BWW Recaps: IDOL Hits High Notes at the Movies

After two weeks of appropriately vague themes allowed the unrefined contestants to explore their individual artistry, I became more than a little apprehensive when Ryan said the top-11 would be singing the "Songs of the Cinema" on this week's installment of AMERICAN IDOL The lame OCEAN'S ELEVEN cold open, completed by the cheesiest "This is AMERICAN IDOL" ever to come out of Seacrest's mouth, made me worry that this could be one huge cheesetastic disaster. However, I forgot that the majority of this year's remaining contestants have shown a surprising talent for avoiding the cliché, a fact that made this the best week of IDOL all year!

As Ryan reminded us, this is one of the most important weeks of the IDOL season, as the contestants that survive Thursday's elimination are guaranteed a spot on this summer's Top-10 Nationwide Tour.

While this week's performances were mostly stellar, some of the night's most entertaining moments were the "audition" clips. Keeping with the cinema theme, the producers had the other contestants "audition" to play the role of each performer before their song. The results were almost universally funny as the singers lampooned each other. Some of the best were the impressions of Malaya, who came off as a female Steve Urkel hyped on on ritalin and Red Bull.

I mentioned it last week, but it seemed like Harry Connick Jr. fired a shot across Randy Jackson's bow when he said that if he were mentoring the contestants, he would be at their hotel until 5:00am helping them every night. This week, he followed up by introducing his brand new, never before used, completely original catchphrase, "In it to win it!" While THE VOICE has the bromance between Adam Levine and Blake Shelton, I would love to see a "brofight"... a "brofeud"...a "brovalry" on IDOL!

Finally, two random notes: I am really glad that the powers that be finally allowed the contestants to stay backstage and prepare for their songs on their own, rather than making them suffer in the "lounge" all night. Also, can we just say that the live social-media voting-updates experiment failed? It Is useless, illogical, and a waste of "brovalry" time.

Ok, now on to the performances:

Sam Woolf
"Come Together" by The Beatles
Featured in ACROSS THE UNIVERSE
Three-Word Review: Needs Charisma Transplant

I'm gonna be honest, anytime anyone does an enjoyable Beatles-cover, I'm going to be along for the ride. This is the best I've seen from Sam since the live-shows started, but, as JLo said, he has a big problem communicating any sense of personality when he performs. Perhaps it's being 17, or perhaps it's being raised by his grandparents in a retirement community, but despite his loyal teen girl following, this could be a problem down the road.

Jessica Meuse
"The Sound of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkel
Featured in THE GRADUATE
Three-Word Review: Actually Liked It

I didn't notice the band issues that Jennifer and Harry mentioned; I simply heard an interestingly delivered cover of one of the best songs ever written. Jessica's vocal was by no means perfect, but it felt like a genuine, understated performance by an artist who is starting to figure out who she wants to be in this competition. At this point, I don't agree with JLo or Jessica that she can win, her voice is too tinny with occasional, weird eruptions of vibrato in all the wrong places, but I do feel like she is finding her niche and defining what kind of singer she will be post-IDOL.

C.J. Harris
"Can't You See" by Marshall Tucker Band
Featured in BLOW
Three-Word Review: Actually In Tune!

While in no way did C.J.'s performance deserve a Keith Urban standing O, nor a "CJ, CJ" chant from the audience, for the first time on the live shows, I actually remembered why C.J. made it this far. Heck, I think it was the first time he sang (mostly) in tune. Did it bring him to the forefront like Jen and Harry said? No, but it definitely bought him some time to keep working on his "intonation" issues.

Dexter Roberts
"Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Featured in FORREST GUMP
Three-Word Review: Karaoke Bar King

How can a contestant on a singing competition show sing one of the most "sung-along-to" anthems in America, and just sing it like he is having a few cold ones at his local Tuscaloosa watering hole? As Keith and Harry said, the performance was fine, but it was nothing memorable or special. It was just another dude singing "Sweet Home Alabama." While "fine" might keep him safe in the competition for a few weeks, eventually, if he wants to win, he will have to figure out a way to be "memorable and special".

Ben Briley
"Bennie and the Jets" by Elton John
Featured in 27 DRESSES
Three-Word Review: Too Much False

I don't understand why the judges always try to make the contestants pigeon-hole themselves into a certain genre or style (props to Keith for admiting the "Change it up" vs. "Be yourself" "conundrum"). While this week the judges were left wanting for authenticity from Ben, I really enjoyed seeing the different side of him. And I was pleasantly surprised that his first few transitions into his falsetto were surprisingly perfect. However, I think he lost it a bit in the extended head section; it sounded a bit flat, and exposed the fact that he probably doesn't have the range or strength to sing consistently in that section of his register. That being said, I actually enjoyed the performance, but it might not be enough to keep him out of danger.

