Haven't seen the duets, only the solo performances...
I thought Joshua was easily the standout of the night. He's had a fairly off-form past couple of weeks, and I thought the producers may be encouraging him to croon more in his lower range while stood there in sparkling Las Vegas jackets (the advice possibly being to tone down the gospel tones and appeal to a wider audience). He had started to sound almost defeated. This week he was able to let go a lot more, so seemed to have his exuberant vocal confidence back. The end third of the song in particular was vocally as good (i.e. astonishing) as anything I have ever heard on Idol, and that includes the best Adam Lambert ever came up with.
Jessica. Another solid performance. Sang a bold Whitney version but at 16 her voice is and cannot be anywhere near as elastic as Whitney's was on this record, so some parts did sound a little strained/dry, even if she still hit the notes. She was wearing what looked like a yellow day-glo top underneath her jacket, as if fresh from working on a construction project that same day, but still managed to look good. I get the impression this girl could stand there in a bin bag and a yellow plastic hair band and still look like a pop star. Everything is there to make her into a recording artist - the look, the voice, even the name sounds right, my only reservation, and this is something I would say far more of the UK than America, is will the US public vote someone of her racial appearance their Idol winner and later buy their records in large enough numbers? Easily the best of the girls, she ought to be one of the main contenders.
Colton. I prefer it when he sings like this, mainly in his lower register, more breathily. Not only is his voice less strained and better for it, but the vulnerability and fragility of that voice then suits his fragile, chiselled face and reedy frame - the voice matches the persona/image. He isn't cut out to be a rocker IMO, either physically or vocally. His appeal is mainly going to be to adoring females, so singing breathily on slower/lower numbers, with lingering, emotive stares at the camera, will be playing to his strengths. Any true rock fan will see this profound Christian who takes the devotion each morning as something of a skinny, unmanly, underpowered imposter.
Skylar. It's a cracking song, and she did okay in this hybrid version which began as a C&W vocal but ended as a power pop ballad. Before this I'd come to the general conclusion that while she is a good and reliable performer, a real trooper, an entertainer, and quite versatile, that this was only to the level of being a good corporate singer. It seemed that way through the first 2/3rds of this song too, and I felt short-changed in the middle when I expected her to go up a notch, but she did this at the end and sang very well, showing Hollie and Elise how you join all the dots inside a complete performance, with great control throughout her range, start-to-finish.
Phillip. A good enough workout, with the novelty of his brother being on stage with him, but the song is pants, and isn't this the second time he's done a Phil Collins number? Not a lot to say really, I feel indifferent to it.
Hollie. Old-fashioned amateur karaoke. Snarly, mumbled tone at the start, and pitchy in places too. All this girl lives for is to impress people by hitting the big notes, the rest doesn't seem to matter to her so is raced through as if she's desperate to get it out the way. The only thing they've got right this past 2 weeks is her makeover, which has made her seem younger and less, minus only the shawl, like grannie out of the Beverley Hillbillies. I would expect to see her in the bottom 3 again after this performance.
Elise. Not her best week, possibly her worst in fact, and again, IMO this is because she is oversinging, trying to play the rock chic when she doesn't have the voice for it. Her voice is all about exquisite control in her lower range; those perfect little runs, tonal changes, and great cascading finishes, but this control goes out the window when she sings hard. She needs to sing a softer ballad or do something jazzy, to slow it down and to reduce the power required. This girl needs to take a moment to have a 'moment'. She's compared to Haley but Haley didn't really emerge until Benny & The Jets, a rock song, but one with a slugging beat which allowed her something to vocally bounce off and rasp and growl. With a voice like Elise's everything becomes busy-busy if it's up tempo and overcooked if it's a power song, so genre and song choice is critical.
Deandre. This was a stronger performance from him. Of all the contestants he is the one who catches the groove the best, the one who is best at anything up tempo or dance. When he sang the funky mid section in his lower range he was bang on the money, but lost the momentum, the edge, as soon as he switched back to falsetto. He needs to do more Stevie Wonder/reggae/funky stuff to stay in the competition. The other stuff is good, I personally like it, but it's maybe a little too 'late night smooth radio' for winning Idol.
Bottom 3 prediction: Hollie and Elise, but the third person is harder to call. Deandre escaped last week but will this week be regarded as a holding of strength or seen as a downturn? I think if it ain't him Colton may be the surprise third member. Result: bye bye Hollie (& no save).
back on topic I think I hope Hollie is in the show for weeks too come 
