Couch Potato Review: American Idol 11 - Top 13 Performances

The top 13 contestants of American Idol. First row: Joshua Ledet, Colton Dixon, Hollie Cavanagh and Jessica Sanchez.
Second row: Heejun Han, Shannon Magrane, Deandre Brackensick, Jeremy Rosado and Skylar Laine.
Third Row: Elise Testone, Philip Phillips, Jermaine Jones and Erika Van Pelt.

After the semi-finals, the top 13 were selected by people's votes and judges choice as a wildcard contender. The theme for the performance night was the songs of Stevie Wonder, which performed by male contenders and the songs of Whitney Houston for female contestants.  Here's my review on the top 13 performance night of American Idol season 11.

Shannon Magrane sang "I Have Nothing" where I am expecting that she can nail the song and one of the best performances of the night. But the nerves gave the best of her on that evening. She had the powerful voice to deliver that song. However, she needs to tell the story of the song.  When I heard the studio version of her song, she did an amazing job. Score: 7.0 

Elise Testone did a wrong song choice for her amazing voice with her rendition of "I'm Your Baby Tonight" I am hoping next week that she is safe and not part of the bottom 2. Score: 8.0 

Erika Van Pelt sang "I Believe In You and Me" where she nailed the song but she didn't reach the high notes. She needs to improve her performance next time because she had that beautiful and soulful voice. Score: 7.8

Jermaine Jones proved that he deserves a second chance in his rendition of "Knocks Me Off My Feet" where his low baritone trademark matches the song. Score: 8.5

Jeremy Rosado touches the heart of the audience with his performance of "Ribbon in the Sky." It wasn't his best performance but he interprets the song in a beautiful way. Score: 8.4

I am wondering why Joshua Ledet made it to the bottom 3 guys although he had a very good performance of "I Wish." I think he made it to the bottom 3 although he did a very good job but he is similar to Jacob Lusk of season 10. Score: 8.9 

Skylar Laine said that she didn't sing a Whitney Houston song in her life. But when she performed "Where Do Broken Hearts Go", it was proven that she can sing any song not just a country but any kind of song. In other words, she is versatile. Score: 9.0

Deandre Brackensick did a reggae performance of "Master Blaster (Jammin)" where he did a soulful and groovy performance plus his clean falsettos. Score: 9.1 

Colton Dixon sang "Lately" which suits his voice and I love the transition from mellow introduction to the rock part. He is a versatile singer and he owned the song. Score: 9.5

Philip Phillips sang "Superstition" where this song is also his audition piece. He is a very good musician and singer. He got an entertaining performance with his guitar as an accompaniment but predictable song choice because other contenders sang that in previous seasons. Therefore, he is a true artist. Score: 9.8

MY TOP 3 BEST PERFORMANCES:

Heejun Han chose "All In Love Is Fair" which is a perfect song choice for him and much better performance than last week.  His voice is smooth and soft, clear and truly romantic. It proves that he is a very good singer in singing ballads, maybe next time I want to see him singing upbeat tempo songs. Score: 9.9

Hollie Cavanagh sang "All The Man That I Need" where she performed effortless but powerful. She had the clear phrasing and diction and she deserves to come back from last season. She is one of the best singers for the eleventh season. Score: 9.9

Jessica Sanchez once again received a standing ovation and positive reviews from the judges with her performance of "I Will Always Love You". She did a fantastic belting and soulful performance and that was superb. Score: 10.0

Blogger's Note:

Predictions and Elimination: Elise, Erika and Shannon made it to the bottom 3 girls while Jermaine, Jeremy and Joshua made it to the bottom 3 boys. In the end, Elise saved by the judges and Jeremy was eliminated first from the competition. On the coming weeks, I am looking forward to Heejun, Colton, Phillip, Jessica and Hollie to the top 5 and one of them will become the winner of American Idol. Therefore, I am also looking forward to the two female contenders will make it to the finale (it was happened last season 3 where Diana DeGarmo and Fantasia Barrino competed in the finals of that season). But watch out because there are also competitors who will emerge as dark horse maybe it is between Elise Testone or Skylar Laine. However, I want Hollie, Jessica and Heejun made it to the final three. Lastly, all of the contenders for the eleventh season are great and exceptional.