Majesty Rose
"Let It Go" by Idina Menzel, not Adela Dazeem
Featured in FROZEN
Three-Word Review: Let it NO!

I blame this one completely on Randy Jackson. If he is supposed to be mentoring these kids, why did he not simply play Idina Menzel's Academy Awards performance for Majesty? How could the kindergarten teacher stand a chance on this Oscar-winning song if even a musical theatre icon like Idina struggled to sing it live? While I have liked Majesty all season, this was the epitome of bad high school talent show. If she is judged solely on this week's performance, she should be in the Bottom Three, and probably deserves to go home.

BIASED JUDGING ALERT: While it has been a staple of previous IDOL seasons, tonight marked the first outbreak of bold-faced lying from the judges this season. There is no doubt that Majesty has been one of the show's favorites thus far, but, after this disastrous performance, the nonsensical compliments that the panel gave her proved that though Uncle Nigel Lythgoe is no longer running the show, his legacy of string pulling is very much still at play.

Caleb Johnson
"Skyfall" by Adele
Featured in SKYFALL
Three-Word Review: Your American Idol!

Do I think a contestant who was described in his "audition" intro package as the lovechild of Jack Black and Meatloaf can win the country's largest popularity contest? Probably not. However, at this stage of the competition, there is no doubt that he is hands down the most deserving, and it isn't even close. He is great every week, and with this detour off of his classic rock freight train, he showed that he isn't just a one-trick pony.

MK Nobilette
"To Make You Feel My Love" by Garth Brooks
Featured in HOPE FLOATS
Three-Word Review: Nice But Limited

There were moments in this performance where MK sounded very nice. Much of the song sat nicely in the strong point of her voice. However, what the song ultimately showed was the severe limitations of her voice. As soon as the melody ventured outside her vocal comfort zone, the performance veered off the tracks. As the contestants begin to dwindle, having some nice moments isn't going to be enough. If MK survives this week, she has to start delivering completely memorable performances, not just individual moments.

MUSIC THEORY ALERT: Harry dropped the term "melisma," adding to his effort to make all IDOL viewers just a little bit smarter music connoisseurs.

Alex Preston
"Falling Slowly" by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová
Featured in ONCE
Three-Word Review: Fully Formed Artist

I think this was a great choice for Alex. It seems to fit perfectly in his artistic sensibility, but still gave him a chance to experiment with the melody and add some impressive vocal flares. While all Broadway fans have come to know and love that song from ONCE's Tony-winning stage-turn, Alex's rendition was all his own, complimenting his unique performance style and individuality. He is a fully formed artist that is getting a well-deserved opportunity to shine on this big stage.

Jena Irene
"Decode" by Paramore
Featured in TWILIGHT
Three-Word Review: Best of Night!

Full disclosure, I became a Jena fan after her wildcard performance sitting behind a piano, and without a doubt, this song, back at the keys, proved that my faith in her was justified. I know almost nothing about TWILIGHT (other than that my favorite, Anna Kendrick, was in it), so this song shocked me. Jena was powerful and interesting and entertaining and the best of the best tonight.

Malaya Watson
"I Am Changing"
Featured in DREAMGIRLS
Three-Word Review: Well Hot Damn!

Well, hold on just a minute. I know I just said that Jena was the best of the night, but I think that Malaya might have closed the show with a performance equal to Jena's. I was a little nervous when Ryan said Malaya was singing from DREAMGIRLS. I had visions of a spastic "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" playing in my head, but I was glad that she pulled out another one of the Broadway show's big, belty numbers. As I've said before, I like Malaya. I think she is extremely talented. The problem with her is that from week to week, you never know what you are going to get. She could slay a huge showtune, or she could flame out on an up-tempo dance hit. If she continues to play to her diva vocal strengths, the high school tuba player might just be a dark horse for the finals.

While I don't see all (or maybe even any) of these three being in danger this week, I think they should be. With so many good performances tonight, I really wanted to include Sam Woolf's lazy performance, but on second though, it was just too well-sung to be included. To be honest, other than Majesty, I don't think anyone really deserves to be in the bottom, but that's not how the game is played. So...

Should Be In the Bottom-Three
Dexter Roberts
Ben Briley
Majesty Rose

Should Be Eliminated (based solely on this week)
Majesty Rose

Co-Best of the Night
Jena Irene
Malaya Watson

I will be back to add pictures of each performance to jog your memory as soon as Fox releases them. Until them, chime in with your thoughts in the comments below, or hit up on Twitter @BWWMatt.

Photo Credit: Michael Becker | FOX

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