‘American Idol’ Top 8 Recap: Rox Off

(Olivia Rox goes home in a shock elimination. Photo: Fox)

Hey, remember how American Idol Season 15 was supposed to be a “girls’ season”? Well, never mind all that. On Thursday, in only the second public vote of the year, the bottom three comprised all female contestants, including two that absolutely did not deserve to be there, Olivia Rox and Avalon Young. (Also on the chopping block was Gianna Isabella, but I predicted she’d be in trouble after her pitchy Beyoncé cover last week.)

And at the end of the evening, due to an annoying double-elimination in this shortened season’s mad dash to the April 7 finale, only one of these ladies, Avalon, emerged unscathed after the judges’ deliberation. Jennifer Lopez called this “one of the most painful decisions we have to make.” Given the circumstances, J.Lo, Harry Connick Jr., and Keith Urban did make the right call. But the fact that Olivia – an amazing, adorable, and incredibly marketable singer that I’d once had pegged to go all the way to the finale and maybe even the winner’s circle – went home in the top eight week was a shocker. Maybe it wasn’t a Pia Toscano-level shocker, but it was pretty close.

But let’s not make this totally a gender thing. While I had expected Lee Jean to be in the bottom three this week, and truly think he deserved to be there over both Olivia and Avalon, I’d assumed that Gianna and Lee would be joined by Tristan McIntosh. This week, Tristan was safe, and she completely redeemed herself with a stellar, return-to-form piano performance. Lee, on the other hand, gave another underwhelming performance that proved he’s simply out of his depth at this point. If Lee is safe again next week, that’s when we can safely proclaim that the gender bias in Idol voting is as problematic as it has always been.

Side note: Ironically, I’d been complaining all season that the results had been wrested from the public’s control. But then the public puts Avalon and Olivia in the bottom three? Maybe the voting lines should be closed until April 7, after all.

And hey, since I’m on a roll with all my complaining here, before I get to the recapping, let me mention that it was during last week’s Kelly Clarkson-themed episode that it felt like Season 15 finally kicked in and started generating some real buzz. But this week, some of that momentum was already lost. My theory is that the one-night format (which was introduced last season) messes with the contestants’ minds. They have to sit around waiting to find out, one by one, if they are safe, and then perform as soon as Ryan Seacrest calls them to the stage. As was the case last season, this format seems to throw some contestants, even the usually unflappable Dalton Rapattoni, off their game a bit.

Is there a way to fix this? Only if Idol goes back to having a separate results show. But it is obviously too late for that now.

Dalton Rapattoni

Dalton isn’t the most impressive vocalist of this season – that’s not shade; he’d probably readily agree with that comment – but he excels at interpreting unexpected songs. He has found his niche as this season’s answer to David Cook. So what has happened to the guy who not long ago was creatively reworking random Andrew Lloyd Webber, Billy Idol, and Olivia Newton-John tunes? Dalton’s Plain White T’s cover last week was unambitious, and this week he again avoided risk with “Radioactive,” an overdone song I would be happy to never hear sung by a reality contestant (or, come to think of it, by Imagine Dragons themselves) ever again. Yes, on the plus side, he as usual came across as a total pro, working the crowd, the stage, and the camera lens. But he didn’t have a watercooler moment.

“I love how hungry and passionate you are, but I will say quickly I don’t think that was a great song for you – because I think what you do with songs when you tweak them and do your own mojo is what sets you apart,” said Keith. “I felt you were not as present as you have been every other week…. there was a certain electricity that I did not see today,” grumbled Harry. I grudgingly agreed with both judges. Sigh. I really hope Dalton hasn’t already peaked. I’ve been counting on him to keep things interesting this season. This show needs him, but not if he’s going make boring selections from the “Alt-Rock Radio Hits of the 2000s” songbook for the rest of his run.

Lee Jean

In an attempt to eschew both the Ed Sheeran and MacKenzie Bourg associations that have dogged him all season, Lee took on Kings of Leon’s stadium hit “Use Somebody.” The passionate, earnest anthem was just way too big for him. Even when he admirably tried to break out of his singer-songwriter shell – yanking the microphone off its stand and marching around the stage with his guitar slung across his back all Bono-style – it felt contrived and didn’t work. This was a kid singing a man’s song. (I suppose it could have been worse. At least he didn’t do “Sex on Fire.”)

“I feel like you could have brought some power to some of those moments that were lacking for me,” said Jennifer, though she applauded Lee for trying to bust out of his comfort zone. Harry diplomatically praised Lee’s “growth and enthusiasm.” Keith didn’t like the song choice, but added, “I love the fact that you are trying to something different.” OK, it’s time for the judges to stop going so easy on Lee just because he’s a likable cutie or because he’s young and inexperienced. Lee should not have survived this week over Olivia, full stop.

Sonika Vaid

Last week, Sonika came to life during “Bring Me to Life,” emoting more fiercely and fearlessly than ever before. She called it the “best performance of my life.” But this week, taking a major risk doing “Since U Been Gone” by last week’s aforementioned beloved guest judge Kelly Clarkson, she regressed – and had me thinking last week’s star turn was just a fluke. Despite her promise to showcase her “angry girlfriend” side, Sonika brought little sass or spunk to this tentative performance. She just wasn’t as angry as she should have been. It’s a good thing she wasn’t doing Kelly’s famous bunny-boiler “Never Again”! She could have never pulled that off.

“I wanted more attitude… I wanted more ‘angry girlfriend,’” said Keith. “Remember what it felt like last week? It did not feel that way this week, did it?” Jennifer asked rhetorically. I don’t think Sonika was ready for this Kelly.

