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American Idol Rankings – Top 2

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Another American Idol season is over. Ah, the memories. In all honesty, this was one of the most talented seasons I can remember. Looking back at my past rankings, there were literally times when I was ranking 13 contestants and spots 3-10 were essentially tied. Each contestant was unique, there wasn’t much overlay, and they were all good.

But ultimately I think this is the correct top two. Joshua was fantastic, no doubt, but Jessica’s voice is something truly special, and Phillip’s style and swag can captivate an audience. These two are not only the best singers, they are the best performers and have the most star potential. No doubt about that.

Today’s rankings are a bit different, I won’t actually rank Phillip and Jessica, I’ll simply breakdown each of their performances. At the end of this post I will give my prediction for tomorrow night. Last week that prediction was Phillip, has that changed? Well, you could just scroll down and find out, but that’s no fun, might as well read the full synopsis. Okay, go ahead, scroll down, I understand the temptation. Just make sure to read the post backwards.

Jessica Sanchez
Simon Fuller Choice: Whitney Houston – I Have Nothing
I thought this was a solid song choice and solid performance. Jessica is one of the few contestants to go through Idol that can actually sing Whitney. Most don’t even dare, those that do usually fail, but Jessica can pull it off. No one is saying she’s as good as Whitney, but she makes it her own and at least does it justice. Tonight she delivered. It was a great vocal, although I still believe she attempted to do too much with it. Vibrato is like mustard, it must be used lightly, too much and you will overpower the entire performance. I would have preferred a nimbler performance will less of the fancy footwork.

Her Favorite from the Season: The Prayer
Breaking news; Jessica can kinda sing. This was a great performance because it was simple, elegant, and created a “moment.” At the end of the performance I got the feeling she had really captivated that theater and the audience. Those “moments” are incredibly important in the finale, they make or break a contestant. I will say, her original performance of this song was not necessarily her best, her best was certainly Whitney, but two Whitney songs? That would have been crazy.

Single: Change Nothing
This was a giant snooze fest. The new singles are so important, you either get hosed, or it works. And that is just the way song writing goes. This time, it fell flat. I feel bad for Jessica, she didn’t write the song, she didn’t choose it, but at the end of the day the buck stops with her. She could have changed the arrangement, changed her vocal, done something to bring more flare and soul to the performance. The way she sung it was shallow and transparent. It was not deep or emotional, which is when Jessica really shines. She needed to get angry or sad, some type of emotion would have made that performance ten times better, unfortunately it fell completely on its face.

Phillip Phillips
Simon Fuller Choice: Stand by Me – Ben E. King
This was a weird marriage of song and performer, it did not sit right with me. It was simple, which is good for him. His magic is taking a simple song and making it complex and layered, however he failed to achieve that with this song. It wasn’t genuine, it was awkward in many ways. He sang it well, but we’re done judging vocals, we’re judging emotion, style, and performance, and it was all off in this song.

His Favorite from the Season: Movin’ Out – Billy Joel
Then, he redeemed himself. Ahhh, Billy Joel. I loved Phillip’s original performance of this song, and I loved it the second time around too. He made it different, he made it his own. That is a distinct difference between Jessica and Phillip. Jessica is content to stand on stage and power-sing a ballad, Phillip will mold and design a song into something completely different. He’s like a kid with Playdo.

Single: Home
What is there to say about this? It was amazing. A perfect fit for him, a perfect performance. I would buy that song this very instant if given the chance. He sang it beautiful, you could tell he felt the song and understood the emotion. It was complex and deep, but yet simple, very much like Mumford and Sons. At first it reminded me of the The Gabe Dixon Band, but at the end of the day, I couldn’t pinpoint the exact feeling because it was original; it was Phillip.

Who Won The Rounds
Round One: Jessica
Round Two: Phillip
Round Three: Phillip

Who is Winning it All
Ah, the six million dollar question. I’ve said it a thousand times but I enjoy sounding like a broke record, so I’ll continue; this show is funny. Right when you think someone is going to win, they lose. Oftentimes the logical choice is the runner-up. Early in the show’s run that mattered. Now? Doesn’t at all. Both of these artists are getting record deals, instantly, with no hesitation. They are both fantastic, if polar opposites of each other.

So much of this finale is the original single. Back in the old days, it use to be that both singers performed the same song. That was a disaster. Back when Jordin Sparks won, her and Blake Lewis had to both sing “A Moment Like This.” That song clearly favored Sparks. Blake’s rendition was bizarre, it clearly turned off the audience. Did that influence voting? Hard to tell, but I can’t imagine it helped Lewis.

Now, the rules have changed. Each finalist get their own single. Problem solved! Wrong. Every single is not created equal. Case-in-point, last year Lauren’s song was miles ahead of Scotty’s terrible, awful, horrendous “I Love You This Big.” Seriously, that song was like a caricature of country music. But then again so was Lauren’s, singin’ about her momma.

This season, one was great, one was eh. Jessica drew the short straw and got the “eh” song. It’s not objectionable, but it is also boring, meaningless, and shallow. In all fairness that seems to be the meme of Top 40 radio nowadays. But that type of music rarely wins you Idol. Originality and emotion win this show, not awesome beats and confusing lyrics.

Phillip got the better song. And it would be a travesty if he did not get the opportunity to release that single. It was Phillip in so many ways. It was fantastic. I want Phillip to win if for no other reason then I want to buy that song. And that’s what this show is all about, finding a talent that will sell records.

Will Jessica sell records? Absolutely. Will Phillip sell records? Yes, and probably more than Jessica.

On the other hand, Jessica has been the favorite since day one. After that Whitney performance early on, she caught the attention of the entire country, and it seemed like she was coasting along to the finale and eventual victory. Until she had to be saved. Publicity stunt by the producers? Probably. But we don’t know, so we have to assume America decided she wasn’t ready. Imagine if the judges had already used their save? Craziness.

After that save she really had no hiccups. She performed well, sailed through the rounds, and has done great. Although I must say, she’s still not fully developed. Jennifer Lopez made a good point when addressing Jessica after her performance of her potential single. JLo told Jessica that regardless of what a songwriter or producer creates or writes, you have to know yourself well enough to either tweak it, or start over.

In other words, you have to be developed enough to make those big decisions. Do you know what type of artist you are, and are you confident enough in that knowledge that you’ll go head-to-head with even the biggest producer or writer? I don’t think Jessica is there yet. That’s not a knock on her, she’s 16 for goodness sake. But I think that age showed late in the competition and into tonight.

Phillip is matured. He knows what type of artist he is. He knows who he is and will stand up for it. Remember when Tommy Hilfiger attempted to “makeover” Phillip? Phillip completely ignored him. That shows a lot. For that reason, and for the amazing single performance that I want to buy right now, I think your next American Idol is none other than the terribly named Phillip Phillips.

I made fun of his name early in the season, but after several weeks of listening to him, he’s got the full package. He is original, he is a performer, and most importantly he is an artist. He’s not just a voice, he brings everything to the table. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed him since he broke out an acoustic version of “Thriller” in his audition. He sold me with that. I really believe he is one of the most unique talents to win this competition. I think the image below says it all.

And with that, I bid farewell to the American Idol rankings for this season. It’s been a long ride. Thanks to all for coming back and keeping up with my ramblings for nearly half the year. It’s been fun. Until next season…

Bodnar, out!

American Idol Rankings Top 3

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Ah, top three week. This is always an interesting week. To be honest, it usually doesn’t produce extremely memorable performances. I’m not sure if it’s the way the show is formatted (for some reason it seems too quick in this week), or if not having control over the song choice throws off the contestants. Either way, I was a little worried the trend would be replicated this season.

And I was kind of right.

The beginning of the show was slow, and I wasn’t impressed with anyone’s first performance. They all seem subdued and lacking emotion and passion. But that quickly changed. Joshua gave another amazing performance during his final song, as did Phillip. Truly two memorable performance, and they were the antithesis of each other. One was incredibly passionate and spiritual, the other was very intimate and pure. Lost in the middle of those two performances was a quiet week for presumed front runner Jessica Sanchez. Not sure what happened to her this week.

