So it all comes down to this… the final two contestants remain… Phillip Squared vs. Robo-yonce… and finally, the performance show is only one hour… less filler… three songs each – Simon Fuller’s choice, contestant pick (bet Jessica picks Beyonce), and potential lead single… off we go…

One and Lonely by Superchic[k]

Jessica Sanchez starts off with I Have Nothing from the Whitney catalog… right in her wheelhouse… no low notes and lots of moments to belt out a loud drawn-out showstopper… she kind of had an attitude the whole time through it, but it was exactly as expected… no judges comments just yet…

Phillip Phillips is dealt Stand By Me for his first performance… interesting choice, but more interesting is the arrangement… very subtle, low-key performance… you wouldn’t have guessed it based on the original version of the song, but this ended up giving him some time to shine…

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And now we’re down to the wire… the final three… three songs a piece… three rounds… and, if we know anything about the judges, they’ll give one round to each contestant… typically, this week goes off with one song that the producers pick (edit: Jimmy’s picks), one song the judges pick, and one song the contestants pick (if i remember correctly)… should be fun… off we go…

The Heat Is On by Glen Frey

Joshua Ledet… first round songs are picked by the judges and they’ve chosen I’d Rather Be Blind by Etta James… there’s plenty of room for him to lace his new breed of R&B classic into the mix and he takes full advantage… Steven says out of 70,000 there’s only 1 American Idol and he sang like that one tonight… J-Lo says he brought down the house again… Randy says it fit him like a glove…

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So I didn’t watch last night because I went to take in The Avengers instead. So, now it’s the day after, but I’m still bringing some comments and predictions for last night’s performances. First, to California… off we go…

Hotel California by The Eagles

Phillip Phillips leads off the show with CCR’s Have You Ever Seen the Rain?… what I want to know, is if Phillip understands what he’s singing… the tone of his performance is a total mismatch to the themes covered in the song, which I think someone else did earlier this year, too… Steven says the road to success is under construction… J-Lo says his Joe Cocker vibe was a perfect fit for the song… and Randy says it started off slow, but ended up great…

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so, due to some ridiculous technical difficulties last night (I’m looking at you Comcast DVR), I wasn’t able to watch American Idol on my normal schedule and thus, couldn’t provide the in-depth commentary that I normally like to offer here on the blog.

Be that as it may, the DVR that wouldn’t play last night DID record the show and I watched earlier today and do, therefore, have some picks for tonight’s results show. Everybody had at least one good performance last night, but the bottom three will be the three who didn’t have a second solid performance: Jessica, Skylar, and Phillip.

Shocker of all shockers, Phillip (who was outed by Ryan for having a girlfriend, not liking blondes, and generally not being available to the scores of little girls voting for him) will on stage at the very end when Skylar gets sent home.

peace… love… bdg…

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six contestants left, and it looks like they’ll be singing Queen songs… it’s apparently a huge honor… oh, this is weird… they’re performing a medley with Queen members… maybe they won’t sing Queen songs when they compete… or maybe they will… this is an odd opening to the show… anyway… off we go…

Kings and Queens by 30 Seconds to Mars

Jessica Sanchez starts things off in black and white singing Bohemian Rhapsody… the stage show is weird and the arrangement is… interesting… she disappeared entirely during the rock middle, but she was good on the slow parts… Steven says rock isn’t her thing, but she sounded beautiful… J-Lo says the vocal was beautiful, but she needed to rock out a little more… Randy loved it because she didn’t sing any runs…

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so… we’re back and all seven from last week are back… and the little intro thingie there was totally a nod to the new Thousand Foot Krutch album that released yesterday, The End Is Where We Begin… anyway, a nice mention of Dick Clark’s passing… and we get to hear two songs each? really?… a song from the 2000s and a soul classic if I heard that right… off we go…

