‘American Idol’ Semifinals, Pt. 2: It Takes Two to Make a Thing Go Wrong

This American Idol farewell season’s “middle rounds” have become so convoluted, they practically make The Voice – with that show’s maddening sliding-scale points system from the first two seasons, and its ever-changing fine-print rules about cumulative iTunes Bonuses, Bring-Back Performances, and Twitter Saves – seem as simple as Blue’s Clues.

For those of you trying to keep track of the process of elimination that will lead to Idol Season 15’s finals, here goes…

This week, 12 of the top 24 performed – on Wednesday, during a solo round, and then again on Thursday, doing duets with Idol alumni. On neither night were viewers allowed to vote. Instead, the seven contestants moving on to the top 14 this week, and the five contestants who got the ax, were decided entirely by the judges/producers. (They’ll do this again with the other 12 next week.)

And, just to cut to the chase, those five booted contestants, announced Thursday, were fallen former frontrunner Emily Brooke, Scherzinger-esque pop singer Stephany Negrete, underdog country crooner Jenna Renae, bluesman James VIII, and Michael Bolton-ish male diva Jordan Sasser.

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I can’t say I disagreed with the judges’ verdicts, since those were the five weakest performers on Wednesday. But it did seem like the judges’ minds were made up before Thursday’s potentially game-changing duets even took place – and, in principle, it would have been nice if fans had had a say in the matter. Usually at this stage in the game, in past Idol seasons, the voting lines were already open. Seriously, you’d think after 14 seasons, Idol producers would realize that it’s a sense of early investment in the contestants’ success that keeps viewers engaged throughout the season.

But this season isn’t really about the new contestants anyway, is it? It’s actually about the 14-year Idol legacy, and – just as I predicted in my Season 15 premiere recap weeks ago – about the illustrious Idol alumni. This season has already featured cameos by past fan favorites like Taylor Hicks, Kris Allen, and Clay Aiken, and Thursday’s episode saw the return of Season 2’s Ruben Studdard, Season 3’s Fantasia, Season 10’s Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina, reigning champ Nick Fradiani, and, in a refreshing turnaround after he was so rudely shut out of last year’s finale, Season 13’s Caleb Johnson. All six alums dueted with this season’s dozen newbies on Thursday – doing songs they did before, in their own seasons – so of course every Season 15 contestant was at a major disadvantage.

Sure, seeing these contestants come back was fun and nostalgic. But Thursday’s duet performances should not have factored into the judges’ decisions. That just was not right. Seriously, this was the worst Fox competition idea since So You Think You Can Dance Season 9 made all the contestants remake famous Mia Michaels routines, and then the judges spent the entire night complaining that the original dancers had done it all so much better. Or, more accurately, the whole scenario made me feel like I was watching that one-and-done talent show Duets, when all of the hapless contestants had to sing with Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Nettles and ended up looking like chumps.

Oh well. Let’s recap these pairings, and see if any of the Season 15 hopefuls managed to avoid being utterly upstaged.

Emily Brooke with Lauren Alaina

Doing fellow Idol Carrie Underwood’s “Flat on the Floor,” Emily was much improved over Wednesday’s horrifically pitchy “I Am Invincible.” She really brought it this time. I was convinced that she’d done enough to redeem herself and reclaim her Chosen One status. Still, I will say that Emily was outsung by Season 10’s Chosen One, Lauren, who has blossomed into quite a polished performer.

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“You could hear the difference in age, because Lauren’s been doing it for a little bit longer, and her voice has had a lot of chance to grow, and you still sound like this young, young singer,” said Harry Connick Jr. “Lauren has obviously been out beating the boards now. She’s been touring so much, and there’s just no substitute for that experience,” noted Keith Urban. “You have the makings of something that will grow into Lauren Alaina, at some point,” Jennifer Lopez said condescendingly. None of these critiques were very fair. Of course Emily did not seem as accomplished as Lauren.

Thomas Stringfellow with Nick Fradiani

Nick may have just won Idol last year, but as the oldest champ ever and a longtime member of the band of Beach Avenue, it seemed his onstage experience would doom the young, shy, and fragile Thomas the same way Lauren had apparently doomed Emily. But you know what? I preferred Thomas’s performance of Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror.” He seemed to connect to the powerful and poignant lyrics more deeply, while Nick seemed more surface-y, muggy, and going-through-the-motions.

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But the judges once again unfairly compared the newbie to the veteran. “This is so hard, because you’re singing next to Nick, who won last year. But I’m trying to separate that and just watch your performance. Normally, you do your own take on things, so I felt like I was watching you struggle a little bit with doing that version, because it kind of wasn’t what you would normally do,” said Keith. “It just didn’t feel quite right for you. It felt very Nick; it didn’t feel very Thomas,” said Jennifer.

Again, was this fair? No.

