Top 4 Results

Welcome back. Tonight one of two things will happen. Either another female contestant will be eliminated, or most likely no one will be eliminated and there will be a Top 4 again next with all the votes accumulated this week combining with next week's. So we'll see what happens. We predicted Kree and Amber in the Bottom 2, with Amber going home. But it's doubtful that will come to fruition. So let's get it going:

Top 4 Perform
The 4 take on Alicia Keys' "Girl on Fire". Given that the theme week was One-Hit Wonder I would have loved a mash-up or something of some famous one hit wonders. Maybe a little "Rico Suave" or Chumbawumba's "Tubthumping" or "Mambo Number 5" or something like that. But it doesn't come to be. The hashtag of this performance was #idolgirlpower. Yup. I don't think this is one of Alicia Keys' best songs but it's the most current I guess. They all sounded great. Can't say too much bad about them. The fact that any one of them can win this show proves that they are all fantastic.

Ford Promo/Mission of The Day
So the mission of the day in their Ford Fiesta was to find Ryan Seacrest. What we have learned is that these girls aren't actresses. I guess the point of the video was to prove that Ryan Seacrest does a lot of jobs. It falls flat. Bits are not Idol's forte'.

5 Things in 20 Seconds
In another video bit, they are told they have to tell us 5 things about themselves in 20 seconds. Angie hates Pink, she lives in heels, likes to eat olives. Candice likes Spongebob, can't sleep without socks, loves Drake, and Purple. Kree was bitten by a snake, loves Rap. Amber likes showers not baths, likes 90 degree weather, was on a drill team, was in a play and loves neon green and has her septum pierced. That's a ton of non-essential stuff right there.

Jimmy Iovine's Take #1

Amber=Did a great job on her first song, Power of Love. Her second song choice, MacArthur's Park was bad. Amber didn't even know what the song was about. Can't interpret lyrics when you don't know the meaning of the song . If America agrees with him she's in trouble. 

Kree=Didn't redeem herself after her first bad song . Her vulnerability didn't come through with her second song choice. She needs to choose a song that shows everything from her. There is a reason that this song was a one-hit wonder.

Musical Performance #1
Season 10's Stefano Lagone is back. People might remember him because Jennifer Lopez really liked this guy. She stood up for him at several instances during the competition. He has done pretty well since being eliminated a couple years ago.  He signed with Hollywood Records and is trying to make his way onto the music scene. He is singing his song "Yes To Love". He is an R&B-Pop kinda guy. Decent song, his voice is just as good as it was a couple years ago.

Jimmy Iovine's Take #2

Candice=Has a big voice that makes it difficult to maintain. She needs to protect her voice. Her song choices were a little safe.
*As a surprise Candice's favorite artist, and the person she sang last night Drake came out to surprise Candice. Candice lost it. Paula Abdul came out last week to surprise Candice but this week was a little different.

Musical Performance #2
American Idol Season 9 winner Lee DeWyze has returned. He tells of his tough time touring and creating a record. He met his wife on the set of his music video. He returns with his new song "Silver Lining". I was more of a Crystal Bowersox fan at the time, but I always thought that Lee did a good job. That season was kind of a mess with the whole Ellen Degeneres not doing well, and Simon leaving. I like this song though. It is very mellow and then goes into a real fast tempo bluegrass kind of thing.

Jimmy Iovine's Take # 3
Angie=Won the night hands down. She had 2 great songs and performances. Prefer her at the piano rather than when she stands up, she gets too in her head. She is most natural at the piano.

Results 
Ryan puts the girls into pairs, saying that one side is Top 2, the other is Bottom 2.
-Amber goes to far side of the stage.
-Angie goes to near side of the stage.
-Kree goes to near side of the stage.
-Candice goes to far side of the stage.

Top 2/SAFE

 Kree

Angie

Bottom 2 
Amber
Candice

Person Leaving?
NO ONE. Amber and Candice are SAFE.

Next Week's Scenario
So as discussed yeesterday and the biggest non-secret to ever be revealed, this week's votes will be combined with next week's vote and the lowest recieved contestant will go home. This is due to the fact that the Judge's Save has not been utilized. This was the most obvious and fair way to go. 