MacKenzie Bourg

Things got a little more interesting when MacKenzie pulled a page from the classic Kris Allen/David Cook playbook and gender-flipped Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” Obviously, his voice was nowhere near a Whitney level, so this was a risk. But I enjoyed his effortlessly breezy soft-rock take on the girly ‘80s club hit, even if it could have used a little more oomph and his laid-back vocals were almost drowned out by Season 8 powerhouse Allison Iraheta singing backup with Rickey Minor’s band.

“Some switchups don’t work – but that switchup really worked. You really pulled it off very nicely,” said J.Lo. A less impressed Harry called this performance “fine” and “nice and pleasant,” but didn’t think it was the “wow moment” that MacKenzie had been aiming for, or that the arrangement was inventive enough. Keith just compared MacKenzie to Rivers Cuomo – probably because the two both wear nerdy Buddy Holly spectacles, since there’s not much that’s Weezer-esque about Mac’s vocals. (I bet MacKenzie could do a decent version of “Say It Ain’t So,” though.)

La’Porsha Renae

Remember how I said a few paragraphs ago that Season 15 is no longer a girls’ season? Well, actually, it’s a woman’s season. This woman’s. Once again, the episode finally started once La’Porsha – an adult in a sea of not-ready-for-prime-time children – showed up. Last week’s “Diamonds” was definitely not a fluke. This week, doing a majestic version of Beyoncé’s “Halo” while clad in regal Diana-Ross-at-the-1976-Grammys finery, she brought Bond-theme drama to the Idol stage. (Actually, I would like there to be an all-James-Bond-theme night on American Idol, with every song performed by La’Porsha. Can you make that happen, Fox?) And her fakeout a cappella ending was everything.

“I love every week more and more watching you come into your own. You are the one to beat,” said Jennifer. “Every time you sing, I am urged to consider the song from a completely different perspective. You are a master at arching a song… you knew exactly how to give this song a beginning, middle, and end,” raved Harry. Hopefully we will see La’Porsha at the end of this season – on the finale stage.

Trent Harmon

So is it too soon to root for a La’Porsha/Trent finale? The finale is actually only a month away, so I say no. I honestly didn’t think I could enjoy another Idol version of Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman” after Joshua Ledet’s iconic mic-dropping performance of Season 11, but Trent really owned this. This performance was pure passion, pure fire, and basically perfection. His distinctive, keening voice cut right through the song (that falsetto!!), and like always, he thoughtfully, meaningfully interpreted the lyrics. I always believe every word Trent sings, because he always seems to sing from his soul.

“I love your voice. I particularly love it on high, sustained notes. That is such a great gift. You do that so well,” said Harry, who praised Trent for getting his “exaggerated vibrato” under control. (I never minded Trent’s vibrato, and thought it was part of his charm, but Harry explained too much of that will wear on Trent’s vocals over time.) Then Jennifer flat-out announced: “I had a vision of you and La'Porsha at the end.” Wow. J.Lo agrees with me!? That doesn’t happen very often.

Tristan McIntosh

Last week, Tristan was a trainwreck doing Dan & Shay’s “Nothin’ Like You,” a manic and unfocused performance that was nothin’ like the amazing Tristan we first met at the auditions. Based on that, she fully deserved to be in the bottom three this week, but she wasn’t – probably because she was the only country contestant in the entire top 10, and if there’s anything Idol voters love more than cute boys with guitars, it’s country music. Anyway, this week she did Vince Gill’s “Go Rest High on That Mountain,” after in-house mentor Scott Borchetta advised her not to sing her first song choice, “Clarity” by Zedd. I think Scott saved Tristan’s hide, and I am so glad she listened to him.

This was exactly wwhatas Tristan needed to do to get back in the game, and this is exactly what she needs to keep doing to stay in the game. Gorgeously, plaintively crooning the evangelical ballad at the piano, she completely redeemed herself, and actually seemed connected to her material instead of getting in her head/her own way and trying too hard to entertain. “I believe that is the Tristan that America fell in love with. That is your sweet spot, and you did a beautiful job,” raved Jennifer. Tristan will probably be safe after this week’s vote, but this time, I won’t be mad about it at all.

And then Avalon, Olivia, and Gianna all sang for their own shots at redemption. Avalon, who faltered last week with an ill-advised Shawn Mendes cover, fully got her groove back with a swaggy, sexy rendition of the Weeknd’s “Earned It.” She earned it, all right.

Olivia did Pink’s “Trouble” – probably not the best song choice, since it’s a lightweight, uptempo number and one of Pink’s less popular singles, but her wide-ranging vocal was flawless. (She let out some dog-whistle notes that would have even impressed ex-judge Mariah Carey.)

Gianna’s “If I Ain’t Got You” was an improvement over last week’s terrible “Listen,” but it was still a case of a little girl singing a too-big song, and she was the obvious weak link of these three. I really, really wish this hadn’t been a double-elimination night, because Olivia deserved another chance. Under normal circumstances, she certainly would have gotten one.

So who will be next week’s bottom three? I think Lee’s time will finally be up, and Sonika might be punished by America for failing to do Kelly Clarkson justice. And I can’t believe I am saying this… but I think Dalton might be in danger. If he is, hopefully he’ll go with an interesting song choice that will impress the judges.

However, Dalton and the other seven contestants won’t have much opportunity to make interesting choices, since next week’s theme is “The American Idol Songbook,” aka the most-performed songs ever. Ugh!!! Are producers just getting cheap with the song-clearance fees or something? They have to realize that a night of “Hallelujah,” “I’ll Be,” “Feeling Good,” “Unchained Melody,” “Against All Odds,” and maybe even “Radioactive” again is the sort of Idol nostalgia that viewers don’t want this season.

Parker out.

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