American Idol 15 Recap – Semifinals 2 Results & Duets – VIDEOS

American Idol 15 Semifinal Week 2 Alum/Contestant Duet PHOTOS and SONG SPOILERS

NOTE: Tonight’s show was taped last week. Elimination spoilers are out. DO NOT DISCUSS THEM HERE BEFORE THEY ARE REVEALED. Thank you. If you must discuss before the rest of the world knows, head to the spoiler post. Thank you.

Hello host Ryan Seacrest! He introduces the judges.

Harry says across the board everyone was hovering in the mediocre place last night. Jlo says duet partners need chemistry and to compliment each other.

Amelia Eisenhauer & Kellie Pickler – Suds in the Bucket by Sara Evans – Amelia will play fiddle on this. “I’m an antique Idol!” cracks Kellie. “Don’t tell anybody!” Amelia thinks Kellie helps her come out of her shell. Ooooo Amelia is a good musician. This is a real cute performance. Both singers are on stage just having a ball. The song doesn’t really showcase the vocals, and that frustrates me. I have a feeling Amelia has more to offer vocally than what we’ve seen so far. She needs to perform some challenging music. Harry says Amelia came out fighting “absolutely terrific.” Keith agrees. She stepped up to the plate. Jlo thought Kellie was the perfect mentor for her.  Remember how terrible Kellie was on Idol? Ha ha. She’s more than made up for it in the past 10 years. – Click to Watch Amelia & Kellie Perform VIDEO

Kory Wheeler & Haley Reinhart – Benny and the Jets by Elton John – Kory auditioned with the song, and he says he would have picked Haley as a duet partner anyway if he had the choice. Lose yourself in the loungey state in the beginning and build from there she advises. Both singers covered this song and brought different interpretations. The trick is bringing it all together and it mostly works, although I kept waiting for Haley to let loose. But she was being a good duet partner and holding back a bit. All things considered, Kory’s performance is solid. Keith says it was SOOOOO good. He notes Haley’s swagger. A good matchup he says. Jlo says they thought she was going to win. Hm. A nice pairing, she says. Harry calls it two for two so far. He has nothing negative to say. Haley knows how to sing in the pocket, she grounded Kory, Harry adds. – Click to Watch Kory and Jordin Perform VIDEO

Lee Jean & Chris Daughtry – Home by Chris Daughtry – Chris compliments his audition. “You’ve got a killer voice” but reminds him not to look nervous or it will kill the performance. Hug the mic if you’re nervous! Aw, these two are cute together. Chris’ vocal is so dynamic compared to the tentative and fragile sounding Lee. The young singer has a sweet voice, but it lacks oomph. And he’s experiencing some notable pitch problems tonight. The disadvantage of singing with these star idols. The possibility of being totally outclassed. Chris calls him “fun to work with.” Jlo thought he did a great job. She felt he kept up. Hm. Harry calls it “really really strong.” His favorite part was the first line he sang. Keith felt Lee brought a storyteller quality to the song. Maybe I’m nuts, but Lee’s vocal was problematic, to say the least. – Click to Watch Lee & Chris Perform VIDEO

CJ Johnson & David Cook – The World I Know by Collective Soul – CJ feels a kinship with David. Another road warrior! This was the last song David sang on Idol as a contestant. It was the top 2 performances when everyone was exhausted. One of my favorite Cook performances, for sure. CJ is comfortable on stage, but he isn’t capturing the poignancy of the lyric. What made this song work in competition was David’s vulnerability. CJ’s voice is fine, I’m just not feeling anything when he sings. Harry thought the blend was great. It’s obvious he plays gigs all the time, he says. Keith thought CJ held his own, but didn’t think the song offered much to the singers. Jlo agrees. She didn’t like the song choice.  Ha ha. Is Simon Cowell lurking in the back somewhere? – Click to Watch CJ & David Perform VIDEO

Manny Torres & Jordin Sparks – No Air by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown – Manny used to sing fake “No Air” duets with friends! She coaches him on expressing emotion. He admits he hasn’t tapped that much into his vulnerable side. The crowd seems to love this performance Jordin was sensational and really dominated the stage. Manny was pitchy in spots. I wasn’t feeling a ton of chemistry there. Jordin towers over Ryan and Manny. Hee. Keith relates to standing with the lady in heels! Keith felt Manny stepped up to the plate “terrific,” he says. Jlo really loved it too. Harry says his eye went back and forth between the two of them despite Jordin’s gorgeousness. –  Click to Watch Manny & Jordin Perform VIDEO

Jenn Blosil & Constantine Maroulis – My Funny Valentine – Constantine loves her quirky energy. This mentoring session is nuts. Jenn is so wacky! Constantine is about injecting some dark emotion into a 90 year old standard.  Jenn’s voice wafts in and out a little bit, and she’s pitchy in spots, but I really enjoyed her jazzy but slightly off kilter interpretation of the song. Constantine was belting it out as he’s wont to do, but he never overpowered Jenn’s personality. Jlo felt it was the embodiment of the perfect duet. Harry thinks Constantine is terrific but disagrees about his take on the song. It turned into a shouting match, he said. I’m not surprised Harry hated that considering what a strict interpreter of standards he is. Keith gave the performance a standing ovation. He loved it. He felt it was the first duet that was evenly matched. – Click to Watch Jenn & Constantine Perform VIDEO

