Idol Chatter & Voice Views

We got to see Ryan Seacrest reveal his ankles.

We got to see Harry Connick Jr. and Jennifer Lopez bite the ears off a big gummy bear.

Hey, you’d never know American Idol had two hours of airtime to fill Wednesday night and just nine singers to fill it, would you?

Caleb Johnson rocks the American Idol stage singing “Dazed and Confused.” (FOX Photo)

The bad news is, for the first hour and 45 minutes, the judges and their antics were more entertaining than the performances.

It’s not that the Idols were flat-out bad. They were just mediocre.

Then Caleb Johnson and Jena Irene took the stage and made us forget … well, almost, all the mediocrity that preceded.

Folks, if we were allowed to fast forward about eight weeks, these are the two singers who should be performing in the Idol finale.

The recap …

Jena Irene performs “Bring Me to Life” Wednesday night on American Idol. (FOX Photo)

Best of the night: Jena Iene (Asciutto) tackled “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence. She played with the audience. She played with her fellow band members. She sang soft. She sang loud. She rocked. She delivered some wonderful glory notes. She might have delivered the best performance we’ve seen so far on Season 6 of American Idol.

Runners-up: And Wednesday’s theme found Caleb Johnson in his element. Heck, he fronted a rock band back home. Wednesday just found him on a bigger stage and delivering a big performance of Led Zepplin’s “Dazed and Confused.” He approached it like a singer possessed, which in itself was a breath of fresh air on a night when several singers didn’t seem to grasp the leader of the band concept.

Worst of the night: C.J. Harris is still struggling with his vocals. I thought Steeldrivers’ “If It Hadn’t Been for Love” was one of the smartest song choices of the night, giving C.J. a chance to show off the soulful side of his voice. He opened strong; he closed great. In between, he was a vocal train wreck.

Please keep him/her: Jess Meuse gets high marks again for delivering a fine vocal on “Rhiannon.” I just wish she had injected a 100th of the passion Stevie Nicks projects when she performs the song. Jess was my third favorite of the night, but there was the equivalent of a Grand Canyon between number two and number three.

Line of the night from the judges: Keith Urban on Caleb’s performance: “Tonight’s called, I’m with the band. But you’re such a good frontman, that was like the band was saying, ‘I’m with the singer.'”

Best banter from the judges: Harry Connick Jr., after just a few people clapped: “That’s a smattering.” Keith: “Now it sounds like one of your concerts.”

Line of the night from a contestant: Jena Irene, on following Caleb Johnson to the stage: “I was crapping my pants back there. Why do I have to follow him?”

What should happen Thursday: A bottom three of Majesty Rose, Dexter Roberts and C.J. Harris. And C.J. should go home.

What will happen Thursday: A bottom three of Majesty Rose, Dexter Roberts and C.J. Harris. With Majesty Rose as the low vote-getter.

For the song by song grades from Wednesday’s show, head here.