Does Everybody Have to Cry?!?

The judges spent the entire night telling everyone to "connect to America" by "showing emotion" and "letting go".  Tonight, more than ever, I wish Simon was still there to roll his eyes and just say, "look, it wasn't good"

Best to Worst, by performance:

Dave Matthews Ditto doing Usher! - Well hell, kid.  Usher?  You Got It Bad?  Who would've ever thought that one of Phil's performances would be the 1st of the year that I really want to download?!?  Remember when Kris Allen pulled out Kanye's Heartless?  Then he won the whole damn show?  Phil Phillips might've just won himself the whole damn show.  So sick!!

Hollie's Adele - When she said "Adele", all of America held their breath.  When she said "Rolling in the Deep", all of America rolled their eyes.  But Oh. My. God. Hollie KILLED it!  There are so FEW covers of Adele that I can even tolerate, and fewer that I actually like.  I'm so excited for Hollie's big night!

Skylar's Born This Way - I loved the country version, too, JLo!  Who knew!  I feel like I can actually watch Skylar growing and changing each week, and it's awesome that the judges consistently like her!

Jacob 2.0's Change Gonna Come - I won't lie.  When Ryan Seacrest told us Jacob would be back with "an emotional civil rights anthem" I instantly knew what he'd sing and I audibly sighed.  Just because he's African American, and sings gospel music, doesn't mean he can sing this song.  But damn it, I loved it.  I loved the groans, I loved the overdone runs.  How did HE not get teary at the end of THIS song?  Oh, he was focused on JLo's abs?  I'm pretty sure that's not the "emotional connection" the judges (or your grandma) were going for. 

Hollie's Dusty Springfield - It was a little rocky in parts and started out a little rough (I'm stingy with compliments here because it's one of my favorite songs), but she's on the verge of a breakthrough here.  You can't compare her to Jessica Sanchez anymore!  And, considering Jessica was in the bottom 3 last week and Hollie wasn't, that's a good thing!

Skylar's Heard It Through The Grapevine - Nobody can ever say this girl doesn't know what genre she belongs in.  She just made the Smokey Robinson & The Miracles country.  And it was awesome.  

Let's Get It On, Elise - So sexy.  And her scream in the middle ... did I hear a little Steven Tyler in there?  Wha, judges?  "show emotion in the middle of Marvin Gaye"  Like that scene in When Harry Meets Sally?  What do they want?  I wish she wouldn't have critiqued herself at the end, though.  That negates any votes the "my dog is dying" quip won her. 

Elise's No One - The cheesy dress, weird squat into the wind machine, and new tan made me think I was watching Mariah Carey.  No One has a special place in my heart because I watched my little sister soothe my favorite nephew as a newborn by singing it to him.  She did it better than Elise tonight, unfortunately.  Not my favorite performance, but I still love Elise.


Jessica Sanchez' Falling - Is she singing it horribly?  Of course not!  But it was typical.  She wasn't sitting on the piano, but it was still right there.  She does look so pretty though - THIS, AI stylists, is how you do up a 16 year old.  (The whole BS about "I thought you didn't like me and didn't want me to sing" should've put her at the bottom of this list.  And I think THAT is exactly why America doesn't like her - she's not believable!)

Jessica Sanchez' Tenderness - Ridiculous.  If the judges really wanted to help her, they'd tell her the truth: it was her worst performance.  Instead they pulled out all of this "connect with America" crap out.  All the emotion in the world wouldn't have made this good. 

Baby of the Week's Gaga - Sister was so diplomatic and sweet: complimenting him and supporting him.  Even though you could tell, deep inside, she's dying that he's this far and he did it by literally stealing her spot.  All Jimmy has to say about his butchering of Gaga is "he's got a female fan base".     

Jacob 2.0's Fantasia - Zzzzz.  I'd like to blog about it, but it put me to sleep.  (I do love his style.  Every single week he's rockin' a fantastic outfit!)  I'm over the tears at the end of every. single. song.  But the judges aren't, clearly, because they stood up.  Again.  Joshua could've stood there and sung Jingle Bells and they still would've bent over backwards digging him out of last week's bottom 3.


Dave Matthews Ditto's Midnight Hour - I think he was singing, but I was so uncomfortable with the weird shrugs, grimmaces, and side-eye, that I literally had to turn away.  "Brilliantly awkward" is so, so true, Steven.  Twitchy!  Please, Phil, put the guitar back on.  I promise I won't make fun of it anymore now that I know what the alternative is.

Baby of the Week's September - Worst performance of the night.  If anybody else sang this (read: a guy who isn't milking the tween girl and Christian votes) they'd be out the door.  Absolutely giddy watching the judges criticize him.  For once.

Bottom 3:  Elise, Hollie, Joshua

Going home:  I'm afraid it'll be Elise.  
 
P.S.  Randy - the talent on this show is NOT better than the talent on "any show on TV right now"  Not even close.