American Idol: The Road to the Finish
Skylar Laine.
Early on in the competition, I figured that Skylar would be gone by now, not because she deserved to go, but because Idol fans would be suffering from country music overkill after the Scotty vs. Alaina finish last year.
Last night she made me believe that a) a country artist could win two years in a row; and b) that a female is going to take this competition, no matter how determined the judges are to push Joshua to the top.
Queen’s “The Show Must Go On” gave Skylar’s rock side a workout and she really did it justice. Mr. Tyler was certainly impressed; at the end of the show he dared to go against the Joshua “Mr. Standing O” mindset and admit Skylar was his favorite.
Speaking of Joshua, his “Crazy Thing Called Love” was in Jacob Lusk “Over-the Top” territory with too much screaming. He did much better with India.Arie’s “Ready For Love.” He was smart to show his soft side, but I still think he might be in trouble tonight.
I think Phil Squared is also in trouble. His obsession with growling rather than singing is growing tiresome as it did with Casey Abrams last season. I thought his “Fat Bottomed Girls” was just okay, followed by his version of Dave Matthews “The Stone,” which was a flat out disaster in a voter-driven competition like this.
I’m growing a wit weary of Jessica Sanchez, who butchered the cuts-to-pieces version of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” She followed up with a lovely rendition of Luther Vandross’ “Dance With My Father,” but her youth is starting to show.
Hollie is holding on after a great week last time out and she continued to show that she is learning to infuse his vocals with an emotional connection. Her Queen song, “Save Me,” was solid and her return to her big moment wheelhouse with Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb” even impressed Randy Jackson.
I suspect Elise knows she is in her final Idol moments and decided to just be herself with Queen’s “I Want It All,” and her selection of a Jimi Hendrix cover she does with her band, “Bold As Love.” The latter is too obscure for the teenage voters who will likely send the old broad home tonight.
My top six:
1) Skylar Laine
2) Elise Testone
3) Hollie Cavanagh
4) Jessica Sanchez
5) Phil Phillips
6) Joshua Ledet
April 27th, 2012 at 3:10 pm
Hi skyla I liked your songs