American Idol Season 11: The Top 25 Results Show Recap

American Idol Season 11: The Top 25 Results Show Recap Blog

Jeremy, Phillip, & Chase

TOP 10: Phillip

This was one of the easier calls of the night. It was pretty clear that Phillip would be the only one to get the votes and this began a long stretch of brutally honest but brutally dead on criticisms from Jimmy Iovine with Jeremy and Chase. Personality (Jeremy) and good looks (Chase) were not going to be enough. And so began a night of Jennifer Lopez being totally delusional about Jeremy's chances on the show.

Jessica, Hollie, Brielle, & Hallie

TOP 10: Jessica, Hollie

I was dreading this. I knew that I'd lose two of my favorites right off the bat. Jimmy said Hollie's performance was strong but it could have been better but given the right material and she could do some damage. Jimmy criticized Brielle for the song choice despite having a lot of charisma. Jimmy loved Hallie's performance - he felt it was her best performance so far. Jessica was deemed THE frontrunner by Jimmy Iovine and I couldn't agree more. I was just sad to see four of my favorites lumped together. I didn't like Brielle referring to herself in the third person again but I loved the proper deferrence and respect she showed Jimmy Iovine. 

Joshua, Heejun, & Adam

TOP 10: Joshua, Heejun

You can always tell who is going home by who says everybody loves each other. Jimmy called Joshua the real deal and is looking forward to working with him but not to "turn him into Sister Act 3". Jimmy had some words for White Chocolate. Jimmy said Adam needs to merge his "white" and "black" halves together. For Heejun he said this isn't "American Comedian" and that he needs to start taking this more seriously. Heejun's "Who's that?" remark got Ryan to say "Touche." 

Baylie, Chelsea, Skylar, & Shannon

TOP 10: Skylar, Shannon

Jimmy said Skylar did a great turn by blending soul and country with charisma and stage presence. He also saw through Baylie's nerves. Randy was right about her never ceasing control of the song. Jimmy thought that despite her being the complete package that she was too "out of tune...out of here" after her performance. As for Chelsea, Jimmy said she's got a very nice but not original enough and that Carrie Underwood karaoke would not fly and that she'd be in trouble. Shannon garnered decent praise for her performance but that she was dressed too much for the prom although he chimed in that she'd do well this week. Shannon also had a tough time remaining composed and talked about having gone through so much. Baylie had to admit that if she had to do it again that she'd stay on tune which got a light laugh from everyone, including Baylie herself. 

Reed, Creighton, & Aaron

TOP 10: N/A

Jimmy criticized Reed for being too cabaret.and night club for him. He did not like Aaron. He thought it was too cheesy and Don Cheadle and went off on the standing ovation from the judges and crowd. Creighton's "True Colors" performance did not inspire any positive feedback from Jimmy Iovine. In fact, it was quite harsh. When Jennifer said, "Maybe Jimmy should come to the show," and did get some good zingers about a monitor in a room and whatnot but the fact remains that Jimmy should be on the panel instead of both Steven and Jennifer. 

Elise, Erika, Haley, & Jen

TOP 10: Elise

Jimmy warned Jen about too many Adele wannabes on TV right now and too many pyrotechnos instead of soul and to stay away from her. Jimmy credited Erika's restraint and to stay in pocket and I couldn't agree more. He was right to pan the judges for pushing her instead of encouraging her to stay put. Haley was a mess and Jimmy noticed how she was a robotic mimmicking nightmare. Jimmy also loved Elise and wants to see her sing her own original material and admitted that her singing Adele wasn't so bad but warned her to pace herself for the whole competition. Elise was really funny because she copped to being really distracted. 

DeAndre, Eben, Colton, & Jermaine

TOP 10: Colton, Jermaine

Jimmy's a fan of Jermaine Jones and feels DeAndrre needs a coach and is not ready for primetime just yet. He also (and I've long believed this!) that they need to lift the restriction on Top 24 singers not being able to come back and he cited Eben as a result of this. He also said Adele's song was too mature. Jimmy also felt that Colton needs to pace himself but that he could totally win the show. Colton and Jermaine advanced and DeAndre and Eben were left hoping for a chance to sing to stay on the show.

Wild Card #1: Jen Hirsch

"Oh! Darling!" (The Beatles)

Jen absolutely smashed it. I thought it was actually even better than her regular peformance the night before and smart money would have had her advancing .

Wild Card #2: Jeremy Rosado

(Carrie Underwood)

For his wild card performance song, he sang Carrie Underwood which I didn't get for several reasons and his performance was perfectly fine but except for the runs at the end, I felt was nothing exceptional. What I don't appreciate are the tears of the contestants, even when I like them. Okay, yes - the spur of the moment - to manipulate fan support. 

Wild Card #3: Brielle Von Hugel

"Someone" (Adele)

Brielle too begged for support from the judges and even though I love Brielle I didn't care for that. I thought she nailed it watching it first time through but even though I didn't necessarily think she knocked it out of the park per se the second time wathcing it, the judges suddenly all turning super critical really pissed me off because it just reminded us all that they already had their minds made up. It was just a strange time for someone like Steven to suddenly become very critical.

Wild Card #4: DeAndre Brackensick

"Georgia On My Mind" (Ray Charles)

DeAndre gave a very impassioned performance but I do think it was a little too screamy all the way and where was the consistency after they criticized Brielle's performance? DeAndre did stay away from going over the top with the falsetto runs but it was a vast improvement over his last performance in my view.

Wild Card #5: Erika Van Pelt

"The Edge of Glory" (Lady GaGa)

I didn't like the slowed down arrangement of the show but I did love Erika's powerful vocals and she hit the right spots and notes and I felt confident enough that she'd secure one of the wild card slots. The judges also felt that way and eventually she would get one of the three coveted spots left.

Wild Card #6: Reed Grimm

"Use Me" (Bill Withers)

I don't know about the shirt taking off and the muttered lyrics early in the performance but even though I didn't feel like his singing was strong enough on this song to advance, his performance and overall body of work on the show this season should have been enough to see him go forward. The judges seemed to be hinting that he would in fact go on but that failed to materialize and so a versatile eccentric artist in the mold of Casey Abrams with a shot of at least going deep into the competition was cut right away. I do think he was too amped up each night he sang live but I just think it's too bad he didn't get the last spot because he still deserved to stay on.

Randy Wild Card Pick: Erika Van Pelt

Absolutely the right call and I'm glad to see Randy at least take this process seriously. 

Jennifer Wild Card Pick: Jeremy Rosado

This was simply not the right call at all. Jeremy did not outshine anyone else and he will probably be one of, if not the first person, to get eliminated from the Top 13. And this business of Ryan telling a (once again) sobbing Jeremy to hug Jennifer was clearly staged.

Steven Wild Card Pick: DeAndre Brackensick

I at least understand this pick. And Jennifer really screwed the pooch with her pick so you can't just necessarily say that Reed should have advanced over him because he deserved to over Jeremy as well. 

Really, Jen Hirsch and Reed Grimm both should have advanced with Erika Van Pelt with Brielle Von Hugel a perfectly acceptable alternate to either of those. 

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