Let The Sparks Fly by Thousand Foot Krutch

Hollie Cavanagh picks Rollin’ in the Deep because it’s never been done before (sarcasm)… she’s struggling to control her breathing and the arrangement was not to my liking… Steven says it was perfect and beautiful and what we were waiting for… J-Lo agrees that she let loose and didn’t think at all… Randy says it wasn’t perfect, but it was the first time she had emotion…

Colton Dixon goes Gaga with Bad Romance, hoping to recapture that rock element… i like the arrangement – particularly the half-time for the bridge – and he kept it pretty tight the whole way through… Randy says it was a Colton concert, job well done… J-Lo says his pitch was a little low in some spots, but it was really good… Steven says in order to get to the other shore you need to lose sight of the first one and Colton is doing that really well…
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seven more left off we go… of course they didn’t use the save on DeAndre last week… they’re waiting until Phillips gets voted off too early… I already told you that… the real question is, how will they stretch THIS episode into two hours?… oh, I see, they’re just going to let the audience scream longer between each section… and more style advice… tonight is music released from 2010 until now…

Forget You by Cee Lo Green

Skylar Laine makes Akon curse by singing under her trucker hat… probably not really a challenge… she chose Kellie Pickler’s Didn’t You Know How Much I Love You and it’s right in the heart of her wheelhouse… probably better than Kellie, but I’ve never heard the song before… Randy says the song is in her wheelhouse (copycat) and it was crazy hot and crazy good… J-Lo says from what she could hear here, it was perfect pitch and she nailed it… Steven says she sang a complete sentence and the crows may crow, but the hens deliver the goods… that’s the type of remark we love from Steven Tyler…
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apparently we’re now down to the best of the best… eight left after Heejun left… and it’s 80s night, which means songs from before most of the contestants were born… everyone sings a solo and then they pair up for co-ed duets… yay… that’s how they’re filling two more hours… off we go…

And We Danced by The Hooters

DeAndre Brackensick sings I Like It by Debarge… it suits him… and he bounces between a raspy voice and his shrieking falsetto… it’s a good fit for him, but it’s so laid back… J-Lo says it was natural and he moved his hair nicely… Steven says it was captivating and he forgot where he was (which probably had nothing to do with the song)… Randy says it was amazing and likes that he used his natural voice and his falsetto…
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nine remain and I’m not sure what the theme is for this “jam-packed two hour event,” but we shall see how good and bad it will be… we said goodbye to Erika last week and I can’t disagree with the choice even though I thought Hollie would leave… I think I’ll eventually lock in on this group a little better, but I might also run out of time… okay, it’s the idolettes taking on songs from their idols… and performing as trios as well… busy night… off we go…

Open Arms by Journey

Colton Dixon was found by music in church and he’s tackling his favorite worship song, Everything by Lifehouse… great song and knowing this is his taste explains a lot about his vocal… that was spectacular and the first time I didn’t feel like he was fraudulent… Steven says he’s a dream come true for an AI judge… J-Lo was literally moved because it was so emotional… Randy believes in every song Colton chooses and it was unbelievable… COLTON IS IN IT TO WIN IT, DAWG… (or something to that effect)…
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so now we’re down to ten and we start off with a depressing montage of footage from last week when everyone said goodbye to Shannon… anyway, we move along… the rumor is this week is Billy Joel week and Ryan verifies that in short order… Steven chimes in, noting that if you can’t sing Billy Joel, you can’t sing… i think that means that Billy Joel songs are cake… let’s see… also getting promos this week are Diddy and Tommy Hilfiger… off we go…

Don’t Ask Me Why by Billy Joel

DeAndre Brackensick chose Only the Good Die Young… it’s going to be hard to not directly compare these contestants to Billy Joel, but i’ll try… this is the dullest, most energetic performance i’ve seen… he’s bouncing around, but it’s so ridiculously fake… Steven thought it was too happy, but that’s what the world needs… J-Lo thought it was a great way to start off the show, laid back and grovelly… Randy agreed, but noted that it didn’t wow him, but it was okay…
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