I’ve been quiet about American Idol this season. Last year just about did me in with Scotty McCreery winning~ I shudder just thinking about it. I have watched sporadically, but haven’t let myself get too attached to any contestants. But, oh…I do still have my opinions.

Phillip Phillips~

I’ll tell you the only reason this boy is on the show at this point…

This:

And that is all.

Because if you really want to hear someone sing anywhere remotely close to Phillip Phillips, you’ll just choose to listen to Dave Matthews instead~ it will be better and actually in pitch. From the clip last night, it seemed Phillip was a little more down to earth than I thought. I’ve seen the cockiness and liked to see his clowning side and the fact that he doesn’t take himself quite so seriously. But seriously, he’s SO pitchy!

Hollie Cavanagh:

Little Cutie Patootie.

But not an American Idol for me. She has the vocal technique, but I don’t feel one iota of emotion coming from her…only the mechanics of a song, not the feeling. I wish she’d gone a while ago; same with Phillip.

Joshua Ledet~

An American Idol I would be excited about…

I know he goes over the top, but this kid has the skills, you feel something every time and land sakes, those songs just GO somewhere when he sings them! I’m not sure where he would fit in the secular world…of course, I can imagine him all over CHURCH…oh my, how I would love to hear him sing with our choir. But he can sing the daylights out of anything!

Jessica Sanchez~

Another American Idol to be proud of…

I’d be happy to see her in the Top 2 for SURE and she’d be a great winner. She is consistently amazing and like Joshua, Jessica is skilled far beyond her years. I’m always thrown by her interviews because she seems a bit vacant, but when she sings, she comes to life.

And if I close my eyes, I can sometimes hear Jennifer Hudson…

Joshua and Jessica not only have no pitch troubles, but it’s like whatever they decide to do with their voices just always works and with ease…

Can I take a moment to comment on Jennifer’s 80′s throwback hair? Actually now that I brought it up, I’m not sure what to say about it or the bubble gum pink lipstick. Or Randy’s plaid sportcoat. Or Steven’s ponytail…

Maybe I’ll channel Thumper’s mama’s rule here: If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothin’ at all…

The staging has been really fun…all the water…and the swings~ loved the swings.

The girls’ duet didn’t wow the judges and it didn’t wow me either. It was a little bizarre, especially the last note. But the swings were a hit.

Nate was snoring after the first song. If I wasn’t typing away, I’d be snoozing too. Staci’s watching with me and she’s probably still on California time. It’s a bit of a slow show, in other words.

It was cute to see Julianne and Ryan’s interaction with one another. And the preview for Rock of Ages~ does that movie look crazy or what? I can’t tell if it will be hilarious or just really interesting to hear all those actors sing.

What are your thoughts on Jimmy Iovine? Little sassy character, he is.

Oh Damien Rice. I love this song~ What I Am To You~and can imagine this song working for Phillip. If he can hold the pitches, it could be the best move he’s ever made.

And yes. It’s the best Phillip Phillips has ever sounded. This is the kind of song he must sing.

“You just sang like you really dug the way you sung.”~ Steven Tyler

Yeah.

“…really one of the most poignant moments a contestant has ever had.” ~ Jennifer Lopez

I can think of a few more poignant, but it was really nice.

Try saying Phillip Phillips fifty times super fast.

And on to Hollie…singing maybe my favorite song ever~ I Can’t Make You Love Me. I feel about Bonnie Raitt about like Greyley does with Stevie Wonder. We had to fast forward~ Staci and I couldn’t handle hearing more than a few lines of Hollie’s mechanical version of this phenomenal song. Sounds like the judges didn’t buy it either.

Joshua and Jimmy laughing about Jimmy’s phone number was hilarious and so cute.

This is a Man’s World~ wow! I loved the horns and violins and choir…man, crazy good. Joshua can SING. Oh my goodness. He is insanely good.

Steven said he’d never heard anything like that in his life.

Jennifer and Randy both raved~ Randy said that if you want to know how to connect to a line and the emotion to a song, to listen to Joshua. And it’s so true…

Joshua goes to church on every song and takes us there too.

Jimmy really is the king of random remarks.

I feel like Jessica has really studied Jennifer Hudson and then she sings “And I Am Telling You…” Yep, I thought so.

Mmhmm. Another standing O from the judges.

She sang the socks off the song. It was great. It didn’t do quite as much for me, but I thought she was amazing…just a personal preference for Joshua’s…but I think it was technically right up there with his. And Staci brought up a good point~ she can hold back and show restraint, whereas Joshua is usually full force…she’s beautiful on those soft notes too.

The last two songs made this whole show worth watching!

I hope Hollie goes home tomorrow night. Next week, Phillip…