Here are the rankings, I have a quick blurb about each contestants performance, at the bottom of the post, I’ll have my prediction for the finale, and the winner.

Joshua Ledet1. Joshua Ledet – Rising
No doubt Joshua solidified his top spot. Not every performance was great, but his final one made up for them all.

Judge’s Song: I’d Rather Be Blind – Etta James
I did not totally connect to this first song. It felt like manufactured passion. Maybe that’s because he did not select the song, but he didn’t give everything like he normally does. Of course it was sung well, but that fiery passion that just oozes out of him during performances was not present. It is okay to leave that backstage sometimes, but this song warranted that type of oozing emotion, and it never came.

Own Choice: Imagine – John Lennon
At first I was skeptical of this song choice. Imagine? Really? John Lennon? Joshua? It seemed oddly out of place. But what the song did was allowed him to hold back. Like I said above, that over-the-top passion and emotion is sometimes better left backstage, and this was one of those times. He created a more intimate feeling, that still conveyed and communicated emotion, without the growling, convulsing, and looks of constipation.

Jimmy’s Pick: No More Drama – Mary J. Belige
Absolutely brilliant song choice from Jimmy “Sponsored by Beats Audio” Iovine. This song is the kind of music he will create as a contemporary performer. I have to admit, his slight hoping on stage was a bit distracting at first, it was like a person testing the “wine trick” on their memory foam mattress, but once the jacket came off, it was over. Absolutely incredibe ending, like nothing I’ve seen on that show. I’m pretty sure a paralyzed woman began walking in the audience, he brought the church to that sound stage. Just line that one up with the other “best in Idol history” performances from Joshua.

Phillip Phillips2. Phillip Phillips – Rising
Phillip is the real deal. He is without question the most focused among this group of three. He knows exactly what he wants to sing, he knows the feeling, the vibe, and the experience he needs to create. He has truly mastered the equation for a Phillip Phillips song, and he delivers every time.

Judge’s Song: Begging – Madcon
The test, according to Steven Tyler, was to see if he could follow the melody. Well, he succeeded. It was a perfect song for him, and he sung it with his typical southern grit and growling voice. My only criticism is he might need to practice some restraint. Even with a song like this. Take it back one or two notches and it feels more natural and at ease. If he uses too much spice it feels forceful and fake.

Own Choice: Disease – Matchbox 20
Now we’re getting closer. This was a more restrained, laid back song, which was welcomed. It had a haunting vibe, and it was typical Phillip. He really does have that equation down. I will agree with the judges, it was not a “wow performance.” But to be honest, no one had a wow performance this round, so it didn’t hurt him. It was a cruise control performance, so he stayed in his box and zone and did not stray, I would have liked him to take a little more of a risk with this one. Still, very good.

Jimmy’s Pick: We’ve Got Tonight – Bob Seger
Not much I can say about this. Great song choice by Jimmy, it’s like he does this for a living. It forced him to sing with a pure, simple, and intimate voice. It was a rare Phillip performance, but an outstanding one. It was not over-the-top or upbeat, but it forced me to use an adjective that I would never use with Phillip’s style; beautiful. Simplicity is sometimes the spice of life.

Jessica Sanchez3. Jessica Sanchez – Falling
Phillip and Joshua both had “wow” performances this week. In other words, they each gave a performance that had me captivated and surprised. Unfortunately, Jessica fell flat this week. Her vocals were good, but overall she slipped. I thought she’d be a shoe-in for the finale, now I’m not so sure.

Judge’s Song: My All – Mariah Carey
We all thought Jessica was a mature singer, but tonight we saw the difference between a veteran and an up-and-comer. This song was difficult to sing, and it showed. In many parts she was out of her range, but it wasn’t too high, it was too low. The entire song felt one step ahead of her. While singing, it felt like she was more focused on keeping up with the music, than singing the lyrics and creating a feeling. To make matters worse, she tried to do too much. There was too much vibrato, to the point where it was distracting from the performance. She fell into the trap, this song needed to be pure, simple, and intimate, and she tried to go over-the-top.

Own Choice: I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing – Aerosmith
Very bold choice, considering, ya know, Steven Tyler is sitting right there. This song has such an iconic style and vocal that it is tough to make your own. It wasn’t bad, but it did not blow me away. At this point, all of the performances should be blowing the audience away. After the performance, I was perplexed by the song choice. This is the only song of the night she has control over, there’s no reason to pick a song that far out of your wheelhouse. Stay safe in the broad sense, but take risks within the song. No need to take risks with song choice at this stage.

Jimmy’s Pick: I’ll be There – Jackson Five
I kind of feel bad for her with this song, because Jimmy picked stellar songs for Phillip and Joshua, and there’s not much she could have done with this one. This performance was like a sugar cookie, it was good, but you never bite into a sugar cookie and think it is the most amazing pastry you’ve ever eaten. Just doesn’t happen. Good performance, good vocal, but it was cruise control. It really did nothing for me.

Round One Winner: Phillip
Round Two Winner: Joshua
Round Three Winner: Joshua

Who is in the Finale: I know last week I said Jessica and Joshua would be the final two. Uh, can I change my mind? Well tough, because I am. Jessica was not in a position to coast into the finale, and that’s what she attempted to do. There were no moments in any of her performances, they were good but just good, not great. She maybe could have sneaked in if either Joshua or Phillip stumbled, but they were both above average tonight. Jessica was just average.

Who is Winning it All: Okay, you ready for this? I’m going to get a little crazy here. I figure I have nothing to lose; no reputation, this isn’t a binding pick, I might as well shock the world. I think Phillip is going to take the Idol crown. I’m not sure why, but I get this feeling that little ole’ Phillip from Georgia has a strong following. Both him and Joshua are great in their own right, but Phillip has that creativity and originality that many fans adore. I think he surprises everyone with a victory.

Who do you think is going to win American Idol? Vote in this week’s poll!

–jb

American Idol Rankings Top 4

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I think it has been said to death this season of American Idol, this season has been some of the best talent in a long, long while. I’m still not positive that will translate into record sales, but in terms of the competition, it has never been this tight. But I think the tightness let up a little tonight. To me, there’s a clear distinction between first and second, and third and fourth.

I’ll start by saying, I was not surprised that Skyler got kicked off last week. Her performances were not nearly as polished and powerful as the others, and it was her time to go. It was a tough call, because that was one of the closest top fives I’ve seen, but it made sense for her to go home. It was either her or Hollie, and I guess she drew the short straw.

But I will say, it made for one helluva week. Tonight’s show came down to one factor; who brought it 100% on both performances. Everyone tonight had at least one knock out performance, but only two people brought it on both, and those two people sit atop the rankings this week.

1. Joshua Ledet – Rising
Song: You Raise Me Up – Josh Groban, Mans World – James Brown
His first song choice was terrible. I’m sorry, but “You Raise Me Up” is never a good song to sing, EVER. Lyrically it is incredibly sappy and boring. The only person that sang it well and will ever sing it well, is Josh Groban. The entire performance felt like he was desperately trying to make the song work, but the song was just fighting back too hard. It was like swimming against the current. Not even the gaggle of choir singers could save what was honestly a mediocre performance. However, I will say his duet with Phillip made up for the horrendous attempt last week. His second performance was one of the best in the show’s history. And I’ve said that before about him, which means he’s a really special singer. He picked a perfect song; it was soulful and it had meaning and heart that he could really sink his teeth into, and he delivered. He sang the snot out of that song and delivered a truly mesmerizing performance. It’s hard to beat what he did in the second song tonight.

2. Jessica Sanchez – Rising
Song: Steal Away – Etta James, And I’m Telling You – Jennifer Holliday
Yes, Jessica is still technically “rising” even though she is still in the second spot. I say that because she delivered two great performances this week, which is more than Joshua can say. However, neither of them were the best in Idol history. I like that she mixed it up with the first song, it was a bit more bluesy and soulful, certainly going against the grain of the ballads she usually sings. Last week she disappointed, so she had to knock it out of the park, and she did. The duet was bizarre and all over the place. Not sure what was going on with the cloth swings, it was kind of a mess. The second song? That second song was curb stomped to death, in a good way. Seriously, she punched that song in the face, over, and over, and over again. She opened the flood gates when she stepped on the stage and let it all out. That was vitally important, especially after Joshua’s incredible performance. And honestly, in a lot of ways, I think it was better than Joshua’s performance.

