Idol 55 - Lilly Scott

55. Lilly Scott

Season 9, Top 16 Finalist

Season 9's Top 16 Results night = American Idol apocalypse. Seriously.

Once upon a time, we survived Daughtry's fourth-place finish or even Jennifer Hudson getting eliminated at 7th Place, but the fact that 3 - or maybe 4 - people went home way too early made each abysmal voting result that night stung so badly. Of course, Lilly Scott was one of them.

Sure, her rendition of Patsy Cline's I Fall to Pieces the night before experienced some pitch problems but that doesn't merit her a Top 16 elimination. Lilly Scott, to me, has worked her heart out week after week. Perhaps Lilly was a little too weird for the competition, but she deserved another chance on that big stage.

Now, let's go back to her Idol run, shall we? Truth be told, Lilly Scott has not been seen on any episode prior to Hollywood week. So, I was glad when we were introduced to her talent that week. Lilly had a brilliant Ella Fitzgerald song choice, which she conquered with a very controlled and very cool performance. And while she had a really unattractive mane of dyed silver hair that just looks tacky, I thought she was probably one of the girls to watch.

Come semifinals round, I found her first live performance of Fixing A Hole a bit weird. I mean, I don’t know how much she had to smoke before choosing this obscure song. Haha. Kidding aside, I found her voice instantly recognizable here and if I hadn’t of known this was a cover I would have bought into the notion that this was an original Lilly Scott tune.

The week after that, she crooned a funky rendition of A Change Is Gonna Come and I thought it was solidly awesome. Her performance that night was so ethereal and unreal that it’s weird to think she was even on this program. Still, I was a little unsure how America viewed that performance because after one more week, she was voted off with the Patsy Cline ditty.

Anyway, I still think her getting eliminated too early was a travesty on Idol - and that's just her.

Favorite Performance (s): A Change Is Gonna Come is undoubtedly my favorite. I thought she brought an earthy, acoustic jazziness to the song. Oh, and the fact that the song has been performed on the show a couple of times, it didn't sound old or played-out in the least.

A Change Is Gonna Come

#54 - Calamari