Wednesday, March 21, 2012, Fox, 8 pm (ET) Attitude seemed to be the keyword tonight on “American Idol.” Who has it? Who needs to get it? What should it be?
The recent entry of Tommy Hilfiger as an advisor to the contestants on how they should dress produced advice to Phillip Phillips that he should not wear gray and, from celebrity mentor Sean P. Diddy Combs and Jimmy Iovine, that he should put the guitar down and sing without it. Phillip did neither. He not only wore gray-on-gray, but he contributed a version of “Movin’ Out” that was so original I didn’t recognize it as a Billy Joel song (tonight’s theme). Phillip said, “I’m not a guy about image. The music comes first” and was pronounced “brilliant” by one judge.
Jessica Sanchez had another good night, singing “Everybody Has A Dream.” Jennifer Lopez called it her “defining moment” and Randy praised her consistency. There seems to be a bit of a contradiction there, since the judges were quite critical of her song last week, when she attempted an upbeat number from Gloria Estefan. Steven Tyler said, “You’ve gone way past my judging. Thank you for letting me hear you sing, baby.” Randy called her song, “Flawless, perfect, perfection.”
Colton Dixon was another contestant who showed some attitude regarding the comments made about his hair by Tommy Hilfiger. He sang Joel’s “Piano Man” and the judges seemed to like it. [I thought the ending just dropped off in a weird way].
Heejun Han sang “Don’t Go Changing” and seemed to be telling the judges off. It seemed as though Steven Tyler was not taking it well, as he said, “You showed ’em. You told ’em. At some point, you gotta’ take it (the music business) more serious.” Both Randy and Jennifer, while unimpressed with Heejun’s vocals, said it was “enjoyable” and “a breath of fresh air.” Heejun escaped elimination last week; we’ll see how he does this week.
Deandre Brackensick did “Only the Good Die Young.” Randy pointed out that it “wasn’t that great…just okay.”
Erika Van Pelt sang “New York State of Mind” and she displayed her “attitude” by letting the show cut and color her hair into a virtual Liza Minelli flashback. One of the judges compared her new short hair-do to Pat Benatar. I saw Pat Benatar this past summer; her hair looked nothing like this Minelli do.
Joshua Ledet, who had such a great week last week, sang “She’s Got A Way” and admitted that he “didn’t know the song.” It wasn’t Joshua’s best night, considering he is perhaps the most vocally talented male contestant, although Steven Tyler said he “sang the sweat out of that song.” What was more puzzling was Steven Tyler’s admission that he “didn’t know the song.” (Yikes!)
Skylar Laine sang “Shameless.” It wasn’t her best night. She wore HUGE earrings, as did all the girls.
Elise Testone, who sang a song nobody knows called “Vienna” was praised by the judges. Again, not as good a choice of songs as she could have made.
Hollie Cavanagh had an off night in singing “Honesty.” She was off-key at several points. She did look very nice in a white pantsuit with a sparkly silver top.
Who will go home? I’d say one of the girls who sang an obscure song. The most obscure song was that sung by Elise, followed closely by Skylar’s. Skylar should get the country vote, but Erika and her new black haircut might end up in the dumps, as well. I’m betting that Phillip Phillips, Jessica Sanchez, Colton Dixon, Joshua Ledet and Hollie Cavanagh will be “safe,” but, after that, it’s anybody’s ball game.