American Idol Insider: Who'll Go Home Tonight and Who's Safe?

Find out our top five performances, our prediction for the bottom three and who's going home

By Tierney Bricker Apr 12, 2012 3:04 PMTags
Hollie Cavanagh, Colton Dixon, Jessica Sanchez, Skylar Laine, Phillip Phillips, Joshua Ledet and Elise Testone, AMERICAN IDOLMichael Becker / FOX

Darn American Idol's top seven, why you gotta go and make this post harder and harder to write each week?!

Usually at this point in the competition, it's pretty obvious which three or four contestants are going to sail through to the final weeks of the competition. But season 11's kids are keeping it very interesting, with the remaining seven delivering pretty solid performances during last night's songs from the 2010-to-2012-themed show. 

Still, this is The Hunger Games American Idol and there can only be one singer left standing to be showered with confetti come May's finale. So who do we think is in danger of getting booted?

Our Top Five Performances

5. Colton Dixon
Definitely not his best night, but Colton's cover of Skylar Gray's "Love the Way You Lie" continued his impressive string of solid performances. Seriously, the dude hasn't had a bad week yet and completely knows who he is as an artist. Another thing we love about Colton? He realizes he and Phillip are eventually going to split the vote and is making interesting choices to keep his edge over the fellow "resident hot guy." 

4. Elise Testone and Phillip Phillips' cover of Goyte's "Somebody That I Used to Know"
Watch out, Glee's Darren Criss and Matt Bomer, you have some serious duet competition! Though the song was better-suited for Elise (and she obviously knew that since she pushed for the duo to sing it), we think Phillip held his own on the extremely popular track. Bonus? It showed off a new side of him. Still, it was Elise's song and she nailed it, which is a good thing considering we weren't wild about her cover of Haley Reinhart's Lady Gaga's "You and I."

3. Jessica Sanchez
It feels like forever since we've seen a pure diva on the Idol stage, which is why we're loving Jessica, who completely transforms from shy teenager to seasoned pro when she steps into the spotlight. Her control on Jazmine Sullivan's "Stuttering" was a thing of beauty and we're so glad she's finally switching it up when it comes to song choice. Go on with your modern self, B.B. Chez! (Jessica's alter ego a la Beyonce's Sasha Fierce!)

2. Skylar Laine
This is the Skylar Laine we want to see more of! Effortless and relaxed, Skylar's cover of Kellie Pickler's "Didn't You Know How Much I Love You" has already received some serious love on our iPods. Paired with last week's breakout performance of "Wind Beneath My Wings," our resident country girl has officially hit her Idol stride and it's a pleasure to watch her. Let's just stop trying to force the romance with Colton though, OK, Idol producers? 

1. Joshua Ledet
It's pretty clear that May's finale could easily pit Joshua against Jessica, and Jennifer Lopez is right when she says Joshua has a slight edge over the pint-size diva when it comes to stage presence. When Joshua is feeling a song, he makes you and your unborn child feel it. (Sorry, that was kind of gross, right?) His performance of Bruno Mars' "Runaway Baby" was no different and proved the gospel singer can slay an uptempo jam just as well as a ballad. 

Who's in Trouble

3. Phillip Phillips
Someone call PETA, because we're about to beat a dead horse: Phillip sounds the same to us every week, with all of his performances blending together. His cover of Maroon 5's "Give a Little More" was, to borrow a critique from Jennifer, "underwhelming" for us, and we really wanted the crooner to have a breakout night. Luckily, he's got that cute face that girls love that'll help him get through tonight's show. 

2. Joshua, Jessica and Hollie's cover of Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger"
Is the phrase hot mess played out yet? If not, we think it's a pretty good description of this performance. 

1. Hollie Cavanaugh
First, we're going to drop a rant real quick: Why do the judges think it's OK to praise a female contestant's looks/outfit when they don't love their vocals? Both Jennifer and Steven Tyler did that with Hollie last night after her performance of Pink's "Perfect" and it really irked us. This is a singing competition; keep it about her vocals and just be honest. She's not as good as some of the other singers in the competition, or rather, she's not as relaxed as they are, which is hindering her performances. 

Bottom Three Prediction: Elise, Hollie and Phillip

Exit Prediction: Sorry, Hollie, you know we adore you, but we think it's your time to go. So will the judges use their one save on the blonde? After their critiques last night, we think they're going to keep their save in their pocket for another contestant. 

Poll

American Idol Top Seven Exit Poll

Who do you think is going home?
Hollie Cavanaugh
50.7%
Colton Dixon
2.1%
Skylar Laine
4.1%
Joshua Ledet
5.3%
Phillip Phillips
11.9%
Jessica Sanchez
7.5%
Elise Testone
18.5%

Agree? Disagree? Sound off in the comments below!

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