Welcome back. Well we all knew it would happen but 5 people remain and all from the same gender, it's an unprecedented event in American Idol history. Another crazy thing is that one of these ladies will be going home tomorrow. Unless the producers have something up their sleeve the Judge's Save can only be used before Top 5 week and because it was not utilized this season it was not put into play, meaning anyone is vulnerable to go home tomorrow. We will see what happens after the performances tonight. As always we have our weekly rankings, so enjoy that and the rest of the recap:
Weekly Rankings
1. Candice Glover-Up 1 From Last Week (Officially Top 2)
2. Kree Harrison-Down 1 From Last Week (Officially Top 2)
3. Angie Miller-Same As Last Week
4. Amber Holcomb- Up 1 From Last Week (Officially Bottom 2)
5. Janelle Arthur-Down 1 From Last Week
Performances Year of Birth Songs
Candice Glover
Born 1989
(Straight Up-Paula Abdul)
Candice decides to do a really sultry and jazzy version of this song. Definitely doesn't sound like the original. I love the vocal tricks she does on the song. She goes from really low to scatting and maneuvering her voice back up to a high point and back and forth, but she does it seamlessly. This was so cool, the way she does the "Bye Bye Bye Bye Bye", she does it like "Buh Buh Buh Buh Bye Bye". I don't know, really cool. Candice just kills it again. She can really do any song in any genre and make it her own. This was all on her own. A-
Keith=Such a great version of this song. Vocals are incredible. She has an incredible control of the runs. It's like a slow wink across a bar. So effortless.
Nicki=Loves that she is a strong woman and is so strong. She is "The Boss". Likes her own spin.
Randy=Loved the arrangement, made it even more current. She is so in the zone. Nothing seems to go wrong for her.
Mariah=Unpredictable, smart. Song choice is genius. Amazing.
Do The Judges & I Agree? For sure. I kinda agree with Randy, it seems that Candice can't go wrong. She is just so on the money right now.
Janelle Arthur
Born in 1989
(When I Call Your Name-Vince Gil)
Janelle is back with her huge acoustic guitar. She looks lovely tonight, and the background on stage really helps accentuate her performance. This song isn't something you'd play on your Ipod when you are exercising. But, her vocals are quite lovely and right on point. I don't know the original so I don't know if she changed it up at all, which was a criticism she faced last week. But still a really solid performance. BNicki=She seems so much more comfortable with her guitar. Her vocals sounded so pretty and angelic.
Randy=The song brought her back tonight. She seemed right in her comfort zone.
Mariah=Believed every word she said. Sang with her whole heart tonight. Keep the confidence.
Keith=Loves the song because it has so much emotion. She hit all her notes, but didn't feel the emotion tonight. Thinks she was thinking too much. She didn't need the guitar tonight.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Kinda. Keith heard more what I heard, he didn't think it had the emotional impact. But it was still lovely and perfectly in tune.
Kree Harrison
Born in 1990
(She Talks To Angels-Black Crowes)
Kree chose this song because she doesn't feel people would have picked her to pick this song, and she's right. When I think of Kree I don't think Black Crowes. I like her going for it. She obviously does the song in her style and she does all the great vocal tricks that she always does. She hits a note and it seems like it's gonna stop and then she just pushes it even further. It's a cool way to really push her voice to different places. B+Randy=Loves her voice from note one. She loves the naturalness of her voice. Wasn't flawless but it was emotionally. Loved it.
Mariah=She can sing anything and she loves it. Tonight she performed a little more than just letting it be organic and she is just lost in the song.
Keith= Loves her voice. Can see her in concert getting lost in the moment. Her voice is so fine and beautiful that it carries her all the way through.
Nicki=That was the best performance of the night. Felt it could be a current performance. Thought it was perfection.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Pretty much. Probably not her best, but really quite good.
