American Idol 11, April 11: Perfect?

You guys wouldn’t believe what I went through to recap this episode. And I still missed the first 50 minutes! And yet I only missed four performances. That’s pretty sad.

The theme this week is songs from this century. Yes, just from this year and the two previous years. At least we’re sticking with current stuff. Akon is the guest mentor.

Like I said, I missed the first 50 minutes, but thanks to Rickey.org, I got to see the performances later and see the judges’ most relevant remarks. Just pretend I saw it all on TV and the judges were surprisingly untalkative.

Skylar starts things off with Kellie Pickler’s “Didn’t You Know How Much I Loved You.” She plays guitar. There’s fire all over the stage, for some reason. She sounds good. Oh, I guess the fire symbolizes Skylar’s rage at the guy she’s supposed to be singing to. This is a great performance; she’s at the top of her game here.

Randy thinks Skylar could have a hit with this song. She was totally on pitch. Jen agrees, saying Skylar nailed it. Steven says Skylar’s songs are complete sentences.

Colton gets smoke, possibly from Skylar’s fires. He’s singing “Love the Way You Lie” by Rihanna and Eminem. Wait, hold up. What? I never would have expected Colton to sing anything remotely connected to Eminem. I also never would have expected to actually like it. It’s very passionate, and a beautiful arrangement, with Colton on piano, playing with a string nonet (I feel all fancy using that word). It’s really, really good.

Randy says the performance was subtle and stellar. It was like a lullaby. Colton’s an artist. Jen wishes there had been more of a song. Huh? Steven says Colton is a “rare talent.”

You knew sooner or later someone had to sing Goyte’s “Somebody That I Used to Know,” and it’s Phillip and Elise. Looks like the pairs from last week are still in play, though Hollie lost her partner. I like this. The song doesn’t seem like something that would fit them, but the arrangement works for both of them.

Jessica does Fefe Dobson’s “Stuttering” while sitting on a piano. It’s a good song choice for her. She sounds great, but as I’ve thought many times in the past, her performance chops aren’t up to the level of some of the other singers’. Some of her movements are distracting. But like I said, she sounds wonderful.

Randy loved the arrangement. Jessica set the bar high. Jen thought it was beautiful, but Jessica was “digging” in the middle. She needs to be more like Joshua, who takes the audience on a ride. Steven forgets where he is when Jessica sings.

This is where my TV decides to start cooperating. Joshua just had his 20th birthday. Ryan surprises him with a video from Fantasia, wishing him a happy birthday and good luck tonight. Joshua’s hometown in Louisiana also loves him. A bunch of people have shirts with his face on them, but he’s not going to be wearing one. Yeah, that might be weird.

Joshua’s singing “Runaway Baby” by Bruno Mars. He wants to “boogie out.” Jimmy wants him to lose the band for a bit and do his thing. Akon likes that Joshua’s quiet and listens. Jimmy asks if Joshua’s connecting with him. Akon says yes, so Jimmy says Joshua can connect with the “urban world.” He thinks Joshua’s humility will carry him far.

It’s a fun song, and though it sounds like something from the ‘50s or ‘60s, Joshua makes it a little modern. This was a great song choice for him. He’s showing off his voice well and having fun with it.

Steven says Joshua’s voice is a work of art. He tries to set Joshua up with a really tall backup dancer. Jen says he’s going to get a ton of numbers soon enough. She loves his performances because they’re dynamic and get the audience’s attention, but they’re also laidback. Randy thinks this was unbelievable. He likes Joshua’s whole look. He’s “got to have it.” Oh, we’re still doing that, are we?

Joshua’s dad is in the audience for the first time. Ryan brings him up onstage to hug his son. He also asks if Dad approves of the go-go dancer.

Skylar accidentally walks through the background of Ryan’s intro of her and Colton, which is kind of funny. She and Colton are dueting again, this time on Kelly Clarkson and Jason Aldean’s “Don’t You Wanna Stay?” They keep denying that they’re dating. Colton says it’s because Skylar has a gun.

The duet isn’t all that great. Colton actually sounds better than Skylar. She’s not completely on pitch. Steven thinks it was pretty, though. Jen notes that Kelly and Jason sang that song on the show last season, and it’s not easy. Colton and Skylar did a nice job. Randy loves both singers but thought the performance was just okay. Both were much better on their solos. Ryan asks who was better. Randy says Skylar had more stand-out moments, but she was sharp on some notes. Jen doesn’t want to answer the question, so she doesn’t.

Backstage, Colton and Skylar say “no” ten million times in re: their relationship. So… yes?

Hollie’s hometown in Texas has “watching parties.” Someone’s made “Holliepops.” Okay, that’s cute. Hollie’s dad says there are also watching parties in England. Her cousin brought her a bunch of fan mail. Hollie’s mom still can’t wrap her head around her daughter being on the show.

Last week’s bottom-three results scared Hollie. This week she wants to sing Pink’s “Perfect.” “The only thing she’s missing is a certain type of experience,” Jimmy says. Okay. What? He wants her to turn up the gas and make a leap to being natural. Akon tells Hollie not to worry about what other people are saying. She needs to just own it. They all say the word “perfect” a lot. Got it, guys.