132 replies to this topic

[Phan]

Hollie was the best overall, though I'll hand it to Joshua, Skylar, and Jessica for stepping it up on all of their second performances.

One thing is clear: when these IDOLS choose older songs, they're not creative.

Also, this episode went on forever. FOX needs to cut it back to 60-90 minutes, it's too much.

Edited by Phan, May 2, 2012 @ 9:14 PM.

[kechara]

Some songs that i didn't care for back in the day - not improved. Some songs i totally loved back in the day - definitely not improved.

[Hildegard802]

Cannot believe I'm saying this, but with the exception of PeePee, who has no business being anywhere, this is the best top bunch I've heard in many a moon. No Key of Vonzell, no Nikki McKibbin, the list goes on. If Joshua could lose some bad habits, like the grunts and odd things he does at the end of phrases, and stop screaming his ass off on every damn song, the guy has some serious talent. And I never thought I'd see the day when I'd say Skylar really impressed me tonight. Yeah, she didn't seem to get what Fortunate Son is about, but dang, if she didn't do a good job. She has some mad performance skillz.

I finally saw in Bebe what I heard in the auditions. I don't think she's ready, though; she needs some years to season and do some living. That's even more the case with Hollie. She can't seem to get out of her own head.

Mercifully, the signal bit the dust on PeePee's first "song," and I saw none of it. I changed channels for the second. Any time a judge has to praise a contestant, on a freaking singing show, for finding a melody? I. Just. Can't. Even.

[LivenLetLive]

Hollie was good, RDMH was the perfect song for her.

Phil2, "The Letter"...what the hell was that? A friend, not an Idol fan, happened to be watching with me, we are both in our 50's and remember The Boxtops version, he turned to be after a minute and said, "what song is this?" Poor Alex Chilton must be spinning in his grave. On another note, just as with Jamar Rogers on The Voice Monday night, there is such a thing as making a song "your own" and fucking it up past recognition, Phil took it into the latter territory.


Skylar, "Fortunate Son" is one of my all time favorite songs, and Skylar clearly had NO idea that it was written as an anti-War song, thus not understanding the lyric, she was not good, and I like her...sigh...


Pagent-bot, meh, she is no Tina Turner.

Joshua, of course he is going to do a decent job on "Ain't too Proud to Beg" which is completely in his wheelhouse. Randy mentioned the great 80's soul singer Terence Trent d'Arby who I've been thinking about for quite awhile in terms of reminding me of Joshua, I would love to hear him do "Wishing Well" or "Sign my Name."

The winner of round one for me is Hollie, she sounded good, and looked adorable.

Hollie, "Bleeding Love" I guess that this is the type of music she wants to make, meh, personally not interested.

Phil, "The Time of the Season" well Colin Blunstone has nothing to worry about, LOL. Love The Zombies, and love the song (in fact I still own the original album) but Phil's version was mediocre.

Skylar, "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me," was pretty, not great, but good.

Jessica, did a good job with "You are So Beautiful," very pretty, but I still have no interest in voting for her.

Joshua, oversang "To Love Somebody," Joshua needs to learn the meaning of nuance.

Edited by LivenLetLive, May 2, 2012 @ 9:20 PM.

[stafford]

I thought Hollie was amazing tonight. Skyler is always a joy to watch but she is bordering on sounding the same on all of her songs (note: see Joshua). Frankly, I was embarrassed for P2 tonight. Jessica seems to be trying too hard to power through her songs that I miss any sort of emotional connection.

I really don't understand why each female singer has to wear five inch heels and then try to "dance". All the girls seem to be the same height (about five feet tall?) so why do they have to try and be taller...we can't tell at home. Although Skyler was wearing boots tonight so she could actually move across the stage and it was much more enjoyable to see a woman move to the music.

[trojan69]

Where is the Special Prosecutor for the abortions performed on such great classics. What they did to "Fortunate Son" and even "You Don't Know What It's Like" demands a death penalty.

Jessica "chose" "Proud Mary?" What the hell happened to letting her be a teen? Where was Jimmy to put the kibosh on that? This is his fault. It really is. He knew better.

Despite it all, the true talents managed to emerge for once and for all: Joshua and Jessica. All the rest are wannabes. They are. Now it will come down to management and temperament.

[Bleeding Love]

Hollie won the night.

