IDOL UPDATE: AND THEN THERE WERE 12!

Goodbye to Jeremy Rosado

Not going to crow too, too much, but.....gotta' say I had it picked exactly the way it unfolded last Thursday night on Idol! Only twist by Idol was still doing the bottom 3 for both the gals and guys, but I did pick the 'Bottom 2' spots for the girls and guys per my previous post before Thursday night's show. The bottom 2 girls were Elise Testone and Shannon Magrane, and the bottom two guys were Jeremy Rosado and Jermaine Jones. After Jermaine Jones and Shannon Magrane were declared 'safe' by Ryan, that left Elise Testone and Jeremy Rosado as the bottom two vote getter's, after which the judges decided which of these two would stay, and which one would go home......and the judges saved Elise, as I thought....and sent Jeremy packing.....just as I predicted! :-)

Will this trend of the judges getting involved in the final decision on who goes home continue? Based on the opening comments to the show Thursday night by Ryan Seacrest, this was a 'one night only', meaning we will not see it again this season unless the judges use their one and only 'save' in the coming weeks once they get inside the TOP 10.

In other Idol news......Lauren Alaina performed her new single "Georgia Peaches" off her new album as a guest singer Thursday night on Idol. She looked and sounded good, other than some technical difficulties on the Idol stage with wiring and earphones. Yikes!

This year's 'goodbye song' for Idol contestants voted off is Scotty McCeery's "Please Remember Me", a nice choice by Idol as we heard it last night for Jeremy's goodbye at the end of the show. 

More on IDOL coming this week before the next show, so stay tuned!  

TOP 13 RECAP....and....WHO GOES HOME TONIGHT?

TOP 13 of Idol, Season 11

Because Eddie Idol’s a bit under the gun with work and projects this week, I’ll keep my usually lengthy recap of the last nights two-hour TOP 13 performances on Idol short and sweet here. Last night was Idol's 400th show, and arguably the BEST show so far this year. It also came with a new and interesting twist announced that is on for tonight's one-hour elimination show on Fox. It's the GALS vs. GUYS, and the lowest vote getter will be announced for both the girls and the guys tonight, then it will be up to the judges, who will then decide which of the two goes home. Eddie likes it!

So......as we count down the hours until the TOP 12 is officially announced tonight.....drum roll please and dim the lights, here we go..... 

The BEST performances from last night:

Once again, for the 2nd consecutive week, Jessica Sanchez takes TOP honors! She nailed Whitney's "I Will Always Love You", and got a standing ovation from the judges! WOW! She's without a doubt the front-runner for the ladies so far. Also performing very well last night, and grading out with A's were: Joshua Ledet, Erika Van Pelt, Hollie Cavnaugh and Phillip Phillips.

Should be SAFE for at least another week:
Grading out in the B's last night with solid performances were: Colton Dixon, DeAndre Brackensick, Skylar Laine and Heejun Hun....yes....I said Heejun, who as Randy said, 'wasn't perfect, but very good'. There....I gave him props!

Who's in Trouble tonight?

Grading out in the C's and most likely to end up in the dreaded BOTTOM 2 tonight are, for the Girls....either Elise Testone or Shannon Magrane.....and for the Guys......either Jermaine Jones or Jeremy Rosado....these four should all be worried heading into tonight's single elimination.

Who Goes Home?

If it comes down to either of the girls mentioned, I think the judges save the GIRL and eliminate a guy, and I think that guy will be......Jeremy Rosado.

So….who do you think goes home tonight? Who’s your favorite guys and gals in the TOP 12? More from Eddie Idol on the TOP 12 after tonight's interesting show. As always, stay tuned for more ‘Eddie Idol’ chatter…….after the break!

IDOL UPDATE: THE TOP 13...A LOOK BACK....AND LOOKING AHEAD

The TOP 13 of American Idol, Season 11

The TOP 13 of American Idol were chosen last week on Idol, and will perform this week for America's votes, but before we look ahead, let's look back for a second and ask a few burning questions.......

Did America get the TOP 10 Right? .....YES......and NO! You didn't think it would be that EZ did you? For the Guys, sorry folks, Heejun Hun should NOT be in the TOP 13, but I'll blame the judges more, because they put him in the TOP 25, and gave America a chance to vote him in....and of course, they were stupid enough to do so! For the Girls, I think the only 'questionable' girl voted in was Skylar Laine, but was not surprised that America voted her in based on her energy and likeable personality.

