American Idol, Episode 13: "Girls: Sudden Death, Pt. 2"
How did this happen? How did Zoanette Johnson manage to pull the wool over the eyes of three, (mostly) well-respected and talented music superstars? That was all I could think of after the way they gushed over Hot Mess Zoanette Johnson. I was pretty infuriated. I was Jennifer-Hudson-Just-Got-Voted-Off-Idol angry. I was able to calm down and realize that, at the end of the day, this a television show and Zoanette, if she is good for anything, is good for ratings. We all know that she will be gone in the next couple of weeks, I just feel bad for some of the other Idol girls who got the boot, so Zoanette could continue on her Idol journey. Julianna, Cristabel, and Rachel, I'm looking at you.
Melinda Ademi kicked things off. I remember Melinda from Hollywood week and her high energy perfomance of Jessie J's "Price Tag." She brought more Jessie J to the stage, this time "Nobody's Perfect," the same song that Angela Miller sang last week. I think this was a big mistake. Angela has a more robust voice than Melinda's and doing the same song brought about a lot of unfavorable comparisons. Melinda's performance was good, but I'm not sure why she wouldn't have chosen a different song. I, God help me, agreed with Randy that there weren't a lot of stand out moments, and unlike Angela, Melinda didn't make any for herself. It was all very unfortunate.
Candice Glover is probably the best pure singer in the competition. If I had my way she would win, hands down. Her cover of Aretha Franklin's "(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman" was divine. The one word I could use to describe it was effortless. Gorgeous tone. I loved that Candice arranged the song. All her runs were impeccable and they were all where they needed to be. Not a one sounded out of place, extraneous or unnecssary. The judges loved it and I loved the looks Nicki was giving Randy as he tried to explain the reasons behind Candice's unexplainable eviction from Vegas week last year.
Juliana Chahayed sang a beautiful, acoustic cover of Demi Lovato's "Skyscraper." The song was kind of unrecognizable to me at first and I love that. Juliana really made the song her own. There was also a maturity that belied her 15 years. I loved the way she dialed back the bombast and made the number an acoustic ballad. It was very much her and this was probably the performance of the night for me. I would definitely buy a Juliana album and I would love to hear some of her original songs. I didn't really hear any pitch struggles, but Keith did. It sucks that she got the boot, but I really hope that she comes back and conquers next year.
Jett Hermano performed Rihanna's "Only Girl in the World." She slowed it down and performed it completely at the piano. I liked it a lot. It didn't veer off into sleepy time. I did agree with Nicki that the one thing missing was the song kind of building to something. I was kind of happy that she didn't get up from the piano, because Shubha did that and they hated it. The judges don't know what they want.
I am a big fan of Cristabel Clack, but she did make some unfortunate decisions. She decided to wear that outfit from Gap kids, she told the story about how she almost got off the plane because she didn't think she could hack it, and she chose to sing Alicia Keys' "No One" and throw in way too many runs that took the rasp in her voice that I loved and made her sound hoarse. I was still hoping that th ejudges would give her another chance, because I think her voice is so unique and I could totally picture myself jamming to Cristabel's new single. I'm not quite sure why the Dawg leaped to his feet. Maybe Nicki goosed him?
Aubrey Cleland, where have you been all my life? I'm pretty sure they did nto show one second of you during Hollywood week and I'm not sure why. Nicki hit the nail on the head when she called you a star. I loved the song of Beyoncé's "Sweet Dreams." I liked the slowed down arrangement that you cribbed from Jessica Sanchez. The gold metallic dress was working for you too. It was sexy, young, and chic. I sometimes worry when the judges deem someone commerical, because I almost feel it works against them, but I'm hoping that Aubrey bucks that trend and goes far in the competition.
Rachel Hale has always gotten the edit that she is runner up to Janelle Evans. Janelle is an amazing country singer, maybe one the best since Carrie Underwood, but Rachel definitely stepped up her game and stood strong where Janelle stumbled. Her cover of Grace Potter & the Nocturnals "Nothing But the Water" was so strong. Rachel got completely over her shyness and gave a powerful, pitch perfect performance. I loved the look in her eyes when the camera focused on her. It was a steely, sultry look. It was a whole new Rachel. Unfortunately, it was a case of too little too late though, since the judges decided to overlook Janelle's sub par performance and kick Rachel to the curb.
Breanna brought another uptempo to the Idol stage with Jazmine Sullivan's "Bust Ya Windows." I appreciated that she didn't sing a ballad. She definitely has the looks and style of a commercial, current artist as the judges pointed out. I felt that the song was a little too big for her voice. She maybe bit off more than she could chew. Also, I feel like being an Idol judge has inspired Nicki. She is going to become a Svengali like manager. That is the feeling that I got when she told Breanna to hook up with Aubrey and a couple of other ladies and get their Destiny's Child on.
Janelle Arthur was next and she performed Lady Antebellum's "Just a Kiss." I have a big fan of Janelle's since she first auditioned and hers, along with Candice and Cristable, was a performance I had been looking forward too. Imagine my disappointment with this. This was the absolute wrong song for her. The judges were correct that there wasn't enough in the song that allowed her to shine. I can olny imagine the judges considered her previous performances whent they made the decision to put her through.
Finally, what we had all been waiting for? Zoanette Johnson "sang" "Circle of Life" from The Lion King. I mean, I use the word sing loosely, since she really shouted the whole thing. It would trail off at the end and instead of words it sounded like she was speaking gibberish. None of it was on pitch or on key. I can't imagine what the judges see in Zoanette. I know what the producers see, love it or hate it crazy that they hope will draw more eyeballs to this season. If you were moved by Zoanette's performance, I can only imagine it was because of her pre package where she eloquently(!) talked about her family fleeing Liberia when she was 2. Otherwise, it was just kind of a mess and I can only hope that Zoanette's Idol journey is cut mercifully short next week. Also, thank you Mariah for staying seated when the rest of the judges jumped up.
With that, the judge deliberated and added Zoanette, Janelle, Candice, Aubrey and Breanna to the girls, rounding out their top ten. So, what did you guys think? Did anyone of you like Zoanette? Am I missing something? Feel free to enlighten me in the comments.
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