Final Thoughts

*This was one of the most "Duh" moments a Results show has ever had and that's saying a lot. Of course no one was leaving. I kinda wanted to know which of the Bottom 2 was really the one possibly to leave, but I am at least glad they told us the Bottom 2. Which by the way, how is Candice in that group? Did Kree just take all of Janelle's voters? I thought Amber would be at risk because she wasn't as great as the judges wanted us to believe but Candice? Wow.

*I am happy that no one went home. I loved hearing them perform last night, so another week of this Top 4 is great. No complaints really. I guess it's To Be Continued...

So that's it. No one left, no one went home, and we'll just repeat this all next week. So enjoy your week and come on back here after the next new episode of American Idol. As always we have put our favorite performance of the night at the bottom of the recap. So until next time, see ya!
 

Top 4 Perform: Free Choice/1 Hit Wonders Week

Welcome back. We are down to the Final 4, and it's arguably the best Top 4 Idol has ever had. Before we get to tonight's recap there are a couple Behind The Scenes Idol things to mention. First, there was supposedly a plot to replace Mariah Carey and possibly Nicki Minaj with Jennifer Lopez this season, but it was thwarted once Mariah Carey's team threatened litigation. There is also a rumor that the entire judge's panel will be completely new next season and Jennifer Lopez might return anyways. This is all due to the declining ratings this season. Given the ratings were declining with Lopez last year not sure what good it'll do, but we'll keep you posted on the Judge's front.

Also, a lot has been said about the fact the Judge's Save has not been utilized and because of that fact Idol would end a week early. Well we have learned through several reports that the Judge's Save has expired for the season BUT there is some type of contingency plan. Although FOX and Idol have not officially said what it is many people believe that this week will just accumulate votes with no elimination on Thursday, and then next week's votes will be combined with this week's and thus a contestant will be eliminated next week and Idol will end at the correct date.That's the theory, it makes sense, but you never know.

But let's get back to these great contestants. As always we have our weekly rankings, so enjoy that and the recap and let's get started:

Weekly Rankings
1. Candice Glover-Same As Last Week
2. Kree Harrison-Same As Last Week (Officially Bottom 2)
3. Amber Holcomb-Up 1 From Last Week
4. Angie Miller-Down 1 From Last Week

Free Choice Performances

 Amber Holcomb

(Power Of Love-Celine Dion)

Last week I thought she had a tough couple performances but the judges loved it and she wasn't in the Bottom 2 so I guess the fans loved it too. This week she comes out swinging by singing a Celine Dion song. The first 15-20 seconds are acapella and she is right on point. There were a couple points that dipped but for the most part she sounded great. It was awkward staging though, she just kinda stood in the middle of the steps. But luckily her voice was better than the idea for her to stand up there. I wish she changed up the song a little, but it was still awfully good. Keith, Nicki and Randy give her a standing ovation. B+
Keith=Tailor made song choice. She handled it all beautifully. Her range was effortless. 
Nicki=That song was made for her. She is so current and ready. She's not a contestant anymore she is like at her concert.
Randy=Marveling at the fact that she was so shy and now she has grown to be so fierce and confident. She didn't miss a beat. Had no fear in her voice.
Mariah=She is current and just needs to keep it going.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Yup. She started the night off right. It wasn't the best I have ever seen but it was quite good.
Jimmy Iovine's Take=Amber has picked some classic songs that could leave her voice exposed, but although the top of her voice strained, the performance will be tough to beat.

Candice Glover

(Find Your Love-Drake)

Candice took this song to a place that Drake probably didn't know it would go. This song is an R&B-Rap kinda mix and Candice flipped it upside down into a jazzy, soulful kind of song. This is something that I commented about Amber, she sang her song pretty much the same as how Celine Dion did, Candice just created a whole new song. I haven't seen a person switch up songs as much as she does since David Cook did in Season 7. A-
Nicki=Her voice is amazing. Wished she would have stuck with the melody. Could have kept it Candice but made it current. Doesn't want her to get lost in the old fashioned bracket.
Randy=She doesn't need to use her church voice, with runs all the time and leave the melody. Can't always sound like she is in church.
Mariah=She took her vocals to some crazy places. She can sing anything and shouldn't veer from taking musical chances.
Keith=Loved what she did with the song. She finds herself every week. Has power in the quiet moments. Keep letting her authenticity come.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Not really. For one of the first times this year I completely agree with Mariah and really only her. She told Candice that she shouldn't veer from taking musical chances and I agree so much. I think it's much more creative and shows how artistic you are to take a song that people know and flip it around to make it your own.
Jimmy Iovine's Take=At this point, that was the 2nd best performance of the night. [Given that it was the 2nd performance of the night, that's not a compliment at all.]

