‘American Idol’ top 7 results: who is out with no save?
Colton Dixon had rough night and paid for it. CREDIT: Michael Becker/FOX
Loading ...Two weeks, two surprise results. But this time, there was no save.
Colton Dixon paid for two subpar performances Wednesday night with his “Idol” life.
Dixon, who had a really strong night eight days ago, was someone I thought could end up in the finals. I was wrong. He had never been in the bottom three (like Jessica Sanchez last week) so this was not expected.
Dixon, who didn’t even want to audition with his sister, apologized for his arrogant attitude last night when he said he didn’t care what the judges thought after he botched both “Bad Romance” and especially “September.”
I thought he was going to land in the bottom three but predicted Elise Testone would go home. Wrong again! Hollie Cavanagh was also in the bottom three but fortunately survived. At least I did predict the proper bottom three.
Based on the polls, all seven of the remaining singers have sizable fan bases so expect the unexpected in the coming weeks. The only person to date who has evaded the bottom three now is Phillip Phillips. But as Colton learned, that doesn’t mean anything.
[My colleague Melissa Ruggieri caught Mandisa, who finished ninth season five, at the Dove Awards at the Fabulous Fox Theatre. Read the kind words Mandisa has to say about Colton.]
[UPDATE: Queen will be the theme next week, with Roger Taylor and Brian May joining in as mentors. The top 8 season five sang Queen, too. Katy Perry and Stefano Langone will perform on the results show.]
Jimmy’s take:
Joshua: “Joshua did a lot of good for himself. He stayed in his sweet spot. He was very very comfortable… he could end up in the finals.”
Hollie: “Hollie did come out of her shell. Giving her ‘Son of a Preacher Man” was very clever. Does it keep her out of the bottom three. I don’t think so. To make it to the finals will be a long road ahead of her.”
Skylar: “Each week, she gets better and better. In my opinion, she’s the best performer we’ve got.”
Elise: The Marvin Gaye song “Let’s Get It On” “caused a baby boom. Last night, no baby boom. Because of that choice, Elise will spend time in her vacation home in the bottom three if not go home. She needs to find the most potent rock songs and sang the way she sang Led Zeppelin” to make the top two.
Phillip: “Phillip did a great job with that Usher song. He really fell into it. He could have written that song. Midnight Hour, I could take it or leave it. That was a pass.”
Colton: ” ‘Bad Romance’ was completely wrong, the way he looked, the way he positioned himself, the way he sang it. The look, I was stunned. It was somewhere between 1985 Billy Idol, ‘TRL’ and Spider-Man on Broadway. He can come back. He’s got to re-group and get better songs. Phillip is picking better songs.”
Jessica: “This girl is singing songs that are too old for her. People are not going to relate… as her mentor, I have to apologize, I should have caught that.”
Other elements:
- A jubilant “Dancing in the Streets” group sing, a pleasant “Vision of Love” by Kris Allen, a sweet tribute to Dick Clark, a ridiculous “Sorry for Party Rockin’ ” by LMFAO and a passably starry-eyed Ford ad. And Taylor Hicks came on to say he’s going to Vegas, with no details. (On Twitter, he said he’ll have a three-month residency at Bally’s on the strip starting in June.)
Join my Facebook fan page and Twitter.
By Rodney Ho, Radio & TV Talk
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310 comments Add your comment
Mercedes S.
April 20th, 2012
9:31 am
If the AJC used the NYT obit… they usually cut the NYT material in half.
donna
April 20th, 2012
9:32 am
Jen, another reality show is being sued for not having enough cultural diversity. If another white male wins, all hell could break loose. As much as the judges love Philip, they seem to really want Josh to win. Not saying he doesn’t deserve it! Personally, I like Jessica.
Deirdre
April 20th, 2012
9:32 am
I just went back to look and see if someone had used my name last night…at 11:31 I was asleep!
shelbydawkins
April 20th, 2012
9:34 am
jessica = b o r i n g
It is all about style
April 20th, 2012
9:35 am
Everyone who is left is a talented singer but you may not like their style. Anyone who says Joshua can not sing problem can not hold a tune themselves. If you like Hollie’s style, then you are not going to like Joshua, Elise, or Phillip and vice versa. Jessica has the best talent hands down and people forget she is ONLY 16!