3. Phillip Phillips – Rising
Song: Have You Ever Seen the Rain – CCR, Volcano – Damien Rice
First song was a good song choice in theory, not great in practice. It had that gritty oldies feel that suits him well, but he made it a little too light and fluffy for me. Maybe he was uncomfortable without his guitar, but the whole performance and feel of the song did not sit well. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t terrible, but it was the kind of track that eight times out of ten I’d skip on his CD. His second song was the true knock out performance. It was haunting, dark, and intimate, it had Phillip Phillips written all over it. And because I had never heard the song before, it made me feel like it was an original.

4. Hollie Cavanagh – Even
Song: Faithfully – Journey, I Can’t Make You Love Me – Bonnie Raitt
Hollie’s knock out performance was easily the first song. Faithfully by Journey is a great song, one of my favorites. She connected with the song and gave a flawless vocal. It was the performance she needed to give. Unfortunately the second performance did not carry over that connection and emotion. “I Can’t Make You Love” is a gut wrenching song. It has deep, meaningful lyrics. And when sung from a shallow heart and mouth, it falls flat. It seems Hollie didn’t have a reason to sing that song. When the video clips of Joshua roll before his performance, he always has a connection to the song, a reason for selecting it. Hollie seems to select music not on emotion or feeling, but simply what sounds good, or should, in theory, be emotional. It’s a shallow selection process that has plagued her from day one. She can sing her face off, but without that emotional connection or meaning to the words, she fails to captivate the audience. And juxtaposed to Jessica, Phillip, and Joshua that captivate everyone, she’s clearly the black sheep.

Who Should Go Home: Hollie should pack her bags. Again, this is a tight competition, but this week a line was drawn in the sand. Joshua and Jessica are clearly the best two in this race. They have the best vocal talent, and the best performing abilities. Hollie, while a great singer, does not captivate and put the audience in a trance. She has flirted with elimination before, and now she should be gone for good.

Who Is Going Home: Hollie. I think her number has been called and her time is up. Again, she is a great vocal talent, but she needs to dig a little deeper in her soul if she wants to really make moments and tell stories. Honestly, I’m surprised how far she has gone, she should have gone home weeks ago. But for a moment there, namely last week, I thought she was going to ride that upswing to the finale. She just got outperformed this week, as simple as that.

Who is Going to Be in the Finale: Joshua and Jessica. No question. The two best voices, the two best talents. I’m still not convinced either one of them could sell millions of records, but there’s no doubt in my mind that both of them can sing their faces off.

Who is Going to Win it All: Joshua. From the beginning I said Jessica, or at least I thought Jessica. Hence why I ranked her number one nearly the entire time. But Joshua has made more moments and has put more heart and soul into this competition than I’ve seen in many years. If he gives even 10% more in the finale than he gave tonight, he’s going to blow the roof off the Nokia Theater. Although I will say, this show is always a surprise, and maybe this year is no different. But honestly, if Jessica won, I don’t think I’d consider that a surprise.

–jb

American Idol Top 5 Rankings

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It has been a few weeks since my last edition of the American Idol rankings, and for that I apologize. But I’m back and what a week it was to return. It was a bit of a bizarre theme tonight, a combo of 60′s hits and British pop. I suppose that works because the 60′s is when British pop entered American mainstream (The Beattles). Either way, it turned out some interesting performances. My consensus number one for weeks has fallen from grace, and someone I couldn’t even remember early in this competition has come from behind to take the top spot.

Meanwhile the front runner to be kicked off this week finally showed some passion and performance ability, making my prediction for who is gone tomorrow that much more difficult. Yeah, crazy week on Idol. With that said, here are the rankings…

1. Joshua Ledett – Rising
Songs: Ain’t Too Proud to Beg – The Temptations, To Love Somebody – Bee Gees
He has become the most consistent performer in the competition. He has such a powerful voice with such presence, while also being distinctive and original. Every song he belts out becomes his own and is sung with such passion. Even his first song, which is not necessarily a deeply passionate song, he sung with conviction. His second song was probably the best performance of the night, if not the season. It built up perfectly to his incredibly powerful final third of the song. His gift is not just his voice, but his ability to know when to keep it calm and intimate, and when to turn it on and go full blast. He has been in cruise control since the top 13, and for that he steals the top spot from Jessica.

2. Jessica Sanchez – Falling
Song: Proud Mary – Tina Turner, You are So Beautiful – Joel Cocker
I never thought I’d put “falling” next to Jessica’s name. I said early on that her youth might catch-up to her, and I’m afraid that might be happening. Her first song was good for this point in the competition because it leaves a good, fun impression. It had the upbeat, hair down qualities she needed to show off, while also having range and ability to have a big voice. But I also understand what Randy is saying with it not totally sitting right. Whoever designed the sets tonight must have been on some knarly 60′s type drugs, because the one for her second song was just weird. The candles and the half laying down on her side, it was like a weird live action shrine to Jessica Sanchez. As for the song, it was sung well, because she sings everything well, it was just slow and poorly paced and ultimately I was kind of bored. I think Jimmy was right when he said it could be “loungey,” I felt like it was closing time at the local piano bar. She is starting to slip, and she need to really knock it out next week to hold on.

3. Hollie Cavanagh – Rising
Song: River Deep Mountain High – Tina Turner, Bleeding Love – Liona Lewis
This is how good Hollie did tonight; I was briefly considering putting her in the second spot. Yeah, that good. Her first song, was much more relaxed than we’ve seen in the past, not completely there – but much better, and she sung it very well. It was loose, relaxed, and fun. But it also managed to be in control and sung very well. Lots of power fists going on in the second song, like she was squeezing a stress ball. I was worried about the song because she’s not that great at pulling the audience in and singing intimately, but she finally pulled it off, and it was a great vocal. She has always had the voice, she just needed to fill in the blanks, and that is beginning to happen at the right time.

4. Skylar Laine – Even
Song: Fortunate Song – CCR, You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me – Dusty Springfield
She did not blow me away tonight, but she did not disappoint either. I got what I expected. The problem? I want to get the unexpected. Not sure I totally agree with the first song choice, but she can find energy in anything, its kind of incredible. I like her with a little more rock infused in the country, but she certainly made CCR more country and twangy. She made it her own, so that’s a plus, just felt like it was a bit under the energy level that suits her. Second song? Well for starters the weird couple on the bench was just too bizarre, again with the drug induced set design. She needed to turn the second song into a country ballad to fit into her wheelhouse, she tried, but I think it could have been better. No doubt, she sung it very well, just not as country-twangy as she usually does.

5. Phillip Phillips – Even
Song: The Letter – The Box Tops, Time of the Season – The Zombies
It is tough for me to put Phillip this low, because he didn’t perform poorly, it is just that everyone else was amazing. I am slightly worried that every song he sings sounds basically the same. There is something to be said about being individual and unique, but that uniqueness fades if every song is the same – even if that sound is original. He is still an incredible singer and performer. Unfortunately, his duet with Joshua was really awful, seriously one of the worst and most awkward duets in the history of Idol. He did well tonight, but just well, not great. And again, like Skylar, I expected what he did tonight, I could predict it. Give me something new that I haven’t seen before.

This was really a hard list to compile, because now that Elise is gone, everyone really is on the same footing. I have no qualms with this top five, I really believe these are the five best. But I also believe that they are all pretty even. Maybe Joshua and Jessica are tied for first and the other three are tied for second, but it is incredibly close. I really think at this point it’s going just be one by one eliminations until the final two of Jessica and Joshua. But of course that assumes that Jessica stops slipping.

Who Should Go Home: Should go home? I’d have to say Skylar. She just didn’t blow me away tonight. Hollie did what she needed to do, and Jessica is good enough to keep going despite a not-so-perfect week. But Skylar need to really bring it each and every time on stage. And for me, she didn’t even have one amazing performance tonight. Both were just okay. For that, I think she needs to go.