Stephany Negrete with Ruben Studdard

Stephany was definitely at a disadvantage doing the Carpenters’ “Superstar,” which was the Velvet Teddy Bear’s signature song in Season 2. The moment Roooooben started singing, the crowd at the Vibiana theater went nuts. Honestly, he sounded even better than I remembered. After a shrill start, Stephany did her best to keep up, and in some ways this did feel like the first legitimate duet of the night. But this was still Ruben’s show. He was the superstar.

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The judges were kinder this time, but it still seemed like most of their love was for Ruben. “That brought tears to my eyes, because I remember the first time I heard Ruben sing and thinking he sounded like Luther Vandross,” sighed J.Lo, who as an afterthought praised Stephany for blending her voice with Ruben’s so well. “You’re just very lucky that you had Ruben, because I think he brought out the best in you,” added Keith. OK, then.

Sonika Vaid with Caleb Johnson

Before he tried out for Idol THREE TIMES, Caleb was already an experienced club/bar singer. This week, returning to the Idol stage, he did Adele’s “Skyfall,” one of his big moments of Season 13. Well, at least the producers didn’t try to make Sonika sing “Whole Lotta Love” or “Dazed and Confused” or “Still of the Night.” She handled Adele well, and the song assignment made sense. She held her own vocally, but she of course didn’t have Caleb’s confidence or stage presence.

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The judges noted Sonika’s nerves, but Harry called her “an incredible singer… it’s nice to look at somebody at the very beginning of their career who has a lot of potential.” And J.Lo told Sonika to conquer her jitters, because “with a voice like yours, there’s no stopping you. The sky’s the limit.”

Jenna Renae with Scotty McCreery

Scotty got to sing his own single, which he co-wrote for his girlfriend, “See You Tonight.” So obviously, he was going to connect to the material more than Jenna would. But I liked Jenna on this. I much preferred this to her manic “My Church” solo performance from Wednesday. Her voice was warm and rich and glorious, and she had nice, believable chemistry with Scotty that I hadn’t expected. Again, I thought this contestant had redeemed herself. But apparently I was wrong.

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“It was tricky for you, because it’s Scotty’s song, and that’s not a song you would do, and you probably would change it up, and I find it very hard to critique what you did based on that,” shrugged Keith. “It’s a hard dynamic seeing you next to another person like that, but I think that the song was suited well for the two of you, and you did the best you could on it,” said a somewhat apathetic J.Lo.

Whatever. I thought Jenna did well.

La’Porsha Renae with Fantasia

I was incredulous (furious, even) when I found out that La’Porsha would have to join Fantasia on “Summertime” – which was not only ‘Tasia’s Season 3 signature song, but was actually one of the best Idol performances of all time. (Fantasia is also one of the series’ all-time greatest singers. I don’t think she gets the credit she deserves.)

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But this turned out to be amazing. Jennifer called this duet “mind-blowing” and told La’Porsha, “Hearing you next to her just shows us how amazing you are as well.” Said Harry, “It was exactly what I was kind of hoping it would turn into. It was just a battle of runs. And both of y'all killed it!” Keith described this pairing as being “like an unstoppable force meets an immovable object.”

This was definitely a highlight on a very uneven night, but I still have to say, Fantasia was the star of this show.

MacKenzie Bourg with Lauren Alaina

I don’t know why they paired MacKenzie with Lauren – maybe because she’s super-boy-crazy and she wanted to spend a day fawning all over him? Lauren’s flirting was funny, I guess, and I can’t say I blamed her – she is probably just one of thousands of young American girls who crush hard on the adorable MacKenzie. But MacKenzie was at a severe disadvantage doing a country song, Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance,” since he’s neither a country artist nor a big belter like Lauren. He did his best, but he was drowned out by Lauren’s massive voice, and he didn’t have any real opportunity to put his own stamp on the song, like he usually does.

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“It takes a lot of guts to get up there and sing a song that’s built for somebody with Lauren’s type of voice,” admitted Harry. “It was cool, but if you had done that song, you probably would have changed the key a little bit, because when you do a song, you always make it your own,” reasoned Keith. “I think you did a good job, especially with her kind of singing up in the stratosphere the way she was, which is hard to compete with,” said J.Lo. I don’t mind if MacKenzie and Lauren want to date in real life, but I don’t want him doing power-ballad country duets again on this show.

Gianna Isabella with Nick Fradiani

Nick got another chance to promote his Season 14 coronation song, “Beautiful Life,” at poor Gianna’s expense. This is a song she would have never chosen for herself. I actually thought she sang it better than Nick did; she’s simply a superior vocalist, with what J.Lo calls a “privileged voice.” And Gianna looked like she was having a great time onstage – probably because she was crushing as hard on Nick as Lauren had crushed on MacKenzie. But the song and duet partner just felt like one big mismatch to me.

