Jessica Sanchez faces rough road to ‘Idol’ finale

Jessica Sanchez was in the Bottom 3 for the second time on "American Idol" this morning (Thursday evening, US time) but escaped elimination when Skylar Laine and Hollie Cavanagh landed in the Bottom 2. Eventually, it was Skylar who was sent home by the American viewers.

Next week, the battle will be for the Top 3 spots and there is a strong possibility that Jessica will survive another elimination round and face off with Phillip Phillips and Joshua Ledet the week after. Hollie will probably be sent home. That's my wish, anyway.

If Jessica does land in the Top 3, she will have equaled the accomplishment of Jasmine Trias who landed in third place in Season 3.

But getting to the finale will be a more difficult task to accomplish. Phillip and Joshua are tough opponents.

Phillip: Kept alive by female tweens

Phillip Phillips has gotten lukewarm feedback from the judges yet he has never landed in the Bottom 3. This week, he crooned his way through his two songs, "The Letter" and "Time of the Season" and never moved from his stool during his number. It was an unexciting performance but he was voted one of the top two singers by the American audience.

Some say a large number of viewers are female tweens who vote for Phillip not because he is talented but because he is a handsome and lovable chap. In contrast, Skylar did much better with "Fortunate Son" and "You Don't Have to Love Me," eliciting comments from the judges like "You're born to be onstage" and "You're amazing," but didn't get enough votes to stay on the show.

Joshua: an obvious favorite of judges

Joshua, on the other hand, is the obvious favorite of the judges, Jennifer Lopez in particular. The three have given him numerous standing ovation and rave over his performances. Randy Jackson calls him "one of the best singers ever on this show." JLo tried to outdo Randy by saying "You're one of the best singers I've seen in 50 years."

This week, Joshua was the first to be declared safe by Ryan, which probably means that he got the most number of votes. He is probably already dreaming of that moment in the finale when he is proclaimed the next "American Idol."

Jessica: Fate rests on U.S. Pinoys?

Jessica has gotten her share of plaudits from the judges. When they rushed to the stage to save her from elimination several weeks ago, Randy declared, "This girl is one of the best singers in America."

This week, Steven commented after she sang "You Are So Beautiful to Me," "You just showed America how beautiful your voice is and what a great singer you are. You'll be number one, girl!" Randy said she was at the top of the leaderboard.

Jessica's fate still rests on the viewers and the Filipino community in the U.S. is doing everything in their power to get enough votes for her.

Jessica and Joshua should be in finale

I feel a little uneasy about this because I feel it's talent more than popularity that should determine the winner. That's why I believe that Jessica and Joshua deserve to be in the finale and that Phillip should be happy with a third or fourth place finish.

Finally, I must comment on Jessica's makeover. I did say several blogs ago that she should look several years older than her actual age of 16 so she can be taken seriously. Her handlers did just that but they went overboard by letting her wear a tight-fitting mini-skirt that showed more skin than Skylar and Hollie did. She also looked overdressed for the occasion especially with the numerous accessories she wore.

Editor's note: The blogger's views do not represent Yahoo! Southeast Asia's position on the topic or issue being discussed in this blog.