American Idol Top 7 Performance Show

Tonight, the Top 7 were picking songs for each other to sing and the results were, for the most part, pretty darn good. Here’s how it went:

Caleb Johnson – Family Tree (Kings of Leon) – picked by Alex Preston
Keith Urban praised the song choice. (Alex looked happy about it). Caleb, he said, really highlighted his strengths. Jennifer thought eat job. Jennifer Lopez (J-Lo) thought it was dangerous for them to put Caleb on first, giving the others a hard act to follow. True enough. Harry Connick, Jr. (HCJ) also dug the song choice and complimented Caleb on changing the melody up. He thought the tune could be on Caleb’s record.

Jessica Meuse – Gunpowder and Lead (Miranda Lambert) – picked by Sam Woolf
J-Lo softened her criticism of Jessica being vocally off by saying she’s been a fan since the beginning, while Jessica stood there smiling woodenly. J-Lo also said she seemed uncomfortable. HCJ agreed it wasn’t her best performance and she needs to work on her body rhythm. Keith concurred that she wasn’t getting the guts of this revenge song. Seems to us Jessica has been focusing more on looking good when the camera is on her. Maybe winning the contest isn’t her true objective and she really wants to be an actress.

CJ Harris – Gravity (John Mayer) – picked by Caleb Johnson
Keith thought the song choice was a good call Caleb. He called it a bullseye but still mentioned making an emotional thing more of an arc. J-Lo thought he was getting more comfortable each week (easy for her to say, she’s not the one taking the trips to the stool). She thinks he needs to find the way to bring the crowd to their feet and said it was one of his best performances. HCJ agreed, only he thought it was his best and said that CJ always connects with the audience. News to us. we thought the first time they told C.J. that was last week.

Dexter Roberts – Muckalee Creek Water (Luke Bryan) – picked by CJ Harris
Keith liked it but warned against letting “the adrenaline pull down” on intense songs when the melody is down. Being used to the “happier Dexter”, J-Lo thought this showed a good side of Dexter. She said that now that they are nearing the Top 5, everyone needs to be spectacular. So we guess that means this wasn’t. HCJ only liked the different arrangements with the band and thought Dexter was limiting himself to being a sing along with the radio type of guy.

Alex Preston – A Team (Ed Sheeran) – picked by Dexter Roberts
J-Lo applauded the song choice as perfect and HCJ agreed, calling it his favorite performance of the night. Keith complimented his artistry. “You’re chugging along artistically and suddenly you make it an Alex song. You do it really really well, it was great.”

Sam Woolf – Sail Away (David Gray) – picked by Jessica Meuse
HCJ called Sam a work in progress, “progress being the operative word.” He said that was a good thing but it seemed like a rather backhanded compliment, plus he criticized the song choice, saying Sam need to sing something more well known like “Hey There Delilah.” Keith agreed but softened it by pointing out that Sam is only 17. “You’re doing a really good job considering.” J-Lo wasn’t feeling it watching him but when she looked down into the monitor she could see feeling in his eyes and said that’s what everybody at home was seeting. Not really, Sam. We thought you’ve been watching those Ricky Nelson videos after all, but don’t get us wrong. You didn’t overdo it and that was good.

Jena Irene – Creep (Radiohead) – picked by Caleb Johnson
Time was running short so the judges’ commentary was quicker but Keith and J-Lo did give her a standing O. Keith said he loved how bold Jena is. J-Lo thinks she Jena-fies every song and she is now in it for the long haul. (Let’s hope that’s not a jinx like it was for Malaya). HCJ called Jena a phenomenal and major talent. He took back his prior Alex favorite and said this was “unquestionably” the best performance of the night. As for the standing O, HCJ says he doesn’t do that for anyone and focuses on judging.

Well that’s his opinion. Not that we didn’t like Jena’s performance but Caleb’s was “unquestionably” the best of the night for us. Jessica and Dexter were our Bottom 2.