THR Idol Hangover - Didi, Siobhan Magnus, Lee DeWyze

The Hollywood Reporter's Idol Hangover Episode 5 with
Didi Benami, Siobhan Magnus, Lee DeWyze:

Season 11 Top 9 Elimination Reactions

Hollie Cavanagh. Bottom Three. Surprise.
Phillip Phillips. Safe.
Elise Testone. Safe.

I suspected that DialIdol was way off this week, and Hollie in the Bottom Three confirms it. Of course, the geek will say all contestants were yellow, meaning nobody beat the margin of error, and that's true, but it's usually better than that even when all yellow.

Nicki Minaj performs.

Colton Dixon. Safe.
Joshua Ledet. Safe.
Heejun Han. Bottom Three.

Scotty McCreery performs.

Jessica Sanchez. Safe. Now I know.
Deandre Brackensick. Safe. Lucky.
Skylar Laine. Bottom Three. Suprising.

I now believe that DialIdol simply switched the tags of Hollie and Jessica. They had Hollie #1 and Jessica #8, but it was reversed.

Skylar. Safe. Good.

Hollie. Safe. Good.

Heejun out.

Judges' Save: No. That's fine.

Heejun, the first East Asian guy to make the Top 10. His comedy was well appreciated by many. And he sings really good for a Korean.

Season 11 Top 9 Performance Reactions

1. Jessica Sanchez
2. Deandre Brackensick
3. Phillip Phillips
4. Hollie Cavanagh
5. Skylar Laine
6. Joshua Ledet
7. Colton Dixon
8. Heejun Han
9. Elise Testone

Details:

Colton Dixon. So-so song. I guess Tebow would like it.

Skylar Laine. I like Skylar like this. Not going big, staying in her element.

Trio - Colton, Elise, Phillip: Time filler.

Heejun Han. Not bad at all.

Hollie Cavanagh. Camera work was awful, distracting. But she sang pretty well.

Deandre Brackensick. I wish he was a couple of years older, but his upside is crazy. Amazing instrument.

Jessica Sanchez. That was so exotic. OMG.

Trio - Dandre, Heejun, Joshua. Time filler.

Phillip Phillips. He's great, but same-o great. Nothing wrong with that.

Joshua Ledet. Horrible song choice.

Trio - Hollie, Skylar, Jessica. Time Filler.

Elise Testone. Worst version ever. Where's Adam?

In Defense of Heejun Han

In defense of Heejun Han, let's not forget that it was Idol who gave him all that air time which introduced us to his deadpan comedy in the first place. He didn't twist their arms, they were the ones who unleashed him upon the world. They cannot now be angry that he's still the way he is, when he's been that way all along.

We all know he's not going to be a recording artist anyway, so why not let him use Idol to showcase his comedic talents for possible future roles in sitcoms and such. The music industry is not in great shape anyway, so what's the point in taking it so seriously.

Update: I am now of the opinion that Heejun was Not really in the Bottom Three. Idol just put him there to make him think America did not appreciate his antics, when in fact much of America did. I believe that Elise was in the bottom as usual, and Heejun actually got a lot of votes.

Season 11 Top 10 Elimination Reactions

Group Song.

Hollie Cavanagh. Safe. Lucky.
Skylar Laine. Safe. Fan base.
Elise Testone. Safe. Surprise.

Lana Del Rey performs. Jimmy Iovine's pet.

Joe Perry Happy Birthday to Steven.

Jessica Sanchez. Safe. Duh.
Joshua Ledet. Safe. Fan base.
DeAndre Brackensick. Bottom Three. Trouble.

Haley Reinhart performs.

Colton Dixon. Safe. Duh.
Erika Van Pelt. Bottom Three. Undeserved.
Phillip Phillips. Safe.
Heejun Han. Bottom Three.

DeAndre safe. Lucky.

Heejun safe.

Erika Van Pelt out. Another girl bites the dust.

Judges' Save: No.

I was impressed how Erika started off as a chest-belting monster, but out of nowhere a real singer emerged with deep rich tone. But she never developed a fan base.

