'Idol' Top 7 Recap: Competitors' Picks and Picking on Jessica

This Wednesday on "American Idol," the unprecedented theme was "Competitors' Picks," meaning the top seven contestants chose songs for each other. The potential for sabotage was great, but everyone played nice. No one picked "Let's Get It On" for reluctant heartthrob Sam Woolf, or "My Humps" for stone-faced Jessica Meuse, or Justin Bieber's "Baby" for macho rocker Caleb Johnson, etc.

So I guess these kids really do like each other. If this theme had been introduced last season, the shadiest "Idol" season ever, it would have been a very different situation. I can only imagine with a shudder what Curtis Finch Jr. might have selected for Lazaro Arbos.

Truth be told, this current crop of contestants often showed better judgment choosing songs for each other than they have when choosing songs for themselves. "Idol" should consider having a "Competitors' Picks" theme every week. Overall, this was one of the best "Idol" episodes in a long time.

But it was not without its problems, of course. First of all, this episode should have been only 90 minutes long. Instead, Fox filled the extra time with random appearances by various plucked-out-of-nowhere celebrities, like football hero Terry Bradshaw, UFC star Ronda Rousey, Dutch DJ Martin Garrix (hanging out at "Idol" between Coachella weekends), and Demi Lovato. Demi's appearance was the oddest, as Ryan Seacrest frequently solicited her opinion on the performances, treating her like the night's unofficial fourth judge and totally giving me "X Factor" flashbacks. Demi's comments were actually pretty smart, but still, the format was strange.

Stranger still was the blatant busing of Jessica Meuse. Jessica is one of only three Season 13 contestants who've never been up for elimination, but it seemed like the judges and producers were doing their best to change that this week. Basically, Jess has become this season's Haley Reinhart. However, like Haley in Season 10, Jess has a devoted fanbase, so it's possible that the powers-that-be's tactics will backfire in a big way on Thursday's results show.

And now, let's get to the recapping.

Caleb Johnson – Alex Preston suggested Kings of Leon's "Family Tree" for Caleb. It wasn't a bad choice. Sonically, it was right in Caleb's classic-rock wheelhouse, but it was modern song — striking the same balance that Caleb's game-changing Rival Sons cover struck a few weeks ago. I would have preferred Caleb doing KoL's "Sex on Fire," a more soaring and triumphant (not to mention better-known) song that would've allowed him to really belt it out and tap into his sexiness that J.Lo digs so much. But hey, this was the first time KoL had ever allowed any of their songs to be performed on "Idol," and maybe they only wanted to clear a song from their latest (read: not-selling-all-that-well) album, as opposed to one of their big hits. And of course, Caleb sang the heck out of the song. "So nice hearing you sing a tune that you're so happy to sing. It's like a tune that can be on your record," said Harry Connick Jr. "That was a good choice, man. I love that freakin' song," said Keith Urban. And Jennifer Lopez said, "It's dangerous to put you first in the lineup. Now everybody else has to raise their game."

Jessica Meuse – For this performance, Sam suggested Miranda Lambert's "Gunpowder and Lead" — a "badass" barnstormer that was perfect for "badass" Jessica, showcasing her dark side and feisty 'tude. I liked everything about this performance, from her smoldering, kohl-eyed camera staredown to the Haley Reinhart-style wind machine blowing back her magenta tresses. But as the rock chick who can do no right in the judges' eyes, Jessica totally got Reinharted in her critique. The panel just tore her apart. Jennifer thought the vocal was off and Keith thought there was a lack of energy, but Harry went hardest, telling Jessica: "Go back to the hotel and put on some funk music or hip-hop or strong rhythmic music, and just dance. Watch yourself in the mirror. When rhythm is in your body, it will inform everything from the neck up. I feel you walking out of time with the music. You have to punctuate your vocal phrases more." Was Harry auditioning to be a judge on "So You Think You Can Dance" or something? Why should Jessica have to move around so much? No one ever tells the reserved Sam, Alex, or C.J. Harris to boogie all over the stage. Jess should just do what feels right and be her own badass-but-stationary self.

C.J. Harris – Caleb chose John Mayer's "Gravity" for C.J., and I hope C.J. sent flowers or a fruit basket to Caleb's hotel room after this — because I think Caleb bought C.J., one of this season's frequently at-risk contestants, another week. What a perfect song choice for this guy. His pitch was actually decent, for once, and he made the ballad even bluesier than John's original, infusing it with gospel grit. "I like your voice every time I hear it, and a song like that is a bullseye," said Keith. "Personally, I think that was your best performance to date," said Harry. "Every week you're getting more and more comfortable up there. I think you're starting to believe that you really belong here and that you could win this thing," said Jennifer. (Cool your jets, J.Lo. This was good, but not that good.)

Dexter Roberts – Dexter's bro C.J. picked bro-country artist Luke Bryan's "Muckalee Creek" for this performance. I wish C.J. had gone with a ballad instead (Dexter really only shines on ballads) or had been a real friend and pushed Dexter out of his dirt-road lane and made him do something more creative and unexpected. Jennifer actually thought this was a departure for Dexter, saying, "I liked this for you. It was dark. This has a darker quality, this edge that shows us different side of you." Harry disagreed, saying, "You didn't really do anything different from the original vocal. You're limiting yourself to basically singing the exact same thing that's on the record. I just want to hear you sing other things than singing along with the radio." I agreed with Harry.

