U Got It So Bad in the Midnight Hour that U Squweeee!

So here we are, back at the Top 7 again because the judges (in a very predictable and not so well acted fashion) used The Save last week. I mean seriously, who didn't see that coming? Seriously? Come here so I can slap ya. Anyone but Joshua, Jessica and possibly Phillip or Colton (those two to a lesser degree) would have been tossed under the tour bus. Those of us who have watched several seasons could have said as much. Honestly? I think the producers wanted a certain someone saved and when they couldn't rally the judges, decided to pull a switcheroo to make damned well certain that save WOULD be used.

This week we had the theme of Then and Now. Who the hell's coming up with these themes? I mean, really. Yes, it's nice that they're finally allowing the kids to sing stuff from this generation... but they're still saddling them with the same ol' same ol'. The latter being in the wheelhouses of Phillip "WGWG5" Phillips and Elise Testosterone Testone. Even with the more current stuff being allowed, we're still getting some of the same over-used songs. Please kids, remember that the charts aren't only populated by the likes of Adele, Alicia Keys, Beyonce and Lady Gaga. This does NOT mean I really want to hear that earworm by Goyte again this week though. (now watch them sing it as the group number anyhow....)

We ended up with so much SUTA blasting that my dearest Chicagolady was fearing that her industrial strength heatshield wasn't going to hold up for the entire show. I think it was starting to crack before the pimping of Mr Melisma in the first Act and by his last performance was showing signs of a colossal  nuclear failure. As for mine, it totally melted down and I'll be filing a report with the BBB the minute I can sit up properly.

This week we had 3 of the contestants go into the GREEN, however DI is hedging their bets and has 2 of them listed as B3 anyhow.

And after last week's FUBAR, who can blame them, really?

We saw 5 of the kids end up on the LOSER Map this week. Some will profess it's because the group really IS all that good this year. Personally, I doubt it. Then again, I'm partial.

Styx Pick for the Week won't be any surprise to those that have been reading this season:

Phillip: I've been reading some of the other blogs out there and a couple have said that they felt his version of U Got It Bad was his Heartless moment (and I agree!). He took a song clear outta his genre, spun it around and had me on the border of The Squweeee. I listened back (no video, just audio, just to be certain) and damned if they're right. (squweee!) After 2 weeks of pretty crapola performances, he pulled this out and did a fine job of it. Some worry that the moment may have been missed by many, thanks to the SUTA blasts that came afterwards. By the time he hit the stage the second time with In the Midnight Hour, I was in full SQUWEEE mode. AND NO GUITAR!! Oh, I'm so proud of him. He still needs to figure out what to do with himself when he doesn't have an instrument in his hands.  2 panty flings just for that one performance. Coming out of last week he had been up slightly but lost traction after a couple days and went into this week a bit lower than he had been. I fully expect that those numbers will start moving up again after this week's showing (and especially since the one other that he could possibly be splitting votes with sang earlier in the evening and dropped a dud performance in the second half). The Chart rated him with a 1-6/ 3rd place listing in GREEN but hedged their bets with a B3. So it's possible to see him in the B3, but I think it's highly unlikely. He got 8 states this week on the Maps.

Who more than likely is going to be safe:

Joshua: After last week's pimping with Fantasia, it wasn't any surprise that he chose one of her songs for his Now pick. Ryan had introduced it as one of her biggest hits. Try like it was her ONLY real hit and only because it was her coronation song. Wait... don't they usually advise the kids to NOT attempt a previous winner's music and most especially their coronation number? We received a double shot of SUTA blast for him this week. I doubt that they're going to let up until he gets booted because obviously the Idol Makers don't want another WGWG winner for the 5th year in a row. Who cares if he's actually better than most of the year's "talent", including Mr. Histrionics here. His odds were down coming out of last week's show (mostly due to that B3 visit that was so not deserved)but saw a steady increase over the weekend. He won 4 states on the Maps this week. In the pimp spot and only received half the states that PP got. If anything, THIS week he deserves a B3 trip, but that's just my 2 Cents. The Chart rated him 1-4 in first/ GREEN and has deemed him safe. However, we saw what happened last week (see graphic above).

So who deserves a trip to the Stools of Shame?

Even Barbie has more personality

Hollie: Sang early in the night and didn't even get the benefit of the producers mixing up the order in the 2nd half. The judges liked her fine for the first number but when inflicted with a song older than she is, she received a luke-warm judging. Both songs have been so over done that it's pathetic and she came across as dull and uninspired. The "Career Barbie" look in her second performance didn't help much either. To be honest, that's all I remember of her all night.  Her odds fell after last week's performance and kept slip sliding away. I don't see them recovering in enough time to win this show. It's just a matter of time now. If not this week, then maybe in the next couple. She won 5 states and lost 1 on the Maps for a total of 4 states this week. If she hadn't lost that one state, she'd be slightly edging Mantasia out instead of just tied. The Chart put her at 1-7 with a 4th place listing. No green, just a B3.

