Tossing Salt Is American Idol - April 25, 2012

Tossing Salt Is American Idol April 25, 2012 Doug Maynard Yes, I missed last week's episode due to that nasty little thing called "work". It definitely is a four-lettered word in more ways than one, but I'm back this week with another edition of "Tossing Salt Is American Idol", my weekly recap of the Wednesday night performance show of the future of American pop music. We're down to the final six as last week, the ever-so-sexy Colton Dixon was voted off the island and sent home. Why is he gone and Hollie still there? I just don't get it, but this has been a weird season anyhow. Anyway, the judges are Steven Tyler, Randy Jackson and Jennifer Lopez. Ryan Seacrest is the host. Jimmy Iovine and special guest are the mentors are Brian May & Roger Taylor. It's QUEEN!! Hell to the yeah!. The theme tonight is (duh) the music of QUEEN, plus everyone gets to sing a song of their own choosing as well. This should be good. I am so ready to do this. So let's do this... We start off with a great video package about the history of QUEEN and then get to see the Queen band-buys talking to the Idol 6. And now it's music time as we get a melody of Queen's Greatest Hits, with the Idol 6 singing and bandmates Brian May and Roger Taylor playing the music. They cover the songs "Fat Bottom Girls", "Another One Bites The Dust", "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions". Great performance. Elise looked really in her element and was the stand-out, but everyone did a good job. And now to the solo performances as Jessica Sanchez opens the show with a cover of "Bohemian Rhapsody". Wow! What a tough song to do and she does a good job. Her voice is great as always and while this isn't what I'd expect from her as a song choice, she does really well. Steven Tyler comments that Freddie Mercury would be proud and that even though rock isn't really Jessica's forte', she did a good job. J-Lo said that Jessica sounded beautiful, but she was expecting more of a rock performance. And Randy said that he loved it and it was great and mentioned that maybe Jessica could study some Tina Turner to channel a little more "rock" into her act when doing a rock song. Skylar Laine is up next and she's performing "The Show Must Go On". Personally, I thought that she was a little off-key, but she got better as it went along. I didn't think it was a good song for her, but she had a lot of fire and energy and for a brief second, I thought I saw a little "Reba" moment in there. The judges loved it though. Steven called it "over the top" and complimented Slylar on her energy and passion. He said it was "fabulous". J-Lo said that it gave her 'goosies" and was powerful. And Randy rounded out the commentary by saying that it was "incredible" and "one of your best performances to date". He concluded by saying that Skylar's "gotta have it!" Joshua Ledet was the next up and he did "Crazy Little Thing Called Love". He has a great energy, but it seems forced to me. This isn't really his kind of natural song to be singing and it was okay, but not special in my eyes. And of course, the judges disagree as they seem to love Joshua. Randy called it "unbelievable" and noted how Joshua reminds him of Sam Cooke. He said that Joshua is "so ready" and he loved it. J-Lo said that the Joshua performances are her favorite part of the show each week and she looks forward to the great performances. And Steven said that Joshua has a classic style and sounds like nobody else, calling it "fantastic". Elise Testone was the next to come up and she did the song, "I Want It All". And she rocked it. Elise is totally in her element here and you can tell she was really feeling it with every note. She did a great job. And the judges agree. J-Lo also noted that Elise was in her element and it all came together for her. Steven noted that she "found her stride" and sang that song like it was meant to be sang. Randy called it "unbelievable" and said that the style was so right for her and that it was one of her best performances to date. Phillip Phillips is next and he's doing "Fat Bottom Girls". And it was good, but I'm not really thrilled with it. He was off-key in a few spots and it wasn't his best performance. Steven remarked that he loves it every time Phillip sings and loves Phillip's character. He called it "great". J-Lo noted that Phillip shows different flavors every week and that's the mark of a great singer. She loved it. And Randy said he liked it, but didn't love it. It was good, but didn't really have him jumping up and down. Hollie Cavanagh is the next up and she's performing "Save Me", which is a kind of obscure Queen song that I don't remember. It still seems weird to see that voice come from that body. It's