Magrane becomes the second ‘Idol’ booted this week after her version of ‘One Sweet Day’ fails to land her a save from the judges. By Adam Graham Shannon Magrane on “American Idol” Photo: Fox It was anything but “One Sweet Day” for Shannon Magrane, as the 16-year-old “pride of Tampa” was sent packing on Thursday’s (March 15) episode of “American Idol.” With her elimination, Magrane missed the opportunity to go on the road with the “Idol” summer tour. Her version of Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day,” which received decent marks from the judges on Wednesday’s performance episode , landed her dead last following America’s votes. Magrane was given a chance to sing for her life to be the recipient of the judges’ save, but her reprise of “One Sweet Day” was not enough to sway the judges. She became the second contestant eliminated this week, following Jermaine Jones’ exit on Wednesday , after executives discovered he had several warrants out that he failed to disclose. Though it’s largely thought to be the ladies’ year on “Idol,” Thursday’s episode saw an all-female bottom three. Along with Magrane, Elise Testone and Erika Van Pelt also found themselves facing elimination. Testone, who received a welcome attitude check and recovered from a near-disastrous performance the week prior, was the first let back to safety by host Ryan Seacrest. In addition to Testone and Van Pelt, the other “Idols” who will be hitting the road this summer are Colton Dixon, Skylar Laine, Joshua Ledet, Deandre Brackensick, Phillip Phillips, Hollie Cavanagh, Heejun Han and Jessica Sanchez. In defending Sanchez, who stole the show last week with her version of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” but was brought slightly back down to earth this week with her screamy version of Gloria Estefan’s “Turn the Beat Around,” mentor Jimmy Iovine said, “If she goes home, we should all go home.” Also during the show, Tommy Hilfiger was introduced as the contestants’ “image adviser.” The fashion icon will work with them to help “shape them toward stardom,” he explained. Demi Lovato also appeared and performed her latest single, “Give Your Heart a Break,” while Daughtry was on hand to debut the band’s new single, “Out of My Head.” Do you agree with America’s decision to send home Shannon Magrane? Let us know in the comments! Get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Photos ‘American Idol’ Season 11 Top 13 Contestants
Simply put, in the words of Randy Jackson, Hollie Cavanagh “blew it out of da box” on American Idol last night. The season 11 finalist showed no fear in covering “The Power of Love,” a ballad made famous by one of the best voices in the history of music, Celione Dion. But Cavanagh made that superstar proud during her performance, belting out strong note after strong note and likely taking the title of Female Favorite away from Jessica Sanchez . Can Hollie speed it up? Can she ace anything but slow tempo love songs? Does it matter? Those are questions for next week. For now, just sit back and enjoy one of the best auditions of the year: Hollie Cavanagh – “The Power of Love”
Sanchez’s take on Whitney Houston’s ‘I Will Always Love You’ brings down the house as the guys tackle Stevie Wonder. By James Montgomery Jessica Sanchez on “American Idol” Photo: FOX “American Idol” swung for the fences on Wednesday night — and we’re not just talking about Steven Tyler’s decision to wear his Roy Lichtenstein pants. The girls tackled Whitney Houston songs (borderline blasphemy?) and the guys did Stevie Wonder, and, after two hours of performances that ran the gamut from “startlingly great” to “shockingly unhinged” — with the majority falling somewhere in the middling middle — well, perhaps it’s best if producers reined it in a tad. Still, there were some highlights (Jessica Sanchez!), and with eliminations coming Thursday night (March 8) — though, in classic late-era “Idol,” they’ve added some unnecessary wrinkles to the proceedings — here’s our grades for the Top 13. Who passed with flying colors? Who flunked out in flaming fashion? Read on to find out! Jessica Sanchez: Showed some major stones taking on the Whitney song to end all Whitney songs, “I Will Always Love You.” Was maybe a touch too melismatic, didn’t quite get there at the end, but still … dang, girl. Tears and standing ovations both richly deserved. Grade: A Hollie Cavanagh: Pint-sized powerhouse delivered the goods on “All the Man That I Need,” including hitting that big, big note at the end. Showcased range, control and power — all that’s missing is some personality. J.Lo sees her going all the way to the finals, and if Cavanagh keeps singing like this — and loses the nerves — she might be right. Grade: B+ Joshua Ledet: Ventured outside his comfort zone with a strutting, cutting take on Stevie’s “I Wish,” and took us all to church in the process. It was a bit screechy in parts, but he made up for it with amazing hand gestures and newfound confidence. Quoth Randy: “You wore it out!” We’d have to agree with that assessment. Grade: B+ Skylar Laine: The fact that she’d never sung Whitney is not nearly as shocking as her newfound dark-horse status. She took on “Where Do Broken Hearts Go,” and though it started out a bit nasally (and sleepy), she picked up speed and ended up more or less killing it. “Biggest moment of the night,” J.Lo said — of course, that was before Jessica Sanchez. Grade: B Heejun Han: He proved to be equally adept at both humorous