Season 11 Top 10 Performance Reactions

1. Jessica Sanchez
2. Colton Dixon
3. Erika Van Pelt
4. DeAndre Brackensick
5. Elise Testone
6. Heejun Han
7. Hollie Cavanagh
8. Phillip Phillips
9. Joshua Ledet
10. Skylar Laine

Details:

DeAndre Brackensick. Fine. What else can you do with Billy Joel?

Erika Van Pelt. Not bad. I liked the restraint because she can easily overpower the song.

Joshua Ledet. As I feared, he can only sing loud. Mega church man.

Skylar Laine. Not a good song for her voice at all. I was hoping for some country charm, but I think she's trying to compete with the other litte girls and their big voices.

Elise Testone. Good song for her. Her roughing it up is distracting. I wonder if she can not do that all the time.

Phillip Phillips. Drabber than gray. Experiment gone wrong.

Hollie Cavanagh. I hope her outfit wasn't making her miss all those notes.

Heejun Han. Greatest on-stage joke in Idol history. I see where that statement could be misinterpreted.

Jessica Sanchez. Superior. How can she be only 16? Started really young.

Colton Dixon. A little too squeaky. Very bold, not bad.

Season 11 Top 11 Elimination Reactions

Tommy Hilfiger coming soon.

Joshua Ledet. Safe. Duh.
Phillip Phillips. Safe. Duh.
Skylar Laine. Safe.
Elise Testone. Bottom Three. Again.

Demi Lovato performs.

Colton Dixon. Safe. Duh.
Jessica Sanchez. Safe.
Deandre Brackensick. Safe. Lucky.
Shannon Magrane. Bottom Three.

Daughtry performs.

Hollie Cavanagh. Safe. Duh.
Heejun Han. Safe.
Erika Van Pelt. Bottom Three.

All girls in the bottom three.

Elise safe.

Erika safe.

Shannon out. I predicted weeks ago that Shannon would make it. Wrong.

Judges' Save: No.

Heejun becomes the first Asian guy to ever make the tour (as far as I know). Jennifer is the fourth Filipina to make the tour. The only Asian girls to make it have been Filipina.

Update: Regarding Heejun being the first Asian guy to make the tour, technically Anoop Desai (an Indian) is also considered to be Asian. The term Oriental would be better, except that for some reason it is considered to be deragatory. Perhaps East Asian is what is now used.

Season 11 Top 12 Performance Reactions

1. Phillip Phillips
2. Jessica Sanchez
3. Joshua Ledet
4. Colton Dixon
5. DeAndre Brackensick
6. Hollie Cavanagh
7. Erika Van Pelt
8. Skylar Laine
9. Heejun Han
10. Shannon Magrane
11. Elise Testone

Details:

Pillip Phillips, 1990. Kidney stones don't matter 'cause he's good no matter what.

Jessica Sanchez, 1995. She sounded like a big girl singing a little song. But the problem, really, was 1995.

Heejun Han, 1989. A little sloppy. Key change ill-advised. Holding the mic funny.

Elise Testone, 1983. Kind of brutal. I'll take Obama.

Deandre Brackensick, 1994. Glad they kicked out his original choice, which was on William Hung's debut album. But "Endless Love" is difficult to sing as a solo. Mixed up some words. But the dude's got a voice.

They should change it to the year you were born, or 10 years prior, or 10 years after, to expand the song choices.

Shannon Magrane, 1995. Needs Jessica.

Why are the judges still unaware of how limited the song choices really are? Especially Randy Jackson. What's up with him?

Colton Dixon, 1991. I keep thinking he's such a lightweight, but he keeps delivering.

Erika Van Pelt, 1985. Nice job, but not enough song going on.

Jermaine Jones, 1986. Disqualified for outstanding warrants. But he had a pretty good song going on.

Skylar Laine, 1994. Not bad, but she doesn't have the voice for big notes. She yells.

Joshua Ledet, 1992. I like his talent, but I don't like his style. I was thinking he might change it up and go smooth, but I don't think he's capable.

Hollie Cavanagh, 1994. It's all about little girl doing big long tones. She needs to find a way to make it more than that.