a good song and she sounds good, but this song won't win her any new votes. Steven said he loved the way Hollie sings and that she did a really good job. J-Lo noted that she could feel Hollie's emotion in the middle of the song and that kind of threw Hollie off. She noted that Hollie still thinks too much and she'd like to see Hollie enjoy it more and have a good time. Randy said that it was a good performance, but noted that Hollie needs to take more chances. He also noted that this song didn't have any kind of "moment" in it. And that concludes the QUEEN songs for the show. Now, it's the singer's choice. Time to crank it up and notch and have a real total slobber-knocker of a show. Let's do this... Jessica Sanchez was the first to perform in Round Two, doing "Dance With My Father", originally sang by Luther Vandross. It's a beautiful and great song and so much emotion there. I love it. Randy said that Jessica is truly a natural and amazing. Steven said that he doesn't think that Jessica can sing a song badly. And J0-Lo said that it was the best version of that song that she's ever heard. Here comes Skylar Laine next and she's doing the song, "Tattoos On This Town". Skylar is in her element and does a high energy, great job as always. It's a good performance. Randy loves it too and calls Skylar "fearless". J-Lo said that Skylar is very comfortable and she "took us there again" with that performance. Steven said that Skylar can do no wrong, but the song didn't really show off all she's capable of. He liked it though. Joshua Ledet is the next to come up and he's performing "Ready For Love". And this one, I liked. It was low-key (for Joshua) and it sounded really good. Randy and J-Lo both noted that they really didn't know what to say, but then Randy called it another "unbelievable performance" and "beautiful". J-Lo said that it was "transcendent". And Steven said that he smells "finish" and he hopes that the label finds Joshua great songs to sing and he's off to the moon. Elise came up next and she's jammin' to a Jimi Hendrix song. I don't know this song, but she did a good job. This is definitely a woman in her element and I like it. Steven loved the performance, but says that she needs to play songs that people know. J-Lo said that she slayed it and is one of the best singers in the competition. J-Lo also defended Elise against the criticism of Randy by saying that she made the song exciting. And Randy wasn't happy, saying that this wasn't the right time for this song in the competition and that it's too obscure. He didn't love it. Phillip Phillips was next doing a Dave Matthews song. I wasn't crazy about it and couldn't feel it myself. The judges were mixed in their reactions. Steven called it "very entertaining" and "very off the way". He says that Phillip has found his niche. J-Lo said that it was a little too obscure and artsy for this time of the competition and that Phillip needs to sing the songs that will get him to the last show. Randy didn't agree and said that Phillip showed his true colors and that he's an artist. Phillip Phillips will always be Phillip Phillips. And finally, we got to hear Hollie doing the song, "The Other Side", which she originally sang at her audition. I didn't really care for it myself and wasn't feeling it, but the judges, as they've been prone to do this week, didn't agree with me. Randy said that this was the Hollie that they knew and loved and she's back. J-Lo noted that Hollie was stepping up and this was perfect for her and was "great". And Steven said that she sang that song like it was going out of style and was so beautiful. And so there you go. Another edtion of American Idol in the books. And now we get to that fun moment where we get to decide who will be in that infamous position of "The Bottom Three" tomorrow night and facing that walk of shame as they get sent home. Hmmmmmm! Well, in my opinion, the three least voting attractions will be Hollie Cavanagh, Phillip Phillips and Jessica Sanchez. Yeah, I might be wrong, but that's what my gut is telling me will be sitting in those bad little seats. And who will given the boot, have the plug pulled on their chances of winning this competition and go wee-wee-wee all the way home tomorrow night? It will be... I'm predicting Hollie Cavanagh. We'll see tomorrow night. And I guess that does it for tonight and this weeks edition of American Idol and my recap. Hopefully, I'll be back next week to cover the show as the competition continues and we move closer to the final curtain and final show of the season. I still want to see an "Alice Cooper" week on this show so make it happen, Idol producers. I have spoken! And that's it for me. I'm Doug and I am out of here. I'll catch you on the flip side. Ubuntu!