American Idol has returned for the 11th season and the top 10 are belting their way to the finale.
This year’s season has to have the most diverse talent and voices so far to grace the idol stage, and teen contestants are abundant in the top 10.
Skylar Lane, and 18 year old country rocker from Missouri has advanced to the top 10. Her live performances have included Faces’ “Stay With Me,” Whitney Houston’s “Where Do Broken Hearts Go,” and “Love Sneakin’ Up on You,” by Bonnie Raitt. With this girls rock attitude and country twang it’s a hit and not miss when the judges have compared her to Reba.
DeAndre Brackensick, who is 17 and from California is no newcomer to American Idol. This year though he has made it to the top 11. His ability to have a high falsetto yet change into a smooth deep voice is unique in this competition.
Another 16 year old, Jessica Sanchez, has possibly the biggest voice there. Her ability to sing a ballad is unparallel in this competition. Yet she strayed from her powerful ballads and performed Gloria Estefan’s “Turn the Beat Around” for her performance of a song from her birth year. This performance, although more exciting and upbeat than her other performances, fell flat.
Hollie Cavanagh, 18, joins the teenage mix and has so far has blown the competition away. The only thing that can sum up her talent is something that judge Steven Tyler said, “You’ve been nailing it every time. That is why you’re here tonight.”
The last teenager, preacher’s son Joshua Ledet, has a voice so big and soulful that it is hard to imagine that he is just 19. His performance this week was the best of the night.
Resident indie rocker Colton Dixon has returned from the previous season and finally made his way to the live shows after not making the top 24 last year. His performances are consistent and different from anything recently heard on the idol stage.
Another promising contestant is Heejun Han. When I first saw Heejun I don’t know what I expected him to sound like but it definitely was far from what he actually sounds like. Although recently not making the best sonh choices, you can’t deny that he has a smooth captivating voice.
All previous contestants have been in no trouble at all easily gaining votes, but two contestants so far have found themselves close to being booted off the Idol stage.
Elise Testone, recently in the bottom three, has an amazing voice but since on the live shows has had a hard time gaining votes. Elise was was also in the bottom the week prior and struggled to impress the judges. This week though, she blew the judges away, just not America.
The same can be said for Erika Van Pelt who landed herself a spot in the bottom three this week. Her new take on Bryan Adams’ “Heaven” left the judges and America unimpressed by the new arrangement of such a classic song.
My person to watch and to win has to be Philip Philips. The 21 year old from Georgia consistently performs great each night and he has a style that no one on Idol can match. The best part about his performances though are that they are new, he remakes the original into his own.
Those that made it to the top 13 but didn’t get make it to the top ten include the eliminated Jeremy Rosado and Shannon Magrane and the disqualified Jermaine Jones.
American Idol is on Fox every Wednesday and Thursday at 8 P.M.