Angie Miller
Born in 1994
(I'll Stand By You-The Pretenders)
Back at the piano goes Angie. She definitely took the critiques of her not being comfortable outside of the piano to heart. In a very genuine and class act Angie dedicates her performance to her hometown of Boston. We at I'dol Be The Judge also send our thoughts and prayers to those in Boston and affected by the tragedy. But to get back to Angie's performance it had some pitch problems. It definitely wasn't a flawless performance but still decent. She lost her way a couple spots. Mariah, Randy and Keith give her a standing ovation. I do wonder if this was Angie's song choice the whole week or it changed after the tragedy that occurred on Monday, I'd be curious to find out. BMariah=A beautiful dedication to those in Boston. It was eclectic and smart song choice.
Keith=Love her at the piano. Really good song choice. Can't wait til she hits the road, when all the edges get loosened.
Nicki=She looked more comfortable, and that comes with being on the piano. Great performance.
Randy=This Top 5 girls is the best Idol has ever had. Great song choice. Great vocal delivery. On her way.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Kinda. I love the song choice and think it was quite smart, but I didn't think her vocals were 100%, I am sure that has to do with the emotion behind that song. But still a great job by Angie.
Amber Holcomb
Born in 1994
(Without You-Mariah Carey)
It is a big thing to sing a Mariah Carey song in front of Mariah Carey. Although Mariah Carey technically covered Harry Nillson's original, so Amber is technically covering a cover, it's still most notably known, at least recently by Mariah. With that said Amber starts off pretty shaky but it picks up a bit, but still drags a little. Her voice goes a little too low at times and it makes it hard to hear. She just didn't really get into it until the big part of the song. Luckily those moments were in the song because she needed something to get going. I don't think this is one of Amber's better overall performances. It was a little too up and down for me. Mariah, Randy, and Keith give her a standing ovation. B-
Keith=Her voice has just grown leaps and bounds over the course of the past number of weeks.
Nicki=Adores her, but her lower register didn't have any feeling to it. Didn't feel her tonight. Today even the high notes weren't impressed. Didn't think it was good.
Randy=It wasn't perfect, but gives her mad props to do a Mariah Carey song in front of Mariah Carey. I think she did a damn good job.
Mariah=She did some new choices with that song. Loved some of her choices.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Nah. Nicki was the only one that really heard what I heard. I feel the judges were giving Amber more credit for being brave and choosing a Mariah Carey song, rather than giving her credit for her vocals, because I just didn't hear it during that performance.
Performances Diva Songs
Candice
(When You Believe -Mariah Carey/Whitney Houston)
Now when you think of Diva's the 2 names that pop in your head are probably Mariah Carey & Whitney Houston, so it's pretty brave for Candice to go for this song, it's also brave because this is a duet, so taking a duet & making it a solo is sometimes a challenge. There were parts of the song that I didn't think went anywhere, but once she hit that middle part of the song and the choir started in it just went to another level. Candice gets a 4 judge standing ovation. I obviously don't think it was as great as last week, but it was still crazy crazy good. A
Nicki=That is how you do a Mariah Carey/Whitney Houston song. She sends out an even bigger message. How she can pull off a Mariah and Whitney Houston song is amazing.
Randy=Best vocal of the night. So in the zone. Best voices in the known world. Amazing.
Mariah=Thinks she did Whitney Houston justice. She just needs to sing, because she can just sing.
Keith=Stops him in his tracks when he hears her voice. She pulled out all the stops and just annihilated them.
Do The Judges & I Agree? For sure. Not gonna lie I wasn't feeling the first 15-20 seconds but wow did she pull it off.
Janelle
(Dumb Blonde-Dolly Parton)
(Dumb Blonde-Dolly Parton)
I liked seeing Janelle's personality come out with this song. I like her choice of choosing Dolly Parton as the Diva of choice, but I feel there are other Dolly Parton songs that would have been cool for Janelle to sing and change up. I think her vocals dipped in and out at times. There were a couple of great runs there and the last note was pretty great, but the song as a whole didn't do Janelle enough justice, especially with this competition tonight. B-
Randy=Loved Dolly, but thought this was fun, but vocally didn't show anything different. There was more performing than a vocal kind of thing.
Mariah=Felt she was connected to the song. Always gives off her fiery personality, but also wants America to hear her vocally.
Keith=Out of the incredibly catalog of Dolly songs this song wouldn't be at the top of the list. Her voice is so good but tonight didn't allow her to shine.
