Here’s my Power List for the American Idol Top 12/11. Tonight, I am hoping that the producers decide not to eliminate anyone, followed up by an announcement that the entire Top 11 will go on tour this summer. If not, I’m afraid we may lose a talented girl tonight.
1. Joshua Ledet – Clearly the buzzworthy winner this week. Despite being fantastic, he’s not going to win–he’s too old fashioned gospel to make it all the way. But he could make the Top 3
2. Jessica Sanchez – Her performance was not as warmly received this week, but I think she’s still got some goodwill banked from last week’s performance. And it seems the audience may have loved her Latin flavor more than the judges did.
3. Phillip Phillips – What a brave brave boy, singing so well with those kidney stones! Phil is still a favorite, and his willingness to sing through the pain probably earned him some votes.
4. Hollie Cavanagh – She sure can hit those high notes. Her pimp spot and impressive vocals keep her near the top of the list. She better begin mixing it up soon. One word. PIA.
5. Colton Dixon – Colton loses some points for singing an unfamiliar song (and for the resident rocker, Steven Tyler, giving him the thumbs down) But Colton delivered vocally. And he’s got people. He still scores relatively high.
6. Skylar Laine – Skylar wasn’t her typical confident self last night, so she’s middle of the pack this week. She’s in no danger of leaving the competition–her performance was solid if not spectacular and the judges loved her.
7. Deandre Brackensick – Jimmy and Will persuaded him to sing a terrible song he obviously didn’t want to sing. Not a great performance from Deandre. The judges didn’t like it either.
8. Heejun Han – A really poor vocal performance from Heejun. He’s clearly out of his element here, but he’s so lovable, his fan base will stick by him, and he’ll get casual votes, at least until he makes the tour.
9. Shannon Magrane – The judges love Shannon so much, despite her mediocre vocal performances. And I suspect she’s appealing to folks who appreciate pretty girls singing inspirational songs. I think they do exist. Shannon would be my personal pick to go, but that’s not going to happen.
10. Elise Testone – The judges loooooved Elise, but I fear she’s still not connecting with the audience. Will had to remind her to smile, which probably didn’t help with the perception that she’s a sour puss. An early performance slot didn’t help her.
11. Erika Van Pelt – *cries* I love Erika so much, but I fear the weird arrangement of “Heaven” and the judges negativity may do her in. She wasn’t voted in by America. She’s always been hanging by a thread. She could be eliminated tonight.