YouTube Idol Meter

American Idol now has its own YouTube channel, and the Views could actually be yet another Idol Meter:

http://www.youtube.com/user/americanidol

1. Jessica Sanchez - 293,941
2. Hollie Cavanagh - 23,978
3. Skylar Laine - 18,781
4. Heejun Han - 17,516
5. DeAndre Brackensick - 16,948
6. Phillip Phillips - 16,294
7. Colton Dixon - 10,129
8. Shannon Magrane - 9,465
9. Erika Van Pelt - 9,367
10. Joshua Ledet - 8,959
11. Elise Testone - 7,828
12. Jermaine Jones - 6,794
13. Jeremy Rosado - 3,444

Season 11 Top 13 Elimination Reactions

"For one night only, the judges decide." Bottom guy vs Bottom girl.

Group song "Always." Very nice.

Jessica Sanchez. Safe. Duh.
Hollie Cavanagh. Safe. Duh.
Elise Testone. Bottom three girls.

Colton Dixon. Safe.
Heejun Han. Safe.
Jermaine Jones. Bottom three guys.

Lauren Alaina performs.

Erika Van Pelt. Bottom three girls.
Shannon Magrane. Bottom three girls.
Skylar Laine. Safe.

Phillip Phillips. Safe. Duh.
Jeremy Rosado. Bottom three guys.
Deandre Brackensick. Safe.
Joshua Ledet. Bottom three guys.

The judges picked Erika, Jeremy and Deandre last week. Only Deandre is safe this week, sending powerhouse Joshua Ledet to the bottom three.

Mary J. Blige performs.

Jermaine, Jeremy, Shannon, Elise up. Meaning Erika and Joshua are safe.

Jermaine Jones. Safe.
Shannon Magrane. Safe.

Elise Testone. Safe.
Jeremy Rosado. Eliminated.

Season 11 Top 13 Performance Reactions

1. Jessica Sanchez
2. Phillip Phillips
3. DeAndre Brackensick
4. Colton Dixon
5. Hollie Cavanagh
6. Joshua Ledet
7. Erika Van Pelt
8. Elise Testone
9. Heejun Han
10. Shannon Magrane
11. Skylar Laine
12. Jermaine Jones
13. Jeremy Rosado

Details:

Joshua Ledet. How could he have trouble with Stevie Wonder? He didn't.

Elise Testone. Did a suprisingly good job after all the confusion.

Jermaine Jones. Who's going to knock him off his feet? Not bad for a giant. But it's hard to generate excitement with a voice that ponderous.

Erika Van Pelt. Well, her voice finally got out from her chest. And she sounded really good.

Colton Dixon. I can't believe he did that with his thin young rocker voice. But it really worked.

Shannon Magrane. That's way too much heavy lifting for one so young and lightweight. But a good try.

DeAndre Brackensick. Definitely the most Stevie-like. Moves really well too.

Skylar Laine. She needed Dolly as a mentor for the right way for a country girl to sing Whitney.

Heejun Han. That song requires tension on the long notes, which he cannot provide. So it was nice enough.

Hollie Cavanagh. Nice belting, but quite not enough sparkle.

Jeremy Rosado. Going for power was a big mistake. And he started way too high for him. Not good.

Jessica Sanchez. Finally, a girl who can actually sing Whitney.

Phillip Phillips. He's really smart. He knows that song is half instrumental, so he brought all kinds of musicians on stage with him, and you could actually hear them.

I'm surprised to not hear "Saving All My Love for You." Shannon should have chosen it.

"Reflection" Festival

Festival of "Reflection" from "Mulan:"

• Idol Hollie Cavanagh (age 18).
• Christina Aguilera at age 18 on the Mulan music video.
• Christina Aguilera at age 20 live. She goofs the lyrics at 1:42.
• Filipina Lea Salonga as the voice on a short animated version.
• Skater Michelle Kwan at age 18 skating to the Lea Salonga version.

Season 11 Your Top 13 Reactions

Jeremy Rosado out. He was borderline.
Chase Likens out. Easy out.
Phillip Phillips IN. Easy in.

Brielle Von Hugel out. Yay.
Hallie Day out. Was borderline.
Hollie Cavanagh IN. Tiny blonde in.
Jessica Sanchez IN. Tiny asian in.