Did the judges get the 3 Wild-Cards right?......NO.....and again, it's on the GUYS side of things. DeAndre Brackensick should NOT be in the Top 13! He didn't sing well enough for America to vote him in, and the judges should not have given him a 2nd chance. Jeremy Rosado was also a questionable selection, think there were several other girls and guys more deserving of a 2nd chance, more on that later. Erika Van Pelt truly sang for her life and earned her spot, very deserving and a solid choice!

Creighton Fraker in the Semifinals

Who Got Screwed?.......For the guys, no question it's Creighton Fraker, who sang well enough to either be voted in by America or certainly be one of the six people chosen by the judges who were given a chance to sing for a 'wild-card' spot. For the girls, I think Jen Hirsh was most deserving,  although she did get a chance to sing  for a wild card spot and was still passed on by the judges.

Biggest disappointment?.....For me, it had to be Hallie Day, who I thought was a shoe-in for the TOP 13, but maybe having so many of the girls with blonde hair really did do in this Marilyn Monroe look-alike!



OK....so now, let's look ahead to this week and the TOP 13....

TOP 3 GUYS: Joshua Ledet, Colton Dixon and Phillip Phillips....the 4 other guys (Heejun Hun, Jermaine Jones, Jeremy Rosado and DeAndre Brackensick) don't really stand a chance to be brutally honest! Let's hope Heejun and DeAndre have QUICK exits!

TOP 3 GIRLS:  Jessica Sanchez, Elise Testone and  Shannon Magrane, but don't count out Hollie Cavanaugh, she's got some serious vocal talent and could be a big challenge. I think Skylar Laine and Erika Van Pelt will struggle to go deep in the competition.

This week, all of the TOP 13 will perform on a two-hour (8-10PM) Wednesday night show, with the Guys singing from the Stevie Wonder songbook, and the Girls performing songs of Whitney Houston in a tribute to her.

Mary Jane Blige

Mary Jane Blige, an American singer, songwriter, record producer and occasional rapper and actress, will be the guest mentor this week for all the Idol contestants.

More on the TOP 13 after all the performances on Wednesday night and before the one-hour results show (8-9PM) on Thursday night.

Until then, Eddie Idol is.......OUT!

IDOL UPDATE: TOP 12 GIRLS....GRADES AND WHO MOVES ON?

Season 11 American Idol TOP 12 Girls

I fully expected the 2nd LIVE night of Idol featuring the TOP 12 Girls to be better than the guys performances the prior night, and the girls did NOT disappoint! One thing is clear, there's more talent on the Girls side of the competition than the Guys......hands down, no doubt, though I'll change my opinion and say the guys may have more diversity. I also know that America is going to have a MUCH tougher time pairing the girls down from 12 to the TOP 5, and it's a shame that some of the girls only had this one opportunity to show how good they really are, because there are at least a half dozen girls I’d love to hear sing again than judge on just one single performance.
With all that said, here's my thoughts on the BEST of the ladies side of the ledger and who really deserves to be in the FINALS......drum roll please.......

Jessica Sanchez

BEST OF THE NIGHT.....tough call here as it was close, but I'll go with Jessica Sanchez over Elise Testone.......only because if she sounds this good singing "Love You, I Do" with sore vocal chords from an all week sickness, WOW!....what can she do feeling healthy? GRADE: A...not an 'A+' because her voice did disappear in a spot or two in the early part of the song.
RUNNER-UP.....and almost as good with an amazing rendition of Adele's "One and Only", was Elise Testone......she gave a bluesy and powerful performance, and did Adele proud! GRADE: A.....and a lock for the FINALS!