Phillip made me miss Blake and Skylar made me miss Nadia. Joshua made me miss S2 Josh and Clay, and Ruben (quite a feat with two songs). That's what happens when they re-use the same song list again and again and we end up with eight repeats out of ten.

The Philiip/Joshua duet was awkward as hell because Joshua was having none of Phillip touching him, and the more pronounced it got the more strange it was. He might have lost himself some votes there because he didn't come of well in that scene at all.

[calidub]

Phillip is so far out of his league at this point. Everyone raised their game big time, while he continued his typical don't-give-a-crap Phillip routine. He honestly might be the only contestant who's ever been praised for singing a song WITHOUT any melody. Hollie, Skylar, Jessica and Joshua all had at least one incredible performance. How did NO ONE call out his falsetto on his second song? That was painful. Like, why would you even choose a song with notes that you so clearly can't hit and have to cover up with random mumbles and gargling? Moments like that make me really miss Simon.

The entire set list was completely played out. Was there a single song new to the Idol stage? I guess we should be glad that we were spared another Adele song, but I would've loved some Amy Winehouse or something current like Ellie Goulding or Jessie J. An acoustic "Lights" or "Domino" would've been cool.

Other than Phillip, I'm honestly okay with anyone in this group winning. The gals + Joshua are a ridiculously talented bunch.

Edited by calidub, May 2, 2012 @ 9:25 PM.

[montferrat]

Only really have two things to say about tonight.

1) I just think Jessica is too timid to win this show.

2) Miss Joshua Gurl needs to get over herself with that "Don't Touch me Phillip!" "macho" posturing he did tonight.
Honey, you ain't foolin' anyone.

Edited by montferrat, May 2, 2012 @ 9:28 PM.

[TheFinalRose]

What was with that couple sitting on the park bench in the middle of Skylar's song? PP sucked on that second song. It was horrible. Go Hollie! But please girl, treat yourself to some Converse next week. Enough with the heels.

[jamesonandwater]

I was so traumatized by the Phillips-Ledet duet I had to turn off and think I missed a couple of songs. I liked Hollie's first tune but I hated her second - Popsugar tweeted something about Bleeding Love really needing someone to take out all the beat and big notes that made me laugh. JLo's "critique" of P2's first tune was really very strange. Wonder if the glimpse of Phillip's girlfriend (who was very pretty) will annoy his fan base?

Edited by jamesonandwater, May 2, 2012 @ 9:39 PM.

[roydenlea]

A few weeks ago I said that Joshua reminded me of Jackie Wilson. I wish he had had a chance to sing 'Higher and Higher' instead of those little girls in their big shoes. Personally, I thought 'To Love Somebody' was Joshua's moment, when he just stood head and shoulders above the rest of the contestants. That doesn't mean he's going to win; in fact, I think it's a pretty good bet that he won't.

As for Phillip2, I couldn't stop laughing.

I was surprised that Jimmy didn't mention Elvis' country-ish version of 'You Don't Have To Say You Love Me'. Neither he or the late great Dusty have anything to worry about though, especially since I was completely distracted by the two people who wandered onto the stage while Skylar was singing.

Edited by roydenlea, May 2, 2012 @ 9:42 PM.

[proserpina65]

Wow, who was that person claiming to be Hollie Cavanaugh, and where has she been? First song was great and showed plenty of personality. Second song - one I hate btw - that was terrific and full of emotional depth! This girl totally belongs in the final 3.

Phillip - well, I really enjoyed what he did with The Letter, but Time of the Season was not a good song choice. The verses were in his lower register and sounded good; the chorus was in his higher register, and he really doesn't have a higher register. Still want to see him in the final, but not based primarily on tonight, I have to admit.

Skylar - I was surprised she did Fortunate Son, but I liked what she did with it. You Don't Have to Say You Love Me was even better, and really benefited from the countrification, imo. I want her to round out the final 3 because her performances are alway enjoyable.

Jessica - Okay, well vocally she's rarely less than very good, but her performances are, for me, generally lacking, and tonight was no exception. Proud Mary was Tina Turner lite, make that very lite, and You Are So Beautiful was completely a lounge act performance. What makes that song work is the contrast between the beauty of the music and the roughness of Joe Cocker's voice; no one else need ever try to sing it.

Joshua - Ain't Too Proud To Beg was fine. To Love Somebody started out good and then very quickly went all screamy. He's my pick to go home this week based on tonight's performances, but overall, I guess I've liked him better than Jessica.

