‘American Idol’ Burning Questions: Who Said Phillip Phillips’ Performance Was ‘Rough?’ What Does Joshua Ledet Think of ‘The Voice?’

The final four turns to three on Thursday as we get one week closer to declaring the winner of American Idol season 11. So what was on the finalists’ minds following their performances for California Dreaming-meets-Song-I-Wish-I’d-Written week? Read on for our burning questions…

Phillip Phillips didn’t have a stellar performance a week earlier when he sang the Zombies’ classic “Time of the Season.” In fact, it was said that the rendition was pretty “rough? Who said that? “I did,” Phillip revealed. “I knew it was rough right after I got through it. I was texting my brother-in-law about how my [in-ear monitors] went out during the song and he was, like, “I could tell — I saw you were having trouble with it. I ain’t gonna lie, it was pretty rough.” I just started laughing because  there’s nothing you can do about it once it’s done.”

Steven Tyler told Phillip that ‘the road to success is always under construction’ — what did he mean? “I don’t know,” said Phillip. “I’m taking it as you’ll never be comfortable with anything music-wise. If you truly love it, you always want to strive to be even better because’ its a tough road.”

What was it like for Hollie Cavanagh to watch her own audition video? “It was, er, interesting,” said Hollie with more than a little hesitation. “But it was really good at the same time because I see a lot of growth. I can tell that I had no belief or confidence in myself, my voice wasn’t as strong as it is now. It was very shaky.

Was Hollie thinking of someone specific by choosing Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me?” “Yeah, well, you know…” she stammered. “I put a lot towards my experience here and that was towards a certain person.” She won’t reveal exactly who, however, saying only, “I’m a teenager and I’ve gone through the heartbreak.”

With her first song choice of Etta James, does Jessica Sanchez consider herself an old soul? “You could say that — sometimes I wish I was born in the 60s because the songs are amazing,” she said. “I love singing old soul songs and a lot of songs that are being played on the radio aren’t big.”

He dedicated “You Raise Me Up” to his father — what advice has Joshua’s dad given him? “Just to keep a positive head on my shoulders, and don’t get big-headed and stay humble,” he revealed.

Was Joshua aware that “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” was just performed on The Voice by finalist Juliet Simms? “Ew, no I don’t watch that show,” he blurted. But he does appreciate the difficulty in singing the James Brown classic. “It’s very tough because James Brown is one of a kind and I was scared, but I just connected with it and rode it out.”

Twitter: @Idol_Worship