by Kylene Hamulak

 

American Idol has finally made it to the place we all knew it was going - an all ladies Top 5! Once again, they'll be singing two songs this week - the first from the year they were born, the second falling under the theme "Divas."

 

Round One: Songs From The Year You Were Born

 

Candice Glover, "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul (1989)

Candice, it seems, was quite a little boss as a child, and she liked to wrestle with her brother as well.  She rearranges the song to be smooth and jazzy, instead of the pop version. It sounds like a different (but terrific) song. Keith says it's a great version of that song - in fact, he had no idea it was such a great song! (Sorry, Paula!) Nicki thinks she showed that she's the boss, and then schools Keith: "That song has ALWAYS been great." Randy loved the arrangement and thought it made it very current, and he loves seeing Candice relaxed and having fun. Mariah calls it unpredictable, smart and a "GENIUS!" song choice. Fun fact: Janelle helped her pick the song. Backstage, Jimmy disagrees with the judges, saying that Candice needed a bigger song to make an impact.

 

Janelle Arthur, "When I Call Your Name" by Vince Gill (1989)

Choosing the song that helped her stop crying as a baby, Janelle is back to pure country roots and has brought her guitar along for the performance. She's a perfect country star, and the song choice really suits her. She hits a couple of shaky notes, but it's mostly in her wheelhouse. Nicki compares Janelle and her guitar to Angie and her piano - "You were allowing us into your world." She thinks Janelle without a guitar overcompensates and seems inauthentic. Randy says she did a really great job and seems very comfortable in this world. "I believed you," says Mariah. "You were singing with your whole heart for us tonight." Keith, surprisingly, disagrees with everyone - he didn't "feel" the song and thinks she didn't need the guitar. Jimmy agrees. He doesn't think Janelle was strong enough and says she's going to stay in the middle of the pack unless she redeems herself with something emotional.

 

Kree Harrison, "She Talks to Angels" by The Black Crows. (1990)

The first time Kree performed, she was three years old and in church - "It felt right," she says. Felt right then, and it feels right now. I'm not familiar with this song, so maybe that's why it's easy for me to listen to it as Kree's, but she does very well with it. I do wonder, however, what we've gotta do to get something a little uptempo in here! Randy says he loved her voice from "note one" and tells her he loves the "naturalness in your spirit and your voice." Mariah felt like she was performing tonight, instead of getting lost in the song - she wants her to always emote. Keith agrees that there was some awkwardness, but says her voice is carried him all the way through. Nicki - who gives the critique in a British accent for God only knows what reason - agrees with Randy and calls it the best performance of the night. (That's better than Candice and Janelle, in case you weren't clear.) What is ALMOST the best performance of the night is Nicki telling Mariah to simmer down when they can't agree to disagree about whether or not Nicki disagrees. Jimmy doesn't think the performance was strong enough for Kree's vocals.

 

Angie Miller, "I'll Stand By You" by the Pretenders (1994)

You might not believe it if the pictures didn't prove it, but Baby Angie was a giant roly poly thing! Angie is at the piano again, dedicating her performance to her home, Boston. It's a touching dedication, so I hate knocking the performance, but I think the emotion made it seem better than it actually was. Of course, the judges are on their feet. Mariah babbles a bunch about Chrissie Hynde before telling Angie it was the perfect song because of her hometown dedication. Keith loves her at the piano and her song choice and her voice, but doesn't really critique the performance. Nicki thinks it was a smart song choice and congratulates her on a great performance. Randy says, "I think you're on your way." Jimmy thinks she did a fabulous job and declares it the best performance of the night. So that's two best performances of the night. So far.

 

Amber Holcomb, "Without You" covered by Mariah Carey (1994)

Amber wanted to be a "news person" when she was a kid, and for some reason her description of playing journalist makes me giggle. This is a huge song, and she gets the full on fog treatment for it. She does a good job with it, but like...has anyone NOT belted that song out in their car at some point? It's not her best performance. Keith calls out an "AMBER ALERT!" and immediately regrets it. He thinks she's grown in leaps and bounds and loved it. Nicki? Not so much, which is shocking. She can only compare it to Mariah, and it's kind of cute how careful she's being when talking about Mariah's version. She says Amber seemed stoic. Randy gives her "mad props" despite the fact that it wasn't perfect because it's hard to sing in front of Mariah! (So why does one choose to do it?) Mariah encourages people to vote for her but does have some comments (good and bad) about her performance, so it's basically a wash. Jimmy agrees with Nicki...then still calls Amber the second best of the night.

