American Idol The Super Six Perform (Review & Videos)

American Idol tonight is down to the final six competitors of the season. The Super Six will perform twice, each one singing a country and a rock song, and then their fates will be in your hands, America! Vote on the one or ones you think did the best, or who you simply like the most, and then on tomorrow night’s American Idol, when the voting results are revealed, find out which of the six will be going home, and which five will be moving on to next week’s episode!

The host of American Idol, Ryan Seacrest, began the episode by introducing the Super Six American Idols left who were on stage with him, Caleb Johnson, Jessica Meuse, Alex Preston, Jena Irene, C.J. Harris, and Sam Woolf. They will be a little bit country, a little bit Rock ‘n’ Roll tonight — whichever ones can pull off both songs the best will be moving on, and the one who doesn’t do quite as well as the others…will be voted off the show by your votes, America!

Then, Ryan introduced the three American Idol judges, Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban, and Harry Connick, Junior. They all signed a poster for some young fans in the audience.

“We’re going to kick things off with our Wild Card,” Ryan said, meaning Jena Irene, one of the best signers who are left. She will be singing “Barracuda” by Heart — gotta love those classic Heart songs! She totally ROCKED IT OUT, bringing out her Inner Nancy and Ann Wilson (the lead singesr of Heart).

Keith: “That’s a great way to start the show! You really set the bar high! I think you can maybe release a bit more; cut loose, baby!”

J-Lo: “The stakes are getting higher and higher. You have a real chance of getting there. What it takes are performances last that, every time.”

Harry: “I was so happy to hear you sing that song! Your voice is such a perfect match for it! At this point, it’s going to take every bit of an edge to win.”

Ryan then told the home viewers how they can vote, and that they can start voting right now. J-Lo again voiced her opinion that Jena could take the whole thing, and be the season winner. Of course, she will have to somehow outperform the other five competitors, who will be performing beginning right after the first commercial break on American Idol.

After the break, the next American Idol to perform was Sam Woolf, 18, from Florida. His first song will be “It’s Time” by Imagine Dragons. This is another great song, and Sam does an AWESOME job singing it. Keith Urban looked like he was getting into it. Sam got the audience to clap their hands above their heads by first doing it himself, really bringing them into it even more than they already were — they gave him a standing ovation as he finished singing.

J-Lo: “Sam — Sam, I got goosies on that one! I haven’t got a lot this season. I believed you when you sang it — we want to help you be the best that you all can be. I think that with that song, you came into your own as an artist.”

Harry: “I can hear you singing that in a concert. It was the perfect choice for you. You’re still that same guy, but you’re…blossoming, man.”

Keith: “That was a good performance for you. There was a thing that you tapped into, a gravitas, a weight. You’re got a lot of real things in you, pain, emotion — when you can tap into that, it’ll just explode.”

Ryan announced that it was Sam’s 18th birthday today! Ryan asked him how he celebrated it, and Sam said he just stuck around the hotel and had some cupcakes.

C.J. Harris, from Jasper, Alabama, will be the third performer of the evening on American Idol. He will be singing “American Woman.” C.J. KICKED BUTT with this song! He NAILED it! the audience clapped along right from the beginning of the song. C.J. played an electric guitar as he sang. He got a standing ovation, also.

Harry: “How did you feel about that performance? I thought it was a good one, and a good song choice. I have to remind you about intonation, singing in tune, and focusing. I thought it was pretty good, though I’ve heard you do better.”

Keith: “What struck me about that song is that it’s all attitude. You’re a really sweet guy, and that’s where the disconnect came from.”

J-Lo: “I have to say I loved the look — the jacket, the guitar — I think you really pulled it off. When you started singing to the crowd, it all came together.”

The judges seemed to be a bit harsh on C.J., but maybe they’ll have kinder words when he sings the country song he’ll perform later in tonight’s episode of American Idol.

Back from another break, the American Idol who took the stage after we saw a brief recap of how he got to this stage in the competition was Alex Preston, another dude who just might go all the way to the end and win it all all, including a recording contract.

Before he performed, Ryan had a Viewer Question for Alex, a fan wanting to know who Alex liked musically. He said Jay Buckley (I think that’s what he said) and John Mraz.

Alex performed the song “Animals” and he did an AMAZING job singing it. He really got the audience pumped up a she sang it energetically, while accompanying himself on his guitar. He showed he can hit high notes, and sustain them, towards the end of the song. Alex got a standing ovation, then Ryan said we’ll hear the judges’ feedback right after another commercial break.

Keith: “I love that song! I just wanted you to ‘release’ a little bit more.” He was booed by the audience.

J-Lo: “Oh, no! I’ll probably get booed, also. It was a little bit contained. You were in it — I felt it — but you didn’t let go enough.”

Harry: “I don’t think it’s safe to say that you get a Pass, but you kinda do, in a way. I heard you can do an uptempo song, and that’s good; but, it wasn’t your best performance.”

Ryan then introduced the “Resident Rocker” as he put it on American Idol, Caleb Johnson. He will be singing “Sting Me.”  He once again OWNED this song, as he has all of the Rock songs he’s sung this season. Keith Really got into it, and pumped his arm into the air  at one point. What an INCREDIBLE performance! He got sustained cheering and applause from the audience.

J-Lo: “That was some real Rock ‘n’ Roll! You really delivered the song well –you created a MOMENT.”

Harry: “When you take a perfect song choice and couple that with an INCREDIBLE performance, it’s virtually impossible to beat.”

Keith: “Your recovery after you dropped that microphone was incredible — you just slid into it, and got it back.”

