‘American Idol’ Semifinals, Pt. 4: Easy Come, Easy Go, Little High, Little Low

(photo: Fox)

OK, I am just going to get the negative stuff out of the way, before I recap what was, overall, an actually enjoyable episode. Thursday on American Idol, the judges eliminated a couple of my favorite Season 15 (and Season 14!) contestants, and I am less than thrilled about it.

These were this week’s results, as decided solely by Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Lopez, and Keith Urban…

SAVED: Jenn Blosil, Trent Harmon, Lee Jean, Tristan McIntosh, Dalton Rapattoni, Olivia Rox, and Manny Torres

ELIMINATED: Amelia Eisenhauer, C.J. Johnson, Adam Lasher, Kory Wheeler, and Shelbie Z.

The top seven results I would have preferred? Jenn Blosil, Amelia Eisenhauer, Trent Harmon, Dalton Rapattoni, Olivia Rox, Kory Wheeler, and Shelbie Z. Basically, I would have swapped the spots given to the talented but amateurish and undercooked Lee and Tristan, and the downright cheesy Manny Torres, to the aforementioned italicized names. But I guess it all came down to the mix of genres this week. Kory (and Adam and C.J.) faced stiff competition from the week’s other guitar-strumming dudes; quirky girl Amelia was canceled out by the more popular Jenn and Olivia; and seasoned country belter Shelbie was edged out by the sweet and youthful Tristan.

Yes, this was a tough and close race. It was inevitable that some great contestants would not make the cut. So perhaps my bigger overall complaint, and one I’ve lodged before, is that this decision should have been made by America, not by the judges. But for some reason, the voting lines don’t open this season until we get to next week’s top 14 round. I do believe that if the public had had a say this week, the results may have been a bit different. At the very least, I think repeat auditioners like Kory and Adam, or a mainstream country lady like Shelbie (also a familiar face, from her time on The Voice) could’ve had a shot. But we will never know.

But let’s focus on the positive now, shall we? Before the results were announced, this week’s 12 contenders dueted with Idol alumni (Season 4’s Constantine Maroulis, Season 5’s Kellie Pickler and Chris Daughtry, Season 6’s Jordin Sparks, Season 7’s David Cook, and Season 10’s Haley Reinhart), and these duets were for the most part much better than last Thursday’s mismatched disasters.

Here’s the full recap:

Kellie Pickler with Amelia Eisenhauer

A fiddle-less Amelia fumbled Wednesday with her clumsy cover of Avicii’s “Wake Me Up,” which probably led to her downfall this week. But her “Suds in the Bucket” duet with Kellie was so much fun, and so wildly praised by all three judges, that I thought she had completely redeemed herself. This Dixie Chicks-ish number, complete with violin, was so upbeat and engaging, and the adorable little sister/big sister chemistry between Amelia and Kellie was a joy to witness. Amelia was a little minx! She was ballsy! (If you don’t get those in-jokes, it’s time to brush up on your Season 5 Idol pop-culture references and Simon Cowell one-liners.)

Harry told Amelia she “came out fighting” and was “absolutely terrific.” Keith said she “stepped up to the plate in a big way.” Jennifer said, “Kellie was probably the perfect mentor for you. You were really lucky to have that, and it showed in your performance. Really good job.”

And then, a little less than two hours later, the judges eliminated Amelia. OK, then.

Kory Wheeler with Haley Reinhart

Haley is such a powerhouse, and she can outsing almost anyone, so I was worried that Kory would not be able to keep up. And truth be told, there were times when he seemed more like her guitarist sidekick than her equal. But “Bennie and the Jets” was a smart song choice for this pairing, since both Kory and Haley have covered the Elton John song on the show, and this worked much better than I’d expected; their idiosyncratic indie voices and playful personalities complemented each other quite nicely. As was the case with Amelia and Kellie, these two seemed to truly enjoy singing together, and their camaraderie showed.

“That was a really good song for the two of you, and I thought you matched up really, really well. It was terrific,” said Keith. Said Harry: “I think we’re two-for-two tonight, and I think the reason Haley was good for you is because she’s always talking about singing in the pocket and not rushing, and she really does that well, and I think it kind of helped ground you. I have nothing negative to say!”

