IDOL UPDATE: TOP 6 GRADES & WHO GOES HOME?

American Idol, Season 11 TOP 6

Last night's Idol show was a very special one for me, tugging at some awesome memories of growing up with some great 70's music and playing all my vinyl LP's over and over.

Can I just tell you how many times I played QUEEN in my bedroom as a teen, getting screamed at many a night for playing it too loudly I might add!? One of my favorite all time R&R groups, so I was excited to hear the TOP 6 on Idol perform the songs of QUEEN, and to see a few original members of the band performing also. Can't wait for more of it all tonight!

Last week's results, I must admit, were a bit of a surprise, as we said goodbye to a very talented Colton Dixon, and based on that, anything can happen on tonight's results show and the rest of the way! So....sim the lights, and here we go.............

BEST OF THE NIGHT:

Joshua Ledet.......with two standing ovations from the judges, I think it's safe to say he was the cream of the crop last night, and deserves to be given some props. I wasn't blown away or a crazy about his rendition of Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", but it was still pretty damn good and very entertaining, and his 2nd song "Ready For Love" was performed very, very well ....OVERALL GRADE: A-

VERY GOOD:

Skylar Laine......once again, she connected on both songs she performed with the audience and had great stage presence, and showed some nice emotion on the Queen song "The Show Must Go On".....OVERALL GRADE: B+

GOOD ENOUGH TO BE 'SAFE'?:
Hollie Cavanaugh......she picked a lesser-known Queen song in "Save Me" that could hurt her, but she closed the show with a great rendition of "The Climb", which could have her climbing into the TOP 5 tonight .....OVERALL GRADE: B

WHO's IN TROUBLE & IN THE 'BOTTOM 3' TONIGHT? WILL WE BE SHOCKED AGAIN THIS WEEK!?:

Elise Testone........I know, I sound like a broken record here, especially for a contestant I really like, but I think she's in trouble again! Ugh! The Queen song was a memorable moment, and a nice choice with "I Want It All", but her Hendrix pick was not good at all, and the judges were not very complimentary either.........GRADE: C

Jessica Sanchez......just like I thought last week, even though she was not, I think she ends up in the 'bottom 3' tonight, as she did very well on her 2nd song "Dance With My Father", but had a chance to really have a moment with Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", a Queen classic anthem, and flat out blew it! I was actually hoping that Joshua Ledet would have song that song, think he would have made it way more special.........OVERALL GRADE: C+

Phillip Phillips......for being only one of two guys left on the show, and arguably one of the front-runners to be in the finals, he had a very mediocre night, and has a crappy attitude as well.....his rendition of the classic "Fat Bottomed Girls", one of my most favorite Queen songs by the way, was boring and lacked any creativity....his 2nd song was a Dave Matthews song that was rather obscure and even had the judges baffled...he's in trouble tonight I believe...OVERALL GRADE: C

SO.....WHO GOES HOME TONIGHT?

I say the bottom two tonight are ELISE and PHILLIP......and ELISE, Miss 'Bottom 3' of Season 11 (didn't I say this last week too?) finally gets sent home....but....I for one will NOT be shocked at all if it's Phillip being sent home packing,with his guitar behind his back, but it's highly unlikely that he'll go with 4 girls and only 2 guys left. Sadly....I think ELISE's luck runs out! 

OK.....that's the wrap-up from Eddie Idol on this week's TOP 6 performances! Let's see what happens after America votes in your 'IDOL FAB 5' tonight on FOX!

P.S.--QUEEN ROCKS!!!!!

IDOL UPDATE: TOP 7 REPEAT-GRADES & WHO GOES HOME?

TOP 7, Season 11, American Idol

The TOP 7 Idol Contestant's performed a 'NOW & THEN' song selection on Wednesday night, with the first song from the year 2000 and on, and the 2nd song a selection from 'Classic Soul Songs'. Here's a short version breakdown of the night and who is 'probably' leaving, but after last week's shocking results, who knows how America will vote, and remember.....the judges save was used last week with Jessica, so no one has a safety net tonight. Drum roll please, dim the lights.....here we go....

BEST OF THE TOP 7:

  Hollie Cavanaugh.......YES.......believe it or not, Hollie was the only one of the night in my opinion to have two solid performances and ended up as my 'BEST' of the evening......OVERALL GRADE: A

VERY GOOD:

Phillip Phillips......a solid back-to-back performance.....OVERALL GRADE: B+

Joshua Ledet......solid on both songs and the Sam Cooke song to end the show was awesome....OVERALL GRADE: B+

GOOD ENOUGH TO BE 'SAFE'?:
Skylar Laine......she connected on both songs with the audience and had great stage presence.....OVERALL GRADE: B

IN TROUBLE & BOTTOM 3? DON'T BE SHOCKED AGAIN THIS WEEK!:

Colton Dixon........I thought his first Lady Gaga song was better than his 2nd EW+F song, but neither was great.....GRADE: C+

Elise Testone........Think she's in trouble again, as neither song was a memorable moment, and the judges were not very complimentary either.........GRADE: B-
Jessica Sanchez.......YES.......again I think she ends up here, not because she deserves it, as she was very good on one song and OK on the 2nd,  but just because America is that stupid 2 weeks in a row to not vote for her.....OVERALL GRADE: B

WHO GOES HOME?:

I say the bottom two tonight are ELISE and COLTON.......and ELISE, Miss 'Bottom 3' of Season 11, finally gets sent home!