Randy Jackson said “That’s ROCK’N’ ROLL!”

Jessica Meuse, from Slapout, Alabama, will perform next on American Idol. She will be singing “Somebody to Love” by Jefferson Airplane. She NAILED this song, doing her best Grace Slick job of singing it! What a perfect song choice for Jessica!

Harry: “You’re here because you have a fantastic voice! I thought it was really strong. You need to sing strongly, rhythmically and powerfully, which is what you just did. It was strong — nice job!”

Keith: “I couldn’t get out of my head Jim Carey in ‘Cable Guy,’ but you still got to figure your release. It’s like there’s a disconnect. Maybe that’s just me.”

J-Lo: “There has to be a freedom to a performance. You have to just think about the words of the song, and you’ve got to be feeling it. We want the energy of your body to match with everything else.”

After another commercial break on American Idol, Sam Woolf will start off the second round, the country one. First, Ryan show the home audience that Jena and Caleb are the two top vote-getters up to this point, but the said that all could change.

Sam will be singing “You’re Still the One,” by Shania Twain. hr did a really great job with this song. the females int the audience sang along with him, and even Keith Urban sang along! Sam reached intot he audience and touched some of his fans’ hands, also.

Keith: “That’s one of my favorite songs, and it’s a good one for you. Just relax more; that’s all you’ve got to do. I saw some of it in your performance.”

J-Lo: “You’re so cute, it’s just crazy. My favorite parts of the song were when you went up to the girls, and when your face would get red.”

Harry: “It’ now just a matter of not singing it so perfectly. You’ve made the audience connection — now, if you can also do it with the lyrics, you’ll be making continuous progress.”

After another commercial break, Caleb Johnson will be singing a song by Carrie Underwood, of all performers. Can he do as well with a country song as he does consistently with Rock songs?

Ryan brought out a very cute but grumpy-looking cat. Caleb will be singing “Undo It” by Carrie Underwood.

It is actually a rockin’ sort of country song, so it was a perfect one for Caleb. He again ROCKED the HECK out of this song, and put on a very difficult performance for anyone to follow. He again got a standing ovation. Ryan said we’ll hear the comments of the American Idol judges right after another commercial break.

Caleb, Ryan announced, it 23 today. J-lo said that she thought the “magic” happened more the first song, and Harry agreed with her, earnign him boos from the audience.

Keith: ‘I thought it was great — I can’t wait to hear what country song you do later.” He perhaps was saying that Caleb made the song sound more like a Rock one than a country one, but, oh, well….

Alex Preston sang “Always on My Mind” by Willie Nelson. He sounded GREAT, and made the song his own. You could hear a pin drop as he was singing it — his voice was very melodious and he did an AMAZING version of this classic Willie Nelson song.

Harry: “I think this is a good night. I feel very lucky to have heard you do that in the competition tonight. You’re an artist, and I really admire that, Alex. I think you did a terrific job.”
Keith: ‘You have a really strong style. It’s so heartbreaking, that song, and you really dig into what it’s about.”

J-Lo: ‘For me, it was really beautiful You guys have to do that every single time. Right here was the perfect balance between Alex and a really great song everyone knows.”

Ryan said the next performer on American Idol, right after the break, will be Jena Irene, and she will sing another Carrie Underwood song, “So Small.”

Jena has an AWESOME voice, and she did a terrific job singing it. the audience was mesmorized a she sang.

Keith: “Jena, baby, you’re such a great singer! My word! You’re 17 baby, and you sing like That? It’s been the best journey watching you.”

J-Lo: ‘Sometimes the power of the vocal just takes over, as it did this time. Very, very beautiful.”

Harry: “It’s like you’re basing your interpretation on Carrie’s interpretation.” He said he disagreed with Keith and J-Lo, and got roundly booed for saying that.

“In the scheme of things, it didn’t really work for me; but, I don’t think it will matter tonight,” he added.

“We get the sense that you do listen to what we say, and that’s a good thing.” Harry then said, maybe trying to soften the sting of what he’d already just said.

Back on American Idol, C.J. Harris sang “Whatever It Is” by the Zac Brown Band. He played his guitar as he sang. The audience clapped along, and seemed to be really into his performance.

J-Lo: “This is really more your style. I have to say, I really expected a little bit more from you.”

Harry: “I think this wasn’t really your best performance. You have to come out here and give everything. You can’t get by with songs like that.”

Keith: At this point, you really have to choose your songs carefully. The melody is too low — scrap a song like that, and go with another song.”

C.J. revealed he was singing the song for a girl who passed away a couple of days ago, and it was all about her, so he didn’t care what happened; he had his own very good reasons for singing that particular song.

Jessica Meuse closed out American Idol with the song “Jolene.” It was a really great song choice for her voice and style — she hit it out of the park with her performance, and the audience clapped along as she sang. She ended the song with a really high note, and the audience gave her a standing ovation.

Harry: “You delivered it in a strong and convincing way. Nice work.”

Keith: “It’s a great song, but I hated the arrangement. I love the way Dolly does it.”

Harry: “I thought it was cool that you did it that way.”

J-Lo: “That voice is just magnificent. We were really just trying to get you to the right place.”

Ryan looked at the Real Time Results one more time, but said that that could all change, and that “the race is on.”

American Idol is winding down the season, and the last show is getting closer — it will be in May. Tomorrow night’s Results Show should be a great one, though a brief, half-hour one. Please tune in to it, and then come back here to read a Recap/Review of the episode!

Written by: Douglas Cobb