All three singers from Alabama were declared safe tonight on "American Idol." Jess Meuse, Dexter Roberts and C.J. Harris move on to next week's performance episode, as members of the top nine on the Fox TV reality series.
MK Nobilette, a contestant from San Francisco, was eliminated on the hourlong results show. Judges Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez and Harry Connick Jr. have one save this season, but they declined to use it on her.
Roberts, 22, had a close call on the show; he was among the bottom three vote-getters. Later, he joined Nobilette in the bottom two, but was sent to safety by series host Ryan Seacrest.
The remaining hopefuls will sing again on March 26. Meantime, here's what viewers had to say about the Alabama gang this week, via TV recaps and Twitter:
JESS MEUSE of Slapout, "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People
From Annie Barrett of Entertainment Weekly:
"GREAT night for Jess. Loved her twang. I dig her vocal in this lower register and especially liked her delicate three-note run on the word 'run.' She didn't miss a note, changed up the arrangement just enough, and finished strong with an intentionally wavering 'bullet.' And unlike Harry, I thought her playful facial expressions worked perfectly against the darker meaning of the lyrics. The song is friendly and upbeat! Why should she go dark and stormy in her visual interpretation if her delivery matches the sound of the original? The other two judges and Seacrest all jumped in to justify Jessica's stylistic choice, and I noticed Jessica remained calm and pleasant throughout. 'I don't wanna enforce homicidal behavior,' she casually offered. I'm so glad she did."
From Michael Slezak of TVLine::
"I had no problem whatsoever with the sly smile Jessica kept on her face throughout her number — especially since we had a pre-performance package in which she explained the song’s juxtaposition of happy melody and creepy lyrics. Yet while I continue to be completely enamoured of Jessica’s nasal-quavery tone and her ability to paint pictures with her words, I did agree with Harry in one regard — and that’s in wanting Jessica to take risks and use her glorious instrument in less expected ways. The verse of 'Pumped Up Kicks,' for example, would’ve benefitted if Jessica had twisted the melody, gone for a couple of bigger notes, rather than accepting the minimal range of the original. Yeah, we got a big and delirious payoff with that final glory note Jessica floated atop the final refrain, but now that we know she’s capable, let’s see a little more, eh? Grade: B."
From Mary Jo Santilli of mjsbigblog:
"She loves the happy melody juxtaposed with the dark, dark lyrics. She’s keeping the arrangement stripped down. HOORAY! Jess is back! She’s totally in the zone this week. She’s nailing it vocally and bringing her own twist to the performance. That was awesome. JLo says it felt good, right in her wheelhouse. Harry didn’t like her complacent smile. He wasn’t sure how she was interpreting the lyrics. He feels she’s sometimes one dimensional. He didn’t like that she was smiling through very provocative lyrics. He wants more weirdness. Keith thought it was good. He liked it. She made it her own–like a trippy 60s country thing. Harry is insistent that the lyrics come first! Jlo makes a very salient point -- how it’s valid to present the lyrics in counterpoint to the bright melody, as Jessica did with her sardonic interpretation. There are more layers than just a strict interpretation of the lyrics."