OK.....that's a quick wrap-up from Eddie Idol on this week's performances! Let's see what happens after America votes tonight on FOX!

IDOL UPDATE: WHO GOES HOME?

OK.....this is VERY 11th hour late and I truly am DVR'ing the tresults show, so here's my thoughts.....dim the lights, which of the TOP 7 are going home tonight?.....here we go....

BEST OF THE TOP 7:

  Jessica Sanchez.....once again she takes TOP honors last night with an amazing song with great control and range.....she's in a class by herself.... GRADE-A+

VERY GOOD:

Skylar Laine......great rendition of a Kelly Pickler song, she really owned it.....GRADE: A

Colton Dixon........another solid night where he took an obscure song and made it his own, something he's very good at doing.......GRADE: A-

GOOD ENOUGH TO BE 'SAFE'? I HOPE!:

Elise Testone........I'm a fan of hers, but being in the sweet #7 'final' spot last night.....she could and should have had a moment, but did not deliver in my opinion, even with a great Lady Gaga song choice....I wasn't impressed as the judges were, but I hope she;'s safe.........GRADE: B

IN TROUBLE & BOTTOM 3? DON'T BE SHOCKED!:

Phillip Phillips......another basic, predictable and boring performance. I don't think he gets it that he's slipping here week by week.........GRADE: C+

Joshua Ledet.......I personally didn't care for his performance at all, and I thought it was very busy and loud, almost screechy....I know that's not a real great professional description, but, I simply didn't think it was very good at all....GRADE: C

Hollie Cavanaugh........I actually liked her performance, more than Joshua's and Phillips,  but for whatever reason, the judges have it in for Hollie, esp Steven....and they all didn't care for her performance....again.....so she's in trouble.....yet again...oh boy.....GRADE: B-

WHO GOES HOME?:

I say the bottom two tonight are HOLLIE and a 'SURPRISE GUY', either PHILLIP or JOSHUA.......and HOLLIE gets sent home, and will not be saved! Should one of the guys end up with lower votes than her, they will indeed be saved by the judges tonight!

OK....that's Eddie Idol's mad-fast, past the 11th hour recap..........and I'm stickin' to it!

IDOL UPDATE: TOP 7 TO PERFORM TONIGHT & RANKINGS

SEASON 11, TOP 7 of AMERICAN IDOL

The TOP 7 will perform tonight on the American Idol stage with this week’s theme, songs of this decade, as in songs recently recorded from 2010-12. Obviously, this should definitely help the younger contestants, who’ve been asked on many a week so far to sing songs from before they were born, almost every week since the finals started. The last time that we had a more current theme, the result was by far the best performance night we’ve had all year on Idol. Hopefully everyone should be able to pick a song they’re comfortable with, and one that isn't too obscure. My advice: pick a song that you love singing, and sing it like it's your own!

OK....let's move on to my TOP 7 RANKINGS headed into tonight's show, drum roll please.......

1.  Jessica Sanchez.......still by far the most talented singer and overall performer in the competition. I see her having another great night on stage tonight!
2. Colton Dixon......has a knack for taking a song and truly turning into something current and making it his own....he's in a fight with Phillip for this 2nd spot.
3. Phillip Phillips.....probably most peoples pick to win it all or at least be in the Finals, but I still think he's too much like Lee DeWyze of two years ago.....boring and predictable!
4. Joshua Ledet.....great voice, maybe 2nd best next to Jessica, but has a tendency to over-sing and scream a bit to much. If he controls that, he's my designated 'dark-horse' for the Finals
5. Elise Testone.....truth be told I'd love to rank her higher here and see her in the Finals, but she's too inconsistent. She needs a BIG night tonight, but sadly, I see her struggling with songs of the last few years. Come on Elise, I'm pulling for 'ya big time!
6. Skylar Laine.....I'm still not sold on the young Reba wanna-be. I think she's got some polishing up to do, and isn't ready or worthy of too much praise and 'over-hype' at this point.
7. Hollie Cavanaugh........tons of potential here and just hasn't been able to find the right songs to connect with the last few weeks. More so than Elise, she is fighting for her Idol life tonight, so she needs that magical performance to turn some votes her way! Tonight's current music theme should help her in a big way.

OK….who's your favorites from the TOP 7? Who's 'in it to win it'? More from Eddie Idol after the TOP 7 perform a current hit on tonight's two-hour (no idea why it's still two hours, could easily be cut to an hour!) show on FOX.

As always, stay tuned for more ‘Eddie Idol’ chatter and grades on each performance…….after the show!

IDOL UPDATE: TOP 8 GRADES....& WHO SHOULD GO HOME?

The 'Songs of the 80's' from the TOP 8 were a bit of a disappointment for me last night, with just a few really great performances, and some that were just very forgettable. In an effort to save time here, I'm not going to go into great detail on a per song basis, but will give out my grades and predict who's in trouble tonight! Dim the lights, here we go.......

