11 Finalists Compete - Recap

With Shannon eliminated, 10 remain to go out and look ahead to the competition. The judges come out and take their seats. Ryan comes out and welcomes the group. This week, the contestants are taking on Billy Joel songs. Steven says that if they can’t sing Billy Joel, they can’t sing at all. Jimmy Iovine brings out Diddy to help.

First up is Deandre Brackensick. Tommy Hilfiger talks to him about his style. Deandre meets with Jimmy and Diddy. He sings “Only The Good Die Young”. Jimmy tells him that he needs to have spunk and have fun with the song. He comes out on stage and sings. Afterward, Steven says that it was happy and says that it was good. Jennifer says that it was a good way to start the night and says that he did a good job. Randy says that he wasn’t jumping up and down, but he did a good job.

Erika Van Pelt is next. She meets with Jimmy and Diddy and tells them that she is singing “New York State of Mind”. Diddy tells her to hold back and enjoy the moment. She says that she will. Tommy meets with Erika and asks what Erika likes. She gets tips about chopping off her hair. She comes out and sings and her hair is jet black and short. Afterward, Randy says he loves the look and the vocals. He says that she needs to wear them out with the runs. Jennifer says that it was a beautiful vocal and says she wants her to let loose a little bit. Steven says that it was great, but needs more character.

Joshua Ledet is up next. He meets with Tommy and his assistant and discusses his style. They go with Black Tie. He meets with Jimmy and Diddy and he says that he wants to sing “She’s Got A Way”. Diddy tells him that he needs to connect to the song and relax. He comes out and sings. Afterward, Jennifer says the song was a little misconnected. Steven says that he made the song come to life for him. Randy says that he can always turn it around and tells him to jump into it and enjoy it all. He says that he is still one of the best singers in the competition.

Skylar Laine is next and she meets with Jimmy and Diddy first. She gets star struck by the sight of Diddy. She is singing “Shameless”. Diddy says that it sounds forced. He says that she needs to relax with the song and he says that she has a natural vibe. Later, she sits down with Tommy. He wants to give her some punch in her outfit. She comes out and sings. Afterward, Randy says that the front of it was sketchy, but toward the end it was great. He says that it was alright. Jennifer says that she loves her attack in the song. Steven says that it was slow in the beginning, but she breathed life into it and it was good.

Elise Testone is up next. She meets with Jimmy and Diddy. She says that she wants to sing “Vienna”. Jimmy warns her about doing songs that others may not know. However, Elise wants to do it. Diddy says that she needs to make it her own. Elise meets with Tommy and his assistant. He asks what her style is and he suggests the Janis Joplin look. She comes out and sings. Afterward, the judges give her a standing ovation. Steven says that the melody was brilliant and had a lot of heart. Jennifer says that she is happy for her and says that she did a beautiful thing. Randy says that she took it and made it her own. He loved the run at the end.

Phillip Phillips is next and he meets with Tommy. Phillip says that he is a simple type of guy in his style. He meets with Jimmy and Diddy and he is going to sing “Moving Out”. Diddy tells him to play without the guitar. Diddy tells him to get into the grove of the song. He comes out and sings. Afterward, Jennifer says that he is who he is and it was great. Steven says that he made it his own and says that he has to listen to what he wants. Randy says that he loves that Phillip did what he wanted and showed that he can do what he wants and make it sound great.

Hollie Cavenaugh is up next. She meets with Tommy and Soyon. He wants to make Hollie shine and wants to get her to look like a star. She meets with Jimmy and Diddy and she wants to sing “Honesty”. They tell her to relax through the song and Diddy tells her to feel the words. She comes out and sings. Afterward, Steven says that tonight, she was overthinking the song and she was a little pitchy. Jennifer says that sometimes she has to hold back and know the song. She loves the sound in her voice, but needs to nail the notes. Randy says that she can be great, but she is taking on big songs. He says that she was thinking too much and tells her to let go.

Heejun Han is next and he meets with Jimmy and Diddy. He says that he wants to sing “I’ve Sang My Life”. Diddy tells him to relax in the song and to take the critism in strides. He meets with Tommy and tells him that he likes what he is wearing. Tommy tells him that he is there only to give advice. Heejun comes out and puts some comedy to the night. Afterward, Jennifer says that she loved that he brought fun to the night. He says that he didn’t hit the vocal the way he wanted to, but it was fun. Steven says that he is tounge tied and says that the music business will kick his butt. However, he should take the business serious. Randy says that he is glad that he had fun.

Jessica Sanchez is up next and meets with Tommy. He says that she needs to be looking taller on stage. She meets with Jimmy and Diddy and she wants to sing “Everybody Has A Dream”. Diddy says that she is oversinging the song and tells her to hold back on all the tricks. Jimmy tells her to look at the crowd and pay respects to the song. She comes out and sings. Afterward, the judges give her a standing ovation. Steven says that he wants to thank her. Jennifer says that the song was written for her and says that it was beautiful. Randy says that she has a moment every time she goes on stage. Randy says that it was perfection.

Colton Dixon closes the night and he meets with Tommy. He says that he wants to create his own style and says that he is edgy and Tommy says that his hair is taking away from what he wants to show. Colton meets with Jimmy and Diddy and says that he is singing “Piano Man”. Jimmy says that this song was tailored to him and they have nothing negative to say about it. He comes out and sings. Afterward, Jennifer says that he sings with pure feeling and says that he did a great job. Steven says that his choice of chords was stunning. Randy says that they have all done amazing things with the songs and says that Colton did an amazing job with it too. That’s it for the performances. Tomorrow are the results.

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