BEST OF THE REST......
Shannon Magrane.........sings "Go Light Your World", a song I'm sure many besides myself were not familiar wih, but she sang very well and showed why she should be one of the TOP 5 ladies in the finals.....still think she looks and sounds like a young Katherine McPhee.....GRADE: A-
Hollie Cavanaugh.......sings Christina Aguilera's "Reflection", a big song to take on for such a young & petite girl, but after a shaky start, she really picks it up and does a tremendous job with it....hard to believe that, like Jessica Sanchez, she's got such a strong voice...love the British accent she has too...GRADE: A-
Jen Hirsh......also sings "One and Only" from Adele, and does a different version than Elise Testone, and not as good, but still shows, as EI assistant Kathy says, "a firm and solid voice, with good control"....Solid performance overall....if America doesn't vote her in, look for her to take one of the 'wild-card' spots....GRADE: B+
Hallie Day.....sings "Feelin' Good" and although it's not as good as Jennifer Hudson would do it, it's still pretty good, with nice control and range in her voice, and I think she has one of the best voices in the competition......hopefully gets voted in, if not, then a wild card pick candidate...GRADE: B+
Skylar Laine....our country girl surprisingly chose to sing "Stay With Me" by Rod Stewart & Faces, and she puts a ton of energy into it....she's a mini Reba McIntyre, a 'rockin' country girl' as Randy called her, but vocally she's not nearly as strong as many other girls.....GRADE: B
Erika Van Pelt......sings Heart's "What About Love" and there's just not enough power behind the song for me....she needed to put more into it, so it was just OK for me....GRADE: C+
Chelsea Sorrel......sang a Carie Underwood song "Cowboy Casanova" in the dreaded first spot and she did it pretty well, but it was easily forgettable....I think she's one and done...GRADE: C
Brielle Von Hugel......sang a boring version of Otis Redding's "Dock of the Bay".....very shaky start to the sing, screamed more than sang at the end, so the only portion of the song she did well was the middle....sorry Brielle, but that ain't good enough to make it through to the next round, no matter what your big mouth momma says....GRADE: C-
Baylie Brown......sang Lonestar's "Amazed" and it was just not very good from start to finish! Prettiest girl in the competition, but good looks aren't going to be enough to get her through to the finals with all the talent the ladies have going on....GRADE: D
Haley Johnson.....sang a rather odd rendition of Annie Lenox's "Sweet Dreams" and I'm sure wherever Annie was, she felt the pain.....it was a poor song choice, horrible arrangement, and the whole thing was just, as Randy put it, a 'nightmare'....GRADE: D-

So....this is tough, really tough, but my TOP 5 Girls would be: Jessica Sanchez, Shannon Magrane, Elise Testone, Hollie Cavanaugh and Hallie Day

Wild Card Possibilities: Jen Hirsh, Skylar Laine or Erika Van Pelt....guaranteed by Eddie that the girls lock up at least 2 of the 3 Wild Card slots....book it!

Who Will America Probably Pick? Jessica, Shannon, Skylar, Hollie and Haley.....and if for some reason Elise is left out, she's a 'wild-card' lock for the judges picks tonight!

Speaking of our Idol judges.....I think the judges did a much better job with the ladies than the guys, and actually judged more critical when needed. I do think that it was quite unfair to the guys though for them to answer Ryan's question on who was the BEST of the night for the ladies, obviously influencing the voting for the girls, something they did NOT do for the guys at the end of the show on Tuesday night.  

I’ll be blogging more thoughts throughout the weekend after the TOP 13 FINALISTS are announced LIVE on FOX tonight…..so stay tuned…..more from Eddie Idol…..after tonight’s show on FOX!

IDOL UPDATE: TOP 13 BOYS....GRADES AND WHO MOVES ON?



American Idol, Season 11 TOP 12 Guys

The TOP 12+1 Boys performed last night LIVE on the Idol stage, getting to choose any song they wanted to perform....and there were some very good and very bad performances. As I predicted, the 'additional' 13th guy added to the field was Jermaine Jones, 'The Gentle Giant'....way to go Idol, and more on him later. There was also confirmation that each judge will get a 'wild-card' pick later this week, leaving us with a TOP 13 FINALISTS on Thursday night for the second straight year on IDOL.

So, without further ado, here's Eddie's grades and thoughts on which guys DESERVE to move on......

Joshua Ledet

BEST OF THE NIGHT.....Joshua Ledet....sang Jennifer Hudson's "You Pulled Me Through"....hands down without question, the best vocal of the night. Incredible performance, and that my friends, is what singing is all about! GRADE: A+...easily makes the FINAL 13 whether America agrees or not!

BEST of the REST:
Colton Dixon....sang "Decode" by Paramore....have to admit I did NOT know the song and was not familiar with it, but I'll give him props for an energetic performance and stepping away from the piano. I saw sjhades of David Cook, Adam Lambert and James Durbin here.....all good company....GRADE: B+