Jessica: Ok... who let the rabid chihuahua out? *UGH* I am so ready to have her gone already. The constant SUTA blasts don't exactly endear me to her either. I won't be surprised if she makes it farther though. It seems every year there's one contestant that is as irritating as nails on a chalk board (not that that sound bothers me any but it gets the point across) and they seem to last until the Top 3 or 4 at least. All I could think of when she got to her second song was Donkey from Shrek. I find him annoying too. Her odds slipped a bit coming out of last week's show but have crept back up again a bit. She won 4 states and lost 1 for a 3 on the Maps. The Chart rated her 1-6 listing her in 2nd place/ GREEN but hedged their bets with a B3.

Sorry, it was either this
or a pic with the cat's ass in the air.
I felt this conveyed the idea nicely.

Elise: Hated the first song choice (it's not a fav of mine), but it was better than her second choice. Of those on the show, her and PP are the only ones I could see pulling this one off. However, this song's been done... repeatedly. In some cases, like Matt Giraud (and you all know how I felt about him and Doug..) and Nikko Smith (sorry the video doesn't seem to be available anywhere!), this song was DONE.  The judges were *meh* towards her the first song and down right tossed her under the bus the second. To be honest, I could have done without some of the cat in heat vocalizing she did.  Her odds have been in a downward slide since late March. She won 4 states but lost 2 for a total of 2 on the Maps. The Chart rated her a 2-7 and listed her in 5th. Won't be surprised if the bottom dweller makes the trip to the chairs tonight. Looking at the numbers from the Maps and Chart as well as the poll on Rickey's site, the only surprise will be if she avoids the chairs entirely this week.

Skylar: I thought her first song was better than the second, although I felt it was a very odd choice for her. Then again, until last night I never realized that The Mother Monster did a "country" version of this song. Surprise, she did .... although with the exception of the violins all it sounds like is that she slowed it down a bit. Country-girl's odds were going up coming out of last week's show and are still moving up a bit. However, the Maps and the Chart weren't too kind to her this week. She won one and lost one for a big huge goose-egg on the Maps this week. The Chart rated her 2-7 with a 6th place listing. Things didn't look to good for her on Rickey's site either. I am afraid that she's going to be another that isn't going to last more than a small handful of weeks. Unless, of course, my favorite has another bad night or two. I don't really see that happening though.

Colton: You know that constipated strain I harped on regarding Jacob 2.0 a few weeks ago ? Well it seems that CM #2 has developed it. I swore last night he was going to turn his colon inside out with the way his eyes and neck veins were bulging. Must be something contagious there in the Idol world. Dude, seriously, relax a bit (okay, more than a bit) and for heaven's sake, work on your diction and complete all words.  That said, his first choice wasn't bad. It wasn't really SUTA-worthy, but it was decent enough to make the second song sound like crap. A big, steaming lump of it. It was so bad that he received the ATUS treatment. Damn, now I gotta figure out the words for a new acronym. His odds were up a little after last week's show and slipped a tad over the week. They didn't slip enough to take him back out of the favorite's position, but after this week's performances, I won't be surprised if they slip back down to where they were. He won one state and lost as many for a big ol' zero, just like Skylar. This wasn't a good week for him, especially since the only other WG in the show performed circles around him this time. The Chart rated him with a 4-7 and listed him in dead last. If this is his week, I bet the judges are going to regret that save they used last week. Especially since they insisted he audition and have been blowing some minor SUTA all season to keep him in the show. Then again, maybe they won't since they quite obviously are trying their damnedest to make sure a WGWG doesn't win this time too. If that was the case, why bother asking him to audition in the first place?

The B3 as seen by:

Rickey's site: Hollie, Elise and either Colton or Josh (more likely the former) with Elise gone

Maps: Skylar, Elise and Colton  with any of them gone although the last two are more than likely

Chart: Elise, Skylar and Colton with Colton listed in last but any of the 3 as likely

Pinnacle (odds site): Hollie, Elise and Joshua with the girls having the worst odds

I find odd that 3 agree somewhat while Vegas tells another story and THEY'VE been alot more accurate this year than those other sources. It's also why I call shenanigans on last week's results because of all of my resources, the odds have been closer to correct. With Jessica's odds where they are, she should NEVER have made it to the B3 no matter how much I complain about not liking her.

In any case, there's no net this week and we just may see a "favorite" go.