And then, at the end of the show, the judges cut Kory. Oh well. Kory should look at Haley’s post-Idol career and realize he can go on to great things. Despite J.Lo insisting – in this season’s most egregious act of revisionist history since the show tried to take credit for eliminated Season 9 semifinalist Tori Kelly’s success – that Haley “blew the judges away” in Season 10 and they “thought she was going to win,” avid Idol-watchers know that J.Lo (and fellow judge Randy Jackson) were extremely hard on Haley back then. Jennifer and Randy probably would have been thrilled if Haley been eliminated in the top 24, actually, instead of making it to the top three. But Haley did just fine for herself, obviously. And Kory, with or without the show’s support, can do just fine too.

Lee Jean with Chris Daughtry

Well, this was an odd-couple pairing, for sure. Manly Chris seemed about three times older and two feet taller than little starstruck Lee. And they were doing Chris’s own monster hit “Home,” so it’d be hard for Lee to put his own stamp on the song at all, with Chris singing right next to him. I actually thought Lee sounded decent when he sang solo (aside from some overambitious strained high notes at the end), but his voice didn’t blend well with Chris’s (they even sounded out-of-sync with each other), and whenever Chris sang alone, Lee faded right into the background. Maybe Lee only really feels comfortable singing Ed Sheeran songs.

The judges loved this, however, with J.Lo saying Lee kept up with Chris, “one of the best guys to come out of Idol”; Harry calling Lee “passionate but controlled, focused, concentrated, really strong”; and Keith praising Lee’s “storyteller quality.” I disagreed. Again, I didn’t think this was bad. I just didn’t think Lee was at Chris’s level, or at the level of a couple of the contestants who got eliminated later in the evening.

C.J. Johnson with David Cook

Talk about “one of the best guys to come out of Idol”! Any male singer who’s tried to “make a song his own” on Idol since 2008 has really just been trying to recreate his own “David Cook moment.” Sadly, that’s not what C.J. did tonight. While David was a generous and humble duet partner – and these two did Collective Soul’s “The World I Know,” rather than one of David’s more obvious, untouchable signature songs (“Billie Jean,” “Hello,” “Time of My Life”) – David still easily upstaged C.J. Even though C.J. is a road warrior like David, he came across like an amateur next to the Season 7 champ.

Harry and Keith actually thought C.J. was at David’s level. “This is a great opportunity to see who can hang with people who have done this for a while, and I tell you, it’s so obvious that you play gigs all the time,” said Harry. “I think you held your own really well… You stayed in there, hitting the harmony and everything,” said Keith. Only J.Lo was unimpressed, thinking the performance was too mellow.

And apparently J.Lo must have cast the deciding vote, because at the end of the night, C.J. went home. I was OK with that decision. C.J. is pretty much the opposite of Lee: He’s seasoned, but he’s not interesting.

Manny Torres with Jordin Sparks

“Manny Torres plays the role of Chris Brown!” Ryan Seacrest announced. Oof. Well, it’s no wonder, then, that Manny was eliminated later in the night. Everyone hates Chris! In all seriousness, though, “No Air,” Jordin’s smash duet with Chris Brown, is one of the greatest singles to ever come out of Idol, and Manny failed to convey the emotion of the song. His silly mugging and smiling didn’t make any sense – this is a breakup song, a song about longing and desperation, a song about missing someone so much that you can’t breathe, after all. Also, Jordin totally dominated the stage, and not just because the statuesque Season 6 winner towered over Manny physically.

The judges loved this, though. Keith called it a “powerhouse duet” and “terrific.” Jennifer said it “couldn’t have been more perfect.” Harry said Manny’s charisma matched Jordin’s. I agreed with Harry’s statement. The two were evenly matched in charisma – just not vocally.

Jenn Blosil and Constantine Maroulis

Jenn really needed a redeeming moment after her cover of Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” went so off the rails on Wednesday’s solo show. Thankfully, tonight, she got that second chance. This was the first breakout moment of Thursday’s show. Crooning “My Funny Valentine,” Jenn actually did the unthinkable: She upstaged sex-eyed rocker Constantine, one of the most magnetic and over-the-top showmen in Idol history. She performed so freely, so naturally, and so passionately – and this time, the song was recognizable and in tune.

