American Idol 2012

We all knew PP was going to win, but his last song tonight, which will be his first single released, was really good. Jessica was winning the night before she picked a dud. The PP just blew the house away. It's the first piece of Idol music I would consider buying.

 

I missed tonight's episode and forgot to DVR.

What was PP's last song? Any other standouts?

 

Can't put it any better than Gator did. I agree with every word.

It was Sanchez's night -- and PP pissed me off a little by going back to the well with "Anthony's Song." But then he blew everybody away with that last song. Phillips made it pop with his most nuanced performance to date. It recalled the best of Joel and Bob Seger singing their ballads.

He grew on a song tonight (and CB, I didn't catch the name of it). Sanchez didn't grow on any of them, and she regressed a bit with the finale. They let her down giving her a pop ballad there.

I won't feel badly when Phillips wins tomorrow night. I might have before, but not now.

 

And we’re down to two. Time to see who steps up and who falls flat …

Jessica Sanchez “I have nothing”—Whitney Houston again for Jessica? I know she died this year and all but did we really need to make Sanchez do ANOTHER Whitney Houston song? I think this was a really, really bad choice here. First off, she has sung Whitney to death and while this song wasn’t awful for her, it paled in comparison to her absolutely brilliant performance of “I will always love you” earlier this year. It’s impossible for me not to compare the two performances and given the gravity of the stage here, combined with what appeared to be first-song nerves and a generally flat-performance, this was not a great way for the presumptive underdog to start what has to be a perfect night for her. Disappointing. 4/10.

Phillip Phillips “Stand by me”— Now this was a great choice right here. Great, great song. It’s like Simon Fuller wanted to give Phillip an edge after the first round. Of course, Phillip had to go and P2uck it up and change one of the best and most beautiful melodies of any song I’ve had the pleasure to sing. Very reminiscent, to me, of Scotty McCreery singing “You’ve got a friend” last year. I wanted to love this and, at time, it was very sweet and sincere but the changes he made, which I normally like, kind of knocked this one down a bit. Still better than Jessica, though and he definitely made the “50 shades of grey” crowd swoon, as usual. 6/10.

ROUND ONE: Phillip Phillips. I give it to Phillip here because he came across as exactly what he needed to. He was the safe, white guy choice that the middle class in flyover states love. Jessica got the judge’s support but I don’t quite know why.

Jason Derulo “Undefeated”. I normally ignore these BS songs in between Idol performances but I just have to vent here. In what world do you have the balls to say you’re going to “debut” a “hit” song when the song is no more than a giant “contest” that encouraged other people, with no songwriting experience, to submit their lyrics. It’s just a sad state of affairs that this type of drivel is what will likely soon be at the top of the charts. -85/10.

Jessica Sanchez “The Prayer”— OK, so Jessica is clearly trying to win this crown on vocal talent alone because there’s just nothing here performance-wise but voice wise? Not even close. Jessica is obviously hoping voters side her way based on the fact that she’s BETTER than Phillip Phillip but this isn’t America’s Best Singer, it’s American Idol and to be an Idol, you’ve got to be ENTERTAINING. This was boring as shit. Don’t get me wrong, it was beautiful. Absolutely stunning listening to her sing but she’s past the point of getting by on talent alone. She needs to connect with America and you just can’t do that singing tracks like this. You just can’t. Another wrong move. 5/10.

Phillip Phillips ‘Moving Out”— Can’t believe Phillip went with this as his favorite performance of the season. This wouldn’t even be in my top-five for him this year. I would have gone with “Wicked Game”, ”Nice and Slow”, “That’s All”, “Volcano” or even last week’s “We’ve got tonight”. Still, not a bad move here. He got to grunt a little more. He went with the all-black look and that made him seem cool and rugged, which sets him apart from Jessica but I guess my biggest problem with this effort was it didn’t ADD anything to Phillip. He’s the leader in the clubhouse, though, so he can kind of coast here. 5/10

ROUND TWO: Tie. Gotta agree with Randy here. The two basically just gave America their resumes, showing what got them to this point but didn’t do anything special to set themselves apart. This was a good primer if you haven’t watched all season. Nothing more, nothing less.