Who Will Go Home: Hollie. Again, she did everything she could tonight, and she did a great job. But I’m going with the singer who has been in the bottom three the most, and that’s Hollie.

American Idol Rankings Top 9

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It was idols singing idols week. Which essentially means we got to see which contestants know themselves best. If you know what kind of artist you are, and why type of music you can sing, you will shine in this theme. If not, you falter. Or you falter because you’re just a bad singer, there was some of that.

This was truly an incredibly difficult list to make. Honestly, in my mind there’s a clear number one, then a bunch of people tied for the second spot, and then a clear bottom two. Placing the people in between is no easy task. But hey, who said my job was easy. I give you, this week’s rankings.

1. Jessica Sanchez – Even
Song: Sweet Dreams – Beyonce
Sometimes I wish she would let her hair down and be more outgoing and fun, instead of the stereotypical ballads and power songs. However, I was impressed, it started very slow, but picked up and really became a good performance. She took a song that is not a slow song, and make it fit her. Instead of morphing to the song, she morphed the song to her. That’s impressive and a trait that goes far in this competition. Still looking for her to break out of her shell and have some fun, but in the meantime I can’t complain too much about her singing.

2. Phillip Phillips – Rising
Song: Still Rainin’ by Jonny Lang
He jumped several spots over the last rankings. He’s on cruise control, he knows his niche and he sings it very well. He’s such a captivating performer, he’s finally starting to grow on me. He has such a unique quality to his voice and such a unique style, it is really a breath of fresh air in this competition where so many contestants are trying to be other people. Great song choice for him, had that grit and grind that suites his voice so well, and pulled out the electric guitar this week. Unlike Hollie, he has the whole package, he’s a singer, an artist, and a musician. Trifecta.

3. Joshua Ledet – Rising
Song: Without You by Mariah Carey
After the judges stood up for him, I wondered if we’re getting a little too loose with our legs – and I don’t mean that in a dirty way. It was a decent rendition of this song, he emotionally connected to the song, and that’s refreshing. But, I almost feel like he was the fat kid who’s eyes are bigger than his stomach. I felt like he reached just a little too high on the song book shelf on this one. The emotion he sings with can mask some of the imperfections in his voice. Overall, a good performance, but he’ll never be able to outdo When a Man Loves a Woman.

4. Colton Dixon – Rising
Song: Everything by Lifehouse
He had me at string instruments. I love string instruments in rock songs like this. Again, he made the song his own, it sounded like Colton singing a Colton song, not Colton singing a Lifehouse song. It started off a little slow, but when it picked up he really broke through. I’ve made the comparison a million times, he reminds me of David Cook. Authentic. Creative. And original. Those three traits won Cook the competition, Colton could follow suit.

5. Hollie Cavanagh – Falling
Song: Jesus Take the Wheel by Carrie Underwood
She fell hard this week. Not because she royally screwed up or murdered the song, but because so many other people did amazing this week. When compared to the other’s performances, she fell a little short. I’m still waiting for her to break out and sing a really upbeat fun song, and do it well. She’s a little stiff and a little disconnected. She’s like the woman who does voice overs for the airport. A great voice, but little emotion and connection with the song. She views her job as singing, and she does that well. However, she does not put the audience in a trance or mesmerize us with a performance.

6. Elise Testone – Rising
Song: Whole Lotta Lovev – Led Zeppelin
Is it weird if I say this was my favorite performance of the night? The key word there is performance. This is not a singing competition, anyone who says that is lying. It’s a performance competition, it’s an artist competition. Elise put together a complete amazing performance tonight and sung a difficult song to boot. She finally looked in her element, and finally someone who wasn’t afraid to let loose. I think she did herself the most favors tonight. With everything in me I wanted to put her higher on this list, but truly spots 2-7 are all tied for the second spot.

7. Skylar Laine – Rising
Song: Gun Powder and Lead by Miranda Lambert
Another performer that I would have loved to stick in a higher spot. Skyler is amazingly focused in her genre and fit. She knows not only that she wants to sing country, she knows exactly what type of country music she wants to sing. She had a perfect song choice, probably the best of the night. She had the fun, spunky, energy like always, and we even saw a little bit of the Skylar Spaz in there. She is without question the most consistent performer.

8. Deandre Breckensick – Falling
Song: Sometimes I Cry by Eric Benet
What the hell is this song? He sang it so high I needed a dog to tell me if it was good or bad. His name was Duncan, he said it was terrible. That was expected. Technically speaking there was nothing wrong with his incredibly high vocal, it was just abrasive and jarring. Not to mention he was making love to the microphone stand the entire time, which is not good for anybody. Jennifer said he has one of the most special voices, if special equals annoying, then yes, she’s correct. The Deandre experiment needs to end, he has provided one solid performance during his time on the show, the rest have been sub-par.

9. Heejun Han – Falling, Falling, Falling
Song: A Song for You by Any Number of People
Good news: he stopped being an ass. Bad news: he was better when he was being an ass. At least when Heejun was acting like a stuck up snotty five year old, he was entertaining. Now, well, I’m not sure what the hell tonight was. He was sincerely attempting to sing well, but, uh, he didn’t. About a quarter of the song was flat, he invented several notes, and yet still managed to get a standing ovation. The judges were handing out standing ovations tonight like an old woman hands out ham samples at a grocery store. Heejun was probably the most egregious of them all.

Who Should Get Kicked Off: Heejun deserves to go. He’s erratic. Last week he was rebelling against the ills of the competition by acting like a fool. This week he was trying to get back on track with a terrible vocal during an incredibly boring performance. Of all the weeks that he’s been gone, I’ve missed Simon the most this week. He probably would have handed out, maybe one standing ovation. And he would have put Heejun in his place weeks ago. Heejun should not be penalized for his tomfoolery, the time for that would have been last week, he should be penalized for murdering music.

Who Will Get Kicked Off: Heejun is gone. Deandre has a few people that actually enjoy his barely audible vocals, so he should secure enough votes to stick around. The rest did amazing jobs tonight, if either Heejun or Deandre don’t get kicked off this week, America will have to go, and we’ll hand over voting to the Canadians. Yeah, it will have gotten that bad.

American Idol Rankings – Top 11

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This should have been the rankings for the top 12 (again), but obviously everyone heard about the legal troubles that Jermaine Jones has had, and that he has now been kicked out of the competition. I heard about these arrest warrants earlier in the day, and I was curious how Idol would handle the situation. Obviously, they had to make mention of them, they couldn’t just throw Jermaine on the streets and pretend like the competition wasn’t down a man.

However, I was a little uneasy about how they approached it. I was expecting Seacrest to make mention of it at the top of the show; briefly say that Jermaine was gone, and then move on. But it was like they used Jermaine’s legal troubles for their ratings gain. It’s no secret the show is seeing sagging ratings, and Seacrest teased the excommunication of one contestant at the top of the show, and then revisited it later by saying “I can now tell you that contestant is Jermaine Jones” as if he had just said “dim the lights here we go” and was eliminating another hopeful.

Then they played an incredibly awkward video of the two executive producers confronting Jermaine about his run ins with the law and detailing them, even going so far as to ask Jermaine for specifics. Again, I understand the show had to detail, in some way, the elimination of Jermaine and why he was leaving, but this seemed oddly personal and invasive. Sure anyone with an internet connection can see the exact charges and the police documents that accompany them, but I feel like that’s not the role of American Idol. Instead of going all “I’m Chris Hansen from Dateline” on him, they should have made mention of it and moved on.

Instead it seemed Idol saw an opportunity to leave viewers wondering, making them stay tuned while they dangled a carrot in front of our faces. It seemed more like a ratings gimmick than an explanation of the situation. It was unnecessary and continued to show Idol hasn’t learned their lesson. Early on the show focuses too much on items that don’t matter, stick to singing and performing, leave the cute editing gimmicks for other shows.

Okay, now that’s out of my system. Let’s talk about tonight’s show. Good overall, the judges are certainly getting to that point where they are harsher on the contestants. It happens every year about this time. But overall I thought almost everyone did themselves favors tonight. The theme was pick a song from the year you were born. If nothing else, this theme made me feel old, and I’m not old. I was born in 1990 (missed being an 80′s baby by seven days) and it seemed half of the contestants stated a birth year at least three years after mine. 1994? Really? It feels weird that people were having babies in the mid-90′s.

There’s a big log jam in the middle of these rankings. The top two is clear, the middle is not. There are a solid four or five people that I think could occupy the fourth spot in these rankings, the talent is that good this year. There’s not an infectious contestant yet, but there are several quality talents.

With that said, here are this week’s rankings – once again, next to the person’s name is their momentum. Either rising, falling, or even. This doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve changed ranks, just that they are headed up or down.

1. Jessica Sanchez – Rising
Song: Turn the Beat Around – Gloria Estefan
Jessica finally sang a fast paced, upbeat song. It was about time. The judges told her to stay true to herself with ballads, but I disagree, you’ve got to have versatility. Not an amazing performance, but it was juxtaposed to last week. She had problems with the melody and keeping up with the song, but that is a very tough song to sing lyrically, it’s very fast and choppy. She made the most of it, and did well enough to maintain her perch at the top of the rankings.

2. Hollie Cavanagh – Rising
Song: The Power of Love – Celine Dion
For starters, I love this song, I grew up on this. My mom would play Celine all the time when I was a kid, so the song has nostalgic memories for me. But I squashed those memories like a bug to bring you an objective opinion. She sang it amazingly, and it was the perfect song choice for her. I believe she’s the best pure singer in this competition. Yes, better than Jessica. She has a very clean, well put together voice. There are no frills, no gimmicks, just great singing. That does not always win you this competition (see Jennifer Hudson or Pia from last season) but I think Hollie is different. Plus, we finally understand her weird accent, she was born in the UK and lives in Texas – mash up those two accents and it is really weird.

3. Joshua Ledet – Rising, Rising, Rising
Song: When a Man Loves a Woman – Michael Bolton
What the hell Jacob, you had Josh at eighth last week? Ya, well that was before this week, and this week he delivered one of the best performances in the show’s history. What? Really? Yes, really. When I heard J Lo make that comment after his performance I marked it up to J Lo being annoying (which is generally the case) then I watched the performance back. He created a moment, a moment in which he created a two way street between him and audience. I know this is sounding like some sappy bull crap, but let me explain. In his performance, he fed the audience energy, the audience fed him energy back, and he built off of and performed off of that energy. The suggestive taking off of the coat, the removing of his IFB, he was so into the song he didn’t need the frills of the competition or technology of the show, he just sang it. I thought it was a fantastic performance, and if he can deliver like that every week, watch out. With that said, he’s been forgettable in the past (like every week), so he needs to step up now, he can’t be forgotten in the shadow of this outstanding performance.

4. Colton Dixon – Rising
Song: Broken Heart – White Lion
I don’t know what the heck song he sang tonight, but I don’t really care. I could envision him as the front man to a indie-rock band, and that’s all that really matters. Good performance, not stellar, but good. This was a perfect song choice for him, and I think the fact that no one recognized it played directly into his hands.

5. Skylar Laine – Rising
Song: Love Sneakin’ Up on You – Bonnie Raitt
Good song choice for her, and I like the fact that she’s not defaulting to country. She is a country-rocker, and instead of simply picking country songs like everyone expects, she’s picking songs that are walking that fine line of country and rock, and making them her own. That is what wins this competition. She really has the two factors that I like in a contestant; energy and creativity. There were moments in this performance where I was just waiting for her to break out and spaz and get energetic, but she has such a powerful voice she made up for it. In a lot of ways I think she’s a better more powerful singer than Lauren Alania, the runner-up last season.

6. Phillip Phillips – Rising
Song: Hard to Handle – The Black Crowes
Okay, the dude had surgery less than a week ago to remove a kidney stone. And he performed like that tonight? Amazing. Great song choice, great performance, he is slowly (but surely) becoming one of the top dudes in this competition. In a season where the men are well behind the women, that might not mean a whole lot, but it is still something to hang your hat on. He stepped away from his guitar tonight, and when musicians do that it can sometimes spell trouble, but he did really well with just a mic stand.

7. Elise Testone – Even
Song: Let’s Stay Together – Al Green originally, but she wasn’t born in 1972, so some dude from the 80′s
It pains me to put Elise this far down, she really is more like the fourth or fifth in this competition, but the middle is so jammed that I have no choice. She didn’t under perform this week, there were just several contestants who over performed or beat my expectations. And I’m afraid she’s living in their shadows. I still love her voice and her soulfulness. But there were some spots tonight where weakness in her voice showed. She has yet to really nail it, really knock us off our feet. If she can’t do that soon, I hate to say her days may be numbered.

8. Erika Van Pelt – Even
Song: Heaven – Bryan Adams
Another okay performance for me tonight. She sang it really well, like spot on, but she seemed disengaged with the performance. It is a beautiful song, and she treated it like a rock song first and beautiful song second. Those should be switched, connect with the song lyrically and emotionally before you connect with it based on the genre. Just because it is in you “wheelhouse” doesn’t mean you should sing it. However, I was convinced tonight that she could be an 80′s rocker singer.

9. Shannon Magrane – Falling
Song: One Sweet Day – Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men
Just because a song is good and you listened to it growing up, doesn’t mean you should try and tackle it. For example, I listened to Celine Dion growing up, but me singing Celine Dion is like listening to baby seals being run through a garbage disposal. Not good. Once again, she thought too much, she was disengaged. Compare this performance to Joshua’s – there’s no comparison. He was feeding off the audience, Shannon was pleading with the audience. “Like me, like me. Vote for me.” It was like she was screaming at them the whole time. She needs to relax and just sing. There were moments when she did that, but they were just moments. She’s like a basketball team that plays solid ball for 15 minutes, and then lays an egg the rest of the game. Closing out a game and closing out a performance are not too far apart. Shannon must do this. I fear she might be going home soon. Not sure why I fear that because I really don’t like her, but whatever.

10. Deandre Brackensick – Even
Song: Endless Love – Mariah Carey
Rule of thumb; don’t sing Mariah Carey unless the producers or judges force you to sing Mariah Carey. When you sing songs that are larger than life, you usually fall well below expectations. Deandre did a good job last week, but I knew that would be short lived. Again, no connection to the song, and he had vocal problems. It was better at the end, but overall a poor performance. And again, he looks like Joakim Noah “You guys have no idea what I’m talking about when I’m saying that…” – yeah, that guy.

11. Heejun Han – Falling
Song: Waiting for You – Richard Marx
This is the kind of song a love sick high school boy plays on a boom box from his outstretched arms, pointed at the second story window of the 15 year old he loves. Aww, so precious. I was bored. But I was also excited, albeit mildly, to hear Heejun sing a more upbeat song. If songs were hearts, his previous songs were 100 year old hearts that had suffered several heart attacks. Tonight’s was probably a solid 75 years old with only one heart attack…and maybe a stroke. So an improvement nonetheless. He had a great connection with the song, I was impressed by that, but there were some spots where he was vocally disconnected and bored me to death.

Who is Getting Kicked off this Week: Elise Testone – I really hate to say that, but I don’t think she did enough to stick around. She was in the bottom two last week and she really needed to blow us away this week. She didn’t. She did well, but not outstanding. If America is feeling forgiving and generous, she’ll be around next week. If America is feeling ruthless, she’ll be packing her bags this time tomorrow.

Who Should Get Kicked Off: Shannon Magrane – What!? Not Heejun? I think Shannon has been the most consistently sub-par. She can sing, no doubt about that, but she has yet to show she can emotionally connect with a song. Some will blame that on her age. That’s low hanging fruit. That can easily be disproved by watching Jessica Sanchez’s performance last week, or any number of these contestants who are younger than myself, connect with songs on a deeper, more emotional level. I want to feel her sing a song. I want her to not just sing, but create that moment and connection with the audience. Joshua wrote the book this week about how to do that. Shannon needs to achieve that level, or else she gone.

–jb

American Idol Rankings – Top 12

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I DVRed this week’s episode of American Idol, so unfortunately I wasn’t able to do rankings before the results show, and thus was not able to make a prediction about who was going home. However, I think Jeremy was the correct choice, he had a poor song choice, and was weak and unengaged in the performance. And if not for the fact that he was forced to pick a Stevie Wonder song, I bet he would have sang something originally done by a female.