The trio - Hollie was terrific, Skylar very good, Jessica was just meh.

The duet - can we just pretend that never happened? It was painful. That was absolutely the wrong song for Phillip, and while in theory it should've been really good for Joshua, he sounded off key at the beginning and didn't improve much. I do suspect that having to sing with Phillip probably threw Joshua off - their voices are really not meant to meld.

My top 3 are Hollie by a mile, followed by Skylar and Phillip (who should make his first trip to the bottom 3 based on tonight's performances but won't), with Jessica going because I like Joshua a little better overall.

In reality, there's no way Phillip is in the bottom 3, but beyond that, who the hell knows?

[stafford]

Can anyone explain to me how Phillip or *sigh* Joshua would have any commercial success? I believe Skyler will be a huge commercial success in Country music (something I probably won't buy unless she does a cross-over song and then I'm in).

[Ohwell]

Phil cannot sing. HE. CANNOT. SING!

I don't have a horse in this race, so I don't care who ultimately wins, but if it's Phil it would be a travesty. Because he. cannot. sing.

All that being said:

- I'm tired of Skylar's twangy nasally chicken-fried country ass stomping all over the stage and raising her left arm ala Kimberly Caldwell.

- I'm tired of Joshua starting off sounding really good and then winding up screeching at me.

- I'm tired of Jessica trying to act like she's got soul. She doesn't.

The only one I'm halfway pulling for is Hollie and she's probably going home tomorrow.

[MandoMaid]

How did NO ONE call out his falsetto on his second song? That was painful. Like, why would you even choose a song with notes that you so clearly can't hit and have to cover up with random mumbles and gargling?

YES! Once again, he sang flat, flat, flat and NO ONE CALLED HIM OUT. He missed that high note every goddamn time and the judges without exception said he was great. WTF?!!!!

Joshua, quit shouting at me.

Jessica's second song was pretty. Didn't care for "Proud Mary." Honey, you are no Tina Turner.

Hollie was incredible. If she's voted off I will blow up my TV.

[rustyspigot]

That was the first time I liked a performance of "Bleeding Love" a little bit.

Strike me with lightning, I agreed with Randy for once on the bench couple. It was almost as distracting as Skylar's mullet dress.

Phillip's falsetto? I was all "Oh its coming up again, hide!" during the whole song.

[LennieB]

This might be a shocker exit, with P2 leaving.

If there is a God.

[miss chi chi]

Joshua is the best by a mile and my favorite in years. I've been telling Mr. Chi chi for weeks that Hollie could win this thing if she lost the heels. Phillip was a complete joke tonight.

[spacecitymarc]

Phillip. Fucking Phillip. First off, "The Letter." The Box Top original broods. The Joe Cocker cover bursts with energy. Either one should fit his voice like a glove. Faced with those two options, he chooses neither, instead deciding to grind aimlessly and drunkenly swat the bridge away. The bridge, incidentally, that gives the song a) lift and b) utterly necessary variation, lest it be a plodding bore. Fail.

Next up, "Time Of The Season." Love the original, terrified of what Phillip is going to do with it. But while it's arranged differently, it's actually kind of cool, not as spiky and popping but sitting nicely low and moody. Unfortunately, Phillip seems to have gotten about halfway through the song before he realized all of the notes that were actually in it. And yet, the judges ENTIRELY IGNORE the fact that the chorus of the song is based substantially on a falsetto part that he doesn't even come close to hitting. Not a word about it, like it never happened. If they're not going to even pretend to pay attention, then why should we? Phillip: C-. Judges: F.

Bonus! The fact that I genuinely couldn't tell if Phillip and Joshua were joking or not when they were grumbling about having to sing "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" together. At first I figured, "Oh, they're doing a bit," but they never tipped it over into laughter and they both looked MISERABLE. If they were kidding, then props for never breaking even a little, tiny bit.

Edited by spacecitymarc, May 2, 2012 @ 9:46 PM.

