Semifinals: Top 10 Females Perform

Welcome back. It's been nearly 2 months but it's finally time for the Live rounds. Not only is it exciting because it'll be a real chance to see the judges live and see if they can edit themselves enough to comment in an allotted time, but it takes the majority of power away from them and gives it to the audience. I think in many ways they did a fine job with the Top 20, but there are also some major head scratchers. My guess, and it's purely a guess, is that there will be some wildcard picks, but if that happens it will happen on the results show on Thursday. Tonight we will see who truly deserves a place in the Top 10 voted on by the audience. So without further ado, let's get to it:

Performances

Zoanette Johnson

(What's Love Got To Do With It-Tina Turner)

Wow. She sounds terrible right from the get go. Singing Tina Turner is tough, and she made it seem even harder than it already is. She still has the energy and all that, but she really wasn't on key at all. Plus she is going first, which is incredibly hard to recover from in a 2 hour show. It's a mess. Plain and simple. The audience loves her though. D-
Keith=Gets the award for most joyous and confident, but it was an "interesting" song choice, didn't work for her tonight.
Nicki=Loves her, that wasn't "it". Hopefully America sees her personality, but this wasn't good. Gotta be on key and stuff, and she was not.
Randy=Has a lot of respect for her, but that was a mess. Last note was good, but the rest was a mess. All over the place.
Mariah=Has a lot of love and energy. Not her fave performance of her.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Yep. They try to soften it for her. But it was a mess. If she gets through it's off of personality not voice.

Breanna Steer

(Flaws & All-Beyonce')

She gets a ton of points for singing one of my favorite Beyonce songs. These girls are choosing tough singers to emulate. Beyonce might be the hottest thing now, as she has been for 10 years. I think Breanna connected more this time than last time, though I wish she did a little more. But her voice was in tune pretty much all the way through. She's no Beyonce, but not many people are. The last note wavered a little and was a bit off, but the rest of the performance was very nice just not overly entertaining. B-
Keith=Loved the song choice. Finds the right songs that fit her as a singer. Has tremendous control. Wants her to be herself and not try to be Beyonce.
Nicki=This was the wrong song choice for her. Felt like she was straining throughout. Based on this performance she wouldn't go through.
Randy=The song choice was cool, maybe a little safe. Not enough moments. Likes her tenderness.
Mariah=Unique song choice.  It's lyrically very raw and realistic, and this wasn't the best time to pull that out. The whole package of her says star quality.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Mixed. Nicki liked none of it, the other judges enjoyed parts of it, as did I.

Aubrey Cleland

(Big Girls Don't Cry-Fergie)

As much as I love the last song I just as much dislike this song. So that's that. But it doesn't take anything away from Aubrey.  There were a few pitch problems in there. I felt a little bored at times but there were moments that were very pleasant. She sang very well, just not overly exciting. B
Keith=Looks fantastic. The song was good because you can hear her personality, but it wishes it allowed her to soar more.
Nicki=Looks amazing. Is very sweet and endearing. Loves her vibratto, but when she goes out of that it doesn't sound as good.
Randy=Gives the Rihanna vibe when she is in her tender tone. Is very current and infectious. Is a fan.
Mariah=Has multi-platinum potential. Hopefully it translates, because she can be very big in the industry.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Yeah. She was very pleasant, maybe could have went even further.

Janelle Arthur

( If I Can Dream-Elvis Presley)

I think she did better than last time, but I felt she was trying to catch up to the song a bit in parts. I feel like I should like this performance more than I did. It was very good, but again I wasn't completely blown away. She had some really nice moments, so pretty good job by her. The cool thing is that I think her potential is really high. B
Keith=Loved that she has a very classic country voice blended with modern runs.
Nicki=She's back. Getting a little worried after last time, but best vocal of the night thus far.
Randy=Like the old throw back sound of her voice. Very nice, very nice.
Mariah=Did what she came here to do, and did it well. Has an America's Sweetheart thing going on.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Kinda. They liked her more than I did, but I still think she did a really fine job.

Tenna Torres

(Lost-Faith Hill)

I give Tenna credit for not being predictable and going for a Faith Hill song, but her voice just didn't sound good. It just sounded whiny at times and I almost couldn't hear the lyrics very clear at points. This song almost gave her too many big moments and the softer moments were too soft. I don't think this was a memorable performance. C
Keith=Did a really good job with it, but the camera pulled her off her emotion.
Nicki=Likes her hair better than last time. [Not entirely sure what she was trying to say, kinda rambled around]
Randy=Has the kind of voice to do the runs, but has restraint as well. Didn't over sing it.
Mariah=Looks gorgeous, great song choice. Loves the richness of her voice. Loves her and hopes America does too.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Not really. They really enjoyed her a lot more than I did. Didn't think she was atrocious or anything, just not Top 5 worthy.

Angela Miller

(Never Gone-Colton Dixon)

Singing a Colton Dixon song, that is something given that less than a year ago that guy was a contestant on the show. Probably the quickest turnaround of being an Idol contestant to having your song being performed by someone else on the show. I can see why she chose to sing it, it allowed her to play the piano and really showcase her singer/songwriter feel that she has going on. The song is really nice, and a really smart song choice by Angela or "Angie" as Ryan keeps calling her. Best of the night thus far. A-

Keith=Beautiful. When she plays the piano it's when she sounds the most clearest. A true artist.

