Guest Post: American Idol Recap - Top 9

Here's another American Idol recap from Guest Blogger Daniel:

              Colton Dixons emotional performance put him at the top of the pack yet again

We have another American Idol recap for you and the other night was one of my favorite themes: songs by the contestants' personal idols. Also glad to see that they condensed the Tommy Hilfiger bit. Anyway, they performed solo songs as usual as well as trios. I will grade the solos first in the order they occurred as usual, then at the end I will grade the trios. Also the guest mentor is Stevie Nicks. Funny she also just made a cameo on Up All Night!

Colton Dixon                          Everything *Best Performance Of The Night*

Colton chose a song by Lifehouse, “Everything”, which he said was his favorite worship song. Surprise, surprise, he nailed it. He sang with passion throughout and at the end the emotion overwhelmed him a bit but for me that only made it better. A few weeks back, Jimmy said that Colton should use his vulnerability on stage as an asset and he sure did and seeing his grandfather choke up was a very touching moment I totally agree with Randy. Colton is a contender. Another top tier performance for Colton Dixon. A

Skylar Laine                           Gun Powder And Lead

Skylar chose a Miranda Lambert song, and Jimmy said that if she was going to do this she had to be really in her game. Quite frankly I haven’t seen Skylar off her game yet. I know I’ve already said it, but she brings spunk, energy, and passion to every single performance. I thought she did a really great job. Once or twice it seemed like she went too low during the verse, but she nailed the choruses every time. Overall, she was just fantastic. A-

Heejun Han                            A Song For You

This was by far his best performance of the competition. Heejun poured his soul out into this song and his emotional connection was reflected in his performance. He actually has a lot of talent and I liked what he said at the end about how he doesn’t want to let himself down. The question for Heejun will be is it too little too late? After that I don’t think its too little but it might be too late. Of course, afterword he delivers a joke. He may not be the best singer but he is an incredible personality with a bright future ahead of him whether it be in music or comedy. A-

Hollie Cavanagh                    Jesus Take The Wheel

I like Hollie but this was another off performance for her. She has to make sure that she doesn’t get hit with the Brooke White effect, where she has one off performance and then they all go down hill from there. There were a few problems with this performance. She seemed to be trying to do too much and I think that hurt her. She was also pitchy all over the place. Another problem: the arrangement. I know they have to shorten the songs for the performances but with a song like that, I think it’s better to only sing one verse if your choosing between that and singing two truncated verses. C+

DeAndre Brackensick                       Sometimes I Cry *Worst Performance Of The Night*

I have been really loving DeAndre for the past few weeks and this was defiantly a step back for him. Like I said before, I like him a lot better when he isn’t going overboard with the falsetto, and that’s what he has been doing for the past few weeks. This week he went super overboard. The falsetto works much better when he uses his normal voice too. Anyway, not a good performance for DeAndre but over the last few weeks he has garnered enough of my favor for me to say that I really hope he doesn’t go home this week. C

Jessica Sanchez                      Sweet Dreams

Jessica totally turned this song on its head. She sang well, but at times during the verses it was a bit slow and a little boring. Considering the fact people are criticizing her for singing all ballads, while it worked here, slowing down might not be something she should make a habit of, at least until she successfully sings an upbeat song. The really weird thing about this performance was not the way she slowed down a Beyonce song, but the multiple doors on stage. What was that? Anyway, she did a very good job but not a great job. B+

Phillip Phillips                                    Still Rainin’

So Stevie Nicks says that had he been around then, Fleetwood Mack would have wanted him in the band. That’s high praise, but now the pressure is really on Phil to deliver. And he did. Phil sings with an almost scary amount of intensity and in this performance that intensity was clear. Was this his best performance? No, but it was still one of the best of the night. Right now he is my 2^nd fave behind Colton. A

Joshua Ledet                          Without You

Joshua took on “Without You” a song that James Durbin absolutely nailed last season. I will never forget him tearing up in the middle of the song thinking about how he couldn’t live without his wife and son, but pushing through. So Joshua had big shoes to fill but he did a really good job. Like Durbin, Joshua had shed some tears during the song but he did it at the very end before that last note. He did a really great job and showed more emotion then he has ever shown on the show. It was great, but still not as great as James was. All the same. A

Elise Testone                         Whole Lotta Love

I know everyone loved this but I thought it was just good. She was on her game, she hit her notes and sang with passion. I just wasn’t impressed with her the way I was with Colton, Joshua, Skylar, and Phillip. However, this was not one of the three worst performances of the night and I think at this point she might have done enough to keep her out of the bottom three. A-

Trio’s

Colton/Phillip/Elise              Fleetwood Mac Medley

Very nice. I loved the very beginning where Colton sang “Landslide” and he was joined by the other two. I was surprised at how well they all harmonized together. Elise was great too with “Edge Of Seventeen.” Phil and Colton both really impressed me with the harmonies here too. Phil was solid in his solo too. A very strong medley by these three. A-

Joshua/DeAndre/Heejun     Michael Jackson Medley

This wasn’t great but it had its moments. They all seemed to be having a lot of fun on stage with the exception of the “Rock With You” part where the vocals were kinda lack luster. B-

Skylar/Jessica/Hollie                        Madonna Medley

This was pretty good. Skylar really stood out she was really on her game here. Jessica was good too but Hollie seemed a bit lost. I’m not sure if Hollie will make it to the next round but if she does she has to focus up and get her grove back because she has the talent, she’s just not showing it. B-