American Idol Judges React To Season 11 Top 6 Elimination

We’ve heard from Elise Testone following her Top 6 elimination on American Idol 2012 and now it’s the judges turn. FOX spoke with all three judges for their reaction, but I’m wishing they had also pulled in Jimmy Iovine for his thoughts.

Randy Jackson had previously predicted Elise to be one of the next two singers to be eliminated (Hollie was the other), but this time around he’s shocked, just shocked that something like this could happen. “I mean Elise? God, ya know, what are you going to do?,” Randy said in regards to her departure from the show. Come on, Randy. Eliminations are inevitable and expected. Randy does give Elise credit for her rendition of “I Want It All” on Wednesday’s American Idol 2012, but apparently it just wasn’t enough to keep her.

The reality check Randy needs comes from JLo who points out “it’s that time in the competition where somebody has got to go.” Jennifer Lopez, the unexpected voice of reason. There’s no shame in exiting at the Top 6 stage of American Idol. Not everyone can make it to the finale. “Elise was one of the best singers, but you’ve still got 5 pretty special people up there that can really, really sing,” Lopez added.

Steven Tyler pointed to Elise’s deviation from the Blues genre as part of the reason behind her elimination. “She’s a great singer. She’s a great blues singer and she needs a little coaching with the rock stuff, but she sings it great,” Tyler explained. Tyler also notes that a lot has changed since America fell in love with Janis Joplin which seems to hint that Elise may need to adapt a little more rather than chasing a shrinking niche.

If you want more catchphrases and “Yo!’s” from Jackson then tune in to the end of the interview video below. Thankfully the other two American Idol judges brought valuable input to the discussion this week. Sheesh, Randy.

Original content from American Idol 2012.

Reactions to Colton Dixon’s Elimination

The American Idol 2012 judges were as shocked as the rest of America last night when once-presumed frontrunner Colton Dixon was eliminated from the competition. So what did they have to say following the shocking news?

Jennifer Lopez clearly wouldn’t have sent Colton home if the decision was hers, but she understands how it happened.

“He was definitely in my Top 5,” Jennifer said. “But at the end of the day, you have to have a great performance every time.”

Randy chimes in in his usual I-don’t-really-care-and-won’t-even-act-like-it monotone.
“It’s tough,” Randy said. “We didn’t want to see him go tonight. But we used the save with Jessica last week.”
The judges all agree that Colton didn’t have to win American Idol to put his stamp on America and that he should have no problems finding his career in music.

Show mentor Jimmy Iovine was as matter-of-fact as always. If you want to get a good understanding of what’s going on with the show, look to Jimmy.

“I thought there was a heavy girl vote going in for all these guys,” Jimmy said. “I didn’t think he’d get voted off for one performance. I did not think the performance last night (Wednesday) was good at all. I thought it was his worst performance and he got voted off for it. Which actually is a healthy thing for the show. I think it should be based on what you did that night.”

Like the judges, Jimmy doesn’t think Colton will have any issues having a music career.
This content is from AmericanIdolnet.com.

Jessica Sanchez Spoke

News from Americanidol.com:

The American Idol 2012 audience and judges weren’t the only ones shocked by this week’s voting results. American Idol hopeful Jessica Sanchez found herself completely blindsided by the outcome when Ryan Seacrest revealed that not only was she in the Bottom 3, but she’d also be forced to sing for her life.
After Wednesday night’s performance show Jessica Sanchez spoke with Zap2It and told them, “I feel good! The reason I wanted to do that song is because I love the artist, and I don’t think she gets recognized enough. I love the song ["Stuttering'], so I’m glad [the judges] all loved it too.” Judge Steven Tyler blamed Jessica’s near-fatal elimination on her song selection while Randy Jackson later said voter complacency was the culprit in her Thursday night shocker.

Use of the Judges’ Save on Thursday night’s American Idol 2012 episode wasn’t a surprise to anyone watching, but it was a first for Idol history. Jessica Sanchez was the first female Idol Hopeful to receive the Save and get a second chance in the competition. All previous recipients had been male, as Idol points out. And perhaps most interesting is that former Idol Hopeful Jennifer Hudson has been the guest performer on four of the five times the Save was put in to play.

Do you think the judges made the right move in saving Jessica Sanchez? Was it just a voting fluke like Randy suggests or is Jessica in more danger than he suspects?

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News from Americanidol.com:

American Idol 2012 delivered quite the “shocker” last night and it wasn’t just the audience who was stunned, but the judges as well. After Jessica Sanchez began her “Save Me!” song we saw JLo, Randy, and Steven all storm the stage and halt her performance to declare her safety. Sanchez’s elimination by the voting public was negated and the judges were quick to admonish the audience for their actions. After the show ended E! Online caught up with Randy and Steven to discuss what happened and they were happy to share their thoughts.


“I think every season it happens every time,” Randy explained. “It’s funny that Ryan and I were remarking tonight that Jennifer Hudson was on, we used the save for her and she came in sixth. You look at the stardom she’s got, but what I think what happens, honestly, is people forget to vote and they think their favorites are safe. I mean you saw that bottom three. Oh my god, it’s like ‘What’s going on?’”

So Randy was obviously taken back by the American Idol results, but was quick to point out that like Hudson, if Sanchez doesn’t make it to the end she still has plenty of potential for a full career in the music industry. Steven pointed the blame at Jessica’s song choice this week with her performance of “Stuttering” (watch it again).

“They’re all one song away [from elimination], because this is a game show,” he told us. “It’s a reality show where America’s vote is on if they don’t sing [well]. It’s because they don’t have a good song. It doesn’t mean they can’t sing. [Jessica] is as good as it gets and she’s 16.”

Didn’t we just hear the judges tell us this week that song choice wasn’t a potential issue because it’s all about how they sing it? Ah well, anyways.

Randy went on to say that the judges find out the results as the same time as America, so there’s no premeditation for using the Save ahead of that night’s live broadcast. I’d assume all three of them have singers in mind though for who they’d save and who they wouldn’t.

Speaking of saves, I was hoping we’d hear from JLo, but nothing yet. Remember that JLo wanted to use the one-time-only Save for the past two weeks. Could you imagine if they had saved Heejun or DeAndre and then been forced to let Jessica be eliminated?

Next week on American Idol 2012 the slate is wiped clean and the remaining finalists start anew in their pursuit of the Season 11 crown. There are no more saves from the judges and the decision will fall to the voting public. No matter how things turn out I’m expecting some season high votes coming in as the Top 7 take to the American Idol stage once again.