American Idol Top 12: Fix You

Tonight on American Idol, the Top 12 take the stage again and hope that voters (and all of their facebook profile pictures) will love them unconditionally. As Ryan introduces the judges we realize that not only did Jennifer forget the lower half of her dress, but she somehow also looks like she just rolled out of bed. I can’t imagine what the audience sees as she walks to the judges’ table. Anyway, this week’s theme is “home” in an effort to get to know the contestants a bit better and make them even that much more endearing to the viewers.  Let's see how they do.

Contestant: Jena Irene

Song: “Suddenly I See” by K.T. Tunstall

 

This song reminds Jena of home because it’s happy. I feel like we went through this with most of the contestants last week… Jena has this neat back drop of a field (a farm?) doused in sunlight, but that’s really the only happy part of the performance. Her delivery is lackluster for me and I do not feel any kind of joy from her at all. 

 

Judges Say: Keith likes Jena’s stage presence and thinks she can loosen up even more. JLo says it doesn’t matter what song Jena sings because she makes it her own. I totally disagree based on tonight’s performance. Harry wants to see Jena be more of a 17 year old and have more energy. Bingo.

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Contestant: Alex Preston

Song: “I Don’t Want To Be” by Gavin DeGraw

So, first and foremost, what’s happening with the bottom of Alex’s pants? Is this Alex’s way of working on his stage presence? Is Randy behind this? I definitely don’t love this rendition of “I Don’t Want To Be.” Something about Alex’s rolled up pants, the kind of slowed down guitar arrangement, and his overall lack of confidence make me wince while he is singing. If he’s here next week, he’s got some work to do.

Judges Say: JLo loves the suit, including the rolled up pants. She doesn’t think this was his best vocal performance, saying the arrangement overtook his vocals. Harry believes Alex is better at singing in an introspective, intimate setting but compliments Alex for venturing out of his comfort zone. Keith says the word “instability” describes the performance best.

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Contestant: Jessica Meuse

Song: “White Flag” by Dido

Jessica says she has used this song in her sets for a long time, but I don’t know that the song does anything for her voice. I’m also hoping she didn’t sound like this during all of her previous attempts of the song. Jessica sounds realllllly nasal-y and the whole thing is kind of blah, which is a shame because I really like her. I feel like we are 0 for 3 so far tonight.

 

Judges Say: Harry says the performance was understated and blasé. He also thinks Jessica was sharp the whole time.  Keith loves Jessica’s musicality and disagrees about the pitch. He says people pay less attention to the pitch when there is emotion in the delivery. Well sure Keith, but Jessica was pitchy with zero emotion. JLo says “it just didn’t happen today.”

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Contestant: Dexter Roberts

Song:  “Lucky Man” by Montgomery Gentry

Dexter is just a sweetheart. Any time I see him I just want to give him a great big hug…I bet he gives really good hugs.  Finally with our fourth performance of the night, we get something real. It’s not a showy performance, it’s not an amazing performance, but it is a real performance in terms of choosing a song that reminds Dexter of home. I'm totally invested in this and I also want to visit his dog farm asap!

 

Judges Say: All three judges sit with a smile on their faces for the first time tonight. Keith thinks this was the perfect song for Dexter and loves that he took little liberties with the tune. JLo likens Dexter to Scotty McCreery and I cringe a little. Let’s not do that to poor Dexter.  Harry is impressed and says this was the best performance of the night so far…which is true, but that’s not really saying much.

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Contestant: Emily Piriz

Song: “Let’s Get Loud” by JLo

Oh wow. This is probably one of JLo’s best songs and it’s pretty ballsy of Emily to tackle this one. The highlight of the performance for me is watching JLo sing along in her seat. Emily’s energy is lacking and I sit with my fingers crossed, hoping JLo will storm the stage and shake what her momma gave her. No dice.

Judges Say: The performance makes JLo happy and she says Emily did a really good job. That’s very nice of you. Harry thinks Emily needs to match the intensity of the song and says the production was too big for her. Keith loved the performance and encourages Emily to have more confidence. JLo then whips her hair back and forth.

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Contestant: Caleb Johnson

Song: “Working Man” by Rush

Wow. Caleb is just leaps and bounds ahead of the other contestants in terms of confidence and stage presence. He has amazing vocals and puts on quite a show. I wish the band had actually been on stage with him (closer) and backing him up more. Maybe all of the musicians could have fallen down with Caleb at the end. Sheer exhaustion, my friends.