Alex Preston – Each of the contestants had to recite a "five facts" bio about themselves Wednesday, and Alex's was certainly the most interesting. Who knew that Alex once took cooking classes, likes to garden, or would consider a career in dermatology to help fellow acne-sufferers? (Someone get Alex a Proactiv endorsement deal!) All that had me ready to vote for Alex no matter what, but then he sang the tune Dexter picked for him, Ed Sheeran's "The A Team," and I was floored. While Alex didn't drastically switch up the song, he did a beautiful, haunting version with just enough distinctive phrasing to keep it from being a copycat performance. "You should thank your boy Dexter for picking that song. It was a perfect song for you," said J.Lo. "As I get to know you, I realize that there's great beauty in smaller performances. Your conviction in that world is so strong. This is my favorite performance of the night," said Harry, who not too long ago was actually criticizing Alex for being too quiet and introverted. "What I like is you've got your signature things that you do. Artistic little signatures of yours. They're yours. When you put them in songs, it's so natural," said Keith. All of the judges were right. This was a special moment.

Sam Woolf – As usual, I was supremely annoyed by the over-the-top heartthrob edit Sam received this week — the cutaways to swaying tweens in the audience, the constant mentions by Ryan and the judges about how much the girls adore Sam, etc. The whole shtick always seems so forced, not to mention untrue (judging by the number of times Sam has been in the bottom three, either America's young girls don't like Sam all that much, or they're just not watching or voting for this show anymore). However, that's not Sam's fault; in fact, the poor kid always seems uncomfortable with all this girl talk, and maybe that's resulted in some of his more awkward and wooden performances. But all that being said, after a couple of close calls and a mini-comeback last week, Sam continued his snail-paced but steady ascendance with his performance of a David Gray song selected for him by Jessica, "Sail Away." He actually showed glimmers of emotion and seemed to make some effort to connect with the crowd and the camera. This was an improvement, for sure. The judges praised Sam for making such progress, but Harry bused Jessica by saying, "I think the biggest issue I had with this performance was song choice. Familiarity is your friend." Clearly, none of the judges are Jessica's friend right now. I actually think Jessica picked a good song for Sam, because "Sail Away" obviously brought out the best in him.

Jena Irene – Jena also needs to send Caleb a fruit basket. Caleb picked Radiohead's "Creep" for her, and she had a true magic moment with it, right up there with Caleb's "Dazed and Confused" from a few weeks ago. This was the best performance of the night, and one of the best performances of the entire season. Singing at piano (and thankfully staying at her piano for the full song), she belted an intense, theatrical, borderline-weepy rendition that had me breaking out in J.Lo-style goosies from head to toe. "I love your fearlessness. I love how bold you are. I wish I could spend more time talking. I guarantee I'll get more time next week," Keith told her. "You can sing anything. You Jena-fy everything you do. It was so beautiful. You'll be here for the long haul," said Jennifer. "You are a phenomenal talent. You sing with great humility, great intrigue. And I think you did some major damage tonight," Harry said. Yes, this performance was amazing, and contrary to what Radiohead's sad-sack lyrics attested, Jena was so very special, and she did belong here.

But wait! There were two duets (or three, if you count Caleb and Ryan's impromptu a cappella rendition of Bryan Adams's "Heaven"), and one trio number, too. Let's rank them, from best to worst:

Caleb & Jena, "Gimme Shelter" – Oh, heck yes. This season's big belters, taking on one of the Rolling Stones' most wildly wailing classics. Caleb was a rawk gawd, and Jena impressively pulled off that advanced Merry Clayton part and spat pure fire. Gimme more, I say. These two better reprise this duet on the Idols Live summer tour.

Sam & Alex, "Let Her Go" – These two sweet boys, who also dueted last week, sounded pleasant together, but this just seemed like another casual hotel-room jam session. (Or a jam session in the "Sanford & Son" living room, since that's what the hokey stage set resembled.) This version of Passenger's song was just way too light and bouncy. Harry called it "saccharine," and Keith said it was "chintzy." Alex and Sam fared better with their more serious solos Wednesday.

C.J., Dexter & Jess, "Compass" – Oh dear. I'm afraid this "Compass" could guide all of these singers to the chopping block this week. I hadn't seen such a cringe-inducing trio performance since "I Can't Help Myself" last season…and if Nicki Minaj had been around for this, she probably would have yelled at them to "get off the stage!" This didn't help Jessica any. And was it really necessary to also show flashback footage of her messing up her lyrics and arguing with Stephanie Hanvey's mom during Hollywood Week? Not cool.

So now, it is prediction time. Who will be in the bottom two? (Ryan only announced a bottom two last week, so I'm going to assume there will only be a bottom two this week.) Well, I bet that the producers will get their wish: Jessica will be up for elimination this Thursday, along with probably Dexter. It should be Dexter who goes home, but it might be Jessica. And if that happens, I will be mad. As mad as Miranda Lambert sounds on the original "Gunpowder and Lead."

See you then. Parker out.

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