Kree Harrison

(It Hurts So Bad-Susan Tedeshi)

This song allowed Kree to show what kind of records she intends to have, which is country with a little rock and blues in it. I love that she put some extra emotion in there tonight and really seemed into the performance. I don't know if I loved the song choice but her vocals did everything and more. She hit a few crazy big notes and did it pretty flawlessly. Song choice wasn't great but I still enjoyed it a lot. B+

Randy=Right in her element. Tremendous vocal but maybe not her best. Some of it was a little disconnected. Was waiting for something else this week.
Mariah=Felt really connected to the audience. Keep giving herself.
Keith=She needs to leave nothing on the table.Her vocals can't just do it all alone. She needs to give more.
Nicki=That performance is not gonna give her what she needs for next week. She needs to reevaluate her choices because that wasn't Top 4 worthy.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Sorta. Nicki was a little harsh on her criticism. I didn't think it was her best, but it wasn't as bad as Nicki made it seem.
Jimmy Iovine's Take=Kree is gonna hurt herself with the song choices. This was the wrong song.

Angie Miller

(Who You Are-Jessie J)

Angie is singing and playing back at the piano. I don't really know this song but it seems very pretty. I think Angie hit some really great notes. She was really into this performance and got lost in it, which is great, there were a little bit of a flat note here and there, but she pretty much made up for it. Keith, Nicki, and Randy give her a standing ovation. A-
Mariah=Gives a standing ovation in spirit. It was stunning. Can't wait to hear her write and perform another of her original.
Keith=Mini short representation of her confidence as an artist. She starts off a little proper and then got looser as the performance kept going. 
Nicki=No one that compares to her when she is at the piano. Can feel that she believes in herself. Exceptional.
Randy=Forgot that it was a Jessie J song. It was 10 out of 10 out of 10. Best performance of the night.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Kinda. I liked it a whole bunch, but they went really extreme for this performance. Not saying there was anything wrong with it at all, I just feel it wasn't quite as amazing as they said.
Jimmy Iovine's Take=Thrilled to she that she has control over her big voice. She is neck in neck with Amber right now.

Duets Performances

Amber and Kree

(Rumour Has It-Adele)

There was so much good stuff about this performance. First off I love the arrangement of the song with the drums. It was very tribal. Then I love how Kree and Amber sounded and made the song their own. After being called old-fashioned I am sure Kree was happy to do such a current song.A-
Keith=They have a different way of being at the mic. Amber took a very commanding stance. Kree's voice is just outstanding. Wants them to cut loose.
Nicki=Wants Kree to get back to add personality to her voice, or that's where it's gonna end. Gotta back in this thing.

Candice and Angie

(Stay-Adele)

They sang this with a little more tempo than the original song. There voices are both so powerful and they both hit some big notes. I thought Angie was screaming notes a little more and Candice was almost a little too relaxed. But when they were good they were so very good.  This duet was much more fierce and epitomized a duet better than the previous one. A
Randy=Unbelievable. That's how you do a duet. This was incredible. Amazing.
Mariah=Loved how Candice does certain things depending on the song. They both did so great.

One Hit Wonder Performances

 Amber Holcomb

(MacArthur Park-Richard Harris/Donna Summer)

Given that Donna Summer had many hits and this song was most notably performed by her I don't quite understand the one-hit wonder aspect of it. But that's a technicality I guess. I don't think Amber's voice was as dynamic and clear as she was on her first performance. She was fierce and confident and seemed to have fun, but I think some of her lower notes were too low again, like last week. It's not to say this wasn't a very good performance but it didn't shine as much as I wanted it to. B-
Keith=She is dominating tonight. Incredible performance.
Nicki=She is like a blooming flower. She has come so far in this competition. In terms of marketing "she is the one to know".
Randy=She is "in it to win it". Hit some really high notes crystal clear. She is so in tune. Mad crazy vocals.
Mariah=She has an inner glow. Low notes were rich and beautiful and gorgeous. Is really showing her confidence. Has star quality.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Not really. Again, I think Amber was great, but I didn't think her notes were so great, and I didn't think it was standing ovation worthy. Doesn't mean it wasn't good or high quality but they are kind of over selling a little tonight.
Jimmy Iovine's Take=They missed the point, didn't buy Amber singing this song. That song was corny.