Joshua Ledet IN. Easy choice.
Heejun Han IN. Iovine needs to lighten up.
Adam Brock out. Yay.

Shannon Magrane IN. Tall girl in.
Skylar Laine IN. Not in for her voice.
Baylie Brown out. Oh well.
Chelsea Sorrell out. Was borderline.

Aaron Marcellus out. Easy out.
Creighton Fraker out. Good.
Reed Grimm out. Good.

Haley Johnsen out.
Erika Van Pelt out.
Elise Testone IN. Probably due to Iovine.
Jen Hirsh out. For now.

Deandre Brackensick out. Sad.
Colton Dixon IN. Okay.
Eben Franckewitz out. Too young.
Jermaine Jones IN. Fan fave.

Wildcard contestants sing:

Jen Hirsh. Much better than her Adele.
Jeremy Rosado. Nice job. Very nice.
Brielle Von Hugel? Terrible choice. Terrible Adele.
Deandre Brackensick. Disjointed. He's too young for his talent.
Erika Van Pelt. Voice still stuck in her chest.
Reed Grimm. Oh no. Maybe good for the tour.

Judges choices:

Randy: Erika Van Pelt?
Jennifer: Jeremy Rosado. Of course.
Steve: Deandre Brackensick. Good.

It's shocking that Jen Hirsh is not in there.

Even more shocking that Johnny Keyser was not given a chance.

Season 11 Girls Top 12 Reactions

1. Jessica Sanchez
2. Jen Hirsh
3. Hollie Cavanagh
4. Shannon Magrane
5. Hallie Day
6. Chelsea Sorrell
7. Baylie Brown
8. Haley Johnsen
9. Elise Testone
10. Erika Van Pelt
11. Skylar Laine
12. Brielle Von Hugel

Details:

Chelsea Sorrell. Solid, good voice. A bit pinched on the high end. I wonder if she can hit high notes.

Erika Van Pelt. Same problem I've heard before, that her voice is kind of stuck in her chest somewhere.

Jen Hirsh. A bit disappointing as I know she's skilled. Finesse girls should skip Adele. But she gets points for doing stuff.

Brielle Von Hugel. And they couldn't find a black girl instead of this? Really?

Hallie Day. Surprisingly sultry tone, but couldn't quite take it to another level. Maybe she should try Blondie. Or be an actress like Kathleen Turner.

Skylar Laine. Just doesn't have much of a voice. Too small and shallow.

Baylie Brown. Oh my. Beauty Pageant version. Disappointing. I'm voting for her anyway. So there.

Hollie Cavanagh. Not everything is big in Texas. Hollie is a tiny blonde. Trouble in the lower notes, but then did some really good belting for a little girl. Vote for the Liverpool accent as well.

Haley Johnsen. Is a better gymnast than a singer. Belongs in a Viking movie.

Shannon Magrane. Well, she's tall. She puts a lot into her singing. She's pretty good.

Jessica Sanchez. Little Filipina-Hispanic girl singing like a black girl. What's going on? But what is that song for a 16-year-old? I don't know. I prefer the sweet innocence of Filipina Thia Megia.

Elise Testone. I've just never liked her voice. I still don't.

Season 11 Guys Top 13 Reactions

1. Phillip Phillips
2. Deandre Brackensick
3. Heejun Han
4. Joshua Ledet
5. Jeremy Rosado
6. Colton Dixon
7. Reed Grimm
8. Aaron Marcellus
9. Chase Likens
10. Creighton Fraker
11. Eben Franckewitz
12. Jermaine Jones
13. Adam Brock

Details:

Reed Grimm, Cheesehead. Nice jazzy interpretation, poor execution.

Adam Brock, Master of None. Didn't Think about his song choice. Awful.

Deandre Brackensick. What were his Reasons to choose that song. He has a great falsetto with great range, but Phillip Bailey was a bit out of his league. Still, a good try.

Colton Dixon. Not bad, but underpowered for that kind of song.

Jeremy Rosadao. Nothing to sneeze at. Very nice, but needs a little more power.

