On Wednesday night, “American Idol” said a vaguely-shocking farewell to Jermaine Jones. Who would be homeward bound on Thursday (March 15) night’s show?
Click through for the full live-blog…
8:00 p.m. ET. Tonight, I’m reasonably sure that Joshua Ledet isn’t going home, so he’s the image with tonight’s recap. Beyond Joshua’s safety, I’m not prepared to vouch for anything and, in fact, I’m not even close to confident that “American Idol” is going to send anybody home tonight. But I’m certainly crossing my fingers.
8:02 p.m. Jennifer Lopez is sparkly, golden and covered in white stars.
8:02 p.m. Ryan Seacrest begins the show by reminding us quickly about Jermaine Jones’ public shaming. Note that he promises only “the outcome of your votes” and not an elimination. I’m very worried about this.
8:03 p.m. “Tonight, we name your Top 10,” Seacrest says. Whew. That’s a legally binding contract, Ryan. You’re sending somebody home.
8:04 p.m. J-Lo has a new single and a new video coming out on March 28. It was directed by Paul Hunter. Plus, Jennifer Lopez is on the cover of Vogue. She’s pretty.
8:05 p.m. Tommy Hilfiger is going to be this season’s Image Advisor. If he doesn’t cut DeAndre Brackensick’s hair this second, I have no respect for him. Also, this is a very long commercial for the Tommy Hilfiger brand, which would be deeply meaningful if this were 1989. Tommy references Adam Lambert as an “Idol” veteran who understands his image. “I should have them transformed by the time they hit that stage,” Tommy promises.
8:09 p.m. Gratuitous reminder about the Judges’ Save.
8:09 p.m. This week’s Ford Music Commercial is set to “Ghost Town.” It’s kinda like Disney’s Haunted Ford Commercial, or at least that’s the level of the special effects. But the best part of the commercial is that there was no way to trim Jermaine Jones out of the ad entirely. Talk about ghosts!
8:11 p.m. Phillip Phillips, Skylar Lane, Elise Testone and Joshua Ledet take the stage first for our Jimmy Iovine-enhanced recap of Wednesday’s performance. Of this group, only Elise feels like a plausible Bottom Three candidate. Jimmy says Phil-Phil went far beyond the call of duty and that he’s rooting for the kidney stones sufferer. Jimmy didn’t think the song was right for Skylar and he wants to see more from here, but he still expects her to stay. Jimmy thought Elise killed her version of “Let’s Stay Together,” that she got every bit of the song and Jimmy predicts that she’s going to go a long way. “You don’t sing that song much better than that,” Jimmy says of Joshua’s “When a Man Loves a Woman.” Percy Sledge apparently emailed and said that he loved Joshua’s interpretation. Dudes! Percy Sledge is on email!
8:15 p.m. Joshua is safe. Phil-Phil is also safe. But either Elise or Skylar is in the Bottom Three. The singer in potential jeopardy is, not at all surprisingly, Elise. I’ll say it again: America hates older women. It won’t surprise me in the slightest if Erika joins her in a few minutes.
8:21 p.m. Time for a performance by Demi Lovato. At one point, I swear I knew what Demi Lovato looked like. I don’t think this what what I thought she looked like. Tonight she’s playing the role of an ’80s rocker girl, complete with a vintage G-n-R shirt. I believe that the purpose is to disturb anybody finding her hot with the knowledge that she wasn’t born when “Appetite For Destruction” was released.
8:28 p.m. Poor Elise. She’s sitting all alone on the Stools of Shame. We need somebody to join her.
8:28 p.m. Down to center stage come Colton Dixon, Shannon Magrane, DeAndre Brackensick and Jessica Sanchez. Jimmy decides to give us a lecture on how songs are chosen in order to explain why DeAndre was so bad last night. In short, Jimmy throws DeAndre under the bus and says he may be in trouble. Jimmy thinks Colton will be in the middle of the pack this week. Nice. Jimmy actually didn’t love Shannon last night, which is a welcome relief after the judges coddling her. Will he have the guts to shred Jessica? No. He supports Jessica for wanting to do an up-tempo song. “If she goes home, we should all go home,” Jimmy says of Jessica. I guess he’s probably right. I want to go home.
8:34 p.m. Ryan likes messing with Colton. It’s becoming a semi-amusing running joke each week. Colton is safe, as is Jessica. That means we don’t get to go home. Except for me. I am home. [That was said like Penny Lane from “Almost Famous.”] Anyway, DeAndre is safe, putting Shannon in the Bottom 3. Interesting…
8:36 p,m. I’m less shocked that Shannon is in the Bottom Three and more shocked that either Erika or Heejun *won’t* be in the Bottom Three. As for America’s love for DeAndre? Let’s agree to disagree, eh?
8:39 p.m. Welcome Mr. Christopher Daughtry and his self-titled ensemble Topher. Oh. Daughtry. Right.
8:40 p.m. I have no problems with Daughtry. I also used to have no problems with Candlebox, so what do I know?
8:46 p.m. Erika, Heejun and Hollie Cavanagh come down. I keep forgetting Hollie is even on this show. Given that she’s not an untalented singer, I think that means something. Jimmy gives Hollie straight-As. Why is nobody listening to Hollie actually singing? That last note last night was PAINFUL. Listen to it, America. I’m not wrong. Jimmy thinks that we’re approaching an Asian pop music explosion, but he isn’t sure if Heejun is going to be a part of it. Jimmy thinks Erika fell into an oversinging trap on Wednesday.
8:49 p.m. Hollie is safe. After the nationwide vote (no totals this week)… Erika is in the Bottom 3. Wow. America’s hatred for Older Women is impressive. J-Lo isn’t happy with the Bottom Three. Steven agrees and also thinks that Elise is the person who doesn’t belong.
8:51 p.m. Ryan moves quickly to send Elise to safety. It’s down to Shannon and Erika.
8:54 p.m. It’s here that we’re reminded how astounding it was that a man went out first last week. And anybody who doesn’t think that Jeremy Rosado probably finished with more votes than several women last week doesn’t watch “American Idol” very much.
8:55 p.m. After the nationwide vote… Erika is going on tour. And Shannon Magrane is singing for her life. Or, rather, she’s singing to fill three minutes. The judges aren’t wasting their save on her. I said this all through the audition and Hollywood rounds: Shannon was too raw and unformed to be ready for the “Idol” stage. In one year or even two or three years, she’ll be a far better singer and performer, better able to deal with her nerves and her other current vocal deficiencies. The judges did her no favors by putting her in the Top 24.
8:58 p.m. The judges don’t need to deliberate on this. Randy tells her that they won’t be using the Save, sending Shannon Magrane home. She’s not an untalented kid. Not untalented at all. But she’s a kid and this wasn’t something she was ready for.
9:00 p.m. Shannon is admirably well-composed and smiley as she says her farewells. Like I said: She could have won “American Idol’ Season 13. Oh well.
Did America make the right call? Did the judges make the right call?