Jimmy was right, Jessica’s talent is beyond her years which is why they give her songs to sing that the 30 to 40 plus audience will enjoy but does not connect with the younger voters. The last two weeks she sang some very difficult songs, Stuttering and Try a Little Tenderness, and knocked them both out of the park, but a less mature ear could not pick up on the vocal gymnastics she is pulling. You may not like Randy as a judge but he knows talent (Whitney and Mariah).
Deirdre
April 20th, 2012
9:35 am
donna, frankly I don’t care who the judges want to win and it seems to change every week. They have given lots of praise to everyone who is left, yes, even Hollie. If Phil, Joshua, Elise and jessica make up our final 4, I don’t care which one of them wins.
I like Skylar but I don’t want Idol being labeled as ‘country” after last year’s winner. And I like Hollie, I just don’t think she matches up to the level of the others.
Alex
April 20th, 2012
9:36 am
Simon
April 20th, 2012
9:19 am
Still here, I see.
“FAIL”??? What are you, 12?
The fact remains, as you originally stated, “Someone posted last night that they love coming “here” after the end of the day with these wonderful people.”
You HAD to read it. You HAD to click on it. Do come back.
Mercedes S.
April 20th, 2012
9:37 am
First on page 3!
Guess someone will berate me for that.
If you like Nicholas Sparks movies – yes, they are now a genre – “The Lucky One” has all the ingredients you’ve come to expect: starcrossed lovers, bad weather causing death, kisses in rain (or, as here, in a shower), beautifully photographed love scenes,.. you know. The preview you’ve seen in theatres or on TV tells the whole story. Only surprise left – who will die to make the survivors ponder and grieve.
Deirdre
April 20th, 2012
9:38 am
I agree with It is all about style to a point.
The final 6 are all good singers. It really depends on singing style and genre now. Our ears like what they like and we really can’t change that.
American Mother
April 20th, 2012
9:38 am
Dierdre, Not only do I not know WHAT yall are talking about, but WHO are you talking to now????? You are one sticker-on, I must say.
Just jumpin’ in to say I will miss Dick Clark. If my sister wasn’t home to dance with me when American Bandstand came on, I would dance with the doorknob!
Peace AM
Alex
April 20th, 2012
9:41 am
By the way, ROHO, I didn’t vote in your poll. I didn’t think Colton should go home, but I didn’t think it was a travesty either.
Sam-A
April 20th, 2012
9:42 am
Style: Funny, I love Hollie, and really like Phillipx2 and Elise as well. There goes that theory!
And I cannot carry (not hold) a tune, however I can recognize voices I enjoy hearing sing and think are good. Joshua is absolute mayhem when he “sings” and I can’t stand to hear it. Just dreadful as far as I’m concerned.
If you think Jessica “knocked it outta the park” with “Try A Little Tenderness”, you have obviously never ever heard that song. Even Jimmy said it was a disaster and that she destroyed the melody! I’ve always liked Jessica, but think she’s one of those getting less good as the season wears on. Happens often, I start out liking a couple of singers, but they just seem to sputter out towards the end, and that’s what I feel about Jessica.
RxDawg
April 20th, 2012
9:43 am
Eh… I rank Colton higher then Elise or Joshua. But he deserved to go home this week. It’s crunch time, you can’t slack off at all.
LMFAO is pure garbage. That’s got to be the worst performance by a guest on Idol ever. Steven Tyler’s smirk and very unenthusiastic clap after they were on was hilarious.
Deirdre
April 20th, 2012
9:44 am
Hey AM…we’re having a pretty good Idol season this year.
And I will also miss Dick Clark! Good to hear from you!
Deirdre
April 20th, 2012
9:47 am
LMFAO is basically a Vegas act…and not a very good one. They were more suited to AGT.
Deirdre
April 20th, 2012
9:51 am
And AM, yes, I’m still here. In a little while I’ll go visit my 91 year old mother who, just in the last few months, has started to show signs of dementia. I never know who I’m going to find when I get there. This place is a Godsend for me.