Aaron Marcellus' set was so dark, I could hardly see him. I'm also in the dark as to why Jennifer championed him.

Chase Likens didn't give me a reason to like him. A storm with no thunder.

Creighton Fraker has an annoying voice, speaking and singing. The judges must be deaf to have included him. He is skilled, no doubt, but what does it matter if there's not a voice to go with it.

Phillip Phillips can really deliver on his interpretations. Definitely a Pawn Star.

Eben Franckewitz is too young and weak to be singing Adele. And he's the fourth guy to sing a girl song.

Heejun Han shouldn't be able to sing like that, but somehow he does. He is Korean, by the way. Pool Boy Paul Kim from Season 6 was also Korean.

Joshua Ledet can raise the roof, no doubt, but if you don't like that style and the harsh quality of his voice, it's hard to judge.

Talk about a huge mistake AGAIN. Johnny Keyser has enough talent to win Idol. I wonder what he did to tick them off.

Jermaine Jones was not worth bringing back.

Season 11 Cuts To 24 Part 2 Reactions

Adam Brock gets through. Yuck.

Jeremy Rosado, a smooth-singing Teddy bear.

Shannon Magrane doesn't look 16 because she's so tall. But if she has the competitive drive of her pro ball player father, that will help her.

Scott Dangerfield is like, what up wid dat? And out he go.

Skylar Laine is too country and too strained in her singing. Even when she talks.

Deandre Brackensick must have the best falsetto of any guy ever on Idol. We've heard a lot of lame ones, like Jacob Lusk and Michael Lynche.

Jermaine Jones should go team up with Richie Law as a singing comedy duo. At least Jermaine has the record as the tallest contestant ever.

Hollie Cavanagh has a vowel missing to her last name. She's cute, competent, but in the end kind of vanilla.

David Leathers and Eben Franckewitz should both have been thrown out. They both look and sound too young. Like Baby Idol.

I guess Idol realized that they could not risk letting Johnny Keyser head over to X Factor. No reason to give Simon Cowell such a gift.

Season 11 Cuts To 24 Part 1 Reactions

Jen Hirsh is like a large Haley Reinhart with a little Siobhan Magnus mixed in. Certainly deserves to have a chance with the voters.

Creighton Fraker I've said all along is too thin in every way. I'm not sure why the judges like him. He is skilled, no doubt, but it's not appealing.

Lauren Gray reminds me of Allison Iraheta and Adele. Pretty ridiculous to not include her.

Joshua Ledet has plenty of voice, but I find it a bit harsh.

Haley Johnsen I didn't get much of a read on, which probably means she's not very distinctive, except that she looks a bit like a Viking girl.

Neco Starr is like a Bruno Mars Jackson. Bad decision to cut him.

Elise Testone's voice is powerful, but kind of deep and manly. And she sang "It's a Man's Man's World."

Reed Grimm is skilled, but annoying. Comparing him to Casey Abrams is not exactly good. Casey would have finished 11th if not for the judges' save.

Erika Van Pelt is another girl with a big deep voice, totally unneccessary with Elise there already.

Chelsea Sorrell is more like it. Pretty girl, pretty voice.

And Bailey Brown too? Oh my, gotta save for Tour tickets.

Richie Law served his purpose, but was totally expendable. Thanks for the laughs. He would make for a great used car salesman.

Heejun "Deadpan" Han is such a puzzle. How does he sing like that given who he is. Actually he explained it: He's channeling somebody. I wonder who. I don't think he'll cause "Hansanity," but I hope he goes far.

Jessica Sanchez (half-Filipina) seems a bit too Vegas-ready, overtrained. Seems much older than 16.

Phillip Phillips doesn't have Johnny Keyser to worry about anymore. Very unfair. Phillip is like a reincarnation of Joe Cocker, even though Cocker is still here. I guess I should have said clone.

Colton Dixon must have improved a lot from last year, because he was an easy choice to get through. Can he challenge Phillip?

Brielle Von Hugel doesn't appear to have any redeeming qualities. How did she get through?

Adam Brock's gravel pit of a voice annoys me. His missing his kids while pursuing his dream also annoys me. Leaving it for tomorrow was really stupid. Who cares?