With that said, there weren’t too many bad performances this week, everyone did a decent job, but there were some that stood out above the rest, namely Jessica Sanchez and Hollie Cavanagh. Hence, why they sit atop the rankings this week.

1. Jessica Sanchez – Rising
Song: I Will Always Love You – Whitney Houston
I must say, this performances was not just one of the best this week. It wasn’t just one of the best this season. It was one of the best in years. I could have done without some of the vibratos towards the end, I think a pure simple voice is the best way to sing this song, but she had a flawless vocal. She is without question the one to beat. I’m just concerned she might beat herself, that is oftentimes how a front runner falls.

2. Hollie Cavanagh – Rising
Song: All the Man that I Need – Whitney Houston
Speaking of great vocals. Sometimes I feel Hollie might be the dark horse of this race. Everyone believes that Jessica is going to win, and I don’t disagree with them, but in terms of vocal strength, I don’t think Hollie is far behind, and in many ways I think she has just as strong a voice.

3. Colton Dixon “The Face Painter” – Rising
Song: Lately – Stevie Wonder
Colton this week did what will win him the competition, he took an artist that he theoretically should not sing well, and made it his own. I said last week that he reminds me of David Cook, and he does even more now. David Cook could take any song and make it his own – Colton can do the same. If he can consistently surprise us with his unique take on songs, he will be the dark horse in this competition.

4. Elise Testone – Even
Song: I’m Your Baby Tonight – Whitney Houston
This was a good song choice for her, and I thought she sang it well save for a few spots, but America disagreed. Maybe that soulful growling voice isn’t what American is looking for this season? I still like her, and if she can pick the right songs she can excel. Colton jumped her this week because, put simply, he proved himself more.

5. Phillip Phillips – Rising
Song: Superstition – Stevie Wonder
Phillip had the misfortune of following Jessica Sanchez, and after I saw her performance I thought, “I would not want to be the person that has to follow that.” And when I heard it was Phillip I was concerned he might crash and burn. But, he might have matched Jessica, not with his voice, but with his creativity and ability to perform. He has the same quality as Colton, he can take songs and make them unique and his own, if he continues to do that, we might all be surprised how far Phillip can go.

6. Skylar Laine – Falling
Song: Where Do Broken Hearts Go – Whitney Houston
This song isn’t really an upbeat country-rock song, but she still tried to do a little spaz in the middle. She picked a perfect song, because upon hearing it, you can totally envision it as a country song, but it wasn’t her best vocal performance, and the really upbeat songs suit her better. I hope she gets back to that next week.

7. Erika Van Pelt – Even
Song: I Believe in You and Me – Whitney Houston
She sang the song well, it just wasn’t necessarily in her modern rocker wheelhouse. That’s going to happen in this competition, and as long as she can pull off a good vocal she’ll be safe. I still like her, and I think she can sing just about anything, but I want to see her more in her element.

8. Joshua Ledet – Rising
Song: I Wish – Stevie Wonder
He is a good singer, I’m just not sure he’s a great artist. Once again, I’m struggling to remember his performance, so he’s forgettable, which is not a good quality. Why do I have him ranked so high? I’m not really sure why, I guess because there are people worse than him.

9. Shannon Magrane “Erin Andrews” – Falling
Song: I Have Nothing – Whitney Houston
There was always something about Shannon that irked me. Something that just made me second guess her, despite her good voice. Mary J. Blige hit the nail on the head this week when she said Shannon was thinking too much. And that’s exactly her problem. You can see her telegraphing her moves and performance in her head during the song, and it’s distracting. She needs to relax and just sing. Even after Jimmy and Mary told her that, she still looked half constipated during her performance. She can sing, she just needs to sing. It was also during this week’s performance that I realized she resembles sports reporter Erin Andrews, like a lot. With her hair high in a pony tail and from the side, it’s like the same frickin’ person.

10. Jermaine Jones – Even
Song: Knocks Me Off My Feet – Stevie Wonder
Like I said last week, I really want to like Jermaine, but I can’t. He has a nice smooth voice, and he can sing well, but his voice is too low. It’s good, but I don’t know how it will sit with many people. I’m also concerned about the boring factor, he might just be too boring.

11. Deandre Brackensick – Rising
Song: Master Blaster – Stevie Wonder
If not for the fact that I don’t like Deandre as a person, he would be ranked much higher. His performance this week was surprisingly good, I was impressed. But he looks like Joakim Noah, and that bothers me more than anything else. If he keeps performing like he did this week, he could grow on me, right now though it’s an uphill battle.

12. Heejun Han – Falling
Song: Not sure, I feel asleep
Heejun is annoying. He is somewhat funny, but it comes across as careless and annoying. So there’s that. Then there’s the fact that he sings people to sleep. I want him to do something upbeat and fun, instead of slow, boring, make me gouge me eyes out music. I appreciate that kind of music, but I also want to be entertained. He fails to do that with his performances. If he took some of that humor and converted it to entertainment during his performances, he’d be set.

There you go, my rankings for the week. I think everyone is pretty set in their rankings, but there are a few people that could make runs and surprise me, they are…

Deandre Brackensick – Like I said, if he keeps performing like he did this week, I could grow to like him.
Shannon Magrane – She has a great voice, but needs to relax and stop thinking.

Next week, I’ll do my best to get rankings out before the results show.

American Idol Rankings – Top 13

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It’s that time of year again, time for me to show the world that I have way too much time on my hands and watch way too many hours of mindless television and take it way too seriously.

Sometimes making a fool out of yourself is just fun. It’s American Idol Rankings time! Where I compile, in order, the best and worst from the singing competition. I’m usually critical, mean, but sometimes I’m genuinely excited about some of the contestants.

This season has been stacked with singing talent, but not a whole lot of star power. I’m not seeing many people on that stage that could be recording artists (artists is the key word) right now. But then again, it is early in the competition, rarely does someone stand out in front of the crowd this early. Take these rankings like the preseason college football or basketball rankings, which basically means, they’re worthless. I’ve seen these guys perform once, thanks to American Idol’s incredibly selective editing during Hollywood Week that generally results in me wasting several hours of my life each week watching basically nothing happen.

As usual, rankings this year will include if they’re heading up, down, or staying the same. This week’s will not for obvious reasons.

1. Jessica Sanchez
Song: Love You I Do – Dreamgirls
Usually I hate when contestants do songs from musicals, but she made it sound contemporary and new. That is a strong trait, and if there is one way to win my top spot it’s creativity and taking older songs and breathing new life into them. Not only is she a great performer, she’s probably the best singer in the competition, or at least tied for the top spot. Right now, she is the one to beat.

2. Hollie Cavanagh
Song: Reflection – Christina Aguilera
The song was boring, but it showed off her amazing voice. Very strong vocals, she could sing the phone book and I’d buy the album. But she does need to work on the stage presence and performance aspect. Just like Steven Tyler and the judges said, she needs to let her hair down a little, let loose, be crazy, be fun. If she can combine that with her great voice, she’ll go far.

3. Elise Testone
Song: One and Only – Adele
Really Jacob? Three girls in the top three. Thank you for noticing reader, that is true, the girls are hoarding the talent this year like a squirrel hoards nuts in the winter. Elise has a great tone and quality to her voice, what can I say, I like the soulful, raspy singers. Although I will admit, by the time she performed last on Wednesday I was about ready to go buy every available copy of Adele’s album and burn it. The Adele songs got really old, really quick.

4. Skylar Laine
Song: Stay with Me – Faces
This was probably the best song choice of any contestant, absolutely perfect for here – walking that fine line of country and rock. And when you know what kind of artist you are this early in the game, it really plays to your advantage. Now the trick is not losing sight of it. Without question she has the most onstage energy and it is infectious and fun to watch. And if there’s one thing we’ve learned; country goes far in this competition. Plus she even had that partial seizure on stage where she flapped her arms like a frustrated penguin trying to take flight. If she keeps that up I may just have to dub it the “Skylay Spaz.”

