By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally files Tuesday, March 24, 2015
The only save of the year has now been used. A majority of people on this blog (65%) thought saving Qaasim was a bad idea. I don't agree. He is divisive but vastly entertaining.
And that's good buzz for "Idol," a show that is more or less just another TV show now without the "Empire"-level craziness or viewership. I do wish we had this crew for, say, season 9. I'd sub out that entire group (except for Crystal) for this one.
Harry Connick Jr. justified the save:
"Had he not done particularly well tonight, I still think we feel strongly about him. He's gonna have to focus more on pure singing at some point. But he's kinda got his own lane with that high energy performance thing. And that was an amazing performance just now. I think he deserves it. We all do."
The show returns Wednesday night from 8 to 10 p.m. with Boy George coaching the top 11 through 1980s songs. There will be a double elimination.
So here's my Power 11
1. Jax. She moves up the ranks after her Taylor Swift snafu by going all cute on that Adam Sandler song. I was charmed. (2)
2. Tyanna Jones. She finally had on off night last week, which means she slips out of the top spot as well. But I didn't want to penalize her too much for her pitch issues. Even if she had been on pitch, I hate that song! (1)
3. Joey Cook. After a blistering "Fancy" last week, she continued to give us new colors with a mesmerizing "Mad World." (5)
4. Clark Beckham. He brought his A game with "Sunday Morning" and that helps him move up the ranks as well. He finally sang a modern song and did it his way. He still strikes me as excessively old school to be a pop artist but he might go far in this competition given the demographics. (6)
5. Nick Fradiani. He does all he could with "Danger Zone" but that's simply not a good song choice. He needs to find a truly emotional song if he wants to move up, as HCJ said. (4)
6. Adanna Duru. A passable "I Love You I Do" will keep her around another week. (7).
7. Quentin Alexander. He does a lovely, haunting version of "You're the One That I Want" that almost works. (8)
8. Qaasim Middleton. His ill-begotten "Jet" nearly grounded him and he had the lowest number of votes. (He said afterwards he was "confused" by the result.) But his intense "Come Together" and mic drop saved him despite yet another sloppy vocal. He earned a save but he can only stick around so long unless he can improve his singing. (3)
9. Maddie Walker. She continues to bore us to tears courtesy of "Let's Hear It For the Boy." (10)
10. Rayvon Owen. He tries to change things up with a slow, slinky "Stayin' Alive," which should keep him just barely alive. (9)
11. Daniel Seavey. He tries to connect with "Lost Stars" but remains simply lost. (11)
And here they are singing the National Anthem before a NASCAR race all together:
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Phillip Phillips appears to be doing fine financially. But the Daily Mail reports his parents aren't doing nearly as well, filing for bankruptcy last year.
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OWN anthem: Jennifer Hudson had a lovely star turn on the last couple of episodes of "Empire."
Will she back? Probably. They certainly left her role open ended.
She and former Atlantan Jennifer Nettles have also sung the new OWN theme song "You Will" written by Diane Warren.
The song debuts tonight at 9 p.m. on OWN.
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