Idol Chatter & Voice Views

I do not even want to go back and check when I last made a correct prediction on an American Idol elimination.

I mean, for a while, I was picking Hollie Cavanagh to go home every week.

And she outlasted Heejun Han and Deandre Brackensick and, nearly, Jessica Sanchez.

So I figured, OK, those Holliepops must be pretty darn dedicated fans. Let’s predict an Elise Testone ouster instead.

After all, she’s been in and out of the bottom three all season.

What happens?

Colton Dixon goes home.

Which wasn’t entirely undeserved, though I’m not sure he got a fair shake in terms of duet songs or themes (see blog here).

But he’s a cute guy. And cute guys who are frontrunners do not often get voted off cute boy Idol.

That leaves us with four girls and two guys.

And that hasn’t happened since Season 3.

The recap:

Stock rising: Skylar Laine. Did you hear what Jimmy Iovine called her? “The best performer” on the show. And you know what? He isn’t just spouting gibberish like the Idol judges so often do. Not after the two performances she turned in Wednesday night. He also called her “the little engine who could make the finale.” No doubt she’s catching fire at the right time.

The Kristy Lee Cook Award: Goes to Hollie Cavanagh, who might as well adopt Kristy Lee’s strategy and show up on results night with her name on a piece of cardboard, ready to reserve one of those stools of danger in her name. Guess what? The little gal with the surprisingly big voice will now finish no worse than sixth, and she helped her cause with two fine performances this week.

Insight of the week: Jimmy Iovine admitted to a mistake Thursday night. He said he’s failed as a mentor by not getting Jessica Sanchez, the show’s best singer, to perform more age appropriate songs. Jessica, after all, is just 16, and she’s been specializing in power ballads. I would remind Jimmy, though, that every time Jessica strays from ballads and goes up-tempo and fun, she seems to get slammed by the judges.

Holding steady: Phillip Phillips, who suddenly found himself in the good graces of the Idol judges and Jimmy Iovine Wednesday and Thursday after being in the apparent dog house for a couple of weeks. What changed? Nothing but the Idol script, from what I could tell. I mean, Phillip was OK this week, but not extraordinary. Maybe the folks at Idol observed this simple fact: Phillip is the only remaining contestant who hasn’t visited the bottom three.

Very, very lucky: Elise Testone. Upon watching it back, I decided that version of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” was a little worse than I initially thought. A little too overcooked with vocal enhancements. Jimmy’s humorous assessment: The original caused a baby boom. “There was no baby boom” Wednesday when Elise performed it.

On the decline: That said, no one. Absolutely no one. Sure, Elise Testone is on shaky ground. What’s new? Give her a couple of classic rock songs and she could blister the stage next week because she’s still got one of the show’s best voices along with Jessica and Joshua Ledet. Joshua, by the way, also seems to have the Idol team on his side.

Looking ahead: We could be in for a heck of a finish, folks. One of the best Idol finishes ever.

Coming tomorrow: A photo gallery from Thursday’s show and an exit interview with Colton Dixon.