Candice Glover

(Emotion-Samantha Sang/Bee Gees)

Again, this song was most notably sung by The Bee Gees who were far from a one hit wonder. Although Samantha Sang was a one-hit wonder the song wasn't. I guess they are allowed to bend the rules of the theme. This song was sung pretty straight forward. She didn't change it up a lot. She still added some of her own style including the jazzy stuff, but it also stayed true to the Bee Gees version. There was a moment in that performance when she hit a note that sounded so good and moved left, right, up and down. Candice did a wonderful job. No standing ovation by any of the judges though. A-
Nicki=Grooving with that song. Stayed more current.
Randy=The song was great, she took her time with it. She had a nice run. Another great performance. Settling back in. 
Mariah=The way she has sung since Day 1 is incomprehensible. She was stellar even though that Candice has a cold. She is definitely no one hit wonder.
Keith=Voice is beautiful. Every song choice matters. It was breezy and nice, but she didn't have a stand out moment.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Not really. They didn't think she stood out enough. I think she did a lot of really good things and didn't get a ton of credit for it. Plus the fact that she has a cold is even more incredible.
Jimmy Iovine's Take=(Jimmy actually comes out on stage) Says that he defends the fact that Amber was singing a corny song and doesn't like that they don't acknowledge that Candice sang better than Amber this round.

Kree Harrison

Whiter Shade of Pale-Procul Harum

Now this actually was a one-hit wonder band, not Bee Gees or Donna Summer. I know the judge's gave her a hard time for not showing enough emotion but I think she did a great job before and an even better job with room to spare. I still feel she could go further, but she did a wonderful job. A-
Randy=She can flat out sing. She redeemed herself. Sang her face off. Brilliant. Loved it.
Mariah=There was no redeeming needed because she is a great song. No words.
Keith=So close to the end and every decision is important. The middle ground songs don't allow her to really come out or bring us in.
Nicki=Loved that performance. Put her heart and soul into it. Doesn't know if it kept her out of the Bottom 2. Everything is critical. Even if she left tomorrow she would have a multi-platinum record.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Yup. They got back on the Kree train. I also agree that Kree might be in a little trouble.
Jimmy Iovine's Take=Did Not Give One.

Angie Miller

(Julie London-Cry Me A River)

If the judge's complained about current songs than they should say something to the fact that this song is from 1955. Now that's not to say that Angie didn't sing the crap out of the song, because she did, but it was just an old-timey song. But because she is smart she made it sound more current and also did so many different wonderful tricks with her voice. A
Mariah=It was so classic. It was elegant. America's gonna have a tough time with the talent tonight.
Keith=Mystical and Celestially Powerful
Nicki="Came out to snatch some wigs". Tonight was her night.
Randy=Best of the night. Angie wins the night hands down.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Yep. Angie sounded really beautiful tonight.
Jimmy Iovine's Take=Did not give one.

Predictions

Bottom 2
Kree
Amber

*Going Home
Amber

*Unlikely due to the "twist". Read about it in "Final Thoughts".



Final Thoughts

*Ryan states that a "Surprise twist"  in the competition will occur tomorrow. This is obviously the fact that no one will go home tomorrow. I would be as shocked about one of these ladies actually leaving the competition tomorrow as I was when Chris Daughtry was eliminated or when Jessica Sanchez was eliminated prematurely or so many other things. This Top 4 was so good and I wouldn't mind hearing them all again next week.

*Not saying that Angie didn't win the night, but the overhype of Amber was kinda crazy and the bigdrop off of Kree was so odd. I think Nicki has done a really good job this season. I know she gets a lot of backlash for being harsh, and I have always thought it was part of the deal, but tonight I kinda thought she was yelling at Kree, I know that she is only doing it to help, but her doing that might make viewers think twice about voting for her.We'll see what happens. We also have to take into account Janelle's votes. They would seem to go to Kree, but ya never do know.

