MANILA, Philippines — She may not have impressed the judges during the latest performance night but Jessica Sanchez remains in contention, advancing to the Top 10 of the ongoing “American Idol.”
Shannon Magrane was voted off, March 16, leaving Joshua Ledet, Phillip Phillips, Skylar Laine, Colton Dixon, Deandre Brackensick, Hollie Cavanagh, Heejun Han, Erika Van Pelt and Elise Testone with Sanchez to continue next week’s round of performances.
Jermaine Jones was disqualified over the week because of criminal history, leaving the Top 11 to perform during the “Year You Were Born” night, March 14 (March 15 in Manila).
The 16-year-old Filipino-Mexican contestant chose the 1995 Gloria Estefan hit “Turn The Beat Around” as her piece.
Although her performance was well-applauded, the San Diego native didn’t earn a standing ovation from the judges Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson this time. It was Joshua Ledet’s rendition of Michael Bolton’s “When A Man Loves A Woman” that stood out.
Sanchez, who wowed “American Idol” since her inclusion in the Top 13, faced constructive criticisms from the judges regarding her song choice.
Tyler said, “Jessica… I love your voice… I love your voice, but you can’t stray too far from what I think you sing the best which is ballad and I don’t think you should stray too far on that.”
“And the rhythm that you sang with the song was just a little shady but again I love your voice, obviously they do, too,” he added.
Lopez agreed to Tyler and also took note of Sanchez’s strong vibrato, which didn’t fit her song choice.
“It’s the type of thing that your voice has such a strong vibrato which is so beautiful on certain songs but on songs like this where you have to really be kind of be syncopated and on that beat, it lagged a little bit behind so it lost a little bit of the energy,” she explained.
“Even though you sang it great, it’s not about that. It’s about just having the rhythm on those type of songs so you really, really just kill it. So for me, [your performance is] not my favorite thing I’ve ever seen you do but good job,” Lopez remarked.
Jackson believes that Sanchez’s “Turn The Beat Around” didn’t let her big old voice to shine.
“You’re one of the greatest in this competition so I feel that we should really steer you always on the right direction and give you great constructive criticism. The problem for me was the song choice. You got this big old voice. The song does not allow you to show that. Not that you have to show it every time but pick something more that you can really play with and make your own. Cause you’re so good,” he said.
Sanchez, on the other hand, welcomed the criticisms. She admitted, “I had to work really hard to make my voice fit this song. It was a bit of a challenge.”
Before the performance night, mentor-of-the-week Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am was impressed with Sanchez, calling the young singer, “You’re a Swaggernaut.”
A Swaggernaut, as will.i.am explained, is like an “out of space swag” for a 16-year-old.
Fellow BEP and Fil-Am apl.de.ap. urged his fellow Pinoys to support Sanchez.
“Watching ‘American Idol,’ to all my Pinoys vote for Jessica Sanchez, Pinoy pride, she’s amazing!” Apl posted on Twitter, March 15.
In a separate ABS-CBN News interview, Sanchez thanked her Filipino fans for their continuous support.
“Thank you guys for all the support and all the love. I hope I can visit the Philippines one day. You guys are amazing!” she said.
Due to the setback in the early rounds of performances, critics have been comparing Sanchez to last season’s finalist Pia Toscano, a judges’ favorite who was voted out too early from the competition.
A quote from USA Today said, “Tonight, Jessica reminds me of a more mobile Pia Toscano. She’s note perfect, and she’s got her moves down, too, but there’s something that’s just a little too studied. It’s probably something she’ll grow out of, but she’s only got a few weeks to do it.”
