American Idol Recap: The Week They Played the Save

Last week on American Idol our remaining contests sang songs from this decade. Surprisingly, we didn't hear any Adele! Disappointed? Turn on your radio! There she is! Akon showed up to mentor, and Tommy Hilfiger attempted to give fashion advice again.

The Gals

Skylar and Jessica both took risks last week, performing songs that weren't exactly mainstream and also challenging. 

Skylar performed a Kellie Pickler song. If we didn't know the tune, we would've thought it was a Skylar original! While she picked country, it didn't bother us this week. She sounded phenomenal, played the guitar well, and really packed some emotion into her performance. Skylar is definitely the show's dark horse. If Colton and Phillip weren't thundering down the race track of every teenage girl's lusty heart, I'd say she was the top pony.

Jessica's performance of "Stuttering" was incredible. We'd never heard the song, but the judges knew it and praised Jessica for her ability to tackle a difficult song with such control, poise, and technique. It, too, sounded like an original recording. 

Elise took on Lady Gaga. She put her own style on "You and I" instead of trying to imitate the great Gaga, which was probably smart. However, she didn't do the song any justice. In fact, it was kind of bad. As Simon would've once said: "very karaoke." Haley Reinhart sang the stuff out of this song last season before it was even a Lady Gaga radio hit.

Poor, sweet Hollie. She dressed up like a pink feather duster and decided to do a sweet and slow version of Pink's "Perfect." Although her performance was better than the previous week, it wasn't at the caliber of Skylar and Jessica. Not even by a long shot. Also, her song choice spoke volumes about her insecurities. Her absolute lack of stage presence didn't help, either. 

The judges only made things worse. "You look really pretty tonight" was all J. Lo said, and Steven Tyler said "not your best, but you look great." The audience didn't boo in response to their critiques. Just silence. Awkward, much? Must have been because Randy made a comment, making things more awkward..

The Guys
Joshua Ledet was a true entertainer this week. He went all Bruno Mars, even with his dancing and getup. He blew everyone away and got a standing ovation. 

Then there was Colton and Phillip. Shall we compare? Jimmy Iovine likes to, so why not us? Colton says he wants to win and "doesn't want to be compared to anyone...especially Phillip." Ooo, we got a rivalry a-brewing. How does Phillip respond? "Oh I don't care about being compared. Colton is a cool guy." Way to put the kibosh on the rivalry before it even took flight, Phillip. Aren't you just too cool for school. Do you even really want to win this? Or were you just looking for some exposure so you could buy some more gray thermal shirts?

In our eyes, Colton is better than Phillip. There really isn't any comparing, though. Two totally different sounds, styles, and skill sets. Colton is improving, showing us something different every week. We've seen his rocking moments, tender moments behind the piano, leader-of-the-band attempts, and he's done well at all of them. 

As for Phillip, he's fading into the shadows of the stage. He's not an entertainer. He's a Dave Matthews-wannabe. We already have a Dave Matthews and he's way better. Stop holding your guitar like him, growling like him, and awkwardly dancing like him. 

Phillip may think he's getting far in this competition because of his talent and his "I'm all about the music, man" attitude, but really it is his easy smile and blue eyes. Young girls are voting for you because you're purtty, Phillip. Maybe we're being harsh, but Phil didn't know the Gotye song and that warrants us to make a lot of judgmental comments about appearance. Hot Girl Problems, Phil. Hot. Girl. Problems.

Egad! The Save!
Performance night had a couple stand outs and one flop (Hollie). For some reason, though, the bottom three were Joshua Ledet, Elise Testone, and Jessica Sanchez. Elisa, we can understand, but Jessica and Joshua?! Really, America? Maybe it's Vote for the Worst or the fan bases in the south or that folks just thought that she would be safe, but the lights of doom fell on Jessica Sanchez.

She began to sing for her life on the verge of tears. Not too far in, though, the judges flooded the stage, grabbed her mic, and told her she was safe. For once we agreed completely with the judges and Jimmy Iovine in using the save. Jessica deserves to be in this competition. And golf clap for Randy Jackson who scolded America, saying "This is one of the best singers ever! [Exaggerate much, Randy?] This is a singing competition! You got to vote for the best!" 

The show ended in chaos so we have no idea if two contestants will go home tomorrow night. Either way, it's time to get ready for "Songs from Now and Then"? Huh? Here's hoping they mean songs from the film Now and Then and not just a combination of "Songs from the Year You Were Born" and "Songs from this Decade." Get more creative, Idol.