Colton Dixon Elise Testone
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On tonight’s (April 11) episode of ‘American Idol,’ the Top 7 brought songs from 2010 until today. While we did a double take at first because 2010 seems like, well, yesterday, it turns out quite a few great songs have been released in the past two years. With Akon coming on board as the celebrity mentor and leaking to Jessica Sanchez that he pinned her as the winner since the week of the Top 13, we saw some high-energy performances and some “eh”-evoking moments as well.

BOYS:

Colton Dixon: Though Jimmy Iovine suggested that Phillip Phillips might have an advantage over the edgy Christian  vocalist, Colton brought it tonight with Skyler Grey’s ‘Love the Way You Lie’ on a white piano. Plus, he had Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson fighting over his jacket.

Joshua Ledet: The soul king was back this week as Joshua brought the house down with Bruno Mars‘ ‘Runaway Baby,’ bolstered by a surprise birthday message from ‘Idol’ season 3 winner Fantasia. The energetic performer also had his dad in the audience for the first time ever tonight!

Phillip Phillips: Though he’s a favorite among shrieking girls across the country, the laid-back bluesy guitarist wasn’t quite different enough tonight with Maroon 5‘s ‘Give a Little More.’ Non of the judges was a huge fan, but they did describe him as the offspring of Steve McQueen and Johnny Cash, so that was interesting.

GIRLS:

Skylar Laine: The country powerhouse opened the night with Kellie Pickler‘s ‘Didn’t You Know How Much I Loved You’ and the judges ate it up. Declared the “perfect” start to the night, it looks like Laine should be making it to the next round.

Jessica Sanchez: No surprises here — she killed it yet again. Bringing her own arrangement of Jazmine Sullivan’s ‘Stuttering,’ the 16-year-old brought that diva voice to the stage and didn’t miss a note.

Hollie Cavanagh: It was a rough week for the tiny statured blonde. She sang Pink‘s ‘Perfect,’ which drew some unfortunate words from the judges about how it wasn’t really perfect. But, they did give her props for how hard she’s working.

Elise Testone: Elise hit a ball in the corner pocket this week, reclaiming her place in the competition with a ruggedly pleasing rendition of Gaga‘s ‘You And I’ and drawing out tons of comments like “Elise is back!

Duets:

Phillip Phillips + Elise Testone: Testone got to choose the song this week — Gotye’s mega-catchy ‘Somebody I Used to Know’; and while the femme half of the duo nailed it, the song was a bit of an awkward fit for Phillips, who readily admitted it wasn’t really his thing. But the couple’s obvious chemistry was mentioned more than once during the segment.

Colton Dixon + Skylar Laine: Belting out the Jason AldeanKelly Clarkson duet ‘Don’t You Wanna Stay,’ the rocker actually outsang the country gal, surprising us with his versatility. The judges weren’t crazy about the duet, noting that Laine was off at some points.

Joshua Ledet, Hollie Cavanagh + Jessica Sanchez: Though Sanchez pointed out in a video montage that she was the obvious third wheel in the group (Ledet and Cavanagh are new besties), the three sounded like three wheels in perfect unison on Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Stronger.’ The got huge props from the judges, which made up for Cavanagh’s not-so-perfect night (though Jackson praised Ledet was the best of the three).

Tune in tomorrow night (April 12) at 8PM ET to find out who makes the cut and who will be saying goodbye to six of their closest compadres. The judges do still have their one save, so we’ll see if they opt to use it or wave goodbye to another contestant as the competition ramps up.

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