Harry didn’t like this number, probably because as a jazz purist, he doesn’t like to hear Great American Songbook standards tampered with. (He called it a “shouting match,” which wasn’t totally untrue – it did get loud towards the end – but I’m sure he at least liked this more than the Amber Holcomb version he angrily oversaw as a guest mentor in Season 12.) But Jennifer called this “the embodiment of the perfect duet,” and Keith raved, “I freakin’ loved it!”

I freakin’ loved it, too. Jenn doesn’t need to say “sorry” anymore. All is forgiven.

Tristan McIntosh with Kellie Pickler

While doing Kellie’s Taylor Swift co-write “Best Days of Your Life,” Tristan, who started off this season so strongly, didn’t seem like a budding star. Kellie’s distinctively high-pitched voice overpowered Tristan’s, and when Tristan tried to match Kellie’s tone, she sounded strident and strained. Her performance was manic, too. Sigh. I miss the Alicia Keys-esque balladeer that simply sat at her piano, stunningly singing sad songs about her military mom. I’m not such a fan of the uptempo, pop-country Tristan I saw both nights this week – in that mode, her scattershot shortcomings as a young and inexperienced performer are instantly apparent, and she doesn’t connect.

“I encourage you to make sure you don’t rush. I use the phrase ‘in the pocket’ a lot, and I think you know what that means,” said Harry. Keith thought it seemed like Tristan was unfamiliar with the Kellie song (she insisted she’d heard it before), and said, “It was tricky for you to open with the harmony below Kellie. It felt stronger for you once you got into the melody where you could really sing the thing, but it was a little shaky, pitch-wise.” Mused J.Lo: “The thing is whether you’re going to be able to find your groove in the competition where you seem just as comfortable up there as the rest of the contestants, because it’s a tough season this year.”

You know, there was time not long ago when I would have predicted that Tristan would win Season 15. But now I think she’ll probably leave the competition shortly after squeaking into the top 10. Perhaps she peaked way too early.

Olivia Rox with David Cook

Olivia was only 9 years old when David won Idol. I am sure than made him feel old. I know that little fun fact made me feel like Methuselah. But this turned out to be an incredibly even match, despite the age difference. Unlike the duet between Chris Daughtry and Lee Jean, when their age/experience gap resulted in a lot of awkwardness, Olivia completely held her own while singing David’s debut single “Light On.” In fact, if I hadn’t heard this song before, I would have sworn it was originally written as a duet. It sounded like it was meant for their two voices.

And once again, David was a gracious partner (he claimed he actually had trouble keeping up with Olivia), letting Olivia and her stellar, Clarkson-esque vocals have the spotlight. And that’s the way it should be. David isn’t in this competition anymore. He has already won. Now it’s Olivia’s turn. And this really felt like a torch-passing moment.

“All I know is that your tour T-shirts are going to simply say: ‘Olivia Rox – Yes, She Does!’” joked Keith. “Your voice is phenomenal… You’re going to be around for a long time,” said J.Lo. And Harry gave Olivia the best compliment, coming from a music dork like him: “You sing like somebody who knows music.”

I know music, too. I know what I like. And I like Olivia Rox – a lot.

Adam Lasher with Haley Reinhart

Apparently Haley cursed the WGWGs on this show, since both of her duet partners, Kory and then Adam, went home this week. But doing “Can’t Help Falling in Love” – the Elvis Presley cover Haley recently made famous in a heartstring-tugging Extra gum ad – Adam (unlike Kory) was definitely outclassed. The audience went nuts when Haley started singing, and noticeably simmered down whenever Adam took the mic. And I didn’t notice any real chemistry between these two, even when they held hands. This was hardly “Moanin’,” the Haley Reinhart/Casey Abrams duet from Season 10 that still stands as one of the greatest Idol performances of all time.

Jennifer thought Adam “stayed the course.” Harry did see chemistry (“It looked like you guys were falling in love in front of my eyes”), but thought Adam didn’t take enough risks. And Keith thought Adam seemed way too stiff. I agreed with Keith. There was a time when I thought Adam was a shoo-in for the top 10, but next to Haley, he didn’t seem like frontrunner Idol material anymore.