5. Colton Dixon
Song: Decode – Paramore
I’m not really a fan of Paramore. Wait, let me rephrase that, I’m not a fan of Paramore at all. But I think this type of artist can go far and do wonders. He reminds me of David Cook, an Indie Rocker who won the competition years ago. Cook had one fantastic quality, he took songs and completely remade them, and did it very well. If Colton can do that, watch out. I put him this high not because I was enamored by his performance, honestly I thought it could have been better, but because I think he has the most potential out of any contestant.

6. Erika Van Pelt
Song: What about Love – Heart, Edge of Glory – Lady Gaga
She was a wildcard pick, but she was the right pick. Her “sing for her life” song was much better than her earlier song. She is clearly an artist in the P!nk and Lady Gaga crowd, I’m just not convinced she gets that yet, otherwise she wouldn’t have picked a Heart song. She sang Pink in Hollywood week and was great. I’m just concerned that type of music, while popular, is not well received when someone else does it. Lady Gaga is successful not because she’s a good singer, but because she’s a good performer and all around crazy person. It’s the experience that makes Gaga popular, Erika will have to make the singing what makes her popular, can she do that in that genre? We’ll find out.

7. Phillip Phillips
Song: In the Air Tonight – Phil Collins
Besides having the best name in the competition, which gives him more points than you probably realize, he’s one of the most unique. He may have peaked too early, and by too early I mean at the first available opportunity, when he sung an acoustic version of Thriller in his audition, but he has the ability to take songs and make them his own. He was okay with Phil Collins, but he has great potential moving forward if he can take any song and put his Phillip Phillips stamp on it.

8. Shannon Magrane
Song: Something Really Boring, oh wait, it was Go Light Your World – Kathy Troccoli
Yeah, she’s a great singer, but she’s also incredibly vanilla. And by that I don’t mean she’s white, I mean she’s boring. This song, while sung well, was a snoozer. I don’t know what kind of artist she is, and that’s an issue. Is she contemporary, is she country, is she power ballads that you should only hear at the skating rink during couples skate? I’m not sure. And I get the impression she doesn’t know either.

9. Joshua Ledet
Song: You Pulled Me Through – Jennifer Hudson
This guy is really lucky I put him this high (because as you know my rankings are binding). I say that because I honestly don’t remember his performance, and he’s the only one I don’t remember. Usually when you fade from my memory that’s an automatic bottom feeder ranking, the only reason he’s in the top ten is because the judges spoke very highly of him, as did Jimmy “Sponsored by Beats Audio” Iovine. I’ll give him one chance next week to make an impression, after that, he’s gone.

10. Jeremy Rosado
Song: Gravity – Sara Bareilles, Some Adele Song
Here’s the problem with Jeremy, every time I hear his last name all I can think about his Gordon Ramsay shouting “RISOTTO!” in a British accent and a bunch of petrified cooks responding “yes chef!” I guess that’s not entirely his fault, but I’ll lay some blame on him. In reality, the problem with Jeremy is his apparent affinity for love songs sung by girls about dudes. Both of his performances were female songs, and if I remember correctly he did some in Hollywood week as well. That has to end. The occasional female song transformed into a male song is okay, but Gravity by Sara Bareilles is like a heavy love/breakup song from a female perspective. It’s hard to sell that song to the audience when a 19 year old guy is behind the mic.

11. Heejun Han
Song: Angels – Robbie Williams – although I couldn’t understand any word besides “angels”
Heejun has a smooth voice. He also has an annoying attitude. I think he’s funny and quirky, but it comes across as cocky and annoying. Bad combo. This was a terrible song choice, too slow, too boring, not showing off his voice enough, but he can sing. The other problem, and I will attempt to address this as delicately as I can, I couldn’t understand a word of what he was saying. I’m not sure if that was an annunciation problem or his accent, but it was distracting. I hope that gets corrected moving forward. He gets such a low ranking because, honestly, I just don’t like him.

12. Jermaine Jones
Song: Dance with my Father – Luther Vandross
I really want to like Jermaine. He’s a nice guy, he’s got a big heart, and he loves his momma. In theory I like his voice, but I’m worried it might be too low. This was a good song choice for him, it was also a safe pick and a boring pick. Luther Vandross songs are overdone on this show, and this particular song is at the top of that list. If he can find the right songs to sing, he has a shot, but he’s teetering on the edge, so one bad song and the audience will not give him a second chance (which is like a fifth chance at this point).

13. Deandre Brackensick
Song: Reasons – Earth, Wind, and Fire
The problem with Deandre? Only dogs can hear him sing. Which is a problem considering humans are the largest voting bloc on the show. I don’t totally get the fascination with him. His voice is okay, he has an expansive upper register, but it’s not a good upper register, it’s annoying. When he sang the song to save his life for the wildcard spot I was mildly impressed, he should really sing a little lower next time, because his voice is actually smooth down there. But the hair flipping is just bothersome. I hope he goes early.

There you have it, my top 13. We’ll see how it changes next week. The only gripe I have about the top 13 is that Adam Brock was left out. He wasn’t even asked back for a wildcard singing opportunity, which I thought was complete bull. He sings one song just okay and he’s written off entirely? I thought he had the most potential in that entire competition, really sad to see him go.

American Idol Rankings Top 7

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This show is turning more into a theatrical competition instead of a singing competition. Remember when Randy use to remind everyone that this is a singing competition? That was a common occurrence the last nine seasons, and all of a sudden he’s fallen into the trap of believing that it’s something else.

It’s not.

This is still, above all, a singing competition. Yes, you need to have “star quality” and the ability to perform and entertain (after all this is the entertainment business), however if we break it down we’re looking for, above everything else, the best voice. Think of it like this…
70% voice
15% performing
15% entertaining/personality

So we should focus on the voice. We’re not anymore.

James Durbin murdered music this week. He literally grabbed music by the throat and shot it in the face, multiple times. I’m sorry, he didn’t hit the notes in Uprising, he couldn’t sing the high stuff, and all he did was prove to us that he can scream really, really loud. It was theatrical and entertaining, I’ll give him that, but that doesn’t make up for his murderous vocals.

With that said, here’s the rankings for this week…

1. Jacob Lusk – Rising – Last Week: 1
Song: Dance with my Father – Luther Vandross
For starters, I didn’t know that Dance with my Father was released in 2003, that is just a testament to the amazingness that was Luther Vandross, he could write a song and release it only eight years ago and it feels like it’s been a staple of music forever. This song clearly had emotional ties for Jacob, he displayed that in the performance. It was probably the most emotional performance of the year and I thought he did very well. He didn’t need to be over-the-top or crazy, this was an emotional song, he sung it that way, it was good.

2. Hayley Reinhart – Rising – Last Week: 4
Song: Rolling in the Deep – Adele
Why did Hayley jump two spots from last week? Simple, she’s starting to kick butt and take names. She struggled finding herself early in the competition but America rightfully kept her around, and now she’s doing well. I thought this was a fantastic song choice and she sung it perfectly. In a time when other contestants are plateauing, Hayley is rising, and fast.

3. Lauren Alaina – Even – Last Week: 2
Song: Born to Fly – Sarah Evans
It’s no secret I think Lauren has a chance to win, under one condition: she gains more confidence. She can flat out sing, and when Jimmy Ivine told her she was better than Miley Cyrus he wasn’t just giving her confidence, he was absolutely right. She is a very talented singer, I just don’t think she knows that yet. She said during Stefano’s video that someone needs to tell Stefano he’s cute so he stops trying so hard to pick up women. Well, someone needs to tell Lauren she can sing a phone book so she stops trying to pretend she can’t. If she gains some more confidence and comes out and sings a big, loud, difficult song next week and destroys it, she has a good chance to win.

4. Scotty McCreery – Rising – Last Week: 5
Song: Swinging – LeAnne Rimes
Not surprised he sung a country song, was kind of surprised it was LeAnne Rimes. However, Scotty impressed me this week. Sure he still looks like Alfred E. Newman (see left), and sure he still holds his microphone like a flute, but tonight, for the first time, I felt like I was watching a Scotty McCreery concert. He had a confidence on stage that I haven’t seen before, and the song didn’t bother me (like most country songs do). So Scotty might just be growing on me.

