by Kylene Hamulak

 

Is it just me or does sudden death on American Idol seems a lot less dramatic when "sudden" actually takes two weeks, four shows, and eight hours? The second half of the girls will be singing tonight, hoping they make it through to next week's voting round. So let's get to the rest of the ladies, shall we?

 

HITS:

 

Candice Glover, "Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin

Candace thinks she has to work harder to prove that she belongs in the competition after getting cut last year. Whatever she's doing is working just fine. Her big voice is effortless and smooth and has been consistent throughout the competition. Keith gives her a standing ovation, and Nicki can't believe she didn't make it past Vegas last year. Watch her face when Randy starts talking about how different last year was - it's pretty much exactly how I want to look at Randy ALL the time. Mariah calls her a "bona fide singaaaaar."

 

Aubrey Cleeland, "Sweet Dreams" by Beyonce

Aubrey gives us a slowed down arrangement of a typically quicker song. Snooooore. She's gorgeous and has a nice tone, but like...so what. Keith notes the diversity in tonight's performances and says she has a fire in her voice. Nicki's obsessed with her and thinks she's marketable, which is code for beautiful. Cue the creepy camera pan up from Aubrey's feet to her head. Randy shares that he, too, is obsessed not only with Aubrey, but with all the judges (including himself) and a little bit Ryan Seacrest. Which is amusing because I think we can all agree that Randy IS obsessed with Ryan. Mariah thinks she's limitless.

 

Breanna Steer, "Bust Your Windows" by Jazmine Sullivan

I've got to confess that I am not a fan of this song. I'm not a fan of how so many of the girls are slowing things down tonight. What I am a fan of? Breanna's performance. It's one of the better ones of the night, even if it's not really my style. Keith doesn't know the song but liked the performance, Nicki's got Breanna joining Aubrey in the "make a record right now" category, and Randy echoes Nicki's sentiments. Like, literally. Mariah gushes about her marketability.

 

MISSES:

 

Melinda Ademi, "Nobody's Perfect" by Jessie J

Melinda reminds us that her family was featured back in Season 10 as refugees from Kosovo. There is something really odd about her breathing in this song, and I can't believe this is the same thing Angela performed last week.  Her voice has potential, but the performance was off-putting for me. Keith really loves it. Like me, Nicki could only think about Angela's performance. Randy and Mariah try to break it easy to her not to expect to make it through this part of the competition.

 

Juliana Chahayed, "Skyscraper" by Demi Lovato

Juliana comes out with her guitar and a very slowed down version of the original, and she does some interesting things with the song. She's nervous and pitchy, and I wonder if she'd have done better in a couple years - she's only 15. Keith notes the pitchy nerves as well, but all Juliana hears is him comparing the purity in her voice to Jewel and Taylor Swift. Nicki thinks she has a signature sound, but her timid demeanor may not work up against the bigger personalities. Randy likes her honesty, and Mariah wrote down "celestial." Randy butts in to inform us all that "Ryan Seacrest couldn't have done it when HE was 15!" Thanks for that useless interjection, Randy. He can't do it now either.

 

Jett Hermano, "Only Girl" by Rihanna

Jett is a teeny little thing sitting at a piano, and when the wide shot opens on the stage, I can't even find her on it. The song is a slowed version of "Only Girl," and I wonder if this is going to be the theme of the night. It's actually an interesting arrangement, but every time it changed just a little bit, she fooled me into thinking she was about to get out from the piano. Keith applauds her musicianship and her ability to bring out a sexiness in the song. Nicki and I are sharing a brain tonight - she liked it, but she was expecting a climax that never came. Randy agrees, but I won't admit to sharing thoughts with him. Mariah says that it didn't matter to her that Jett didn't "go sick at the end, like have a fit at the piano or whatever" and she enjoyed it.

Cristabel Clack, "No One" by Alicia Keys

In a Red Room interview before her performance, Cristabel tells Ryan that she was nervous enough to consider dropping out of the competition. SPOILER ALERT - she didn't. The song choice is pretty good - though there are some rough spots, her raspy tone works well on Ms. Keys. She throws in some runs at the end that impress Randy enough for him to stand, and Keith loves "that soul, croaky, cool thing." Nicki liked it, but wasn't totally impressed. Mariah gives a shout out to the background singers and hopes we'll hear more from Cristabel.

 

 

HIGHLIGHTS:

 

Giving Her All: I was totally amused by the number of times Mariah politely wished a contestant luck. Do NOT make a drinking game out of it if you want to make it to the end of the show.

Trend that Better Not Continue: At least four performances tonight offered a slowed down arrangement of a more uptempo song, and if that continues, I'm gonna need to read someone else's recap because these girls are going to put me to sleep. It's not that it doesn't work - it's just that the effect is lost when half the field is doing it. It'd be like if you wore a Valentino dress to the Oscars only to find out your co-star wore a very similar gown - too much of a good thing.

 

Miss Congeniality: Remember Rachel Hale? She's the happiest contestant that ever lived. Happiest does not translate into best, though. She puts a lot into her performance of "Nothing But the Water" by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, but it was far from terrific. And you know how I know? The first thing Keith does is shout out the band. Then he follows that up saying that he loves her spirit. Not much about her singin' though. Nicki is excited to see her confidence, Randy loves that she had fun, and Mariah just can't help but smile back at her. I mean, no one is gushing about her singing, but maybe she can win the congeniality award?

 

It's Good to Have Fans: Janelle Arthur is our real country girl, and she's definitely likeable, but she hit a couple of sour notes during her performance of "Just A Kiss" by Lady Antebellum. Keith blames the song for limiting her range, and Nicki felt like Janelle was disconnected from the song. She warns her not to try too hard. Randy and Mariah both remind her that they're fans of hers, but this performance didn't quite work. Still, all the judges seem to be rooting for her.

 

The Hakuna Matata Award: I'm a huge Disney nerd, so if Zoanette Johnson was trying to win my love, she was on the right track choosing "Circle of Life" from The Lion King. The problem, however, is that I can't figure out her over-the-top performances. I'm not going to pretend I loved this, maybe because I've heard this song better not only on Broadway, but also in Disney World. (Sidenote: The rendition in my shower sounds pretty good, too.) I didn't think that shock value was what made an American Idol, but maybe I'm wrong because the judges are falling all over themselves to praise her. And yet all this performance did was make me imagine Randy on top of Pride Rock holding Ryan up to the heavens. No worries, Zoanette.

 

Five In, Five Out: Making use of all the fun gadgets the stage has to offer, the judges emerge from the depths of the stage to deliver the news of who will make it to next week. Though the choices weren't always unanimous, they did manage to come to a decision without involving Jimmy Iovine tonight.

In:

Zoanette Johnson - Randy is pretty annoying trying to fake her out. Ladies and gentlemen, I think we've found our polarizing contestant!

Aubrey Cleland

Candice Glover

Breanna Steer

Janelle Arthur

 

Out:

Melinda Ademi

Juliana Chahayed

Cristabel Clack

Jett Hermano

Rachel Hale

Final Thoughts: I'm not impressed by most of the Top 10 girls (and by that I mean I can only remember like three of them), so maybe it's a good thing Zoanette is among them - at least she'll be shaking things up. The producers have been promising tough competition from the ladies this year - I hope they weren't kidding.

 

So who are YOU rooting for in the Top 10 girls? And what did you think of Zoanette's performance - love her or hate her?  Let us know in the comments below!

 

Catch American Idol every Wednesday and Thursday at 8/7C on Fox!

 

(Images courtesy of Fox)

 

Follow Kylene on Twitter @keepingupwithky!