Michael Becker / FOXIs it just us, or does rush week feel far too rushed?
This season, American Idol aimed to shake things up in their typically long-winded elimination process, by cutting more than a third of their talented singing hopefuls in just one teeny-tiny week.
Last week the 31 semi-finalists were announced, and tonight, the 15 remaining ladies took the stage in hopes of showing off their phenomenal voices, in front of America, for their very first live performances. However, in what seemed like a mean-spirited twist, only ten out of the 15 girls were asked to actually perform. The eliminated five were forced to wait in anticipation for the entire show before finding out that they had been cut from the competition. It was pretty harsh.
Ryan Seacrest explained to the audience that the judges based these somewhat-secretive decisions by sitting in on Randy Jackson's booty camp and witnessing rehearsals for tonight's show. (A small side note to the former Idol judge-turned-music advisor: Dear Randy, could you pretty please just try to get the girls' names right next week? Thanks so much!)
So which ladies were lucky enough to get the chance to sing on the brand-new American Idol stage? Take a look at the list below to find which ten girls made it and what song they sang:
Majesty Rose: "Happy" by Pharrell Williams
Kristen O'Connor: "Turning Tables" by Adele
Briana Oakley: "Warrior" by Demi Lovato
Jena Irene Asciutto: "Paint It Black" by The Rolling Stones
Bria Anai: "Wrong Side of a Love Song" by Melanie Fiona
Marrialle Sellars: "Roar" by Katy Perry
Jessica Meuse: "Drink a Beer" by Luke Bryan
Emily Piriz: "Paris (Ooh La La)" by Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
MK Nobilette: "All of Me" by John Legend
Malaya Watson: "Hard Times (No One Knows Better Than I)" by Ray Charles
This means that Andrina Brogden, Kenzie Hall, Jillian Jensen, Brandy Neely and Austin Wolfe we eliminated tonight before they could sing a single note.
We would have been okay with this jarring rush week shake-up if the ten women had blown us away with their amazing songs, but unfortunately, the nerves about possibly being eliminated seemed to have greatly affected all of their performances. Let's put it this way: We didn't see any Kelly Clarkson's or Carrie Underwood's on tonight's stage.
Despite the lackluster night, we want to give a huge round of applause to MK Nobilette and Majesty Rose! Their performances stood out like two roses in a sea of mediocre dandelions. In other good news, Ben Briley was revealed to have beaten Neco Starr in the America's Choice vote for the last male spot in the Top 30.
Tune in to American Idol tomorrow night at 8 p.m. to see if Ben will be one of the top ten guys to take the stage in the next round of live performances.