American Idol Does Rock, Two Contestants Roll Home, and My Inner Randy Jackson Comes Out!

It’s getting so hard to predict who will be eliminated but last night, I successfully picked the two singers who were sent home. Go me! Excuse me while I jinx myself by patting myself on the back.

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The votes were tallied as the episode was airing, which can be a scary thing for the last singer, I imagine. But the last singer was Abi so who’s really worried about her getting eliminated? Answer: No one. She’s very good and seems to be in a battle with Emmy Russell for the top singer at this point in the season. But if there’s a top singer, there must be a bottom, too. After a commercial-breaks worth of deliberating, I picked Jordan and Nya for the following reasons:

1. Jordan – He was a judge save the previous week which means he was already lacking support. He also doesn’t seem to connect with the audience, although he’s a fine singer. Lastly, as mentioned in a previous post, contestants from other countries don’t usually last in the live voting rounds.
2. Nya – Also a judge save the previous week. She has a nice voice but doesn’t stand out. I think she and Jayna are/were too stylistically similar so voters were supporting one or the other, although it takes nothing away from either one to vote for both.

I appreciated the catalog of songs the contestants chose from — Rock and Roll Hall of Famers — and two songs connected to Elvis Presley, which were also the best two of the night. These guys ain’t nothing but hound dogs: The young Triston Harper performed “Heartbreak Hotel” and Jack Blocker did “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” (originally by Bob Dylan).

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Jack and McKenna are my top 2 now that Jennifer Jeffries is gone, and I’m really hoping Jack wins. McKenna performed one of my favorite songs, Chicago’s “Hard to Say I’m Sorry.” I can hear Randy Jackson saying it wasn’t the best song choice for her but she worked it out. She’ll be safe for another week because of her previous performances and the fact that she had a visit to the hospital during the week of rehearsals and still came out sounding good is impressive. Also, a little tid bit from my high school years… I blasted “Hard To Say I’m Sorry” as I drove around town my senior year. But not Chicago’s version, I went with Az Yet’s take on it. There’s a twist you never saw coming.

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As the episode progressed, it came down to three: Jordan, Nya, and Kayko. I thought America’s votes were a good example of getting it right… and it was Kayko surviving another day. His days are numbered, or should I say his hours are numbered? Tonight, elimations are dealt to Kayko and Jayna.

Thank ya, thank ya very much. You’re a wonderful audience.

-Out of the Wilderness