G
April 20th, 2012
9:55 am
Deirdre @ 9:38: I agree with It is all about style to a point. The final 6 are all good singers. It really depends on singing style and genre now. Our ears like what they like and we really can’t change that.
Of course I only believe that 5 of 6 are good singers, but I agree that it’s a competition of style and genre. Even if PP bombs from here on out, his fans don’t care and will vote for him anyway.
I’m shocked that Colton got the boot, but I’m not mad either. hehehe!!! Only bad thing is that his voters will probably go to PP, maybe Skylar too.
RxDawg
April 20th, 2012
9:55 am
“Milk of phillips ”
Now that made me LMFAO
One intersting thing I noted… the judges trash (underservedly) Holly last week and she’s not in the bottom 3. They praise her (over did it for the 2nd song) and she’s in the bottom 3. I bet they are also very much aware of that.
I’m also convinced now that Jessica getting voted off was very much due to a combonation of the angry vote going towards Holly 2 weeks ago, and people thinking there was no way she would be in any danger.
Atlanta Native
April 20th, 2012
9:58 am
Jane, agreed! Not sure what Elise has to offer. Most of the time she sounds like she is struggling to make a point – either through her weak singing ability or her excuses for not being up to par. She is being falsely built up by the judges, when thousands of sub-par quasi-rockers across the nation could perform just like her.
JTesla
April 20th, 2012
9:58 am
Mercedes: “First on page 3! Guess someone will berate me for that”
Not me, I did chuckle that you were actually 8th. Blog moves too fast on Thursday and Fridays.
So, Queen and what else next week? Not really an up to date theme, maybe they can do a LMFAO theme next week?
RxDawg
April 20th, 2012
9:58 am
“Ellise cannot sing at all. She is so bad. I don’t get how the judges keep saying she is so good. Its crazy. Even worse then her singing is her attitude. How can you be so cocky and be so bad.”
I hear ya. I don’t get why people like her so much either. I mean, I guess she’s not THAT bad. But compared to the rest she’s not even close. What’s really strange is that I think she picks the best songs. But what she does with them just sounds awful to me. Plus her crap attitude has got nail her eventually. After her comments last night, it would take an unbelievable performance to save her next week. That or Holly will really have to bomb.
Deirdre
April 20th, 2012
10:04 am
Um JT, Mercedes IS first on page 3.
Deirdre
April 20th, 2012
10:05 am
It’s early on the other coast…I understand!
Mike
April 20th, 2012
10:05 am
It’s American Idol…all you can say. I’ve seen some truly strange voting over the years on this show. Anything is possible. Colton did have a bad night, but overall has been stronger than others.
I cant remember her name, but Jessica reminds me of a contestant the year Fantasia won. That contestant had a voice like Whitney Houston and yet kept landing in the bottom three. Elton John was a mentor one week that year and said the fact she was in the bottom three shows there are a lot of stupid people in America haha. The same applies to voting off Jessica last week and possibly Colton this week. You could add Pia Toscano to that list too. Often times I wonder who’s voting and for what reason. How else does Bristol Palin make it to the DWTS final? haha
Deirdre
April 20th, 2012
10:08 am
Rx…Elise was all over the place last night. I think she tries to hide her emotions so much that she seems cocky. First she sounds like being in the bottom 3 is no big deal, then she sounds like she thinks it’s crazy that she’s in the bottom 3, THEN, when she is declared safe, she looks like she doesn’t believe it..
I think it’s important that we all remember the enormous pressure that these singers have put on them every day.
RxDawg
April 20th, 2012
10:08 am
“One more thing and then I’ll shut up: Colton’s apology after he was eliminated last night is because he believed that he offended his Christian fan-base by singing the Lady Gaga song. He believes that he lost his voters for that reason.”
What!? Is that your opinion or is that actually true? That’s complete crap if it’s true. I consider myself a spiritual guy, but religion can be so off putting sometimes.
Grasshopper
April 20th, 2012
10:09 am
Jessica needs to take her boring routine back to Toddlers and Tiaras.
Colton’s smoldering stare was hysterical. I think he was serious about it which makes it even funnier.
