Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Nicki Minaj jiggled all over the stage.

Scotty McCreery got his platinum record.

And Heejun Han got the heave ho on American Idol Thursday night.

From surprisingly perceptive voters, I might add.

Actually, I thought Heejun got a bum rap a week ago.

Idol made him a star, not by focusing on his singing, but by focusing on his humor.  Especially all those “crazy cowboy” comments in Hollywood.

So with his serious performances falling flat, he decided to have some fun on Idol last week.

The crowd seemed to love it.   I thought it was a strategic stroke of genuis:  If you’re outmatched vocally, entertain.

And whatever you want to say about Heejun’s vocals last week, his performance was entertaining.

Some took it as a sign that he wasn’t taking the competition seriously.

Which sounded an awful lot like a double standard from a show that benefited from the humorous side of Heejun.

Well, check back tomorrow and I’ll let you know what Heejun has to say about it all during his exit interview.

Meanwhile, on with this week’s results recap …

On the rise:  Elise Testone.  And I mean, big time.  I scoffed a week ago when someone suggested she might be this year’s Haley Reinhart, rising from near ashes to near victory.   I’ll scoff no more.  “Whole Lotta Love” was brilliant.  She was brilliant last week.   She was brilliant in the show-closing performance from the gal’s semifinal show.   That’s three brilliants in five weeks.  And now she’s got the momentum.   I still don’t know that a 28-year-old female can win the show, but I’d put her in a top four with Jessica Sanchez, Phillip Phillips and Colton Dixon.

Holding steady:  Jessica and Phillip, meanwhile, continue to prove they deserve their frontrunner status.  Both got high praise from Jimmy Thursday night, and I value what Jimmy says a whole lot more than the Idol judges, who were suddenly quite easy to please again this week.  Like Jimmy, I wasn’t nearly as impressed with Colton as the judges were.

Stock sinking:   I was very worried for Hollie Cavanagh Thursday night.   But perhaps it’s the wakeup call the teen with the big voice needs.  I’d love to see her switch it up next week and do something other than a power ballad.  And I’d still rank her among the show’s top four singers.   Problem is, performance counts a lot too … and the top four I mentioned earlier are all top-notch performers.

Very, very lucky:  Somehow, Deandre Brackensick avoided the bottom three this week.   Perhaps it was the plea for votes from Jennifer Lopez.   Perhaps it was the judges gushing about how not every singer can sing the way Deandre does.  Good thing.   If they did, last night’s show would have been a whole lot less special.

Deserved his fate:  That would be Heejun.  Because even if Jimmy took a too-harsh view of his performance last week, he was dead-on with this week’s critique.  The numbers just didn’t add up for the 22-year-old New Yorker.   On a show with nine singers, he was the weak link … or at least one of two weak links (Yep, looking at you, Deandre.)  Idol voters deserve huge kudos for recognizing that too, in spite of the over-the-top reviews Heejun got from the judges Wednesday night.

Coming tomorrow:   The aforementioned interview with Heejun.  Plus a photo gallery from tonight’s show.

Also, all of the contestant pages have been updated with this week’s performances.   So if you want to watch any of the performances since the voting rounds begin, head here.