[the macguffin]

Well, the songs were the same old same old, but at least there were a few unexpected song/singer combos.
Hollie was pretty great on River Deep; Bleeding Love was a bit too pretty, IMO. She looked adorable, much more modern than usual.
PP did a good job of exposing just how weak his voice is. Such unimaginative and predictable song choices,yawn. His teeth need whitening,too. He'll probably win, though, blech.
Skylar was her usual energetic self, but I really hated her song choices. And her outfits were atrocious (whatever happened to Tommy Hilfiger, anyway?) I'm going to say she could be in trouble tonight.
Jessica has a lovely voice, but way too much vibrato, and she was scooping notes like crazy in 'You Are So Beautiful'. But it's kind of awesome that she was able to hit that great high note while sitting in that twisted position on the stage. That tight white dress with chains was waaaay too old for her.
Joshua's been my favorite since the beginning. I wish he were more responsive to Ryan and the judges, though. Would it kill him to squeeze out a tear or two when he's told he might be the greatest singer in 50 years (oh, JLo, you so crazy)? Hope the public doesn't either get turned off by the hyperbole or think he's so safe they don't need to vote. eta: I loved his second outfit, with the draped-neck shirt and wide-lapelled jacket.
Since I'm apparently all about the fashion tonight, what was up with that dress of Jennifer's? It looked like she either had a bib attatched or her surgical mask fell off.

Edited by the macguffin, May 2, 2012 @ 9:45 PM.

[Runningwild]

Hollie won the night for me.

Phillip has done better.

Joshua and Jessica did their same ol' shtick that I just can't stand. The judge pimping signed Joshua's ouster, IMHO. Best ever? Best singer in 50 years? Barf.

[Babalooie]

The attempt at Joshua-PhilPhil humor before they sang their duet fell flat. I miss HeeJun.

[proserpina65]

Phillip's falsetto? I was all "Oh its coming up again, hide!" during the whole song.

I really like Phillip's voice in general, but there's just no way to disagree with this. He simply doesn't have a falsetto, or really, much of a higher register at all. It seemed like Randy was starting to comment on this, but then he just went back to the 'it's all good' thing, so no constructive criticism there. (And after surprising me with some honest-ish criticism of Jessica's first performance too.) Me, I don't necessarily care about Phillip's lack of range, but he needs to embrace his limitations and stick to songs which don't require it. Time of the Season was flat-out a bad song choice for him.

[Trg07]

I really wish Phillip had sung Fortunate Son instead of Skylar. It suits his voice better and I think he could have done a good job with it, plus it was so obvious Skylar had NO clue what that song was about. Even my husband commented on her lack of understanding the song in the 10 seconds he heard as he walked by the TV. I also think Phillip should have picked the Joe Cocker song instead of the Zombies.

Edited by Trg07, May 2, 2012 @ 10:00 PM.

[joeschmoe]

Hmmm, for some reason, I'd like to lump four people in to the top. Sadly, that just won't happen.

Looks to me Hollie's becoming the comeback kid. And arguably, the best of the night. That's gonna make me wanna vote with a burning passion for her.

Jessica was good in her first but great in the second. She deserves to sail through, for sure.

Skylar and Joshua are tied for me. Both their performances were B/B+ level, I just have other preferred singers.

And Phillip? Wow! He really has worn out his welcome. Carly, Michael Johns and DeWyze pwned him in "The Letter" and "Time Of The Season" just went nowhere for me. He should go, if all is fair with the world.

As for the non-solos, the girls pwned the guys, as always. And that Joshua-Phillip duet was just an epic waste of time.

[selkie]

The duet kind of improves if you're imagining that the guys are recreating the bar scene from Top Gun with P"2 in the role of Goose.

I really wish Phillip had sung Fortunate Son instead of Skylar.

It's a song that has to be sung by someone who can be believable as a dirty hippie. Phillip can pull that off, but Skylar, definitely not.

[mojoween]

I don't remember a contestant named Melody?

I nearly died in a fit of giggles when Randy was attempting to explain where Leona Lewis came from to Steven and Steven had no clue at all what Randy was talking about.

[Rickster]

Well P2 proved he has about a four note range and that duet was abysmal. He needs to go now.

Definitely Hollie's night by a wide margin. She was great on both songs and the trio. Good enough to get me to vote the first time this season. I thought Joshua did pretty well too, but wish he could have reined it in on the second song at the end. Did not deserve a standing O.

Actually thought Skyler, who I have liked, had a really below average night. Not one of her better ones.

[karashi]

Phil doesn't really have much of a voice, but usually he makes the most of it. Not so much tonight... still cute though.

After the duet with Joshua, I couldn't decide whether he was being playful or REALLY canny. He doesn't have anything to lose... they already showed his girlfriend. Meanwhile, Joshua could be avoiding any references to sexuality, only to be reduced to giggling and awkward avoidance that isn't very engaging.