American Idol Sudden Death: Top 40's Jett Hermano Final Performance on the Idol Stage

American Idol Top 40: Jett Hermano

Bridgette "Jett" Hermano, a 25-year-old Filipina from Washington DC, dreams of performing on stage while working behind the desk as a legal assistant. Jett's dream takes her to a journey at the Idol stage. But her journey ended tonight as she got eliminated in one of the brutal cuts this season dubbed as the sudden death round.

Aside from having a wonderful sultry voice, Jett also show her musicality by performing her version of Rhianna's "Only Girl in the World" behind the piano. Given that she has given less or no airtime exposure in earlier episode, I really wanted to see more of her and what she can do on stage.

Jett performs Rhianna's "Only Girl in the World".

AMERICAN IDOL SEASON 12: Jett Hermano Performs Sudden Death Round 

Keith Urban: "... I love that you did this unique arrangement of that song. I so applaud (you for) taking the song and making it your own. And the musicianship, we saw a lot here tonight, is fantastic to see. What you did for me, by slowing that song down and doing it the way you did brought up the sexiness of the song in the way that Rihanna does but (you did it) in another way, another level again. I really, really appreciate that, Jett."

Nicki Minaj: "I like the arrangement as well. I love that you slowed it down. I like the breathy falsetto stuff you did a lot. But I thought its going to climax to something and I never felt that."

Randy Jackson: "I kinda know what you are going. I thought you are going up from the piano midway and kinda rock it mid stage and wear out vocally...

Keith Urban: " ..the strength is kinda good though.."

Randy Jackson: "Yeah, I know I love that. The first part was actually beautiful and I love that thing at the end. I call that a 'little Mariah-ism' which is a little falsetto thing which is very nice... but the middle part the tempo came it and I was 'Yo come on!'"

Mariah Carey: "I always felt you were an interesting and unique addition to this contest and that there is something different about you. I am not sure where you gonna take it but it's very very intriguing. It didn't matter to me that you didn't go sick at the end like having a fit on the piano and do whatever. I really enjoy the first half of the song a lot and I love that you did that song. Good luck with the rest of this whole thing."

So it's a split review for Jett from the panel. Keith and Mariah likes her performance while Nicki and Randy is on the fence.

In the mini interview with Ryan Seacrest, we found out that Jett has her roots from Sarrat, Ilocos Norte in the Philippines. When Ryan ask what is the hot spot that small town. Jett wittingly say 'Home'. Yes! Home is where the heart is.

Then that was the cue the judges been waiting for as we see her as one of the five who went home that night.

But if ever there will be a wildcard round, I sure hope that Jett would take a spot and make a comeback.

American Idol Season 12: Filipino Adriana Latonio Made It To Top 20

American Idol: Adriana Latonio

Adriana Latonio made it to the Top 20 of American Idol. The 17-year-old Filipino-American from Anchorage, Alaska got the judges' nod as one of the five best performances of the night worthy of America's votes in the live final rounds. She chose to do one of Aretha Franklin's popular hits, " Ain't No Way".

Adriana Latonio sings Aretha Franklin's Ain't No Way

Keith Urban and Randy Jackson gave her a standing ovation after her performance.

Keith Urban said, " Now the night has started... I have to struggle not to over-emote."

Nicki Minaj calls her "little ladybug" and then commenting further of her 5' height. She continue praising her Filipino roots and that she didn't show an ounce of fear throughout the performance.

Randy Jackson said, "This girl is born to do it... I was really proud of you and really happy for you". He further said what a pro she was.

Mariah Carey gave her performance an A+.

It was a scare that she was one of the two left standing after four earlier favorites, Kree Harrison, Angela Miller, Tenna Torres and Amber Holcomb took the first four stools of the top 20 contestants for the live finals. She had to compete for the last spot against Shubha Vedula who made a stellar impact with her version of Lady Gaga's Born This Way. On a back stage interview with Ryan Seacrest, Adriana admitted that she become best friends with Shubha and adding "Everything happens for a reason". 

A few minutes forward and onstage, Keith is about to announce who's out and who takes the last spot. He reassured both teens that millions now know their names because of the talent they have shown in this competition. He told Shubha that he fought hard for her but Adriana is the one who is going forward in the Top 20. It was a scare there for a moment, but the judges did made the correct decision by giving Adriana the final spot in this round.

Now, I am looking forward to seeing the talents of two other Filipinos in the competition. We still have Briant Tadeo and Jett Hermano who still needs to hurdle their respective sudden death round next week. So watch out for that. It would be amazing if they can also make it to the Top 20. Let's keep our fingers cross.

American Idol Season 12: Sudden Death Group 1 Recap

American Idol Season 12 Sudden Death Batch 1
R-L: Jenny Beth Willis, Teena Torres,
Adriana Lantonio, Brandy Hotard,
Shubha Vedula, Kamaria Ousley,
Kree Harrison, Angela Miller,
Isabelle,  and Amber Holcomb

After ten girls sing their song if choice, five will go. That is the sudden death rules.

Jenny Beth Willis
Owensboro, KY
Song choice: Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love, Trisha Yearwood

It was not good song choice for this 17-year-old country girl. Her performance was good all throughout, however, she didn't leave anything we could remember her by. 

Teena Torres
Queens, NY
Song Choice: Soulmate, Natasha Bedingfield

I love her performance. She displayed how dynamic her voice was. Her performance was a bit subdued but you could feel the power in there. I like the voice control and she connected with the song.

Adriana Latonio

Anchorage, AK

Song Choice: Ain't No Way, Aretha Franklin

As a very young and petite girl, she definitely doesn't shy away from the occasion.  And she is very confident singing an Aretha Franklin song. She did gave it her all and she was even surprise at the end results. I love it how she builds the song, adding every emotion she has until there is no holding back. And she did not  hold back at the end. She's a pro.