Season 11 Hollywood Week Part 4 Reactions

From Las Vegas.

More groups? Who cares about harmonies?

Send the kids through, fine with me. And the eccentric girl (Angie) barely makes it through, but how long can she last?

The problem with groups is you can't really tell how they really sing when they're singing short fast parts. But the Reed Grimm group had longer solos, which is the right way to do it.

Richie Law and Jermaine Jones formed an odd outcast duo. Ebony and Ivory on the left side of the piano. And both got through.

Bailey Brown from Season 6 has gotten farther than last time, but is she strong enough to make it to the voting?

Filipina Ashley Robles was cut, but half-Filipina Jessica Sanchez got through.

The four guys in black were kind of indistinguishable from each other. Great for a group, but terrible if you're trying to form an identity with the audience.

I have this recurring image of Shannon Magrane on the Idol summer tour already. I don't think she's so great, but I think she'll get votes.

The girl group in purple I thought all would be cut, but two made it through. Yet I liked the one who was cut better than the two who made it.

Lauren Gray showed she can actually sing tender, kind of. I would have cut both her two friends.

Phillip Phillips still growled on a smooth song, but at least he dialed it back. Heejun Han, however awkward he is, is the best Asian guy ever on the show.

The Jen Hirsh crew did it wrong, too much harmony, short solos.

Angie gone already (see above).

Favorite Jonny Keyser gone already. Huge mistake. Head over to X Factor.

Season 11 Hollywood Week Part 3 Reactions

So many contestants said Group Day sucks, and they're right. It sucks. It's cheap, lame and worst of all, it accomplishes nothing. It seems Idol spent a lot of money on emergency services that would have been better spent on helping to create and manage the groups. If Idol cannot take the groups seriously, how can we? We saw, like last year, parent-managed groups doing better.

Cop Girl is gone, Barf Boy is gone, Tent Girl is gone, Stage-fall Girl is gone, Expectant-father is gone.

And you could see the extreme difference once they moved on from Group Day after the first hour how senseless Group Day is.

MIT "Most Irrational Team" did everything they could to shoot themselves in the head, yet they all made it through, and rightfully so. I guess Heejun Han, when he was apologizing, did not notice Richie Law extending his hand, or maybe Heejun kept his hands firmly behind his back on purpose to signify a b.s. apology.

Favorite Johnny Keyser put himself at serious risk with his loser group, but made it through, alone.

*---

Solo Day:

Joshua Ledet was great but could use a little better upper register.

Colton Dixon is compelling but underpowered.

Phillip Phillips "kidney stones" singing in pain again. He's got to show some other style.

Jen Hirsh has a lot going for her, but is also underpowered.

Creighton Fraker is too thin in every way. Highly skilled, but send him home.

Shannon Magrane tries really hard for a tall skinny white girl, so send her through to the summer tour.

Grimm Reed got to breathe some rare cleansed Hollywood air, but it didn't clear his head. Hiding behind the drums was the solution? Moron. But he did surprisingly well.

Skylar Laine is too country. So is Rachelle Lamb. But I'll take Rachelle because country needs life experience.

Adam Brock has too much gravel. Makes me want to dump him.

*---

Elimination:

Room 1 - Saved. Lauren Gray, Adam Brock, Joshua Ledet.
Room 2 - Saved. Phillip Phillips.
Room 3 - Knew they were in the wrong room.
Room 4 - Saved. Heejun Han, Bailey Brown.

Jennifer Hudson Sings Tribute To Whitney Houston Alone

Chaka Kahn reportedly pulled out of a Whitney Houston tribute just an hour before the Grammys, leaving Jennifer Hudson to go it alone. Hudson performed an emotional, heartfelt, soulful rendition of "I Will Always Love You." According to reports, Hudson had trouble getting through it during rehearsals, frequently breaking down. Hudson did well to get through it on a live broadcast.

Whitney Houston's movie "Sparkle" with Jordin Sparks is set to be released in August.

Finally, The Full Pia Toscano Video

Last year, RingFever.com put out a video of Pia Toscano performing at a gala in October, 2011, but it was only very short clips. Now, they have finally put out the full 21-minute video: