Colton Dixon, the 20-year-old indie rocker from Tennessee, was eliminated from “American Idol” on Thursday night, leaving only six contestants remaining on Fox’s singing competition.
Mr. Dixon’s exit came after his mediocre performance on Wednesday of Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” and Earth Wind and Fire’s “September.” The judges took him to task, saying his renditions seemed to lack authenticity.
“I need to apologize,” Mr. Dixon said after the results were announced. “I wasn’t myself last night.”
Then he promised to remember the judges’ advice “when I make a record.”
A week ago, the judges chastised viewers for voting to oust one of the best technical singers on the show, Jessica Sanchez. Then they used their ability under the contest rules that allow them to save one performer each year to keep Ms. Sanchez on the show.
This week Ms. Sanchez, 16, of San Diego, avoided ending up in the bottom three, after doing passionate performances of “Fallin’” by Alicia Keys and “Try a Little Tenderness” by Otis Redding. (Each contestant was asked to choose a contemporary song and an old hit.) As usual, her vocal technique was flawless, though the judges said she was still having trouble making an emotional connection with the audience.
Jimmy Iovine, a record label executive and producer who mentors the singers on the show, said in a taped segment that he believed Ms. Sanchez needed to choose less mature themes. “This girl is singing songs that are too old for her,” he said.
Joshua Ledet, the 20-year-old gospel singer from Westlake, La., does not have that problem. He once again stood out from the crowd, receiving standing ovations from the judges after he sang Fantasia’s “I Believe” and Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come.” Randy Jackson told Mr. Ledet that he was “one of the most gifted singers I think we’ve ever met on this show.”
The viewers at home agreed, and he sailed through to the next phase. Each week the contestants sing on Wednesday, then viewers vote online or by telephone for their favorites. The results are announced during Thursday night’s show. It is an inexact survey, since a single viewer can vote many times. More than 53 million votes were cast Wednesday.
Two others who had no trouble making it through to the next round were Skylar Laine, an 18-year-old country rocker from Mississippi, and Phillip Phillips, a 21-year-old from Georgia. Ms. Laine, who has an infectious energy on stage, gave Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” and Marvin Gaye’s “Heard It Through the Grapevine” a country twist. Mr. Phillips reinvented Usher’s “U Got It Bad” and Wilson Pickett’s “In the Midnight Hour,” doing each in his distinctive raspy growl.
The other two singers still in the running are Elise Testone, 28, a vocal coach from Charleston, S.C., and Hollie Cavanagh, 18, of McKinney, Tex. Both ended up in the bottom three in the ranking on Thursday, but received more votes than Mr. Dixon.
Ms. Testone, the oldest contestant, has found herself near the bottom of the weekly ranking several times. She has been most impressive when she does hard rock tunes. Her versions of “No One,” by Alicia Keys, and “Let’s Get It On,” by Marvin Gaye, both missed the mark this week, the judges said.
Ms. Cavanagh has also delivered several lukewarm performances lately in which she seemed to have trouble convincing the judges that she felt what she was singing. She redeemed herself this week, however, with emotional performances of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” and Dusty Springfield’s “Son of a Preacher Man.”
No comments:
Post a Comment