is going to sing a Tina song in the style of Tina, how else do you critique the performance?
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Contestant: Joshua Ledet
Song: “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg,” by The Temptations (not TLC’s version, which I would love to hear on this show as well).

Joshua starts off very Motown with his backup singers doing the sway and snap move as they all groove at their mic stands. So at first, I really like this song and his performance...but I know what’s coming. Indeed, the screeching and screaming begin, but fortunately for Joshua, the volume is not as painful as it has been in the past.  I'm generally okay with this performance.

Judges’ Remarks: Steven says Joshua has to be one of the best two Idols of all time. WHAT???? You have to be kidding me. I would love to know how many Idol's Steven can name from any season that he hasn't been a part of. J.Lo says Joshua is a throwback from another era. Randy says Joshua can bring R&B back.
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Contestant: Hollie Cavanagh
Song:  “Bleeding Love,” by Leona Lewis

Hollie slows this song down and sings from the top of a piano. Vocally, Hollie is just fantastic. Perhaps if the judges can stop drooling over Joshua they would realize what a controlled voice is capable of.  I LOVE this. Hollie has had a great night.

Judges’ Remarks: Steven loves it too and compliments her ballad voice even though he doesn’t know the song. Where has he been? J.Lo says the performance had a beautiful and intimate quality. Randy educates us on Leona Lewis and where she came from. He then says Hollie is peaking at the right time. Somehow the clouds disappear, and Hollie is no longer Season 11's Haley Reinhart.

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Contestant: Phillip Phillips
Song: “Time of the Season,” by The Zombies

Any song that has Phillip looking into the camera and asking “Who’s your daddy?” is just fine by me. His high notes aren’t the best, but lucky for him the backup singers pick up the slack there. I like the arrangement, and I find the performance incredibly sexy. Vocally, this is not his best though.

Judges’ Remarks: Randy likes the song because “it was a lot more less energy.” J.Lo says his voices was more comfortable in the verses, and Steven is happy Phillip stuck with the melody. So…all three judges avoid saying the high notes were rough. Interesting.
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Trio: Skylar, Hollie and Jessica sing Jackie Wilson’s “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher,” and this is exponentially better than Phillip and Joshua’s duet. I have to wonder if the two guys are back stage now saying “we SO got the shaft on this one.” The song is enjoyable but all I can think of is the part of Ghostbusters II where the statue of Liberty is able to walk through New York while this song played.  

Judges’ Remarks: Steven loves them, and J.Lo says they are cute. Randy thinks all three of them sound amazing. He also calls Jackie Wilson “one of the greatest singers of all time from the 60s.” I’m not sure what that means.
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Contestant: Skylar Laine
Song: “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me,” by Dusty Springfield

Skylar has done some great ballads on this show (I’m still in love with her version of “Wind Beneath My Wings"), but this one falls just a little short for me. She sings it well, but maybe I just don’t like this song country-fied. However, I always applaud Skylar's tendency to switch up her performances, as we can't always have rowdy Skylar.

Judges’ Remarks: Randy lets us know the first round was round 1, and this is round 2, and he thinks the performance was flawless. J.Lo notes that Skylar wants to win and then rambles a bit. Steven says Skylar took that song into the 21^st century. I’m assuming that the previous century was the 20^th, but I will double check with Randy.  
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Contestant: Jessica Sanchez
Song: “You Are So Beautiful,” by Joe Cocker

Really? You want to take on “Proud Mary” and “You Are So Beautiful” in the same night? These are two HUGE songs, and I worry for her. Jessica begins the song in the Fantasia and Katharine McPhee “I’m slightly laying down on the stage which proves I want to win” pose. She has a great voice, she does some interesting things with the arrangement, and I think this is definitely better than her first performance tonight.

Judges’ Remarks: Steven tells Jessica she will be number 1. Wait - I thought Joshua was the chosen one. J.Lo references the time that the judges saved Jessica. Randy gives round 2 (even though it is not over) to Jessica and then tells her she is off to the races.
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Contestant: Joshua Ledet
Song: “To Love Somebody” by The Bee Gees

See, the first three quarters of this song are amazing, and I start to feel bad about all of the criticism I give Joshua. And then everything falls apart for me (for you?). I may be in the minority, but I think Joshua absolutely ruins the performance by screaming the last portion song. It’s just not necessary to do that, because he had been singing so beautifully. Sigh. Too Much.

Judges’ Remarks: Standing ovation. Of course – they held back on his first performance, so I'm surprised they don't climb up on their table for this one. Randy calls The Bee Gees “one of the greatest song writing people in the world.” The English language just called, and it would like an apology. J.Lo thinks Joshua is one of the greatest singers in the past 50 years. Okay. I must just be insane. As Simon would say "That was complete and utter nonsense." Oh how I miss him.
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There are no closing remarks from the judges as we have run out of time. Tomorrow night we’ll see who survives tonight's voting, and if Jessica, Phillip, Skylar and Hollie bother showing up at all since Joshua might be one of the greatest singers of all time. OF ALL TIME! That's for you, Kanye. 

Until then!