*In Season 5 Taylor Hicks chose a Beatles Song, "Something", with the Theme as "Current #1 Songs" or something close to that. He got away with it because at that point on some really obscure #1 hit list it was at the top. Obviously most people in the universe know that "Something" is not a current #1 song but he got away with it. The same thing happened tonight with Amber and Candice's song choices. Although technically they sang songs that the original artist was a one hit wonder, the songs themselves were later and more famously sung by big artists. I feel it cheapens the theme a little. Idol asked the viewers to vote for a theme, they gave it and then the contestants kind of got aroudn it. That bothers me a little but maybe that's just me.

That's it. Come back tomorrow to see what the "Surprise Twist" will be. If it is what we all think it will be then no one will go home, but at least we will get to see this Top 4 again. So until then, see ya!

Top 5 Results

Welcome back. Tonight will be interesting because one of two things will occur. 1. A female contestant will finally leave the competition after receiving the least amount of votes or 2. The producers of American Idol will somehow put the Judge's Save back in play despite the rules of it having to be used by Top 5 week. The reason this might occur is due to the finale of American Idol being on May 16. So by that logic if: Tonight(4/18) becomes a Top 4, 4/25 becomes a Top 3, 5/2 becomes a Top 2 then the finale would be May 9th. We all know this won't happen, so something has gotta give.

Tonight we have some performances, some long drawn out results show and the answers to our questions. So let's get started:

Top 5 Perform
The Top 5 are performing a medley of Donna Summer Hits.  Boy oh boy do I wish they would have done some Spice Girls or something. That would have been fantastic and so appropriate given that there are 5 women left. But they decided to do this instead, it's fine. Each girl has 1 or 2 background boy singers/dancers. Not sure why it couldn't just be the ladies out there but it's fine, whatever works.  They sound great together, and no one forgets the lyrics or outshines anyone else. Sure Candice had a few great moments but overall they all just sounded really nice.

Ford Promo/Scavenger Hunt
Their mission was to find a celebrity guest. So they go all around L.A to find clues to find this "celebrity". It's basically them just utilizing all the features of the car to move around the city. Once they finally get to the end they get to Glee's Matthew Morrison. Glee just happens to be on right after this episode of American Idol. What are the odds?

Jimmy Iovine's Take #1

Angie Miller

Jimmy Iovine's Take=Angie is a great technician and on the piano she is completely believable. When she went to her second song away from the piano she was less believable. It might effect her score tonight.

Candice Glover

Jimmy Iovine's Take=Last week's performance was so good that it made her first song too narrow. But the last performance just blows his mind. She is really smart at picking songs and smart in general. As a surprise Paula comes out from behind the screen to congratulate Candice. Randy gets up from the judge's table and they ask Paula to take a seat. Pretty cool.

Musical Performance #1
In the realm of bringing back former Idol contestants Clay Aiken, runner up in Season 2, has returned to the Idol stage. He speaks of his work with children with disabilities and being an ambassador for Unicef. He's done a ton of really great work since his work on Idol ten years ago. He sings one of his most famous songs on the show "Bridge on Troubled Water". He sang this song when he was in the finale with Ruben Studdard. He sounds just as great as he did 10 years ago, pretty amazing.

Jimmy Iovine's Take #2

Janelle Arthur

Jimmy Iovine's Take=Liked her arrangement on her second song, she chose the right Diva in Dolly Parton but just the wrong song.

Amber Holcomb

Jimmy Iovine's Take=Sings brilliantly and lands in Bottom 2 or 3 every week. This week she had to do something big and she did with singing Mariah Carey and Barbra Streisand. She sang both of them magnificently.

Kree Harrison

Jimmy Iovine's Take=The song choice was wrong and it could hurt her in the competition.

Idol Update
We get an update from Season 3's Latoya London. She was part of the previously historic Top 4 all ladies with Fantasia, Diana DeGarmo and Jasmie Trias. Latoya tells us that she was actually in the Color Purple on Broadway with Fantasia, she has put out some records, she has a band, she's going on tour and back in the studio to record a new album.

