The American Idol 2012 Top 6 took on songs from Queen during their first round of competition tonight and I think they all picked the wrong songs.
And I’m not just saying that because none of them sang the songs I suggested yesterday, I’m saying it because I know the Queen songbook very well and they had much better options to choose from. But anyway. On to the recap. As always, I’ll review each performance and assign the letter grade I think each deserved. In order of performance:
Jessica Sanchez, “Bohemian Rhapsody.” There’s a number of reasons why no one should have chosen this song. One being, it’s untouchable. Freddie Mercury should be the only person ever allowed to sing this song. And he’s no longer with us, so that’s that. And secondly, it’s not a song that can be edited down to fit the American Idol performance clock. It comes off weird and choppy and that’s what happened tonight. Bad song choice and bad editing. Jessica’s vocals, however, were good. So that saves her grade a bit. B+
Skylar Laine, “The Show Must Go On.” Skylar’s song choice and performance were the best of the six during the Queen portion of the night. I never really thought she should sing it, but she proved me wrong. She delivered it with great power and poise and she told a story with it. Skylar has definitely become a dark horse in this thing. A
Joshua Ledet, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” This was a very weird song choice for him. I have no idea why he picked one of Queen’s less-singy songs, but OK. And the real problem ended up being that he tried to make it a bigger song than it is. And it came off screech-y and shout-y. C+
Elise Testone, “I Want It All.” Again, I Queen song I love, but not the right one for her. It had the rock edge she needed, but it didn’t have the popularity edge she needed. She needs to do songs everyone knows and this isn’t’ one of Queen’s better-known songs. She doesn’t have the freedom to just pick a great song and sing it. She needs to be strategizing to stay in the game. B
Phillip Phillips, “Fat Bottomed Girls.” A couple of seasons ago, this song sent Bucky Covington home. I don’t think that will happen to Phillip, but I don’t think it helped him any. I’m a Phillip fan and I thought this one just came off kind of weird. B-
Hollie Cavanagh, “Save Me.” This one confused me. I thought the vocal was great but the performance was boring. And that’s NOT a boring song. I guess it was all how Hollie delivered it. B-
Round 2 (songs of their choosing)
Jessica Sanchez, “Dance With My Father.” Jessica has finally gotten to that place where she’s connecting with the audience. And that was my one problem with her before. So now that she’s getting past that, I’m starting to get her a little more. This was a great vocal and showed great emotion. A
Skylar Laine, “Tattoos On This Town.” I have no idea what this song is but I kind of liked it. Skylar is such a performer. She never misses a beat. She’s about to make me a fan of country music if I don’t watch myself. A+
Joshua Ledet, “Ready For Love.” Again, a song I don’t know. I know a song called “Ready For Love,” but surely that wasn’t just some way altered version of it, was it? Nah. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I thought it was a great performance. Much better than the first time around. Good vocal, great emotion. Good job. A
Elise Testone, “Bold As Love.” Way to shoot yourself in the foot, Elise. I agree completely with Steven tonight. Elise might know and love the song. I might know and love the song. But do about 75 percent of the voters? Probably not. Sure she did a great job with the song, but as I said before, she doesn’t have the freedom of choosing just any song. It has to be the right song. A song everyone knows. Bad idea, Elise. B+
Phillip Phillips, “The Stone.” Another not-so-known song choice. What’s going on tonight? I don’t think song choice matters as much with Phillip. I’m pretty sure at this point he’s the front-runner and probably has very little to worry about. The performance was good. It was weird again and Phillip-ish, but I guess that’s the point. A
Hollie Cavangah, “The Climb.” Finally, a smart song choice. I hate the song and the original singer, but Hollie’s is probably the best version I’ve ever heard of that song. And it’s a young and well-know song. At least well-known by a large percent of the people who actually vote for American Idol. And on top of that, the vocal was top-notch. A
Now it’s time for some predictions. And as always, these are NOT my personal opinions on who I think should go home. They’re simply how I think America’s votes MIGHT play out. That’s all.
100 Percent Safe: Phillip Phillips
Most Likely Safe: Jessica Sanchez, Skylar Laine
Possible Bottom Three: Elise Testone, Joshua Ledet, Hollie Cavanagh
Probably Going Home: Elise Testone
My Thinking: After last week’s elimination of Colton Dixon, anything is possible, so I’m not going to put a lot of trust in my own predictions. But anyway, I think Elise is definitely going home this time. Her song choices were all wrong. I think that’s a safe bet. As for the the other two in the bottom (or will there only be a bottom 2 since we’re down to the Top 6?), it’s hard to say. Hollie did well tonight, but she probably isn’t going to be one of the highest vote-getters. And I THINK Jessica is still riding the wave of her near-elimination two weeks ago. So that leaves Joshua. I think Skylar’s popularity has risen so she should be safe. But like I said, anything is possible.
What do you think will happen tomorrow night? What did you think of the performances tonight?