Last week’s Idol performances thrilled the world as the contestants were joined by two of the most promising 70’s rock band Queen. The six remaining finalists joined by Brian May and Roger Taylor performed Queen’s hits including Another One Bites the Dust, We are the Champions and We will Rock You. The two subsequently gave the Idol hopefuls ideas on how to approach the songs they picked from the Queen bag.
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| Elise Testone sings Whole Lotta Love after being eliminated |
Each contestant sang one of Queen’s and one of their own selections. Jessica Sanchez was the first one to hit the stage with one of the most illustrious Queen rock ballads Bohemian Rhapsody. Sanchez received notable comments from the Idol judges with Jennifer Lopez saying that she was expecting more of a rock moves but she understands that rock isn’t Jessica’s strong point while Randy Jackson thought that Freddie Mercury would have been proud of her performance. On the contrary, Idol mentor Jimmy Iovine said that Jessica singing Bohemian Rhapsody was a total mistake but added that she definitely caught the emotion of her second song, Dance with my Father by Luther Vandross, and gripped her audience from start to end.
Country singer/song-writer from Mississippi, Skylar Laine, pulled off Queen’s most dramatic song from 1991, The Show Must Go On. The song wasn’t one of Skylar’s she’ll-definitely-nail-it type of songs but she grabbed it like a rock goddess adding a little taste of country twang. Steven Tyler said that it was an over-the-top performance, Jennifer got goose bumps (which is like her trademark now), and Randy tagged it as “incredible” and one of skylar’s best shots in the entire season. During the second round, Skylar took Jason Aldean’s Tattoos on this Town. The judges said that it was another solid take.
Joshua Ledet kicked off another spectacular Mantasia (as he was tagged now) show with Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”. He had the audience on their feet during the entire performance. The judges gave him his eleventh and twelfth standing Os in the same episode. The twelfth standing O was for his equally poignant rendition of India Arie’s Ready for Love. The 20-year-old lad from Louisiana moves the crowd everytime he sings. Jennifer Lopez admitted that Joshua’s part of the show is her favorite part of the show this season.
Rock being one of her fortes, Elise Testone delivered Queen’s “I Want It All” like a piece of cake. These types of songs have drawn out great remarks from the judges and mentor Lavoine. Steven Tyler said that she got hold of her stride with the song and tagged as an over-the-top performance that he enjoyed. The same thing goes with Randy Jackson and Jennifer Lopez who both said that the song was perfect for her.
Phillip Phillips performed “Fat Bottomed Girls” which was also played during the group performance at the start of the show. The judges like the way this “lady-killer” (as nicknamed by Ryan Seacrest) delivers songs like it’s the first time they hear them. Phillips, being compared to Dave Matthews the entire season, finally took one of Dave Matthews’ band song The Stone. The judges have divided remarks for his second performance. Jennifer said that the song choice doesn’t add up to his mission of pulling himself up to the finale. Randy Jackson otherwise enjoyed it and said that he admired Phillip showing off his true colors with his second take.
Last but not the least, Hollie Cavanagh, performed “Save Me” from 1980. Hollie, all dressed up in red with a big pack of backup singers, had her biggest moments in the show last week and received great praises. Nevertheless, the judges think that she could have nailed the song if she poured more emotions into it and, as per Randy Jackson, she could have taken more chances with her vocals. During her backstage interview after the first performance, Hollie said that she really has to step up her game which she actually did during the second round singing Miley Cyrus’ The Climb. She sang the song during her auditions and thought that maybe it was time to take it to the actual Idol stage.
The night after their performance was one of those nerve-crunching episodes of their Idol life. Nobody has an idea whose name is written on the results card that Ryan Seacrest is holding. Three girls were sent to bottom three seats including Elise, Hollie and Skylar but Skylar was immediately held back to the safe couch leaving Hollie and Elise on the brink of being eliminated.
Drums were rolled and lights were dimmed when Idol host Seacrest announced Elise Testone as eliminated. Elise’s idol journey was reeled on the backdrop but she didn’t shed tears. Once again Elise proved America why she deserved to become one of the finalists when she sang Whole Lotta Love as her exit song. The 26-year-old once-an-Idol-hopeful is set to guest at The Ellen DeGeneres Show and got her fans excited when she revealed something about the possibility of working with Queen’s Brian May in an album.
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