Musical Performance #2
Back tonight is American Idol Season 3 winner Fantasia. I still think Fantasia has one of the strongest Idol voices. She has had a lot going on her life, a lot of good, some bad, but her voice is still as great as always.

Results
(In No Particular Order)

Candice Glover 

SAFE

Angie Miller

SAFE

Amber Holcomb

SAFE

Bottom 2
Kree Harrison
Janelle Arthur

SAVE IN PLAY
So I guess Idol has lied for years because the Save will be in play tonight. The person with the least number of voices will get a chance to stay another week.  I love how they aren't even acknowledging this. The save has been around since Season 8 and Ryan has always said the Save must be used by Top 5. But since this kind of elimination of the first 5 people has never happened before they never had to actually own up to it, but here we have it.

SAFE?

Kree Harrison

Least Amount of Votes?
Janelle Arthur

Did The Judge's Save Her?
No. Janelle is going home.  Shockingly they did not use the save. They have removed the rule of the save only being used by Top 5, so the judges probably thought that if they can use it at any point before the finale then they should save it for someone like Kree, Candice, Angie or Amber. I completely agree with this thinking. Obviously if they could only use it this week then they would have, but if they can use it to save the other girls than that makes the most sense.

Final Thoughts
*Color me shocked. I thought that the Save would be used tonight. But I guess they have changed the rules from stopping at Top 5 to being able to be used at any point. Janelle had a great run. She deserved to outlast the guys, but this probably was as far as she could go once the men were eliminated. So I guess the Save is in play next week as well?Would it be fair to the public to allow their vote be vetoed this close to the end?

*Kree being Bottom 2 was pretty shocking. I know that she wasn't as dynamic as Angie or chose a great song like Candice but she still was fantastic last night. She was also Top 2 last week, so the drop from Top 2 to Bottom 2 in one week is very disconcerting. Only a couple of American Idols have ever been Bottom 2 or 3 and went on to win the show, one of those people sang on the show tonight, Fantasia. So it doesn't mean everything, but it's not great.

*I hate when Ryan says it's time for results, yet we don't actually get results, we get either Jimmy Iovine's take or we get a cool little surprise, like Paula Abdul this week, or the mayor of Kree's hometown, or a note from Dolly Parton. It's fine and all, it's just not results. A bit annoying.

Well that's it. The first female is eliminated from the show and the Judge's Save is still in play. So it should be an exciting Top 4 next week. Come on back here then, and until that time, see ya!

Top 5 Perform: Year of Birth/ Diva Week

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. B
Nicki=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.  B
Mariah=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)

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

Final Thoughts

*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!

Top 6 Results

Welcome back. Well last night was a night of 2 extremes. On one side you had the disastrous, brutal performances from Lazaro, and him getting pretty shredded by the judges, on the far other side was Candice, who had probably the best performance of the competition from anybody, and got 2 standing ovations by the judges.

In saying that, we picked Lazaro and Janelle to be Bottom 2 with Lazaro going home. I believe that this is the last week the Save can be used, it ends once you get to Final 5. So if one of the girls has the least votes there is an almost 100% guarantee that the Save will be utilized. The only person it won't be used on would be Lazaro. It should be noted that Idol and FOX allows for an extra week in their schedule, meaning that if the save wasn't used then they'd end a week early, so we'll see if anything comes of that.

Let's get started and see what happens:

Top 6 Perform

The Top 6 perform Burt Bacaharach and Hal David songs. Instead of just one song they each come out and sing part of a song. Janelle comes out first, Angie next, then Kree, followed by Lazaro, then Amber and Candice do a little duet on "One Less Bell To Answer". They sounded incredible. Candice just follows her outstanding job from last night and brought it to this performance, and Amber did a fantastic job herself. They smartly left the end for Candice and Amber to be featured. They kicked the crap out of that song. Then the 6 get together and sing "That's What Friends Are For". Wisely Lazaro kept his microphone away from his mouth and let the ladies take care of business, and that they did.

Top 6 Ford Promo/Soccer Game
With their Ford Fiesta's the contestants play soccer with their cars. The ball is huuge and the soccer goal is as well. I don't quite get the concept of the cars playing soccer, I mean I guess if you ever are driving a Ford Fiesta and see a massive Soccer ball in the middle of the road you know that you can push it away with the car. Good information...Thanks American Idol. This wasn't a time waster at all.