Brandy Hotard
Port Allen, LA
Song Choice: Anymore, Travis Tritt

Yes, she smiled when she was singing about crying. That made her disconnect to the song. Nothing memorable really except that misplaced smile. 

Shubha Vedula
Mt. Pleasant, MI
Song Choice: Born This Way, Lady Gaga

Shubha is a quirky character with a powerful voice and that sometimes make a great combination in a competition like Idol.  In this performance, however, she was overdoing it that it left a bit of bad taste in the mouth. 

Kamaria Ousley
Oakland, CA
Song Choice: Mr. Know It All, Kelly Clarkson

Her performance was not good at all. Her pitch was all over the place. It is a bad sign when the judges commented more on your looks than your performance. 

Kree Harrison 
Nashville, TN
Song Choice: Up on the Mountain, Patty Griffin

Double wow and two thumbs up for Kree. She did take me to church. I like that she sings clean but the emotion was there front and center. Her looks needs improvement though.

Angela Miller
Beverly, MA
Song Choice: Nobody's Perfect, Jessie J

Angela sings great but she needs to feel it more like what Kree did. It might be a bad sign when the judges expect too much in a contestant. They wanted to see more spectacular things from her like the original performance she did the last week.

Isabelle 

Duluth, GA

Song Choice: God Bless the Child, Billie Holiday

At first I thought its gonna be lounge-y but at the end she was working it. Again, there was nothing new to see from her performance other than her a bit stiff demeanor.

Amber Holcomb

Houston, TX

Song Choice: My Funny Valentine

Welcome back, Amber! She did very good. She made this slow, old-fashioned song current. I love the runs and twists she did with the song.

The verdict

Going Home 

Going Home: Jenny, Brandy, Isabelle, Kamaria and Shubha

Moving to the Top 20

American Idol Girls Moving to Top 20: Kree, Teena, Angela, Amber and Adriana

I think the judges got it right. I would have love it if Shuba has also gone through but definitely the five women are the top performers of the night. The performance of the night definitely goes to Kree. I also love Adriana's performance. I never thought she is that good. For Angela, I think the judges are still have hangovers from her awesome original performance last time. I wonder what effect would this  expectation have on our pretty front-runner. What do you think about the results? Who was your favorite?

American Idol Season 12 Top 20 Girls Collage

American Idol Season 12 Top 20 Girls Collage

American Idol
Season 12
TOP 20 GIRLS

Adriana Adriana
Amber Holcomb
Angela Miller
Aubrey Cleland
Brandy Hotard
Breanna Steer
Candice Glover
Cristabel Clack
Isabelle [Pasqualone]
Janelle Arthur
Jenny Beth Willis
Jett Hermano
Juliana Chahayed
Kamaria Ousley
Kree Harrison
Melinda Ademi
Rachel Hale
Shubha Vedula
Tenna Torre
Zoanette Johnson

American Idol Season 12: Girl's Week Recap

Nicki Minaj: Talk to the Hand

It is the girls turn to invade the center stage at Hollywood week of the American Idol. In the a capella round, earlier favorites like Rachel Halle, named as the happiest contestant in American Idol Season 12, country girl Janelle Arthur and powerhouse singer Candice Glover showed their singing prowess. However, Megan Miller, whom we remember as the girl in crutches during the audition round, was the first casualty of the day.

Candice Glover and Megan Miller Performs

All in all, 72 contestants including Isabelle, Kez Ban and Briana Oakley move forward to the next round.

Other than testing the contestant's metal in working with others, the group rounds were a source of entertainment. Most of them don't thrive well with other personalities. There is also the issue of song choice. You are not picking for yourself but for others in the group. That is a source of conflict to others. And most of the groups pick songs they are not familiar with. Thus they tend to forget the lyrics. Many were enterprising enough and wrote the lyrics on their hands and arms.

The Swagettes Perform in Hollywood

After the round, 47 were left to move on to the solo round wherein they be ask to perform one song from a list of 20 or perform an original composition they made.

First was Angela Miller who made a bold move and perform her own composition entitled "Set Me Free". Keith and the rest of the judges were blown away with the song and Angela's performance. 

Angela Miller Performance in the Solo Round 

Angela pass with flying color sending her a solid spot in the next round. Currently, she is one of the strongest contender in the competition and she is one to watch out for.

Watch out for the "girls on fire", Candice Glover and Zoaneth Johnson and country girl Janelle Arthurs. 

Also, someone to watch out for is Jett Hermano whose performances were not yet shown all through out. 

Others who were able to gave stellar performances and pass this round were Shubha Vedula, Juliana Shahayed, Melinda Ademi, Kree Harrison

Some were not fortunate enough to move forward. Kez Ban tried to sing one of her own originals and it turned out to be her last. Other standouts who got cut this round were Ashley Feliciano, and Briana Oakley.

Twenty four girls remain after the end of the solo round thus more cuts has to be done. Randy asked Lauren Minx, Holly Marie Miller and Ariel Sprague to step forward and they were the ones to go. He then asked Stephanie Schimel to sing again. After that, Rachelle Halle was ask to sing with the band again.

After that, Stephanie was asked to go thus Rachel completes the top 20 girls.

The guys were then ushered to the center stage. Adam Sanders were asked to sing again, followed by Josh Holiday.

After much deliberations, Nicki announced that they are letting go of Peter Gareth, Marvin Calderon, Devan Jones, Kenny Harrison, Will White, Tony Foster, David Leathers Jr and Adam Sanders.

So the list of top 20 guys is finally sealed.

Next week is the dreaded sudden death. The contestants will sing one song in front of the judges and a live audience.