Top 10 - 3/21/12

Hi. Our show starts out with repeat scenes of Shannon Magrane getting eliminated last week. Obviously the remaining group took it hard as tears flowed abuntantly. Now it appears our top 10 have to pull it together and move on to get prepared for the American Idol tour and of course tonight's performances.

After our welcome to the judges and Ryan we hear that tonight's theme is the music of Billy Joel. Mentoring our group with Jimmy Iovine is none other than P. Diddy or just Diddy as he is now called. I find this a strange choice for this kind of music but Diddy is one successful guy for sure. Another part of tonight's performances is the image control being handed out by Tommy Hilfiger. Some took his advice while others stuck to their guns on how they want to look.

Before we get to the performance I have to say I found tonight rather a snooze-fest because practically all of the contestants sang ballads. I might also mention that I do not believe anyone can sing Billy Joel songs as good as Billy Joel and tonight's group proved that. Now for the performances:

DeAndre Brackensick is our first performer and chooses to sing "Only The Good Die Young". While he was energetic on this number I did notice a few pitch problems here and there. Overall I just felt this was too safe. Steven Tyler felt the song was too happy considering the title. Jennifer Lopez liked his nice mix and sort of laid back performance. Randy did not think it was anything special but was good overall. My grade: B

Talk about a complete make-over, Erika Van Pelt did just that by cutting her hair short and dying it black (a Pat Benatar re-creation). I actually liked the look on her. However her performance of "New York State of Mind" was not as stunning as her look. I do think she over-sang it a bit plus I found it kind of boring. Steven thinks she needs more character but called it nice. Jennifer agree she needs to let loose more. Randy loved the look and the vocals. My grade: B

Joshua Ledei wears a tuxedo tonight as he performs "She's Got A Way". The first part of the song was kind of un-comfortable for him but once the choir came in some of the real Joshua emerged. I, however was not wowed with the performance. Steven says he does not know this song which surprises me but he felt Joshua made it come alive for him personally. Jennifer tells it like it is saying he is not connected to the song. For Randy is was a half/half thing for him as he could understand why his co-judges said what they did. My grade: B

I hate saying this as I really like Skylar Laine but tonight was not one of her best at all. The beginning of the song "Shameless" was so slow and boring but in my opinion got worse in the chorus as she seemed to be yelling the lyrics. I did not care for this at all. Each of the judges comment on her pitchy notes with Jennifer adding she had the audience by the ending. My grade: C-

Elise Testone sings a song I am not familiar with called "Vienna". I like her raw and raspy voice on the song even though I did not like the song itself. The run at the end was a little too over the top for my taste however the judges loved it and gave her a standing ovation. Steven thinks her melody was fantastic. JLo liked her confidence and felt the vocal was beautiful. Randy thinks she made it her own. My grade: B+

While Phil Phillips makes every song fit his style I must say I was not thrilled with his rendition of "Moving Out". Plain and simple it was just okay for me. Steven thinks he made it his own. Jennifer calls it awesome and Randy really goes over the top by saying it was the best rendition he ever heard of this song. Sorry but I can not agree this time around. My grade: B

I loved the glamour look Hollie Cavanagh wore tonight. I thought she did fairly well with her rendition of the song "Honesty" however the judges were not so pleased. Steven calls her a grand singer but she was pitchy tonight. Jennifer thinks she needed to nail the notes better. Randy liked the chorus but the verse was too pitchy for him. I kind of liked it however. My grade: B+

Heejun Han is one funny guy and is entertaining with his antics. I just wish his vocal powers were better. Tonight he sings "It's My Life". He looks like he is going to do another ballad but stops the piano guy with the phrase "this is too slow for me". Then he rips off his suit to reveal jeans and a colorful t-shirt which reminded me of a nerdy rapper look. He is funny in the number but the singing was awful in my book. Steven cautions him about being more serious about getting into the music business. Jennifer thinks he brought some fun even though the vocals were off. Randy thinks he had a good time but also mentions the not-so-good vocals. My grade: D

Jessica Sanchez also earns a standing ovation from the judges for her rendition of the song "Everybody Has A Dream". Not wild about this song but I do think Jessica sang it well. I loved the end high note but again the performance for me was good but not great. Steven says" when god was giving vocal chords she was in the head of the line". Obviously he loved it. Jennifer thinks the song was perfect for her. Randy believes that Jessica has a "moment" with every song she sings. My grade: B+

I was really hoping Colton Dixon would sing "We Didn't Start The Fire" however he opts for "Piano Man". Yep he plays the piano as he sings. I personally feel he had some sharp notes in the song but the judges did not hear this I guess. Steven instead says his choice of chords was stunning. Jennifer thinks he sings with feeling. Randy liked his sensitive and touching approach. For me it was just so-so. My grade: B-

Finally the show is over and overall I really feel this might have been the wrong theme for our contestants. Our judges feel that Jessica, Colton, Elise and Phil stood out the most but as I mentioned above no one was a total wow for me. We earlier see Haley Reinhardt in the audience and it seems she will perform on the results show. Hopefully it will be more entertaining then tonight's show was. My pick to go home is Heejun Han.

So it is time to call it a night and I hope your day tomorrow is a good one. Toodles!

I have to agree with you Crystal. I wasn't very blown away by any of the performances either. I did like Erika and Phillip a little more than everyone else but sadly it wasn't all that good overall.