The American Idol 11 Top 12 13 performed songs from Whitney Houston and Stevie Wonder last night. Read my Recap. Now, read what the rest of the blogosphere had to say about the performances. Includes on the scene reports!
News: American Idol: 5 Things You Didn’t See At Home – As American Idol’s Top 13 took the stage Wednesday night, some dominated with their showstopping voices (Jessica Sanchez! Joshua Ledet!) while others let nerves get the best of them (better luck next time, Shannon Magrane). But some of last night’s most entertaining storylines occurred when the cameras stopped rolling. Here are five of the most memorable moments straight from the Idol audience. – TV Guide
‘American Idol’ recap: Oh the Stevie Wonder of It All – American Idol’s Top 13 gamely took on Stevie Wonder and Whitney Houston last night, but the real story of the episode — sorry, Jessica Sanchez, “I Will Always Love You” anyway — was Randy Jackson’s sparkly beaded pin in the shape of a seemingly miserable little girl. It rivaled the Ryan Seacrest doughnut from the Portland auditions in terms of “season 11 objects of ‘human’ interest WTF-ery,” and yet this pin might not have been the most ridiculous thing Randy was wearing because he was also sporting a fur collar! – Entertainment Weekly
‘American Idol’: 20 Things You Didn’t See on Wednesday’s Top 13 Show – American Idol’s Top 13 certainly had their work cut out for them with this week’s Whitney Houston-Stevie Wonder theme. Millions saw them sweat on TV — and heard judge Steven Tyler say “Beautiful” no less than 10 times — but what didn’t you catch on the broadcast? Read on… – Entertainment Weekly
‘American Idol’ Recap: Jessica Sanchez Nails Whitney Houston’s ‘I Will Always Love You’ (Video) – Is it too soon to crown Jessica Sanchez this year’s American Idol winner? Based on her jaw-dropping performance Wednesday night, it’s a wonder producers don’t call the whole thing off. Then again, in next week’s round, the powerhouse singer could just as soon stumble and lose momentum with a bad song choice. – Hollywood Reporter
‘American Idol’ Recap: Whitney Houston And Stevie Wonder Songs Performed By Top 13 – We’ve had multiple weeks focusing on whittling down our finalists into final finalists and no-really-this-is-actually-the-final-group-performance finalists, but this week’s “American Idol” finally felt like the real deal, with the Top 13 tackling the legendary songs of Whitney Houston and Stevie Wonder. Mary J. Blige was on hand to offer vocal coaching with Jimmy Iovine, and though it seemed like a few of the contestants actually left their best performances in the practice room with the mentors, there were still a number of impressive vocals from both the boys and the girls (mainly Jessica Sanchez). – Huffington Post
‘American Idol,’ Season 11, Episode 16, ‘Finalists Compete’: TV Recap – The final 13 were singing for votes on “American Idol,” which tonight aired its 400th episode. The girls paid tribute to Whitney Houston while the guys sang songs by Stevie Wonder. But, there was a twist: for the first time at this stage, it was the guys against the girls. That means the guy and the girl with the least votes will be announced tomorrow night and then the judges will decide who goes home of the two. – Wall Street Journal
‘American Idol’ Recap: Whitney vs. Stevie – Tonight the battle of the sexes is waging live on the stage of American Idol. But instead of getting dolled up in American Gladiator garb and duking it out, the women will sing Whitney Houston’s greatest hits while the men get the Stevie Wonder songbook. Tomorrow the guy and the girl with the lowest votes will face off in front of the judges, who will choose who gets to stay and who has to go. – Rolling Stone
‘American Idol’ top 13 performance recap: Stevie Wonder/Whitney Houston theme – Judges in the past have told singers to avoid Whitney Houston. (Not that it stopped people. Six women alone have taken on “I Have Nothing,” including Lakisha Jones and Katharine McPhee.)- But after the death of Houston, the producers decided it was wise to pay homage to her for the first time as a thematic. – Atlanta Journal Constitution
Recap: ‘American Idol’ Top 13 Performances – Whitney Houston & Stevie Wonder – Now, we’re truly down to business on “American Idol.” Yeah, we got live performances last week and America got to vote and all of that good stuff, but Wednesday (March 7) is when things can really get serious. – Hitfix
Jessica soars as other ‘Idol’ women struggle with Whitney Houston’s songs – Why, why, why, why … why, “American Idol?” Why, after 10 seasons of telling us that Whitney Houston songs are to be challenged only at mortal risk of humiliation and failure, did you make the six remaining women take her on this week. Isn’t everyone nervous enough in this first week of the finals without having that kind of mountain to climb? And if you’re going to do that, why allow the men to skate by with Stevie Wonder. – MSNBC
American Idol 11: 40 Million People Could Cry From Boredom – You want to know what’s uninspired? Tonight’s American Idol Top 13 theme. Really, Idol, really? I know you want to hop on the Whitey Houston is Dead train but making the girls sing Houston while the boys sing Stevie Wonder? HE’S NOT DEAD HE’S JUST BLIND. Couldn’t you have made it Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson? Have some sort of Abusing Prescription Drugs Is Bad theme? And why not have say, the guys sing Whitney and the girls sing Stevie if you’re gonna go for something even more tired and unoriginal than well, your entire show. – Top Idol Blog