Nicki=The trumpets should sound when she walks into the room. Has her own signature sound already. Definitely has a place in the Top 10. Never change.  Loves it all.

Randy="America a Star is Born". Already feels like she is at her own show. Loves the honesty. Everything is effortless.

Mariah=Great song choice. Blown away by everything she does.

Do The Judges & I Agree? Absolutely. Best of the night thus far. 

Amber Holcomb

(I Believe In You & Me-Whitney Houston)

Taking on Whitney Houston is always a challenge so I give her credit for going for it. The judges told her last time that she lacks some confidence on stage, this time she had it going on. Her vocal wasn't as stellar as it was last time, so she has yet to fully put it altogether for me, but doesn't mean that she still isn't one of the strongest voices on the show. All 4 judges give her a standing ovation. Not sure if it was a 4 judge ovation kind of thing, but still very good. A-

Keith=Her tone is exquisite, has a feeling he will be hearing more of her this season.

Nicki=That was just all that. Has shown her personality, and her vocals are surpassing this competition. Did Whitney Houston effortlessly.

Randy="In It To Win It". Worked it all out. Fearless. Has belief in herself.

Mariah=One of her favorites. Sings her behind off. Knows America will connect with her.

Do The Judges & I Agree? Pretty much. Amber sang beautifully tonight, I don't know if it was worth a standing ovation from all 4 judges, but still a sure thing for the Top 10. 

 Kree Harrison

(Stronger-Faith Hill)

I love the simplicity of Kree. She just keeps it very easy and effortless. She goes for the big notes like she is going for the smaller ones. She had nothing to do with the writing of this song but the way she sang it was like she did. It was just a really powerful and real performance. Keith gives Kree a standing ovation. A

Keith=Hits some crazy high notes effortless. Fits right into the country world.

Nicki=Sexiness level went up a notch again. Obsessed. Her tone is so rich and beautiful to the ear. Has just a soothing and relaxing voice. Always nice and smooth.

Randy="In It To Win It". Her range is almost sneakily big. Is country and then some.

Mariah=It's tough to top that. Gives a true experience every time out there. Undeniable thing she has.

Do The Judges & I Agree? Sure do. She is amazing.

 

Adriana Latonio

(Stand Up For Love-Destiny's Child)

I think this was a poor choice for Adriana. I think she couldn't catch up to the song and was behind the music for a large portion of the song. When she went deep she had a nice thing going on, but those were far and few between. It was just all over the place. Her last performance was far and away better than this time. The last note was quite good but it didn't do enough to overcome the rest of the performance. D+

Keith=Nervous about the song choice. Has a big powerful voice but it took too long to get to it.

Nicki=After going after Angela, Amber and Kree it just didn't stand out and she should come back next year. The song was too big for her.

Randy=Very pageanty. Needed to slay and it did not happen. It was pretty boring.

Mariah=Really enjoyed her last performance, but this song didn't do any favors for her. Needed to be less produced.

Do The Judges & I Agree? For sure. Bad song choice, bad timing, bad all over.

Candice Glover

(Ordinary People-John Legend)

I love how Candice changed up this John Legend song.  She made it much more in her wheel house with all the runs and big booming moments. She just seems like she is ready to win this competition and move on. Standing ovation by Keith, Randy and Mariah. Nicki probably would have but she was sucking on a lollipop. Candice is just an another level than most everyone. A

Keith=She is current, she is now, she is superb.

Nicki=Just gives a salute to her.

Randy= Was ridiculous because she hit notes that are almost impossible. One of the best singers in this whole competition.

Mariah=Thanks her for sharing her gift.

Do The Judges & I Agree? Definitely. It makes some of the many other really good performances look pedestrian.

Predictions

Moving Onto Top 10=Janelle Arthur, Angela Miller, Amber Holcomb, Kree Harrison, Candice Glover

Eliminated=Zoanette Johnson, Breanna Steer, Aubrey Cleland, Tenna Torres, Adriana Latonio
 

Final Thoughts

*The really good separated itself from the middle of the line performers tonight. So that's the biggest positive of the night for sure. If the Top 5 that I predicted to move on do in fact go on then that Top 5 female is outstanding. If the weakest of them is Janelle than that is pretty good.

*In one of the most awkward moments of the evening, Ryan Seacrest brought out Amber Holcomb's mother and decided to play a tape of when Amber auditioned. It was to show Amber's mom accidentally hitting Ryan in the face. Well, unfortunately that lady was not Amber's mother but a totally different person, her step-mother. Yep, he and the American Idol producers confused the 2 ladies and then highlighted it by bringing out the wrong person. Wow. That's uncomfortable, a wee bit racist and super awkward all in one.

*So there was the time that Ryan went to high five Scott MacIntyre, who is visually impaired, the time that he pretty much forced Didi Benami to reveal why she chose the song that she did, which was to honor her late friend, and in turn made her cry, and now he confused 2 African-American ladies for one another. Um, which is worse?

*Commercials after every single performance? C'mon. That was just brutal.

That's it! Tonight was pretty successful I'd say. The standouts stood out and the ones in the background kinda stayed in the background. Come back tomorrow for the guys' performance and then come back on Thursday