Jimmy Iovine's Take on Top 6 Part 1
Kree=Gave another great vocal performance. Needs a bit more personality in those vocals to really win the competition. There's more there than what she is showing.
Angie=Angie did a competent job but didn't win the night.
Lazaro=Did incredibly well for someone not an experienced singer. It was boring, he didn't change key when the band changed keys. He didn't redeem himself with the second song . He was 10th best out of 6.

Results #1

Angie-Goes To The Far Left Side of Stage

Lazaro-Goes To Middle Of The Stage

Kree-Goes To Right Side of Stage

Musical Performance #1
Season 10 American Idol winner Scotty McCreery is back. He sings his new song "See You Tonight". He's done well with his career, he won a country award, he's gone on tour and sold millions of albums. It's only been a couple years but he's done very well with his career. I like the song, it's pretty catchy.

Jimmy Iovine's Take on Top 6 Part 2
Janelle=When she does interpretations of songs she does really well, last night she did literal interpretations and that's not gonna work. She has to make things her own and make them her style.
Candice=Leading this thing. Got a 10 out of 10 on her first song. She has more than just a great singer, she has a great way of picking songs.
Amber=She looks like the entire package. Doesn't know why America doesn't get her. She just has to keep doing what she's doing.

Results #2

Janelle-Joins Angie on Far Right Side of Stage.

Candice-Joins Kree on Left Side of Stage.

Amber-Joins Lazaro in Middle of Stage. 

Musical Performance #2
Season 1 American Idol Winner Kelly Clarkson has returned. Clarkson is in glow in the dark attire. Even her make up is glow in the dark, so when she closes her eyes her eyelids glow and her nail polish. It's pretty cool. She is singing her new single "People Like Us". I like the song a lot, she does a lot of empowering kind of songs and this one falls into that category as well. At the end of the performance Ryan informs us that Kelly is a huge Mariah fan, and Mariah comes up on stage. It's kinda cute that after all that Kelly Clarkson has done and where she has been and all the awards she has received that she is still star struck. Very endearing for sure.

Results #3
Top 2/SAFE

Candice  

 Kree

Middle 2/SAFE

Angie

Janelle

Bottom 2
1. Lazaro
2. Amber 

Commercial Break/Backstage Pass
In maybe one of the smartest advertising moves I have seen in a long time, while the commercials are going American Idol's cameras continue to roll, so we get to see some backstage stuff, what happens when the cameras are off. It's a very smart idea, because while we get to see the backstage stuff in the upper right side of the TV there is also a commercial on the other side with the audio and everything. For people that usually DVR or fast forward they would miss this. Not saying anything interesting really happened, but I think this was a very interesting idea.  We see them get their hair fixed and their makeup touched up, we see the producers talking with the contestants. We see the judges kind of mulling around. It's not a lot, but for the advertisers it probably got more people to sit and watch their commercials.

SAFE?

Amber

BOTTOM VOTE GETTER?
Lazaro

Did Judges Use Their Save?
No. Lazaro is Going Home. Didn't think the judges would save him after last night's mess. America got it right tonight, and so did the judges. Lazaro probably should have been gone weeks ago but he did a mildly good job last week, so it took until last night's embarrassing performance for America to finally get it. Thankfully it didn't last longer than this week.

Final Thoughts
*America got it right tonight. I think Janelle probably should have been Bottom 2 over Amber, but Lazaro going home was right on the money. So I guess it's pretty much clear now that a woman will finally win the American Idol crown after 6 long years. :) Now the question is, which one? Should be an exciting last month of the show.

*This is the right Top 5. It's been pretty much clear since the Top 10 was assembled. I am excited about this. This is the first time in American Idol history that the final 5 are females. One gender has never represented the entire Top 5. It came close in Season 3 when the Final 4 were all females, but never like this, and it was never so dominating than these 5 women. I am excited about the last month of this season.

That's it. Five women entered the Top 10 and 5 women remain. It's been quite a season but it's finally where it should be. Come on back here next week when these 5 ladies will perform and then finally no matter what one of these ladies will be eliminated. Until then check out our favorite performance of the night below(no surprise here) and until next time, see ya!