It was another electric night as the remaining eight Idol contestants took to the stage to perform songs from the massive Queen collection plus a classic movie hit for some fun duets. Former Idol contestant and Idol alum, Adam Lambert was the mentor this week.
Like last week’s post, I will list my thoughts and reactions of the top 8, my initial prediction as to whether they are safe or not, then the actual result which again was revealed all in one night. Two will go home tonight unless the judges unanimously save one person.
Walker Burroughs — “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”
Walker let loose tonight and I enjoyed his performance. Nice surprise start as he started singing by the judges’ table this week and slowly made his way on stage interacting with the band and backup singers. The judges gave him a standing ovation! Great effort!
Initial Prediction: Safe
Actual Result: Eliminated
Madison VanDenburg — “The Show Must Go On”
Madison nailed it this week and continues to be my favorite female contestant left in this competition. I think she will definitely make top 3, and perhaps win the whole thing this year!
Initial Prediction: Safe
Actual Result: Safe
Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon — “Who Wants To Live Forever”
Good thing Jeremiah followed Adam’s advice and just sang the song sans guitar! Lot of emotion was spilled from his heart in this performance and I commend his efforts. Great to see his parents support him tonight in the audience.
Initial Prediction: Safe
Actual Result: Safe
Alejandro Aranda — “Under Pressure”
It wasn’t his best performance in my opinion but I do give him props for changing the arrangement of that classic Queen song.
Initial Prediction: Eliminated
Actual Result: Safe
Laine Hardy — “Fat Bottomed Girls”
Laine knows how to entertain the crowd. Did he faked it to make it, kinda, but it definitely helped his overall vote count tonight as he was playing to the energy in the audience and he was moving around a lot more this week than in weeks’ past. He should continue to do these half guitar/half no guitar playing performances. Sing. Be loose and have fun!
Initial Prediction: Safe
Actual Result: Safe
Laci Kaye Booth — “Love Of My Life”
Nice solid effort tonight by Laci. Soothing to watch her sing tonight. True emotion was displayed there! The judges gave her a standing O. 👏👏
Initial Prediction: Safe
Actual Result: Safe
Wade Cota — “We Are The Champions”
I thought it wasn’t his strongest performance of the competition. He got lucky tonight making the top 6 despite the lyric flub. The song choice helped him garner enough votes as this is one of Queen’s most ubiquitous songs in their catalog.
Initial Prediction: Eliminated
Actual Result: Safe
Alyssa Raghu — “Somebody To Love”
Alyssa got the benefit of going last tonight and I really thought she did a good job this week. I loved her willingness to tackle her songs each week and she showed she could be a future diva. Her voice will continue to get better as she grows up. Overall a fun performance with some cool air guitar playing!
Initial Prediction: Safe
Actual Result: Eliminated
The top 8 also sang some duets as they each got paired to sing a song from a hit movie.
Duet #1: Laci & Laine
I enjoyed their duet of “Jackson” from “Walk The Line.” Their voices meshed seamlessly and this marks the 2nd time they sang together. Katy joked they were dating each other. Are they? We will have to wait for official word from these two. But judging from Laine’s embarrassed look/smile, I think they’re just good friends. But hey, who knows maybe they will be this season’s Maddie & Caleb.
Duet #2: Alyssa & Wade
I felt this pairing was a bit odd but it worked as they belted out “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” with style! This song always gets sung on this show and tonight we can another entry to that list.
Duet #3 Jeremiah & Madison
This was my favorite duet of the night as these two sang “A Million Dreams” from “The Greatest Showman.” Loved how both showed their excellent vocals without making it a +1up competition. Full of power and soul and professional class. Beautiful performance overall!
Duet #4 Alejandro & Walker
These two guys sang “Mrs. Robinson” from “The Graduate.” I enjoyed their efforts and thought it was a nice rendition of Simon & Garfunkel’s hit. Soothing to the ears. Katy Perry thought their voices were like “two peas in a pod.”
So the TWO ELIMINATED tonight were….
Walker + Alyssa!!
I was shocked that Alyssa Raghu didn’t get the save. Wade should’ve went home tonight. I guess the judges are still saving it for when Alejandro gets eliminated.
After tonight’s episode, I still think the final 2 will be Laine and Madison.
Make sure you continue to vote for your faves in this competition folks! Tune in tomorrow night for Idol’s music documentary special about Adam Lambert’s journey on Idol to super stardom fronting Queen at 8pm on ABC! See you all again next week!
Philip's Music Corner 