American Idol Quick Wrap 4/3/13~ They Wanna Rock?

Well, I do have to applaud the producers of American Idol for picking a theme that wasn’t ballad heavy with tonight’s “Rock” genre. However, the producers obviously need some fresher themes because it was clear that some of these contestants did not want to rock… nor could they if they tried. And while there were some very nice performances, one judge continued to be the most annoying egomaniacal personality on television trying to steal the spotlight constantly. Yes, I’m talking of Ms. Minaj who brings the show down to a whole new terrible level. Sure, she’s honest, but she’s crass, rude and clueless much of the time. And um, the show is about the contestant, not you Nicki!… Seriously, I could rant about her for days, but instead, how about I talk about what we really care about~ my rankings and predictions for this week.

American Idol Rankings for “Rock” Night~ 4/3/13
~ solos
1. Amber “What About Love”: with another astounding vocal on this Heart smash, Amber narrowly beats Candice for my top spot. Her voice is just insanely good. I love this girl!
2. Candice “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction”: throwing some hot stank and some amazing vocals on the classic Rolling Stones hit, Candice was flawless as usual.
3. Kree “Piece of My Heart”: sitting right in her bluesy wheelhouse, Kree took on Janis Joplin’s iconic song and did another exemplary job. She’s always great and tonight was no exception. I’m just waiting for her to really let loose.
4. Angie “Bring Me to Life”: with her best performance in weeks, Angie almost made my top three. Her take on the Evanescence top ten hit was quite good and her voice fit perfectly in the song. I also appreciated and actually believed the rock edge she displayed tonight which surprised me a bit.
5. Janelle “You May Be Right”: while I applaud Janelle for trying new things and putting a country spin on this Billy Joel hit, the performance fell short of last week’s brilliance. It was a decent job and she’s incredibly likable, but it paled a little compared to the other ladies this week.
6. Burnell “You Give Love a Bad Name”: um, this was Burnell’s worst by a mile. He was stiff, uncomfortable, off the beat and the whole thing was just odd. At least he was on pitch most of the time though.
7. Lazaro “We Are the Champions”: well, sassy Lazaro (i.e.: Sazaro) did a much better job on this song than I thought he would. That said, it was still so forced and inauthentic. His vocals were better than usual, but his attitude and lack of musicality and showmanship really did him no favors with this number.

~ Groups
1. Candice/Burnell “The Letter”: this one lands on top squarely because of Candice. She’s just ridiculously good and while Burnell did a fine job, Candice really took this one home…. However, the duet didn’t come close to the best version of this song in Idol history which belongs to season 7′s Michael Johns and the amazing Carly Smithson. Check it out here.
2. Amber/Janelle/Kree “It’s Still Rock n Roll to Me”: they all sounded good, especially Amber, but it was a bit cruise shippy…
3. Angie/Lazaro “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”: poor Angie had to carry this one as Sazaro tanked again forgetting his lyrics and looking like a dear in headlights. It was just bad.

Predictions~
Bottom 3: Burnell, Janelle, Lazaro
Bottom 2: Burnell, Lazaro
Going Home: Lazaro (yes, I think it may finally happen! A boy can dream right?)

And there you have it~ a quick wrap for a not so rocking night on American Idol. Is Amber on the rise? Is Janelle in danger? Will Burnell fall victim to the Lazaro sympathy votes? Find out tomorrow night on the American Idol results show and let me know your favorites from tonight below.

American Idol Quick Wrap 5-2-12- “The Music of the 60′s and Brit Pop”

Dueling themes kept things interesting again this week on American Idol as the singers took on the songs of the 60′s and British pop. Both genres provided some standout performances but the latter really helped the singers step up their game. It was a night where one singer built on her momentum for her strongest week yet and one singer fell to his farthest depths with his worst frame to date. So, just who were those two and how did everyone rank as a whole? Well, check out my rankings of all the performances plus my predictions below.

American Idol Performance Rankings 5-2-12

The 60′s~
1. Skylar “Fortunate Son”: I don’t care that I’m not very familiar with this Credence Clearwater Revival hit from 1969 or that I didn’t really love the song. None of that mattered because Skylar absolutely lit the stage on fire with this incendiary and fantastic performance. Loved it.
2. Jessica- “Proud Mary”: taking on Ike & Tina Turner’s # 4 hit was a tall order and only Jessica could pull it off with such passion and panache. She sold the crap out of it and sounded great as always.
3. Hollie- “River Deep Mountain High”: singing the song that got Pia sent home way too early last year, I was a little worried for Hollie. However, she nailed it. Her vocals were great and it was her most loose, relaxed and fun performance to date. Really really good.
4. Joshua- “Aint to Proud to Beg”: singing this 1966 hit for The Temptations, Joshua was totally in his element. But it felt a little safe and forgettable compared to his earlier performances this year. He did sing it wonderfully though.
5. Phillip- “The Letter”: so, he got rid of the melody from this 1967 #1 hit by the Box Tops, turned it into another Dave Matthews Band clone, and gave a lax performance. Even his sexiness couldn’t save it. And he paled in comparison to the brilliant version that Season 7′s Carly Smithson and Michael Johns performed back in the day. Check that out  here.

British Pop~
the great
1. Jessica- “You Are So Beautiful”: ok, what the heck does this girl have to do to get a standing ovation from these ridiculous judges? Because that was FLAWLESS and her best performance since “I Will Always Love You”. It was emotionally connected, vocally perfect and simply stunning. I dare say it improved on Joe Cocker’s 1975 original.
2. Hollie- “Bleeding Love”: with perhaps her best performance and vocal to date, Hollie did an astounding job on this song, which was the biggest worldwide  # 1 smash in 2008 for Leona Lewis. (Hello, how do you not know that song Steven Tyler? You silly dingbat!) She is really in it to win it and I think she may have saved herself from a spot in the bottom two for once with this fabulous song.
the very good
3. Joshua- “To Love Somebody”: Josh’s great vocal on this Bee Gee’s 1967 hit didn’t have me on my feet like the three stooges, er um our judges. But it was very very good and his performance was naturally great. Another solid one for Mr. Ledet and likely the thing that keeps him safe this week.
4. Skylar- “You Don’t’ Have to Say You Love Me”: our country cutie’s take on Dusty Springfield’s “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me” wasn’t perfect, but it was pretty darn good. She made it her own and sang the bejesus out of it. I just wonder if it ends up a little less memorable at the end of the night…
the terribly terrible
5. Phillip- “Time of the Season” : simply put, this off-key, flat, boring, lazy and astoundingly awful performance of The Zombie’s 1969 # 3 hit should finally land Mr. Growly pants in the bottom three.

Duets/Trios
1. Skylar, Jessica and Hollie- “Higher and Higher”: fantastic on all levels with great vocals from each of them.
2. Joshua & Phillip- “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling”: um, no… just no.

Predictions:
Bottom 3: Skylar, Phillip and Hollie (but Jessica could wind up here too. It’s close)
Bottom 2: Skylar, Phillip
Buh Bye: Phillip (I think his first trip to the nether regions will be his ticket out of here finally)

Well, that’s my recap and what do you think of that? Did you figure out who had their best and worst week? Here’s a hint~ Hollie is now a serious contender and Phillip could be on the way out. But will that actually happen? I hope so, but I don’t know. So watch American Idol tomorrow night with special guests Carrie Underwood and Coldplay and find out.

And here’s the best performance of the night one more time…. Jessica Sanchez doing “You Are So Beautiful”