Tristan McIntosh & Kellie Pickler – Best Days of Your Life by Kellie Pickler – Kellie makes sure to namecheck her husband in these sessions.  It’s like a little promo for her CMT reality show. The duo begin the song in an awkward place, which is odd. Tristan continues to have pitch problems, her performance unwieldy. She’s very good sitting at the keys singing ballads, but her performance skills need serious work. Harry thought it was “pretty darn good” but Tristan needs to stay in the pocket, and not wander around the stage. Keith felt it was tricky for her, even though she knew the song. Jlo also notes her youth. Will she be able to find her groove? Jlo wonders. – Click to Watch Tristan & Kellie Perform VIDEO

Hello mentor Scott Borchetta! He thinks the duets are great. He thinks tonight is top notch compared to last night.

Olivia Rocks & David Cook – Light On by David Cook – Olivia was only 9 years old when David won. Sigh. She came to the session bearing gifts–a bracelet. David calls the song’s range challenging. But he loves to sing it. “Light On” isn’t a great competition song. I wish it had more melody–more of a hook. Having said that, these two are really terrific together. Olivia more than held her own with David, her raspy voice rising and swooping around the notes. She knows how to connect in a duet too. Effortless. David can’t gush enough about Olivia’s talent. Keith and Jlo both loved the duet. Harry says she sings like somebody who knows music. – Click to Watch David & Olivia Perform VIDEO

Adam Lasher & Haley Reinhart – Can’t Help Falling in Love – Adam is falling in love with Haley a little as they rehearse. But then…who wouldn’t? Haley outclassed him vocally in every single way, but he brought a vulnerability that was sweet and believable. He seemed a little intimidated by her. Jlo felt it was very strong. Harry thought it was lovely, but he didn’t need to sing so on the beat, he could have taken some risks. Keith kept waiting for him to loosen up and give in. I liked the performance more than Keith did, but he makes a good point. – Click to Watch Adam & Haley Perform VIDEO

Dalton Rapattoni & Chris Daughtry – Higher Ground by Stevie Wonder – Dalton vomited in his brain when he heard they were singing together.  His words! This is a really good match. And I think singing with Chris is grounding Dalton. Not only are they blending beautifully, but energy wise they are well matched. Dalton gave a really good performance right there. OH WOW.  Chris is presented with a plaque from 19 commemorating the over 8 million albums he’s sold. Harry thought the performance was solid, but the band really made it. “Ryan could have sounded good on that one.” The room tries to cajole Ryan into singing. Of course he won’t. Now he’s twerking. WE DIDN’T NEED TO SEE THAT. Shot of Jordin covering her mouth in disbelief. Keith felt the two brought different perspectives to the song that worked. He makes a great point–Chris draws his energy from the inside, while Dalton is an extroverted performer. But it worked. Jlo felt they both gave a dynamic performance in their own way. She calls Dalton a “dark horse.” Ryan is now rapping STOP IT. He gets a standing o for that. So much happened in that segment. WHAT THE HELL – Click to Watch Dalton & Chris Perform (AND RYAN TWERKING) VIDEO

Jordin Sparks & Trent Harmon – To Love Somebody by the Bee Gees – “He’s so good I don’t even want to sing!” she says. She advises Trent he hold back a little on the vibrato. OH CORRECT. I find his vibrato really distracting. Ha. As they are about to sing a Bee Gees song, she tells him to hold back. But still! His mugging is also really distracting. He’s looking straight in her eyes when he sings. Like night and day vs the Manny duet. Emotionally, he’s right in there with her, freeing her to give him space to perform.  Keith thought it was a great match up. Jodin pulled some stuff out of him we hadn’t seen before, he says. Jlo agrees. It was a great show case, she says. Harry loves the song, the performance could be a single from either of them. – Click to Watch Jordin & Trent Perform VIDEO

Shelbie Z & Constantine Maroulis – Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen – Constantine reminds us all what an awesome moment it was for him. It can be one for Shelbie too! They could play it like sister and brother, kicking some butt, he says. WHAT? It’s obvious he has no idea how to coach her.  Constantine is in full Constantine mode on that stage, and Shelbie is struggling to connect. The song is chopped up even more as a duet and makes absolutely no sense. Kind of a trainwreck, actually. Jlo felt Shelbie was lost in it. Harry thought it was a weird song to do as a duet. No point of view. Keith agrees. “I got a little scared…It didn’t pull me in.” Ouch. But they’re not wrong. – Click to Watch Constantine & Shelbie Perform VIDEO

The judges swear some could be saved by their duets. “Judges get to work,” says Ryan. Ha ha ha.

Time for RESULTS. Each judge calls out a contestant who is safe. Until 5 remaining singers are eliminated. Kory NOT doing a great job of reining in his emotions. If viewers were voting singers through, he would have had a shot at the Top 10. Click to watch the DRAMATIC RESULTS!!!!

Advancing to the Top 14

Lee Jean
Olivia Rox
Jenn Blosil
Dalton Rapattoni
Manny Torres
Tristan McIntosh
Trent Harmon

Eliminated

Amelia Eisenhauer
Shelbie Z
Kory Wheeler
CJ Johnson
Adam Lasher