The “judges” are awful. Has anyone calculated the amount of airtime their stupid comments take versus the amount of actual singing?
Ryan has transformed himself into a molded piece of robotic plastic that “oh-ver e-nun-see-ates ev-u-ry sing-le sill-a-bull that he utt-ers.
I am tired of the yelling masquerading as singing that is going on this season. Thank God for DVR’s because I can get through the excrutiating two hours in about 30 minutes.
And The Voice is better.
G
April 20th, 2012
10:09 am
Thinking about next weeks theme, Queen doesn’t fit anyone either. All of these oldschool themes are good to educate the youngins on real music, and to make some of us oldheads reminisce. However, a large chunk of the 18-49 demographic do not relate. This may come back to haunt Idol in the future if the new shows continue to progress.
Don’t really know how they will handle Queen next week. Maybe Hollie and Elise will come out with strong performances. This is something that would’ve been right down Colton’s alley. Oh well..hehehe! I’m expecting for Skylar to countryfie a song, Joshua to take Queen to church, Jessica will sing a less popular tune from Queen, and PP………who cares, he’ll just growl and hop his way through to the finals.
JTesla
April 20th, 2012
10:09 am
LOL darn phone. I’d go with the early excuse, but blogging by phone is obviously a challenge for me. My apologies to Mercedes.
At least I don’t have Meebo bugging me on this.
helen
April 20th, 2012
10:10 am
The judges are real fool- they should save the save for Dixon who is so talented. What the heck they save the 16yrs old jessica????? Please American dont waste your money to vote for jessica, joshua and skylar.
Deirdre
April 20th, 2012
10:10 am
Mike, 3 black girls were in the bottom 3 and Elton John said it proved that America was racist. He completely dismissed the fact that all 3 girls sang the same style and were dividing the votes.
Deirdre
April 20th, 2012
10:12 am
Rx about the apology thing…Colton believes that to be the case…maybe this morning, he’ll believe something else. Shock makes all sorts of things come into a person’s head.
RxDawg
April 20th, 2012
10:17 am
“Deepest apologies… It was Debra, not Deirdre, who should be thanked for her 11:31 post last night!”
lol, I completely thought the same thing. I thought to myself “huh, that doesnt’ really sound like Deirdre… guess she’s having a bad morning”. Had to look back at the name closely.
RxDawg
April 20th, 2012
10:20 am
It is all about style
April 20th, 2012
9:35 am
That was a dead on post right there. I can recognize Joshua’s skill, but he’s just not pleasant to listen to for me. Even with Jessica, who is my favorite, her style isn’t really my kind of thing. But she’s so freaking good that doesn’t matter to me. Her voice is pleasant and she hasn’t messed up anything all year. Except for group sings… for some reason she isn’t very good with others. It’s like she’s afraid to upstage them or something.
JTesla
April 20th, 2012
10:22 am
Going by memory, not the best thing, Colton stated that he wasn’t himself. That could apply to both songs. Also, not himself could apply to the following aspects: his clothing style, song choice, poor performance, dissing the judges.
RxDawg
April 20th, 2012
10:24 am
“LMFAO …They were more suited to AGT.”
America Got Terrible?
Shaun
April 20th, 2012
10:25 am
Deirdre, Actually Jennifer, Fantasia and Latoya do not sing the same style. Since they are black, you may think they do, but they didnt or dont.
Jennifer always been more Pop oriented..ala Whitney, Mariah, Pink, Rihanna
Fantasia always been Gospel Soul, ala Aretha, Jazmine Sullivan, Melanie Fiona
Latoya was always R&B, Mary J, Beyonce
Just because they were black Women, not girls…did not mean they were singing the same style.
G
April 20th, 2012
10:27 am
It is all about style
April 20th, 2012
9:35 am
Great post!
With Jessica, you hope that she’s really that good to a point that her talent outshines her style. It’s fine to hate her style, but her talent real. There’s nothing trendy about how she sings.
Also, her FB and Twitter fans were deep. There’s no doubt the show has really done her a great service already. I’m willing to bet whether she wins or not, she will be the top selling artist from this seasons crop, after the show. I will buy her album today.