BEST OF THE NIGHT:  Jessica Sanchez.....once again she took on another BIG Whitney Houston song in  "How Will I Know" and just nailed it! This girl has stage presence, is polished, and vocally, is just way ahead of anyone else in the competition. GRADE-A+                          

ALMOST AS GOOD:

Joshua Ledet.......spectacular rendition of Simply Red's "If You Don't Know Me By Now" (original from Marvin & the Blue Notes) and sang the hell out of it, but did over-sing on a few spots.....GRADE: A

Colton Dixon........took a classic hit with Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" and made it his own, very well done, maybe his best yet, other than "Piano Man" on Billy Joel night....GRADE: A-

GOOD ENOUGH TO BE 'SAFE':

Phillip Phillips......a solid, consistent performance, but a rather simple version of Genesis' "That's All", but good enough to be in the TOP 7 after tonight....GRADE: B+

Skylar Laine.......the only country-bumpkin left, and a pretty good performance for her with Bette Midler's "Wind Beneath My Wings".....she's safe tonight....GRADE: B

IN TROUBLE & BOTTOM 3:

Elise Testone........although I don't think she was nearly as 'off' as the judges said she was with Foreigner's "I Wanna Know What Love Is"....and if she's the bottom vote getter tonight, I say the judges save could come into play, and I think they'd vote to keep her! I really liked her performance last night more than the judges did, maybe because I like the song so much......GRADE: B-

Hollie Cavanaugh........performed "What a Feeling" from the Flashdance soundtrack, and although she was 'more young and fun' like I thought she should be, it still wasn't good enough, and the judges were hard on her yet again.....if she's the one voted by America to be going home, the judges will NOT execute their save on her....GRADE: C+

Deandre Brakensick......one guy certainly has to be in the bottom 3 tonight, so it might as well be Deandre again. He could be going home tonight, and if it comes down to a judges save, J-Lo will be the only one voting for him to stay on, as she's in love with hair boy...GRADE: C

WHO GOES HOME?:

I say the bottom two tonight are HOLLIE and DEANDRE.......and HOLLIE gets sent home!

So….who do you think goes home tonight? Who’s your favorite guy and gal left? Who's 'in it to win it'? More from Eddie Idol after the TOP 7 are announced after tonight's one-hour results show on FOX. As always, stay tuned for more ‘Eddie Idol’ chatter…….after the show! 

IDOL UPDATE: TOP 8 TO PERFORM 'THE 80's'.....& TOP 8 RANKINGS

AMERICAN IDOL, SEASON 11 'TOP 8'

Idol turns back the clock once again tonight as the TOP 8 will perform 'Songs of the 80's', with each contestant able to pick songs from the genres they’re comfortable with, so that's a good thing. Song choices by all, and for some more importantly than others, will be very critical.

Another good thing is that we will have a performance show without Heejun 'The Horrible' Hun involved in it, as justice was finally served last week, with Heejun being sent home. Needless to say there wasn't a part of me saddened with his departure. THANK YOU AMERICA!

My TOP 8 Rankings going into tonight's 80's show are as follows:

1. Jessica Sanchez.....she's vocally well ahead of the rest of the field, and carries herself on stage way more professionally and with maturity beyond her years.
2. Phillip Phillips.....what you see is what you get with this kid. I think he's a more 'all-around' talented performer and musician, and more than just a singer on stage
3. Elise Testone.......my dark-horse for making the FINALS and on the rise the last few weeks. Tonight I think she's got another great opportunity to shine with 80's music, so song choice will be key, and I think based on the last few weeks, she'll do great!
4. Colton Dixon.....he's been solid, but not sensational by any means, and he's yet to be in the dreaded bottom 3, which I thought he would be last week. I do think he'll do well tonight, and hopefully pick a song that isn't so obscure.
5. Joshua Ledet.....vocally, he's probably the MOST talented male contestant left, but he lacks the overall talent that Phillip and Colton have. He also tends to over-sing his songs. He needs to have a big night tonight, so the right song choice will be very important for him.
6. Hollie Cavanaugh.....may have the most on the line tonight after finding herself in the 'bottom 3' last week and facing elimination. My advice to her is no more ballads, come out looking and singing something 'young and fun' tonight from the 80's.
7. Skylar Laine.....who wants to bet me Skylar sings an 80's classic country song tonight? There's plenty of great songs from the decade for her to choose from, so she better pick one she can put her stamp on tonight!
8. DeAndre Brackensick......how he ended up NOT being in the 'bottom 3' last week was a surprise, and I've just about had enough of falsetto boy. You can only go so far with that, and I think he'll struggle tonight unless he picks a song that will really match his voice.

Just for fun, here's a list of VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 80's , some of which I'm certain we will hear performed on tonight's 2-hour show on FOX.

So….who do you think will do well tonight? Who’s your top Idol contestants? More from Eddie Idol after the TOP 8 perform their 80's magic on tonight's show. As always, stay tuned for more ‘Eddie Idol’ chatter…….after the show!