Nicki=Ultimately, she is in jeopardy for going home tomorrow. But she still has a light in her. She is very loveable and in the real world she'll do well.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Yup. This was a fun performance, but out of all of Dolly's songs this probably wasn't the best choice at this stage of the game.
Kree
(Have You Ever Been In Love-Celine Dion)
Because it is Diva week Kree requests 1000 kitties and only blue M&M's in her dressing room. She's pretty funny. Anyway, when I think of Celine Dion songs this one doesn't come to mind, but maybe that was Kree's plan. This song allowed Kree to reach those high notes with such ease and to give so much emotion and power. I loved this performance. It wasn't over the top, it wasn't mellow, it was pretty perfect. Kree gets a 4 judge standing ovation. A
Mariah=The key was in a great place for her. She can do whatever she wants.
Keith=Such a beautiful song choice. Stayed in control of the song the whole time. So pleasing to listen to.
Nicki=She's not just country, she's worldly, she's iconic. She's Adele, she's Celine Dion. She is a Diva that one can watch when she is 20 or she is 50. She just elevated her own net worth. She is everything.
Randy=It was a great song. She can sing anything. She is just that good.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Yep. So lovely tonight. This was such a smart song choice and she nailed it.
Angie
(Halo-Beyonce)
This is definitely a bit of a departure for Angie. Sans piano Angie goes for this Beyonce song. She keeps it pretty in the style of the original. Angie sang right on tune and did some runs flawlessly. The beginning of the song started a little slow and sleepy but it really got moving once the band and chorus kicked in. The last half of the song was amazing. Angie gets a 4 judge standing ovation. A-
Keith=Definitely Top 3.
Nicki=Angie Miller is back. Did the song justice. Knows that Beyonce will hear about that performance.
Randy=She is "in it to win it".
Mariah=It's difficult to do a Beyonce song but loved the clarity in her voice. She is here to stay.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Yip. She really did a beautiful job with a song that was a big chance.
Amber
(What Are You Doing For The Rest Of Your Life-Barbra Streisand)
Taking on Barbra Streisand song is a tough thing to do because of what she can do with her voice with such ease. Amber choosing this song in particular is quite interesting, I would have loved her to pick something else, but it doesn't mean anything was particularly bad with this performance. I think it was just a little slow, and made Amber seem a lot older than she is. It seemed she had a little trouble with her lower register again. I still think she sang a beautiful version of this song, very lovely at times, especially when she went to some of the higher notes. I think her sweet spot are those high notes and the lower notes need to be more fewer for her to sound great throughout. A 4 judge standing ovation. B
Nicki=It was simply perfection. Hopes America gets inside of this person because she doesn't get credit for what she does. Every note was right on point.
Randy=That was easily one of the hardest songs taken on this season. She doesn't deserve to be Bottom 2. She is so modern and current.
Mariah=Elegant, classic. She is potentially a massive star.
Keith=Was a tough song to choose. It was all beautiful.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Um, no. I give Amber a ton of credit for choosing this song, by this artist, but I still feel that her lower register was off tonight. Her everything else was great, but it doesn't equal a fully great performance like the judges said.
Predictions
Bottom 2
Janelle
Amber
Going Home
Janelle
*What a night.The worst performances of the night were still some of the best of the season. Janelle had arguably the worst night, compared to the rest of the ladies. I think Amber didn't have as good a night as the judge's claim she did, but she still did well. Angie stumbled her first performance but rebounded. Candice and Kree just stayed true to their greatness.
*Tonight after each of the ladies performed their first song Jimmy Iovine gave his critiques. Usually we don't get Jimmy's comments until the results show but today we get them almost instantaneously. I am not sure I am a fan of that. He isn't a judge, he is a mentor/producer, so I don't feel his critiques should be compared to the judges before we vote. If Jimmy wants to be part of the judges panel than that's fine, but he is backstage and gives out comments with no one to really go back and forth with him. I don't know, I just feel having him be the last thought after these girls perform isn't really fair to the judges, or the ladies that just performed.
That's it. For the first time since the Top 10 began a female will be going home tomorrow night. It was a pretty great night so tomorrow should be interesting to see what happens. So come back here tomorrow and until then, see ya!
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