Jessica Sanchez “Change nothing”—This is always my favorite part of the finale (I know, I’ve only watched two seasons worth but still) because it’s nice to see where these singers plan to go following this show. Interesting to see Jessica go with a soft pop ballad here. This has a very Taylor Swift-vibe which is good because that’s what’s big in the genre right now. I can see her singing this in some sort of teenage-cheesy video along the lines of a sappier version of “Call Me Maybe”. Definitely a step up from both “winning singles” from last year (Scott’s “I love you this big” and Lauren’s “Like my mother does”). I liked this. Pretty interesting. Will it save Jessica on the night? That I don’t know. I agree with J-Lo here in that I would have liked a little more soul but, given what’s big today, I can’t give this anything less than a strong thumbs up in terms of marketability and overall effort. I’ll be interested to see if she really does “Change Nothing” if she wins this season, including this song as her first single. 7/10

Phillip Phillips “Home”—Well, I probably could have guessed this title because “Home” seems to be the title of every other song released nowadays but it really fits here. Phillip has this DMB/Michael Buble/Jason Mraz vibe going on with the songs he chooses and the things he does with his guitar/voice. I would have liked to hear more of this song as I was kind of getting into it but I feel like they really shortened it for TV. It left me feeling like he just sang a chorus or two and the real meat of the song was left on the cutting room floor. If the song has more to it, then he just won Idol with this performance as it was a good first effort and a truly unique display of his voice much in the way he has kind of distanced himself from the comparisons to other artists the past couple weeks. If, however, that really is all he has to offer, then I’m colossally disappointed because this could have been much, much more. I’ll give him an 8/10 because I feel like he just won the crown simply by not fumbling the ball in the fourth quarter and not having an off-song tonight. 8/10

ROUND THREE: Phillip Phillips.

Overall: America, say congratulations to your next American Idol, the safe choice, the white guy with a guitar, Phillip Phillips. But make sure to say congrats now because he’ll be forgotten by the time we watch next year’s finale. At least, that's my prediction. I could be, and hope to be, wrong because he's really grown on me this year.

 

Bland white guy with guitar winning streak continues!! 'American Idol': The Problem With Phillip Phillips
http://www.mercurynews.com/entertainment/ci_20636822/america-idol-problem-phillip-phillips

1. Phillip Phillips 14.226
2. Jessica Sanchez 12.849
http://www.dialidol.com/asp/predictions/predictions.asp

 

Skylar, honey, no.

No, no no no no.

If you are remotely pear-shaped, skintight leather pants are not your friend.

 

Is it just me or do they they trot out Neil Diamond every year?

 

What else does he have going on?

The best part about the finale for me is looking at these group numbers and saying "I don't remember half these people." The short-haired blonde who sang first for the girls .. no idea. The fat guy with the guys. No clue.

 

Can I get JLo's outfit at Kohl's? I need something sparkly for the Annapolis club scene.

 

Also, she's not singing ANY of this, right?

Edit: OK, maybe she's injecting some horrible live notes here and there.

 

Spoilers For Tonight's Show
It's gonna be like taking a time machine back to your grandmother's prom as most of the people on tonight's lineup will be unfamiliar to anyone under 70...

-The girls will pay homage to the late Donna Summer while the guys are stuck with Robin Gibb and the songs of the Bee Gees.

-A group performance featuring disco era greats Gloria Gaynor, Thelma Houston and Gladys Knight joined by Nelly Furtado, Sheila E., Jennifer Holliday and the Season 11 girls.

-Later in the show, the girls perform with Chaka Khan.

-Kristin Chenoweth will duet with Jessica Sanchez on the Donna Summer-Barbra Streisand tune “Enough is Enough.”

-John Fogerty will duet with Phillip Phillips (WGWG with WGWG)


-Reba McEntire will sing with Skylar Laine (They'll look like 50-year-old twins)


-Joshua Ledet and Fantasia will join forces.(The 2 Mantasias. This will be a Screech Off!)


-Jordin Sparks and Hollie Cavanagh will sing a Broadway showtune

-Jessica Sanchez and Jennifer Holliday will reprise “And I Am Telling You.” (How OTT will this be)


-The boys will sing with Neil Diamond on a group number (Nothing says Hip like this grouping)


-Wisin and Yendel (who?) will perform with Jennifer Lopez

-Rihanna is set to lip sync perform

-Joe Perry of Aerosmith has revealed that the band will debut its new single at the finale...if they survive till then




Here's one final spoiler courtesy of VFTW...tonight's winner will be a White Guy With Guitar for the fifth year in a row!

http://www.votefortheworst.com/story/668515/spoilers-for-tonights-show

 

So that girl Ace just proposed to Diana DeGarmo? Wow.