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J.Lo actually thought the pairing worked: “It was a nice song for the two of you to sing together. It’s funny, because you’re so young and he’s kind of grown, and so to find something that the two of you could sing together and really, really enjoy… it was a perfect song.” Harry seemed a little confused, though, saying, “I’m still trying to figure you out, Gianna. There’s a mysterious quality about you, and I can’t figure out whether you’re this goofy young kid or what.”

Avalon Young with Ruben Studdard

On paper, this may have seemed like the biggest mismatch of all, but somehow I knew this was going to be awesome. Avalon Young may be, well, young, but she has the soul and the swagger to hang with Studdard, even when doing his coronation song, “Flying Without Wings.” Ruben sounded great; Avalon sounded great; everything about this was great. Even the little sister/big brother dynamic was cute.

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“Incredible! Not only was it a great song, but it was one of those things where it was very equally matched. Ruben, of course, is this prodigious voice, but Avalon really just showed us how great she was by being able to stand beside him and sing in that way. I really felt, of all the duets that we’ve seen, they were actually doing a duet,” gushed J.Lo. “When you’re standing next to someone as phenomenal as Ruben, you don’t look at all intimidated… You’re really, really good,” raved Keith.

James VIII with Caleb Johnson

This one, on paper, seemed like a perfect match: Two longhaired rockers jamming on the Stones’ “Gimme Shelter.” I almost felt like these two should start a band. But if they ever do start a band (which would probably be pretty cool), Caleb will for sure be the frontman, and James will hang in the back, wordlessly strumming his guitar. James completely faded into the background next to a Coverdalean rock ‘n’ roll powerhouse like Caleb; his guitar playing was way more impressive than his singing.

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“That’s got to be tough. You’re a really talented young guy, but man, I’m telling you, that is Caleb’s wheelhouse. I mean, that’s like the center of his wheelhouse,” said Harry. “I’m glad you had the guitar, because you had some ammunition, but I mean, seriously, man, that would be like me getting up there with Steve Perry.”

Ouch. It was nice to see Caleb finally getting some recognition on Idol again, but really, this duet did James no favors. He was set up to fail.

Jeneve Rose Mitchell with Scotty McCreery

“Gone” by Montgomery Gentry was arguably Scotty’s best performance of Idol Season 10. He sang it this week like a pro, of course, almost like he was the song’s originator. Jeneve, not so much. Yes, I loved her abandon and commitment and fearlessness, but this was such the wrong tune for her. She turned it into a goofy novelty song, and she looked like an amateur next to the polished Scotty. Jeneve is so much better doing tender fare like Wednesday’s Sarah McLachlan cover or Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now.” This was a crazy mess.

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“That was bizarre. I have no idea why you got saddled with that song, probably pun intended. I like the song, but it did nothing for you, so for me, I’m just going to forget that performance happened, because I like you a lot, Jeneve,” said a baffled Keith. Jennifer and Harry agreed that this duet was bizarre, but they appreciated Jeneve’s sincerity. I, like the judges, want Jeneve to stick around for a while – but I know she won’t if she keeps having to do songs like this.

Jordan Sasser with Fantasia

These two showboaters (doing Fantasia’s coronation song, “I Believe”) had the potential to be as over-the-top as Fantasia’s “Take Me to the Pilot” duet with Joshua Ledet at the Season 11 finale. No, it probably would not be as awesome, but it certainly would be just as unsubtle. These two North Carolinans had an obvious instant bond, but that bond was more evident in the rehearsal room than on the stage. Onstage, this duet was kind of an unfocused muddle. Jordan did his best, but the song was just too big for him.

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“[Fantasia’s] voice just brings tears to my eyes… you were very lucky to get to sing with her, Jordan. You did a good job. You held your own. That was no easy task that they put to you right there, but you did a good job. You have to control yourself in that moment, because a singer like that can make you try to oversing, and then you go all off-course, and, you know, there might have been a moment or two of that in there,” said J.Lo. “I felt like Fantasia was singing so strong and so good, but you were sort of, like, shooting up out all over the place to try and be on par with her, and for me, you didn’t need to do that, because your voice is really, really good. But I would have believed you more if you had just reined it in and centered it and weighted it more,” said Keith.

And not long after that, Jordan went home, along with the other aforementioned four.

So next week – just to wrap up what I was trying to explain about this season’s confusing elimination schedule – Idol will do this all over again with this season’s other 12 semifinalists and six other alums (Constantine Maroulis, Chris Daughtry, Kellie Pickler, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, and Haley Reinhart). And then, the following week, on Feb. 24, once again the judges will have full control, choosing eight of the top 14 contestants to automatically advance. The remaining six hopefuls will then compete for just two Wild Card spots to round out the top 10; then, and only then, will the public finally get to vote. The top 10 – only two of which will be elected via actual fan voting (not cool!) – will be announced on Feb. 25.

Will next week’s duets be any more successful or evenly matched? Will there be any new weird rule twists in the next two weeks? Watch this space. Parker out.

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