Top 13 Revealed

Welcome baack. Tonight is the night we will learn which 5 men and which 5 ladies will be selected by America to be part of the Top 13. We will also learn which 5 performers (not selected by America) will be selected to sing for their lives for the judges. From there the judges will select 3 of those 5 performers to round out the Top 13.

Over the course of the past 2 nights we selected 5 males and 5 females we would like to be put through. To review they are:
Top 5 Females                    Top 5 Males
Majesty Rose York              Sam Woolf
Briana Oakley                     CJ Harris
Jena Irene                            Caleb Johnson
Kristen O'Conner              Alex Preston
MK Nobilette                      Dexter Roberts

Tonight those not selected by America could get a shot at performing again for the judges. Of the 10 other contestants not selected we predict:
Top 5 to Perform for Judges as Wildcard
George Lovett
Malcolm Allen
Jessica Meuse
Emily Piriz
Ben Briley

Let's see how it all shakes out:

Top 13 Revealed

First Contestant Selected: Malaya Watson
Our Take: Not that excited about it. She was given the best spot of the night, as the last singer to perform, but she is very young, we'll see how it all goes.

Second Contestant Selected: Ben Briley
Our Take: It's not a shock that he makes it in. He was given a great opportunity to connect to the audience by being one of the two contestants the judges left the power up to America. The audience already chose him over Neco Starr, Ben did a good enough job last night, so it's not a shock that he makes it.

Third Contestant Selected: Emily Piriz
Our Take: A little surprised. She didn't have a lot of camera time in the first number of weeks, but she had a nice performance the other night and deserves a spot.

Fourth Contestant Selected: Alex Preston
Our Take: He had a great night last night, he can play guitar, has a nice enough voice, and deserves to be one of the Top 5 males making it.

Fifth Contestant Selected: Jessica Meuse
Our Take: I am glad that America put Jessica in. She had a rough edit a couple weeks ago in Hollywood, so the fact that she can overcome that and get to this place, just based on her talent is a positive sign.

Sixth Contestant Selected: Dexter Roberts
Our Take: He is a good ole boy. He is a solid enough performer, let's hope he takes the judge's advice and decides to stand out rather than just be like everything and everyone else out there.

Seventh Contestant Selected: Caleb Johnson
Our Take: He provided one of the better vocals of the night last night. He has been consistently good and deserves a place in the Top 13.

Eighth Contestant Selected: Majesty Rose
Our Take: She's by far one of, if not, the strongest contestants out there. Her voice is so good, she seems really sweet and all she needs to work on is her wardrobe. Other than that, no complaints about her so far.

Ninth Contestant Selected: MK Nobilette
Our Take: A great choice by America. She is a great performer, and deserves to be there. I am so glad that America heard her voice and didn't go political with it.

Tenth Contestant Selected: Sam Woolf
Our Take: Easily one of the easier picks by America. He is a great singer, a great performer and deserves to be there.

Wildcard Performances

First Wildcard Performer: CJ Harris
I am glad that he got another shot. He deserves to be there, I am glad the judges recognized his talent. His voice is so good, and I'm still shocked he wasn't initially picked by America. He goes with "Bring It On Home To Me" by Sam Cooke. He was just as solid as he's always been.
Harry-Either the band, him, or both screwed up that song for him. It was a bad start.  It was average. Didn't feel any of the magic. Looked like he was thrown off because the band possibly messed up.
Jennifer-Felt the specialness of his voice.
Harry-Voice is so good. But didn't seem emotionally connected to the song. When he is present he is there, but when he loses it it's gone.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Not really. I felt his emotion. I can see what Harry is talking about. This might be a tough one for CJ, depending on the other contestants.

Second Wildcard Performer: Jena Irene
I am thrilled that she gets a chance to prove herself.  I thought she delivered a really great performance the other night. Tonight she is singing her original song that she plays piano for. It was just her and that piano and that made us really focus on her vocal and her performance, and she delivered.
Keith-That was a really good use of the moment. Showed that raw vulnerability. Stayed right in the moment.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Absolutely, although we didn't hear from Harry and Jennifer it's a good sign that Keith was so happy and impressed by her performance.

Third Wildcard Performer: Spencer Lloyd
I don't like this pick. I get that his a cute guy, and he has sung well before, but I've seen him a couple times and he hasn't done much to make me think he is a contender. I would have preferred Malcolm or George to get another shot. He goes with his original song that he sung in Hollywood. He is trying to be like John Mayer with his guitar and all that. I don't really buy it. It's not horrible, but it's not that great.
Jennifer-Wanted to give him a chance because he did well in the beginning. Not what he wanted America to see. Did a good job. But not that great.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Yup.He wasn't very good at all. Jennifer tried not to say it was bad, but it was pretty bad.

Fourth Wildcard Performer: Bria Anai
I don't really get their love for Bria, I've seen her several times and it didn't do much for me. She decides to sing "It's A Man's Man's Man's World". She gets very dramatic and it goes off pitch at times but her emotion is there. If the judges like her before, they probably like her based off of this performanc a well. It's just as good, or not good, as she's ever been.
Harry- Trying to figure out what he liked and didn't like about. Sang for her life, but it was all over the place. Passionate, but overshot the mark.
Do The Judges & I Agree? 100%. Harry was so right. She was dramatic and all that but her voice just didn't work here.

Fifth Wildcard Perfomer: Kristen O'Conner
I respect their decision. She did a really nice job last night. I think the microphone or band was a little off here. She sings "Unconditionally". It sounded messy at home, but it might sound different in the studio. But if I were voting I wouldn't vote for her based on that. She battled, I'll give her that.
Keith-A really good performance of that song.  If the song had been a little higher it would have been so much easier for her.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Actually yes. Keith thought she sounded a little off, and I thought she sounded a bit off. The key and all that were a bit off for her which made it sound like she was having a tough time.
 

Our Top 3 Wild Card Predictions (Based on Tonight's Performances)
1. Jena Irene
2. CJ Harris
3. Kristen O'Conner

Judge's ACTUAL Wild Card Selections To Enter Top 13
1. Jena Irene
2. Kristen O'Conner
3. CJ Harris

5 Not Selected By America or Judges
1. Emmanuel Zidore
2. Briana Oakley
3. Malcolm Allen
4. Marielle Sellers
5. George Lovett

Final Thoughts
-I wish I can go back and have Maurice perform over Emmanuel, or Kenzie or Jillian perform over Bria or Marielle, but that's what we got. Out of the Top 20 that got to perform I am not upset at this Top 13. Sure I would have loved to see Briana, George or Malcolm get a second chance over Bria or Spencer, but they can't get everything right. That's just the show. The judges did a pretty good job tonight. They chose the best 3 that actually got to perform. I think the Top 13 is very diverse and can provide some interesting and hopefully great moments in the next several weeks.

-Loved the pace of this show. So much happened tonight. We got America's results, got Wildcard performers selections, got many eliminations, got Wildcard Performance Results. It was an intense, high energy episode and I loved every second of it. I know this isn't the typical, but it was really refreshing to just get to results and answers rather than be toyed around for 95% of the show only to get a little entertainment in the last 5%. Hopefully this will continue.

-The judges did a fine job with the wild card selections. Sure both Spencer and Bria had a tough time, thus making it easy for them to pick CJ, Jena and Kristen, but things that are apparent sometimes go the other way on this show, so it's refreshing to actually get the right result. 

That's it. It's been a crazy week. 18 people were eliminated this week, 13 get to perform starting next Wednesday. Come on back here after next week's first live show featuring the Top 13. There are a lot of great performers, let's hope for some great performances. So until next week, see ya!