Season 12 Finale Part 1: Kree & Candice Perform

Welcome back. Season 12 started way back in January and it took countless emotional breakdowns, crazy judge fights, hundreds of eliminations, tons of backstories and lots of singing, good and bad, but we are finally here. The finale will feature Candice Glover and Kree Harrison. Both ladies have done a remarkable job on this show. They both have landed in the Bottom 2, and both have survived countless eliminations through their amazing singing. Tonight the ladies will sing 3 songs each. 1. Simon Fuller's Choice aka Creator of American Idol,  2. Potential Winning Single. 3. A Song They Previously Sung

Tomorrow we will not only recap the actual final show but we will also pay tribute to the season as a whole, featuring a review of the contestants that were part of this season, as well as several great and not so great moments that have happened along the way.

So should be a lot of great singing tonight. Kree won the coin toss last week and decided to go first and for Candice to go last. I don't know if that's the best move, but that's the way it is. So let's get to it:

Simon Fuller's Choice Performance

Kree Harrison

Angel(Sarah McLachlan)

I love this song choice for Kree. It allows her to stay in that nice sweet spot of her voice. She makes it her own by adding the country-ness of her voice, but still kept true to the original. Her falsetto and vibrato were working tonight. Great first performance, very solid, very sweet. B+

Candice Glover

Chasing Pavements(Adele)

Singing an Adele song is tough, she is easily one of the greatest voices out there right now, but if anyone can handle it well it's Candice. She was actually able to make it more soulful than it originally is. I love how it almost sounded like she was about to go deep in her voice but changes course and goes into some crazy run. So good, such a fantastic job by her. A-

Judge's Round 1 Review
Randy & Mariah=So proud to have them as the final 2 because the talent is so magnificent. Blown away. Neither of the songs were the best they were a little sleepy.  Gotta give the edge to Candice for Round 1.
Do The Judges & I Agree? I think so. I think the ever so slight edge goes to Candice, but Kree did a fantastic job as well.

Coca Cola's Perfect Harmony Song
Lyrics and elements were voted on by the audience for this new Carly Rae Jepsen single. They have been talking about this song for the entire season and it was pretty lackluster. I mean some of the lyrics are "I took a picture of you, taking a picture of me". Jeez. I get that it's catchy but it wasn't very good.


Potential Winning Single Performance

Kree

(All Cried Out)

It's definitely no "Home" by Phillip Phillips, but it's still a lovely song. It kind of sounded like a Faith Hill song. It allowed Kree to push her voice to a place that she doesn't always go to. It allowed her to hit some really nice high moments and then some low notes, but just stayed in that sweet spot of her voice along the way. Keith, Randy and Mariah give her a standing ovation. I really enjoyed this song. A-

Candice 

(I Am Beautiful)

This song was very current but still had the elements of Candice's old school kind of style. Her voice can't be subtle, she just puts it out there. I love the words of this song "I'm worth every tear, every scar, and even if you say I'm not, he says I'm beautiful". That's just an amazing sentiment. The song is very cool and Candice just delivers. All 4 judges give Candice a very deserved standing ovation. A-

Judge's Round 2 Review
Keith & Nicki=Love's Kree's composure, and it allowed her to reach down in her gut. This is soul versus soul. Both of the songs are tailor made for them. Loved Candice's song and the message in that song. Keith feels Kree won Round 2, Nicki thinks Candice won Round 2.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Yep. I think they both kicked the crap out of those songs. I call this round a toss up.

Contestant's Favorite Song They Sung Performance

Kree

(Up To The Mountain)

This song she sung was during Las Vegas rounds. That was one of the first times that we really noticed her and saw her unbelievable potential. This was a brilliant choice by Kree. She put every emotion, every feeling, every everything into that performance. All 4 judges give her a standing ovation. A
Keith=Absolutely beautiful. Everything was so connected.
Nicki=Is so glad she chose that song. The energy of the choir helped lift her up. All 3 performances showcased her beautiful voice and soul. 
Randy=That was a winning kind of performance. Best performance of hers of the night.
Mariah=Looked beautiful. Loves the power. In general she is so special, it's gonna be tough for America.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Definitely. Kree did an amazing job. I loved her voice, her emotion, her everything on that performance. So good.

Candice Glover

(I Who Have Nothing)

I applaud Candice for not choosing her biggest hit of the season "Lovesong". The reason being that she couldn't do more with that song, she sang it the best, and I am glad she left it alone. I love this choice. It was a song she did really beautifully on, but it was long ago enough that people might have forgotten she did it. I love that it starts off for a good bit in acapella. That was awesome. I can't remember that she did that the first time, I don't believe she did, but that was just amazing. She controlled that room of thousands as if it was a room of 3 people. Candice just had one of her best performances at the exact right moment. Wow. Just Wow! 4 judge standing ovation. A+
Keith=Such a powerhouse singer. It's like a planet exploding to life. 
Nicki= Loved that performance. Commanded the stage. Owns the stage immediately.
Randy=That girl can sing. This is how you shoot the night to a whole other level. She has it all.
Mariah=Has the ability to take any song and turn into a vehicle for such an amazing voice. Beyond anything she could have expected.
Do The Judges & I Agree? 100% Candice destroyed that song. The fact that she didn't sing it just like she did the first time, and made it harder but still delivered is just crazy awesome. I loved it.

Predictions

Should Be The Winner of American Idol?
Candice Glover. She sang slightly better than Kree on 2 of the 3 songs, and I believe they tied for the one of the performances. Plus the fact that Candice did her best performance at the end of the show when voting can begin is just perfect. Also this season Candice delivered every week. Kree is one of my favorites, and has been, but Candice just has the edge on many elements.

Will Win American Idol?
Candice Glover. I think she has done enough to warrant the win. Each performance was perfect, she had the emotion, the drive and the pitch perfect vocals. I think Candice has this one won. If Kree won I wouldn't be upset because I think Kree is amazing but as a whole Candice deserves and will win this show if the fans come out for her.

Final Thoughts
*I don't remember a more even finale. This finale was just fantastic. Both women were just brilliant. I am so happy that it is so hard to pick a winner because it makes whoever wins the show that much more deserving. It's one thing to win the show because the other person had an off night, it's a whole other thing when it can go either way and you win. Both ladies have strong cases to win the show.
 
*Did Kree lose this thing right at the coin toss? She chose to let Candice go 2nd. I think not being the last voice heard on the show, not having the judges be praising you last, not being the last thought in the voters minds just might be enough to lose the show. I think this will be a close vote, and any edge is a huuuuge advantage, so we will see if it was a bad choice by Kree.I don't recall someone ever winning the coin toss and going first. It just doesn't seem like the way to go.

*Now that the season is over I can admit that Kree and Candice were my favorites from the get go. It probably came out a long the way in reviews or comments made, but they just were both so consistent and so great, and this is easily one of, if not my favorite finale ever. The fact that I almost don't mind either of them winning is a testament to that.

That's it! Come on back here right after the finale tomorrow. Like we mentioned we will be posting a sort of tribute/review of Season 12 as well as a recap of the actual results show where we will learn if Kree or Candice will be the next American Idol. So until tomorrow, see ya!