Filipino-Mexican-American contestant Jessica Sanchez had a mixed night on "American Idol" on Wednesday night (Thursday morning in Manila), and the show's keen followers believe the singer may be in a precarious position.
"Jessica could be in trouble this week," MJ's Big Blog said on Entertainment Weekly's live blog.
For this week, the contestants were asked to perform two songs -- one from the 1960s and a British song.
For the first round, Sanchez took on, what judge Randy Jackson called, “the biggest dragon of the night” as she sang Ike and Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary.”
Although Jackson said the 16-year-old pulled it off, he called Sanchez’s performance “barely okay.”
"You took on probably the biggest dragon of the night... It didn't really quite sit with me," he said.
Judge Jennifer Lopez disagreed, saying Sanchez looked so grown-up when she got on stage tonight that she forgot she is only 16 years old.
Lopez also said she just saw Sanchez’s true style by showing “a little bit of Tina, a little bit of Beyonce” in the performance.
As for judge Steven Tyler, he said Sanchez did her magic again by building the song up when she started it slow and stepped it up by stretching out her vocals making her over all performance sound great.
"The only thing that gives experience a run for its money is a 16-year-old. I'm hearing the blues come out of you," said Tyler.
While Jackson did not give Sanchez high praises during the first round, Jackson said the Filipino-Mexican singer definitely made a comeback in round two with her performance of Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful."
"This girl's in the top of the leaderboard right now," Jackson said.
"You, once again, showed America just how beautiful your voice is. You're going to be No. 1, girl," Tyler added.
Lopez noted how Sanchez captivated the audience once again just like when she sang “I Will Always Love You.”
"How could we have let this girl go home?" said Lopez, as if reminding the audience to continue their support for Sanchez, who had to be saved by the judges from elimination.
Weak song choices
While "Idol" followers praised Sanchez's vocal abilities, they disagreed with her song choices -- especially since she selected two old songs.
"Her vocals, as always, are terrific. ...I would have picked a current song. She’s young and should be doing young songs," said blogger Rickey of rickey.org.
During the British round, only Hollie Cavanagh chose a more current song -- "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis -- and was praised by the judges, noting that Cavanagh seemed to be peaking at the right time.
Last week, Cavanagh received her first standing ovation for her version of Miley Cyrus's "The Climb."
Once again, the judges gave the only standing ovation on Wednesday to favorite contestant Joshua Ledet for his version of "To Love Somebody" by the Bee Gees.
As of posting, Dial Idol placed Sanchez at No. 4, with Skylar Laine at No. 1.
Americans and Filipinos in the United States can vote for Jessica Sanchez by dialing 1-866-436-5704 or 1-866-436-5709 or text "VOTE" to 5704 or 5709 or go to americanidol.com voting page or American Idol's Facebook page.
Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/entertainment/05/03/12/mixed-reviews-sanchez-may-be-trouble