tweets and gross misspellings of celebrity names (seriously dude, it’s “I-O-V-I-N-E”). His stripped-down take of “All in Love is Fair” was shaping up to be a slow-mo disaster, but he turned it around, and ended up putting his own silky smoove touch on the tune. We could do with less of his shtick, but the dude keeps delivering … and flirting with J.Lo. Grade: B Colton Dixon: Of course, was more than willing to take Jimmy and MJB’s advice to perform one of his own songs, and, of course, it was super wussy. He ended up doing “Lately,” which somehow managed to be both a tad flat and pitchy. Of course, only Randy seemed to notice. Girls seem to like his smoldering looks, which means he’ll stick around. Grade: B- Erika Van Pelt: Mary J called her tone “steak and potatoes,” though her take on “I Believe In You and Me” was more Lean Cuisine. Spotty at the beginning, she pressed on, and ended up with a fairly legit — if slightly bland — performance. It gave J.Lo goosies, which makes you wonder if they had the air conditioner cranked up too high. She earned a nickname from Seacrest (“EVP”), so she seems safe. Grade: B- Jeremy Rosado: Jer Bear put a sultry, supple spin on Stevie’s “Ribbon in the Sky,” and, in the process, made the most of his second chance. Sadly, Randy though it was lacking in “swag.” Can we retire that phrase yet? Middling reviews from the judges didn’t do him any favors. Grade: B- Phillip Phillips: His night-closing “Pimp Spot” turned out to be not so pimp, since he had to follow Jessica Sanchez. From the minute they announced the guys were doing Stevie, I knew he was doing “Superstition,” and lo and behold, he did just that. It was swampy, sorta scatty, and also sorta anti-climactic (and scary). Steven said he had a lot of “forget about it” in his voice … don’t worry, we already have. Grade: C Deandre Brackensick: Skanked his way through “Master Blaster” and showed off his ill falsetto. It was sort of forgettable, yet also kind of fresh at the same time. We’re glad Steven made the Naima comparison, since we didn’t think we were allowed to go there. Irie! Grade: C Jermaine Jones: The Gentle Giant’s baritone was on full display with “Knocks Me Off My Feet.” It started sort of bland, picked up steam toward the end, yet never truly seemed to connect. Quoth Steven: “That song fits you like an Armani suit” — that’d be a gigantic suit. Jones described his performance thusly: “I think I did a pretty good job.” OK, dude. Grade: C- Elise Testone: Ooof. Early attempts at “The Greatest Love of All” earned her the stank face from MJB, so (seemingly against her will) she ended up doing “I’m Your Baby Tonight.” The end result was a near catatonic, downright uncomfortable performance. Randy said she was “Boxing with the song,” and, well, she got knocked out. She seemed to come unglued during Seacrest’s post-performance interview, and for someone who claimed “there’s no excuse” for her spotty stint, she sure made a lot of excuses. Grade: D- Shannon Magrane: Seacrest introduced her as “The pride of Tampa,” though, after this debacle, he probably wants to reconsider that assessment. She did “I Have Nothing,” which was a pretty apt metaphor for her entire performance. Sure, she’s got a big voice, but she was swallowed up by the size and emotional wallop of the song itself — you know, because she’s 16 or whatever. She tried to power her way through, but ended up just sort of shouting. If Erika Van Pelt is “EVP,” she’s “NVG” — not very good. Grade: F Get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Photos ‘American Idol’ Season 11 Top 13 Contestants
American Idol’s Hollie Cavanagh struggled a bit in her mentoring session, but she came through with flying colors on Dusty Springfield’s “All The Man That I Need.” Hollie definitely exudes a kind of Dusty Springfield vibe, both with her looks and with the arrangements she’s given, so it certainly works for her and then some. Mentor Mary J. Blige must have gotten through to her, as she gave Jessica Sanchez a run for her money for the night’s most complete female performance. “That’s the Hollie that I know from last year and this year,” said a wowed Jennifer Lopez, who’s predicting her for the finale after the following effort … Hollie Cavanagh – “All The Man That I Need” (American Idol Top 13)
With the final 13 on American Idol announced last night, THG will be pairing off various contestants over the next few days to determine who readers believe is the early favorite. First up, we pitted Phillip Phillips against Colton Dixon . Both talented, both appealing to a certain female demographic. Which of these remaining men has the best chance to take home the season 11 title? Now, it’s the ladies’ turn. Both Hollie Cavanagh and Jessica Sanchez wowed the judges and the viewers during their semifinal performances. We’d give the early nod to Hollie, but we’re just one website. What do YOU think? Which is most likely to win it all? Vote now:
There’s a Haley, a Hollie and a Hallie. There’s also the daughter of a World Series pitcher and a young woman who auditioned five years ago and has now made a triumphant return. Indeed, it’s a mixed, talented bag of female American Idol semifinalists. They’ll perform live for the first time on Wednesday night, so now is the time to place your early bets. Sort through the following Fox promotional pics and then select a favorite and let’s see if one of these females can break the string of male Idol champions… WHO IS YOUR FEMALE FAVORITE?