Creighton Fraker......chooses to sin the 1986 Cydi Lauper hit "True Colors" and although a very curious and ballsy song choice, performs it very well. Lost in this stellar performance was all the talk from the judges about how so many great male voices will be lost after one performance.....let's hope Creighton is NOT one of them. GRADE: A.....though I doubt America agrees with me!
Phillip Phillips....sings "In The Air Tonight" and of course he has his guitar and makes the song his own....with little emotion....reminds me a lot of Season 9 winner Lee Dewyze...remember him? Yeah....sure you do....and he's not selling any records! I'm not in love with this kid like J-Lo is, but this was probably good enough to get him into the Finals without a doubt....GRADE: B
Chase Likens....country boy from WV (I won't hold it against him that he attends school at Marshall) who chooses "Storm Warning" and pretty much nails it. Great stage presence, good looking kid, who has had little face time so far. Only reason I can think is that Idol does not want another country boy winning it this year, but who knows.....GRADE: B
Adam Brock....Mr. 'White Chocolate' from Washington, PA (my home of 15+ years) sings an Aretha Franklin hit "Think", and overall, does a pretty good rendition with some lively stage presence. Not sure he'll make it to the Finals or not, but he's in the running....GRADE: B
Jermaine Jones......Mr. 'Lucky 13', the Gentle Giant picks an excellent song choice, performing Luther Vandross' "Dance With My Father", and after a shaky opening, recovers nicely and does a pretty solid rendition. Not sure he'll make it to the next round, but I can't help but pull for this big, lovable guy! : GRADE: B-
Jeremy Rosado....sings a Sara Bareillis hit "Gravity".....what is it with all these guys wanting to do chick songs? GEEZ! I just don't get it, and for me, it was just OK.....nothing great, but certainly not the worst of the night. Nice kid though, but he'll need help to get through to the Finals...GRADE: C+
Aaron Marcellus.....sings a MJ song "Never Can Say Goodbye" and after a shaky start, recovers nicely and does and adequate, but not great, job with it overall...probably a one-and-done performance here...GRADE: C
Reed Grimm.....a 'Casey Abrams wanna-be' performs a jazzy version of Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger"......thought it was weak and all over the place, and enough with the drums already, he can't play them as good as he thinks he can....might get America's votes, but not mine....GRADE: C-
Eben Franckewitz.....horrible song choice with Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain"....was there any guidance at all on Idol to tell this 15 year old kid he doesn't have the chops to sing an Adele song? Very poor performance, and even though his mom's a WVU grad and he loves WVU football, I gotta send him packing back to Ohio....GRADE: D+
Deandre Brackensick.....sings EW+F's "Reasons" and it was just too much falsetto for me with nothing else to back it up! I didn't care for it at all....sorry....the teenie-bopper girls may vote him to the next round, but 'hair-boy' is NOT TOP 13 material....he needs to take his curling iron and head back to San Diego...GRADE: D
Heejun Hun......sings "Angels"......and I was praying to the angels for him to stop singing...it was a train wreck. I'm sorry, but why is this kid even in the TOP 25? Seriously....this is what just enrages me about Idol. Send Heejun Home......PLEASE! GRADE: D-.....slightly pushing to an F!

So....not that I think America will agree with me based on their voting last night, but Eddie's TOP 5 Guys would be: Joshua Ledet, Colton Dixon, Creighton Fraker, Phillip Phillips and Chaise Likens
Wild Card Possibilities: Adam Brock, Jermaine Jones or Jeremy Rosado
Who Will America Probably Pick? Eben Franckewitz, Heejun Hun, Reed Grimm, Phillip Phillips and Colton Dixon.....with one of the the judges forced to pick Josh Ledet as a  on Thursday night.
Personally, I think the TOP 12 Girls are much more diverse and stronger than the guys this year, so we should see a much better 2-hour show tonight, at least that's what I'm hoping for anyway.
Stay tuned.....more from Eddie Idol.......after the girls perform LIVE tonight on FOX!

IDOL UPDATE: TOP 24....oh wait...TOP 25 SEMIFINALISTS PERFORM!

Last week Idol unveiled the 'Official' TOP 24, which matched my TOP 24 spoiler list sent out two weeks ago, and there was ONLY one added surprise....the judges felt compelled to adding a 13th guy to the competition. So, we'll really have a TOP 25! It will be announced tomorrow night as the 13 Boys Semifinalists perform, and it will be one of these 4 guys that get added: Jermaine Jones, Richie Lawson, David Leathers Jr. or Johnny Keyser. My bet.....Jermaine Jones......just because his exit was so emotional. For the love of God, please Idol, do not let it be Richie Lawson, I can't take one more performance from him and then have to listen to his moth and all that arrogance.

Are you ready for three straight nights and 6 hours of Idol on FOX this week? Get those DVR's set! On Tuesday, the TOP 13 Boys Semifinalists perform from 8-10PM......On Wednesday, the TOP 12 Girl Semifinalists perform from 8-10pm.....and on Thursday, the results are in and the TOP 12 Finalists are announced! Song selection is going to be VERY important, as the singers will have ONLY one chance to connect with a song and make that song connect with the home audience. If they succeed, they'll hopefully make the final TOP 12. If they fail, they'll be going home....a one and done performance opportunity, so lots of pressure. There will also be a 'Wild Card' round with each judge selecting their 'Wild Card' choices, adding to the TOP 12 Finalists. More to come on that and much more as I'll be blogging each of the next few days until we get the finalists.....so stay tuned for a fun and exciting week on IDOL!

