Idol Chatter & Voice Views

American Idol’s final 12 become a final 11 tonight.

Unless the Idol judges use their save, of course.

Emily Piriz was eliminated from the American Idol finals Thursday night. (FOX Photo)

But Kristen O’Connor was realistic last week, saying she didn’t expect the judges to use their save in the very first week of the finals.

Whoever lands at the bottom tonight — and that should be M.K. or Malaya — shouldn’t expect to be saved in week two either.

If I were a judge, the only five contestants I’d even consider saving at this point would be Jena Irene, Majesty Rose, Ben Briley, Caleb Johnson and Sam Woolf.

In between results tonight, we’ll be treated to performances by Phillip Phillips and an Irish rock band named Kodaline.

Why we’re seeing Kodaline is beyond me. Another silly Idol idea to freshen up the show. More on that later.

But Phillip will be performing “Raging Fire,” the lead single off his upcoming sophomore album. And it sure sounds like he has another hit on his hands.

At 7:30 p.m. EST, the song was sitting at number 49 on the iTunes Top 200. I’ll be interested to see if that improves after he performs the song tonight.

Wow, Phillip just performed his single. Excellent performance. I think I like that song better than “Home.”

Results time:

Advancing:
Ben Briley
Sam Woolf
Jess Meuse
Dexter Roberts
Majesty Rose
Alex Preston
Caleb Johnson
C.J. Harris
Malaya Watson

In the bottom three:
Emily Piriz
Jena Irene (1st to head to safety)
M.K. Nobilette (2nd to head to safety)

And Emily Piriz has to sing for a save that won’t come. She’s going to sing “Stars.” And this is a shaky vocal that doesn’t exactly scream I’m a potential winner. Grade: C

The judges opt not to save Emily.

And then there were 11.

Can’t say I’m thrilled with tonight’s result. Malaya and M.K. were clearly the weakest singers among the Top 12. But, realistically, Emily was not going to win the show.

Meanwhile, isn’t this looking a lot like the old Idol, as in before Season 12.

Two weeks into the competition, two gals are heading home and not a single male singer has landed in the bottom three.

Check back tomorrow for an exit interview with Emily.