5. James Durbin – Falling – Last Week: 3
Song: Uprising – Muse
I really like Uprising by Muse, and I really like music in general. So when someone comes out and strangles music to death, I take offense. And when three judges back-up that strangulation, I get irritated. James’ performance was awful, literally it was difficult to watch and listen to. When he attempted to hit the high notes (and he was very off) I cringed. The drumline was unnecessary and over-the-top. He made the song even darker than what it already is. And he completely misunderstood the meaning of the song. It’s not a dark apocalyptic overthrow the world song. It’s actually a scathing critic of government. He murdered it (and not in a good way). He is nowhere near as talented as Adam Lambert and I didn’t even like him. James’ song had too much screaming, he childishly attempted high notes that he couldn’t hit, and he pretended too be something he’s not. It was horrendous.

6. Casey Abrams – Falling – Last Week: 6
Song: Harder to Breathe – Maroon 5
How can the judges sleep at night knowing they are so hypocritical. For weeks they criticized Hayley for not knowing what she wanted to sing and for being all over the map in her song choices. Yet Casey can sing Nirvana, Nat King Cole with a bass, and then Maroon 5 and get away with it? What is that? I have no problem singing Maroon 5 if you’re going to tweak it to fall within your genre, but he sang it like a rock song, and he scatted during the song. Really? You decided to scat in a Maroon 5 song? Randy Jackson even admitted that Casey is an erratic performer by claiming that he is a “jazz, indie, kinda rock guy.” What!? That is not even a thing. That literally does not exist. Try again. It proves that even if Casey knows what he should sing, he isn’t doing it. And yet the judges don’t call him out on it.

13. Stefano Langone – Falling, Falling, Falling – Last Week: Who really cares, he should have been kicked off
Song: I don’t really even care at this point but it was Closer by Ne-Yo
Stefano sucks. Really, come on America, why is he here? Tonight he sang Closer by Ne-Yo, and if you haven’t heard the song just say the words “come closer” over and over again and you’ve basically learned the song. It has no meaning, no substance, it’s garbage. So I guess in a way it was the perfect song for Stefano. Jimmy Ivine actually said that Stefano needs to stop “pleading for the girls” on stage. Exactly right. He begs for attention, for recognition, he over sells the song. Tonight it looked like he was about to pick someone out of the crowd and have sex with them on stage. He didn’t even sing that well tonight, but I was so distracted by his dangling red suspenders that I didn’t even notice.

Who’s Getting Kicked off this Week: Maybe this is just wishful thinking, but Stefano. His song had no meaning and no emotional attachment. When compared with a performance like Jacob or Hayley he pales in comparison. Stefano is flying in a Cessna and Jacob and Hayley are flying business class in a monstrous 747 at 36,000 feet, it’s not even close. He’s been in the bottom three a few times and I think he’s hanging by a thread, and tonight was not enough for him to climb back up.

Who Should Get Kicked off: When I rank someone 13 and we’re at the top seven, that’s usually a good indication that I believe they should be packing their bags.

–jb

American Idol Rankings: Top 8

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What a show it was tonight! Not because the contestants were amazing, but because the judges are becoming so amazingly out-of-touch with this competition and what it’s really about.

Let’s be honest, Paul McDonald stunk tonight, James Durbin performed a creepy over-the-top destruction of music and brain cells, and Casey Abrams did a song no one has ever heard and made it bizarre, creepy, and sung it poorly.

Yet the judges loved them all. Every last one of them. These judges are beginning to get on my nerves.

J-Lo tonight said that she can’t criticize anyone because they’re all so good, and that people need to basically lay off in criticizing the judges for being easy. Well sorry J-Lo, it’s true, you guys are soft.

At least with Simon he would look at the whole package, he would look at the performance, at the song choice, at the type of song, how it was sung, etc. These guys are so caught up in uniqueness that they don’t realize uniqueness isn’t always good (i.e. Paul McDonald). Simon would have told Casey that his performance was “weird” because it was weird. He would have told James his performance was too loud and he screamed too much, because he did. He would have told Hayley her dress was too short, because it was.

Simon told it like it was, no one on this panel is willing to do that. The closest we have is Randy Jackson, and if that’s the best we’ve got, we’re in trouble. J-Lo is too busy loving everyone and is too afraid to hurt anyone’s feelings, and Steven Tyler is the new Paula Abdul. Serious, what was he trying to tell Lauren tonight when he said “you were the idol we thought of, before we saw anyone audition?”

With that said, here are the rankings for this week of American Idol. It was tough to pick a number one because honestly I don’t see anyone as a clear front runner right now. There are good singers in this competition, but no one has pulled away quite yet.

1. Jacob Lusk – Even
Song: Bridge over Troubled Water
I reluctantly put Jacob here because I don’t think his performance this week was very strong. He replaced his original choice with this because everyone was afraid the other song was too corny, but all they did was replace corny with corny. He sang it well, because he always does, but it was still corny.

2. Lauren Alaina – Rising
Song: Climb – Miley Cyrus
It’s always great when you can sing a song better than the original artist. That’s what Lauren did tonight. She started off a little rough, but by the middle she had the song by the throat and killed it. The arrangement was changed quite a bit which I was turned off by at first because it was much slower, but it picked up as time went on.

3. James Durbin – Falling
Song: Heavy Metal – Sammy Hagar
Nothing has changed, I still hate James. I think he’s cocky, I think he doesn’t like to take advice, I think he’s stubborn, but he’s also a great singer. When Jimmy Ivine told him to try something different James was stubborn and said no I want to do what I want to do. Well, he did, and it was…odd. It was energetic no doubt, but it wasn’t great. It was too loud, there was too much screaming, and it was too intense.

4. Hayley Reinhart – Rising
Song: Call Me – Blondie
Despite the judges seeming to have a vendetta against her, Hayley has done very well the last three weeks and is starting to find her musical avenue. She did this song well, although started off rocky, but she really got into it by the last third of the song and really nailed it.

5. Scotty McCreery – Even
Song: I Cross My Heart – George Strait
Speaking of finding a music niche, Scotty is country all the time, and I can’t blame him for that. He sings it well, he can’t really sing anything else, and I think he’s smart to not take risks. But again, he’s taking no risks. He can take a risk within the country music genre, for instance take a Reba song and rearrange it. Singing George Strait is kind of…predictable.

6. Casey Abrams – Falling
Song: Nature Boy – Nat King Cole
Jimmy Ivine told him to sing Calling in the Air Tonight by Phil Collins and Casey ignored him…big mistake. To the judges and the audience the song might have been “cool.” But to America, it was weird, and slightly creepy. It’s an unknown song so it’s difficult to judge what he did with it. By the way, how stupid do the judges feel for saving Casey? Big, big mistake. Ha, serves ya right!

7. Paul McDonald – Falling
Song: Old Time Rock n’ Roll – Bob Seger
Paul is unique, no doubt, but this song was a mess vocally. It was way off, and the judges didn’t seem to realize it. He knows what kind of artist he is, he’s just not very good. He’s really not a great performer, he’s not that great of a singer, I’m dumbfounded as to why he’s still on the show. Except for the fact that he’s the vote for the worst candidate.

8. Stefano Langone – Even
Song: End of the Road – Boyz II Men
I put even only because Stefano can’t fall any further, he’s hit rock bottom. He is a tremendously terrible performer, he’s too over-the-top, he’s too Broadway, he fakes emotion. My roommate put it best, he moves but he doesn’t know why he’s moving. Absolutely right. He over sells the music like a used car salesman. He sang it well, but his performance was awful.

Who’s Getting Kicked off this week: Oh boy, my guess is as good as yours. After Pia got knocked off last week anyone could be on the chopping block. I’d have to say Casey. I say that because I don’t think people will identify or understand that performance the way the audience and the judges did. But we’ll see, I could also see Hayley going as well, purely from a educated guess standpoint.

Who Should Get Kicked Off: Stefano, and he should have gone weeks, and weeks, and weeks, and weeks, and months, and years, and decades, and centuries ago. Please, please, please, vote him off. The end.

–jb