In other Idol Alumni news........

Haley Reinhart performed her new single, Free, during a live performance at the Hard Rock Cafe in Hollywood last week. She sounds great! The American Idol Season 10 finalist's performance was part of a showcase for Los Angeles radio station KBIG-FM. Free is set for a March release.

IDOL UPDATES: TOP 24 WEEK IS UPON US....FINALLY!

OK....so....even though I 'leaked' the Season 11 TOP 24 'Spoiler List' over a week ago, the 'official' TOP 24 will be unveiled this week on Idol. After cutting the field to 70 on last Wednesday's episode, Idol then took the remaining contestants to the Aria in Las Vegas and had them sing material from the '50s and early '60s. By the end of the night, we got a good look at many of the 42 singers who remained at the end of the experience. Those 42, which is really supposed to be the 'TOP 40', will compete this week with the TOP 24 chosen (FINALLY!) and announced on both Wednesday (2 hours, from 8-10pm) and Thursday night's (1 hour, 8-9pm) episodes.
Some additional thoughts and comments from last week's elimination shows, for those remaining in the TOP 40 (OK....42!) that will make up this year's TOP 24.......first, the Guys.....

• Joshua Ledet.....pretty solid rendition of 'Jar of Hearts', not an easy song at all for a guy to do.....I was impressed to say the least!
• Colton Dixon.....maybe it's the kids hair, but there's just something about this kid that's dark and scary for me.
• Phillip Phillips.....definitely the most unique and intriguing voice, and the teeny-bopper girls will vote enough to keep him in until the Top 8 or 10, but that's it.
• Creighton Fraker.....he's pretty good, but not good enough to win it and not a front-runner for the guys
• Reed Grimm.....the 'Casey-Abrams wanna-be'.....and I coined that BEFORE Randy did....you'll either love him or hate him....he's quirky and cool all at the same time....he'll go far if he calms down the personality a bit and acts more mature.
• Adam Brock....self described as 'White Chocolate'....this guy can sing! He did a crazy good rendition of 'Georgia On My Mind'......and i Vegas, played piano and sang lead for his group with 'Great Balls of Fire'....I hope he goes far, and I think he will.
• Deandre Brackensick.....first time I heard this kid was in Vegas.....'Hairboy' is a cool singer with an icredible falsetto that had the judges shaking their heads. He'll go far!
• Chase Likens.....can't forget this kid from Point Pleasant, WV....he certainly was impressive in Vegas, nice range and melody, and has a shot to go deep in the competition as well.

And as for the Gals side of things.......

• Jen Hirsh.....found out that she works for a winery in CA, so it's no wonder I like her! She has pone of the best voices on the ladies side, and will be a threat to go deep in the competition.
• Shannon Magrane.....dare I say this, but she reminds me of a young Katherine McPhee! This girl just turned 16, but carries herself in a way more mature manner than that, and has a great voice. She'll go deep!
• Skylar Laine......a young Reba McIntyre wanna-be....sings rather sassy and is probably better at this stage of the competition than Laren Alaina was last year, so who knows, she could go far, but my bet is she bows out early.
• Haley Johnson......I still haven't seen or heard enough of her, other than what is on YouTube, so I'll reserve any critical judgement here....what I have seen shows that she is very talented and could surprise.
• Elise Testone....from what I've seen, I don't think she's got the 'wow' factor to hang in very long with the other ladies, she's just not that strong vocally.
• Jessica Sanchez.......very impressed with what I've heard from her, and it's amazing as small as she is that she sings with such a big voice. She'll go deep in the competition.
• Hallie Day......saved the BEST for last here.....I think she's the one to beat on the ladies side of things, and she's my top choice so far from all I've seen and heard.

I'm sure I'll have more comments on some of these folks and others that make up the TOP 24 after the next few nights and before the Season 11 LIVE shows start up in March, so stay tuned for more Eddie Idol updates coming soon!

Lastly....in other BIG Idol Alumni News.............

Adam Lambert with Queen

Adam Lambert will front the band Queen at England's Sonisphere Festival on July 7.
Queen will headline the second day of Sonisphere. The festival takes place at Knebworth Park, the site of the band's final concert with lead singer Freddie Mercury in 1986.
Adam sang We Are the Champions with Queen during the 2009 American Idol finale and also performed with the band last year at the MTV Europe Awards. This should be an awesome show!