 

Judges Say: Harry says Caleb is unquestionably the most consistent performer on the show but warns him not to become predictable. Keith thinks Caleb is one of the best singers he’s heard in a long time.  He challenges Caleb to take charge of the stage without the comfort of the band. JLo thinks he did a great job, saying “you’re what I’ve been waiting for all night.”

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Contestant: MK Nobilette

Song:  “Drops of Jupiter” by Train

 

Ohhh MK. Nervous much? I thought MK had really started to build confidence last week and I was all set to see her nail her performance tonight. Alas, the vocals weren’t that great and she’s back to looking like a deer caught in headlights again. Bummer.

Judges Say: Keith thinks MK made a good song choice. He says that she still needs to connect with the audience more. That’s putting it mildly. JLo doesn’t believe this was a break out performance for MK but says she is seeing progress. Oh yeah? Harry says that he gets the feeling that MK doesn’t want to be here because there’s no joy in her performances. Ouch.

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Contestant: C.J. Harris

Song: “Waiting on the World to Change” by John Mayer

 

For anyone unfamiliar with this song, no worries – the title is EVERYWHERE. I find the scrolling words to be very distracting but I do like C.J.’s performance this week much better than last week’s. He doesn’t do anything different with the song, but he sounds great and I do think he delivers a message here.

 

Judges Say: JLo loves that C.J. was trying to get a message out tonight. Harry interrupts, saying C.J. was sharp but really felt the lyrics. Keith thinks C.J. needs to figure out how to stop doing covers and start putting his own spin on songs.

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Contestant: Sam Woolf

Song: “Just One” by Blind Pilot

 

So, I don’t know this song. I also have never heard of Blind Pilot, but I can assure you that I would never want to be in a traveling situation with one. That being said, I like Sam. I like his vibe, and I really enjoy his sound this week. There’s just no “wow” factor though and I worry that he will get lost in the shuffle very soon.

 

Judges Say: I'm nervous for Sam. I wait for Harry to unleash utter disappointment on him (it's Harry's overall theme tonight), but he says he liked the lyrics of the song. He also says the performance was pleasant but tells Sam that he needs to try something else emotionally. Keith thinks the tone of Sam’s voice is like butter (for the record, I think Keith's voice is like butter) and proclaims that he would run out to buy a Sam album immediately.  I don't know that I would go that far. JLo doesn't have a ton of feedback but does think Sam needs to push himself out of his comfort zone.

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Contestant: Malaya Watson

Song: “Take Me to the King” by Tamala Mann

 

Malaya launched an attack on the stage last week (not in a good way), so she is cleverly starting tonight’s performance behind a piano. I actually would have been okay if she had stayed there the whole time, but the second half of the song was just as powerful with Malaya taking center stage. This is a vast improvement from last week.

Judges Say: Keith uses the word “goosies” and says Malaya made a great song choice. JLo says Malaya told us a story and she’s very proud of her. Harry feels the performance was gutsy but the message was there.

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Contestant: Ben Briley

Song:  “Turning Home” by David Nail 

Get it Ben! I completely love what he’s doing in this performance. Again, this is not showy, probably not the “moment” that we all start to look for when we get to this point in the show, but Ben is a solid performer. His vocals are on point and I would say he’s had two good weeks in a row.

 
Judges Say: JLo thanks Ben for singing with feeling. Harry didn’t feel connected and thinks the song was shouted. Keith says Ben has an incredible voice but thinks the story got lost in the technicality of the vocals. Hmm. I’m with JLo on this one.
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Contestant: Majesty Rose

Song: “Fix You” by Coldplay

I’m immediately intrigued by the daffodil in Majesty’s guitar. She also tries her hand and a calmed down start to the song ala Malaya, and like Malaya, I wish she had stayed in that quiet place. “Fix You” is a hopeful song that does not need the loud band and “I want to try to sing the biggest notes ever!” treatment. I’m a little baffled as to why this was the closing performance tonight.

Judges Say: Harry enjoyed the beginning and wished she had stayed in the quiet zone. JLo agrees. Keith says we’ll see her next week. Keith, incidentally, also said the same thing to Sam and Emily. Those are dangerous assumptions….you beautiful, beautiful man.

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So with that, the very uneven Top 12 performance show is over. I have to be honest…this was not an enjoyable episode for me.  I feel like most of the contestants should feel like they are going home tomorrow and it’s still way too early in the season to use the judges’ save. I would think they would save that for Caleb’s off week. He’s bound to have one. But tomorrow night one of these 12 hopefuls will be sent packing. Will America put MK out of her misery? Will Emily’s JLo cover be her undoing? Should Jessica raise a white flag? These questions will be answered during the results show. Til then!