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Because either they're extremely forgiving guys or they really need new shoes, Brian May and Roger Taylor showed up to chat with the Idolettes and accompany them on a show-opening mashup of Queen hits. Eh, I guess that group sing wasn't terrible by Idol standards. (That means it was still fairly ridiculous.)
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I was hoping that Joshua Ledet would don a skirt for "I Want to Break Free," but he wore a boring suit and grabbed an old-timey microphone for "Crazy Little Thing Called Love." Seriously, Joshua can sing, but this was NOT GOOD. His voice didn't fit the song at all, and then he just yelled a lot. But the judges are on auto-pilot with him now, so they all gave him the now-standard standing ovation. Even though Jennifer seemed the most hesitant to get up out of her chair, she said that "the Joshua part of the show is her favorite part."
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I'm also over Phillip Phillips, whose version of "Fat Bottomed Girls" sounded just like every version of every song he's ever sung. Randy was the only one who only "liked" it, while Jennifer and Steven continued be awestruck by Phillip's samey-sameness. Steven said that he loves watching Phillip run out of breath, so that's apparently the mark of a truly great performer. See how we're always learning new things by watching Idol?
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Evidently, half a theme was good enough for the producers, as they let the Idolettes sing whatever they wanted in the second round.
Jessica tried to push America's weepy buttons with "Dance With My Father." Yeah, yeah, Jessica has a good voice but I just felt bored by this. J.Lo went back to making no sense during her critique, saying that Luther Vandross is one of her favorite singers ever, but that Jessica sang the most beautiful version of the song she'd ever heard. And even though all the judges were nearly orgasmic over this performance, not one of them stood up. They're saving their strength for Joshua.
Skylar grabbed her gee-tar for a cover of "Tattoos on This Town," which I'd never heard but immediately assumed was a Miranda Lambert or Kellie Pickler song. But after a quick Google search, I discovered that it's by Jason Aldean, who's like the country "it" kid right now. Anyway, I liked it. Skylar is by far the most poised and professional contestant left in the competition, so I always enjoy her performances, but she's always at her best when she's singing country. She came off as very natural and confident...it was kind of like watching any established country artist perform. So, I'd like to invite all the crybaby Scotty/Lauren fans from last year who accused me of being a "country hater" to lockthemdoors and suck it.
Oh, I almost forgot that during Skylar's critique, Randy took credit for inventing the word "ginormous." I think The Economist and Buddy the Elf might have something to say about that.
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Elise courted the people-who-don't-watch-American-Idol demographic by performing Jimi Hendrix's "Bold as Love." I don't know how this girl went from one of my early favorites to someone I can't wait to be gone, but she has. Her performance was all over the place, and I got the distinct feeling that she was trying to hard to position herself as the "cool rocker chick." Oooh, she listens to Hendrix so she MUST rock, right? Whatever. I just discovered that John Mayer covered this song not too long ago, so I'd bet money that that's where Elise heard it, too.
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Hollie closed out the night with a very nice rendition of "The Climb," and actually seemed invested for once. Well, if you can't find an emotional connection to a Miley Cyrus song, whose songs can you connect to? Somehow, Joshua hadn't completely worn the judges out, so they managed to stand up for Hollie's performance.
Sooooo...who will be under pressure? I'm guessing that viewers are tired of the excessive Joshua pimpage, which will lead to a repeat of the Bottom 3 from two weeks ago: Jessica, Joshua and Elise. And even though part of me thinks that Jessica could get Pia'd, I'm more convinced that everyone is just sick to death of Elise, so I'll be waiting for the hammer to fall on her tonight.
Find more Idol news and recaps at SirLinksaLot.
Comments
"Princes" is the ultimate trash talk song ("I have no rival/No man can be my equal") and I would dress up in drag for "I Want to Break Free".
Other than that, I'm avoiding anything having to do with Queen because anything less than Freddie Mercury is only a pale imitation.
He didn't stink on "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" he was truly rancid. And for all the Hollie/Robot talk, Jessica looked like the automaton on "Bohemian Rhapsody".