Hollywood Week is over, and the first elimination round began on Thursday’s offering of American Idol. The contestants teamed up with one another and belted out their best renderings of some timeless classics, all set against the fabulous backdrop of Las Vegas. With some incredible, show-stopping performances, some sad goodbyes and a lot of hilarious moments with “the vocal coach from hell,” the first night of eliminations was a two hours of pure entertainment.
The highlights from Thursday’s performances were plentiful. The evening started with Skyler Laine, Colton Dixon and Chase Likens moving on to the next round. I was rather impressed with Skyler’s powerful country-worthy voice and just about everything about Colton as well, but I was not as impressed with Chase as the judges were.
I adored the second group, with David Leathers, Gabi Carrubba, Ariel Sprague and Jeremy Rosado all making it through to the next round of eliminations. Look out for Ariel to be a true contender in this competition.
Next up were Adam Brock, Erika Van Pelt, Angie Zeiderman and Shelby Tweten singing “Great Balls Of Fire.” I was actually surprised that they all made it through to the next round as I thought they were quite terrible in comparison to the rest of the competition.
In the following group, Schyler Dixon and Brielle Von Hugel both made it through while Molly Hunt was sent packing.
The team of Reed Grimm, Elise Testone, Haley Johnson and Eben Franckewitz sounded fantastic together, earning them the first standing ovation of the episode and another night in the spotlight.
Cowboy Richie Law and crooner Jermaine Jones may have made for the most unlikely pairing of the night, but they were also one of the standout performances as well, both moving forward in the competition after blowing the judges away.
Next up was the trio of Jessica Sanchez, Deandre Brackensick and Candice Glover, all of whom had wonderful voices but just seemed a tad bit over the top. What could have been a fantastic group effort often sounded more like a sing-off between the members of the trio, trying to upstage each other with who had the bigger voice. Regardless, it did earn a standing ovation from the judges and all three moved on to the next round based on their powerful voices, and rightfully so.
Midway through the episode, the judges unleashed a shocking blow to the contestants from the first group selected to move on to the next round, letting them know that they may not be completely out of the woods just yet. With another set of groups set to perform the following day, even those chosen to move on to the next round could face elimination with last-minute cuts at the end of the second day of performances.
The second half of Thursday’s two-hour Idol night began with a fantastic rendition of Elvis Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock,” performed by Clayton Farhat, Scott Dangerfield, Adam Lee Decker and Curtis Gray. While Clayton, Scott, and rocker Adam earned a spot in the next round, Curtis failed to make the cut.
The female trio of Britnee Kellogg, Courtney Williams and Jessica Phillips belted out a strong version of “Keep Me Hanging On,” but the judges seemed disappointed with the trio. Britnee and Courtney both made it through to round two while Jessica was sent home. Jessica did win the prize of most arrogant contestant, though, if that counts at all. Honey, I doubt that you are going to get that record deal now…
Despite rehearsal-related troubles, Lauren Gray pulled off a wonderful performance and proved that both she and teammate Wendy Taylor truly deserved to move on in the competition and set themselves up as potential frontrunners for the ladies.
Jairon Jackson, Heejun Han, Phil Phillips and Neco Starr combined for another great group effort, earning all four of them a spot in the next round as well.
Closing the performances in Thursday’s episode was the team of Creighton Fraker, Aaron Marcellus, Nick Boddington and Jen Hirsh. With beautiful harmonies and strong solo performances, this foursome absolutely stole the show, though Nick was sent home as the group’s weak link.
In the final cuts, the judges were forced to make some difficult decisions, sending home some of their original choices to move on in the competition. For the most part, none of their selections were shocking ones, though the elimination of Britnee Kellogg was certainly surprising to me.
Look out for Ariel Sprague, Lauren Gray, Wendy Taylor, Jen Hirsh and Shannon Magrane to be some of the frontrunners for the ladies from here on out. As for the gentlemen, watch for Colton Dixon, Clayton Farhat, Jermaine Jones, Neco Star, Phil Phillips and Adam Lee Decker to continue to show off their skills throughout the competition.
Next week, the talent pool will be further chipped away until the all-important Top 24, the point at which the real competition begins, the competition for the affections of the public.
American Idol airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CTV/Fox and Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on CTV Two/Fox.
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