JTesla
April 20th, 2012
10:28 am
Who won that season again? Oh yeah, right, so can we stop having this discussion?
RxDawg
April 20th, 2012
10:32 am
I took “not myself last night” to mean “sorry, I stunk up the place last night”. That was how I took it.
RxDawg
April 20th, 2012
10:35 am
“I’m willing to bet whether she wins or not, she will be the top selling artist from this seasons crop, after the show. ”
I’ll take that bet. As in I’ll bet alongside with you. Jessica is going to be huge. And for the love of god, don’t even think of comparing her to Pia from last year. It’s not even remotely the same thing. Jessica for one rarely sings balads, but for some reason people think she does… Anyways, the only other contestants I can see having a huge career afterwards is Skylar (who I certainly think will) and Phillip (depends on how good a song writer he is, or good a song writer he can get).
Shaun
April 20th, 2012
10:36 am
RxDawg
@ RxDawg @ 10:32am I agree with you.
Because he did try to own the GaGa and EWF song, and they both were horrible.
Wednesday night, he did peform the worst, and if you are judging on that one night alone, yes he should have went home. (And how long is a pre-teen/teen girl’s attention span?).
But if we are judging cumulative, Hollie or Elise rightfully should have went home.
Rickster
April 20th, 2012
10:37 am
“If you like Nicholas Sparks movies – yes, they are now a genre – “The Lucky One” has all the ingredients you’ve come to expect: starcrossed lovers, bad weather causing death,”
I’m thinking “Message in a Bottle” staring Kevin Costner was based on a Nicholas Sparks novel?
Rickster
April 20th, 2012
10:44 am
Someone needs to sing “Fat Bottom Girls” and dedicate it to J-Lo.
The girl’s got one!
G
April 20th, 2012
10:49 am
@Shaun 10:25. I get it, but mainstream Idol voters don’t see it that way.
If BET had their version of Idol, you already know the mainstream of voters would be different. Not necessarily just by race, but by genre preference too. Meaning there wouldn’t be a whole lot of critiques about too much melisma, too much gospel tone, too many vocal gymnastics, he/she needs to show more restraint, etc. In contrast, the critiques would flow in the opposite direction. JMT
A Dixie Chick
April 20th, 2012
10:57 am
Sorry to see Colton go so soon. Voters should look at the overall package; instead they hone in on one performance. Joshua gets too many standing O’s. I can only think of one he deserved. The judges can influence fans with their comments and actions. And Jen does anything that Randy says. Stephen is my favorite judge. And Jimmy is almost always right in his assessments. I believe it will be Skyler and Phillip at the end and I’m pulling for Phillip. Phillip is sexy but I don’t think he realizes it, because he’s just feeling the music. Think the late 1960’s “feeling the music”.
Simon
April 20th, 2012
10:58 am
Boy Alex. You’ve got a thick one there. I HAD to read it? Isn’t that what I said? I read it. I read last nights posts THIS morning. Are you ESOL? Cuz it can’t get explained in more simple english than that. sheesh.
HollieNPhillip
April 20th, 2012
11:00 am
Even though Hollie has been in the bottom 3 several times, she has a lot more fans than the judges give her credit for. I find her voice MUCH more pleasing to listen to than Jessica’s. Jessica tried way too hard this week and I was hoping it was enough to send her home this week with no save, but no such luck. Elise….just kinda weird and never really connects with the audience. Joshua….don’t care for his style and he sings like his tongue is too big for his mouth. Colton….always been kinda boring to me, so I was neither shocked nor upset with his elimination. Skylar has a great voice but I am so tired of all her screaming. I love Phillip’s style, his creativity, his sincerity and his voice. I love Hollie’s voice. At this point, it’s anyone’s to win….votes seem to be all over the place….but I would personally love to see Hollie and Phillip in the finals!
JTesla
April 20th, 2012
11:00 am
Now now, don’t be making fun of Jennifer Lopez just because she is business in the front and party in the back.
Deirdre
April 20th, 2012
11:01 am
Shaun, they don’t sing the same style NOW but they did then. Remember, they were all singing the same theme for each week and they were all very diva-esque during the show.