Dalton Rapattoni with Chris Daughtry

I was surprised and delighted by how Dalton completely matched Chris note-for-note on Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground.” Honestly, if I’d never watched American Idol before tonight, I would not have been able to figure out which singer onstage was the veteran and which was the current contestant. During rehearsal, Chris said he always thought he could have done this song better on Idol. Tonight, he did just that – with Dalton’s help.

Harry spent way too much time either praising Rickey Minor’s band (the band is great, of course, but this isn’t The Next Great American Band) or trying to get Ryan Seacrest to sing. (We already heard Ryan sing, with Richard Marx, on the Season 13 finale. We don’t need to hear that ever again!) But Keith put the focus back where it belonged, gave credit where credit was due, and called this duet “incredible.” Then Jennifer called Dalton “kind of like this dark horse that’s coming to the surface right now, right at the right time.” Um, has J.Lo been watching the same season I am? Dalton has never been a dark horse. He’s been one to watch ever since his first awesome audition. If Dalton wins this show, it won’t come as a shock to anyone but Jennifer.

Trent Harmon with Jordin Sparks

Unlike Manny, Jordin’s previous duet partner, Trent got the whole point of this episode. “I want to make it seem like we’re really singing the song to each other,” he stressed. Doing the Bee Gees’ “To Love Somebody,” he was totally invested and came across as genuine; he never took his attention off Jordin, yet he seemed like a star in his own right. This was magnificent. It felt like a finale performance. And, side note: Trent took Jordin’s sage advice about controlling his vibrato, and as a result he sounded better than ever.

“Jordin, or that song, pulled things out of you vocally, stylistically, that I hadn’t heard before. It was very cool, so it tells me there’s more in there we haven’t seen yet. That’s a good sign,” said Keith. “I feel like that was the Trent that I know and I love,” gushed J.Lo. “When you’re finished with this Idol experience, you should do it as a single! Great job,” raved Harry.

You know what? I’d buy that single. Is it available for pre-order yet?

Shelbie Z. with Constantine Maroulis

Well, we all knew that the Rock of Ages belter paired with the feisty-filly powerhouse on “Bohemian Rhapsody” would be anything but subtle. This had the potential to be either a rhapsody or a tragedy. Sadly, it was the latter. Maybe this final duet of the night, fresh in the judges’ minds as they deliberated, is what sealed poor Shelbie’s fate – because when she sang solo Wednesday night, in the opening slot, doing a Gretchen Wilson song, she was much more solid and in her zone.

This was a major mismatch. Although Shelbie – more than most singers of this season – clearly possesses the pipes to pull off a Queen song, there was no connection between her and her partner during this theatrical glam-rock power ballad. Constantine was constantly pulling focus, growling all over Shelbie and stealing her thunder, and the alternation of the lines of an already complex song felt awkward and poorly paced.

“I felt like I lost Shelbie in that a little bit. I love that song, and it’s very theatrical, and I understand Constantine doing that, but I don’t understand [Shelbie] doing that,” sighed Jennifer. “That’s a tough song to do as a duet. I’m not sure what perspective you were coming from. It was energetic and powerful and loud and stuff, but at the heart of it, there’s a lot of unbelievable lyrics and melody there, and you didn’t seem to have a point of view to me,” said Harry. Keith agreed, saying, “I love this song. I’m sure you guys do, too, but it’s not meant to be a duet… Nothing about the performance pulled me in.”

None of this was really Shelbie’s fault. It was just unfortunate. And, unfortunately for her, she went home shortly after receiving this harsh critique, along with Adam, Kory, C.J., and Amelia.

So now we have the top 14 that, finally, next week, will compete for America’s vote. Here’s my revised and much-deliberated (and possibly soon to be much-debated) ranking of the surviving semifinalists, based on everything they have done so far this season:

Dalton Rapattoni
Trent Harmon
Avalon Young
MacKenzie Bourg
Olivia Rox
Jenn Blosil
Thomas Stringfellow
La'Porsha Renae
Jeneve Rose Mitchell
Sonika Vaid
Tristan McIntosh
Gianna Isabella
Lee Jean
Manny Torres

Who will you vote for next week? Let me know in the comments. Parker out!

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