Duets: J Rome Still No. 1; Jordan Cries the Going Home Blues

Movie Night on Duets (6/20/12) led the celebrities and amateurs to pick some Whitney Houston, Bee Gees, Tina Turner, and other memorable songs from big films.

We have already seen two eliminations: Alexis Foster and Meleana Brown and a third person will go home tonight. You don’t have to be a genius to know by now that the three strongest contenders are J. Rome, Bridget Carrington and John Glosson. These are the three that carry their weight in the duets and could easily succeed as standalone singers. Olivia Chisholm, Jason Farol and Jordan Meredith are much weaker and you just know two of them will be singing a capella by the end of the show.

John Glosson and Jennifer Nettles – My Heart Will Go On
John and Jennifer sound so good together, it’s something else. They get a near everyone standing ovation — John Legend didn’t appear to stand up. Kelly Clarkson told John: “I can’t stand you,” which means she knows he outshines her amateurs, as he has done every week. Even if John Legend didn’t stand up, he thought it was fabulous. Robin Thicke was just blown away. Of course, he begins at No. 1.

Jordan Meredith and Kelly Clarkson – Take My Breath Away
Not exactly what we’d pick for a girl/girl duet, but this was Jordan’s idea to showcase her voice. Robin called her voice lovely, but said she wasn’t showing the same emotions that he was hearing. Jennifer thought she made the song her own and she was comfortable on stage. John Legend complimented the arrangement, always a backhanded compliment. She went to No. 2, but not for long.

Olivia Chisholm and Robin Thicke – Stayin’ Alive
We weren’t surprised at this song choice, and we were expecting it to suck, but it wasn’t that bad. John Legend said he felt more power from Olivia. Kelly and Jennifer also thought it was upbeat and “super fun.” We have to agree with that. It gets to be a bit of a drag with these shows and the interminable power ballads. Olivia took over the No. 2 spot, but not for long.

Bridget Carrington and John Legend – What’s Love Got to Do with It
Bridget got all decked out in Tina Turner shimmy wear for this one. We weren’t exactly blown away because it was weird as a duet, but Bridget’s vocals were fine, as always. Kelly said the song’s “linear melody” (whatever that is) wasn’t all that but she was “entertained.” Robin said she was fearless and called her a “volcanic eruption.” Jennifer concurred. In fact, she was so entertained, she forgot she was supposed to be judging. And Bridget went to No. 2.

J Rome and Jennifer Nettles – I Will Always Love You
We are like so sick of this song on singing competitions, we can’t even give an unbiased commentary, but the judges were just all blown away with Robin Thicke pointing out “There’s a reason you are number one every week.” Okay, but we don’t exactly know it because the voting is secret. Anyway, he did go to No. 1 again, and at this point you just know you are looking at the permanent Top 3, because next up is —

Jason Farol and Kelly Clarkson – Come What May
Much more negativity from the judges than love, even though Robin Thicke said he loves Jason’s voice. Generally, it was too low for them to like enough to put Jason anywhere but at the bottom of the chart. So the final chart was:

1. J Rome
2. John Glosson
3. Bridget Carrington
4. Olivia Chisholm
5. Jordan Meredith
6. Jason Farol

So this week’s face off went like this: Jason went first singing “Mamma Knows Best,” which was awful, and Jordan sang “And I Am Telling You,” which was awful, too, but not equally. She sounded better than Jason, but unfortunately, her nerves were giving out and it showed. Jordan Meredith was sent home and she began bawling. She was so overwhelmed she could not speak but managed to get out that the highlight of her experience was singing with Kelly Clarkson.

Duets will be back in its regular time slot on Thursday next week. At that time it will be live and the voting will go to the viewing audience. It will be interesting, at any rate, to see if J Rome stays at No. 1 when it turns into a popularity contest.