Who: American Idol Top 70 hopefuls (42 remain after the cuts)
What: Rock ‘n’ Roll Songs of the 1950s & 1960s group performance challenge
Where: Cirque du Soleil’s Viva ELVIS stage at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
When: aired February 16th
The Standouts in part great, some parts nevermind:
Jen Hirsch, Creighton Fraker, Aaron Marcellus (With Nick Boddington who was eliminated on the spot after the performance), “Sealed With A Kiss” by The Four Voices
Jen Hirsh delivers another great rendition! Not particularly liking Creighton Fraker’s tendency to oversing and he’s a bit too sharp for our taste.
Heejun Han and Phillip Phillips, Neco Starr and Jairon Jackson “I Only Have Eyes For You” by The Flamingos
Heejun Han could get nasally at times and Philip Phillips looks strained every time he sings, it is distracting.
Reed Grimm, Elise, Testone, Eben Franckewitz, “The Night has a Thousand Eyes” by Bobby Vee
If Reed couldn’t sing well, we wouldn’t take him seriously. He’s too much of a goofball even when singing a jazzy blues song. We didn’t think it was THAT good either that it deserved a standing ovation from the three judges but hey, what do we know?!
Jessica Sanchez, Deandre Brackensick (With Candice Glover, eliminated on the second day) “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore” by Buddy Holly
Would you look at that?! We are now just hearing Filipino-Mexican YouTube star, Jessica Sanchez… except for being a bit pageantry, this 16yo can belt out! Top 24 material?
Colton Dixon, Chase Likens, Skylar Laine (Cari Quoyeser, eliminated on the spot! Proof that the judges more or less knows who they want to keep or let go and are not basing it on the actual performance. We thought she did pretty good and should have at least had the chance to move on to the next round.), “Dedicated to the One I Love” by The “5” Royales
FAVORED IDOLS, Possible Top 24 candidates
From audition to Hollywood to Vegas, American Idol producers can’t help showing their favoritism to its viewers. Even before the live show, at this point we already could tell they’re building up the following names to be in the Top 24 roster: Jen Hirsh, Reed Grimm, Skylar Laine, Adam Brock, Creighton Fraker, Philip Phillips, Heejun Han, Colton Dixon, a little bit of love for Hallie Day, Baylie Brown
PS. Why do some of these contestants have such difficult last names?!
