Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Platinum Hit is down to eight songwriters after Monday night’s episode.

And former Idol contestant Jackie Tohn narrowly avoided elimination for the second straight week.

Instead, one of her team members got the boot. Again. This time the victim was Amber Ojeda, a gal from Los Angeles who described her songwriting style as new soul / jazz.

But in four weeks, Amber failed to distinguish herself. And judge Kara DioGuardi was clearly unimpressed when Amber said she deserved to stay around because she felt she works well with others.

Responded Kara: “I just heard why you should be a nurse, not a songwriter.”

So Amber departed, still determined to make it in the music business, still convinced her “heart” will help set her apart, and seemingly at peace with Kara’s “nurse” comment. At least that’s what she said on camera.

In defense of Amber, lots of contestants on Platinum Hit found themselves out of their comfort zone this week. The mission: Write a rap hook, then build a song around it incorporating another genre.

Add time constraints — a half hour to write the hook and the rest of the day to complete the song — and it’s remarkable the finished product turns out as well as it often does.

For the second straight week, computer programmer Johnny Marnell wrote a winning hook and turned it into the winning song, “Walk Through Walls,” with the help of teammates Jes Hudak and Scotty Granger.

Coming in second were Sonyae Elise, Nick Nittoli and Melissa Rapp. Melissa basically got to watch her teammates argue over the lyrics and the arrangement for a song called “Miss Make the Boys Cry.”

So, after four weeks, who are the front-runners on Platinum Hit?

Well, that group would have to include the red-hot Johnny (and not red hot as in the way Jess Hudak thinks he’s “hot’), plus …

• Sonyae Elise: The show’s diva knows how to sell a song and has shown a surprising knack for lyrics;
• Scotty: The creative director for Jordin Sparks has now been on the winning team three straight weeks;
• Nick:  To this point, he’s proven himself better at being a jerk than a songwriter, but the show would be far less entertaining without its villain; and
• Jes: This week’s triumph followed a strong showing last week. Next challenge: Write a love song. Which should be a snap since she’s smitten with Johnny.

As for Jackie, she’s something of an enigma. In four weeks, she’s written the winning hook three times.

Yet two straight weeks, those hooks produced the week’s worst song, and Jackie has wound up in tears, hoping she wouldn’t be cut.

This week, her team decided to take the novelty route with a song called “Super Duper Rapper.” Funny? Marginally.

Oh, and that wasn’t the only thing that had Jackie in tears. Scotty told her the other cast members think she’s difficult to work with because of her strong personality.

Jackie declared to do better … with the song-writing, that is.

“People are bringing it harder than me,” she told the judges. “That will stop.”

Editor’s Note: Platinum Hit airs 10 p.m. Mondays on Bravo. To listen to the music from Monday, go here.