 

Round Two: The Divas

Candice Glover, "When You Believe" by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston

Remember back when you NEVER sang Mariah or Whitney on Idol? Good thing we forgot about that unwritten rule, because Candice KILLS it. Once again, she's got everyone out of their seats and bowing. Nicki can barely get words out because the crowd is so loud. As a side note, I love when Nicki references being young when she listened to Mariah songs. She does that here, and felt a bigger message from Candice. Randy names it the BEST VOCAL OF THE NIGHT. (Third time. Maybe we shouldn't label things so early in the show?) Mariah is so proud of Candice and trying not to cry. Keith loves her voice because it stops him in his tracks. Jimmy said she had to pull out the stops, "you just pulled them all out and annihilated them," Keith says.

 

Janelle Arthur, "Dumb Blonde" by Dolly Parton

No surprise that Janelle's diva of choice is Dolly, and her song is perfect for her! It's hard to follow Candice's performance, but I want to give her votes for choosing something up tempo that I could totally see her covering on her own album. Randy calls it fun, but says there was more performing than vocal. Mariah calls it "Pow" because she was connected to the "Dumb Blonde" song, but she does want to hear Janelle's "chops." Keith thinks she has a great voice but doesn't approve of the song choice. Nicki? She tells Janelle she'll be in jeopardy tomorrow night, but she's great in life.

Kree Harrison, "Have You Ever Been In Love" by Celine Dion

Kree gets about four notes in before it's clear this is a perfect choice for her. The performance ends with (deserved) standing ovations from everyone. Mariah thinks it was a smart choice that showed her versatility. Keith agrees - he says she stayed in control of the song in a "beautiful effortless" way. Nicki says, "You're not country. You're worldly. You're iconic." She then compares her to Adele and Celine. Randy keeps seeing versatility  and says she could sing anything.

 

Angie Miller, "Halo" by Beyonce

Angie refers to Beyonce as "Queen Diva" because she can dance and she can saaaang. If you thought you were going to get something a little more upbeat with Halo, you would be wrong. Angie delivers a very strong ballad arrangement of the song and hits some very pretty notes. The crowd and judges absolutely love it. Keith says she's definitely Top 3, and Nicki declares, "Now my Angie Miller is BACK!" Randy, with a very helpful follow up, tells us she is IN IT TO WIN IT.  Mariah thinks she's here to stay. Oh, by the way? Those critiques are brought to you buy "The Show Is Running Long So Hurry Up" judging.

 

Amber Holcomb, "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life" by Barbra Streisand

Them are some huge diva shoes to fill, Amber. She looks beautiful and elegant and sounds better than her first performance. Nicki says, "It was simply perfection" and doesn't think Amber gets the credit she deserves. Randy pulls the hyperbole out of his pocket to say it was the most difficult song of the season for anyone to sing, but she sang "the I-don't-know-what" out of it. Mariah doesn't know what to say if America doesn't get Amber - "You are potentially a massive star." Keith says she knocked it out of the park.

 

 

The Wrap Up:

 

Coffee Anyone? These ladies are great, but I can't believe the season is still dragging out with so few up tempo songs. I know I've complained about it before, but am I the only one feeling this way?

 

Five's a Crowd: Janelle is getting the consolation prize this year, and if she manages to survive this week's results, it'll be very interesting to see how the judges react. Kree and Candice don't misstep, Amber is the critically acclaimed but unappreciated contestant, and Angie is either amazing or forgettable. Maybe Janelle can be the underdog and shake things up?

 

Final Thoughts: I don't want to predict. I just want to know if we still have a save or not. And did Ryan say CLAY AIKEN is back on Idol? Looks like diva night on Idol continues! (I kid, Claymates. I kid.)

 

Did you think the ladies did the divas justice? Who do you want to see make it through to next week? 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!