by Kylene Hamulak

 

Ahhhh, the final weeks of American Idol, when the producers manage to fill two hours of show with only four singers. What will we get today? Two songs from each lady (Contestant's Choice and One Hit Wonder) plus a couple of duets will take our girls from the Top Four to the Top Three by the end of results tomorrow! Well...supposedly. But we'll get to that later.

 

ROUND ONE: Contestant's Choice

 

Amber Holcomb, "The Power of Love" by Celine Dion

The song begins simply in beautiful a capella before swelling into a huge production. Amber has never sounded better, and her star power commands the stage. The judges are impressed, as everyone but Mariah is on his or her feet (Mariah's dress probably made it impossible. Again.), and it's really no surprise. Keith thinks it was a perfect song choice and calls her range crazy and effortless. Nicki says she looks like a "big, sexy glass of milk" and thinks she's very current.  Randy is marveling at Amber's growth. "You came in as a baby, you are now a pro." Mariah gives her a "#POW." Yes, that is a vocal hashtag. Jimmy heard a little strain on Amber's voice, but he thinks the performance will be tough to beat.

 

Candice Glover, "Find Your Love" by Drake

As an admitted Candice fan, I know this performance may split her from some of the people who have enjoyed her last few powerhouse performances. This one is a little different, but it's still so good. I really think she can pull these kinds of performances off and the crowd is LOVING it. Nicki isn't quite as impressed. She still loves Candice's voice, but she thinks she's coming off as old-fashioned and needs to bring her performances more current. Randy doesn't want her to be the "church girl" every time she sings and suggests that she bring down some of the runs. Mariah thinks she can and should sing anything and everything. Keith doesn't worry about what market she's in - he just loves the power in her voice and tells her to continue letting her authenticity come out. Jimmy calls it the second best performance of the night...which just means that Amber was better.

 

Kree Harrison, "It Hurts So Bad" by Susan Tedeschi

Kree rocks it out down with the audience, making it all feel very intimate and bluesy. She seems totally comfortable and teases the crowd with runs that feel effortless and not overdone. Randy calls it a tremendous vocal, but not the best he's heard from her. He felt somewhat disconnected and was waiting to hear something else from her. Mariah felt there were moments that she really connected to the audience and wants her to continue getting lost in song. Keith tells her that in a song like that, vocals are not enough - you've got to leave yourself out there. Nicki doesn't think the performance will give her what she needs to make it to next week. "That was not a Top 4 worthy performance," she tells her. And then she mentions something about people blowing smoke up Kree's ass, which is interesting because that's kind of what they've been doing to other contestants who shall remain nameless. Jimmy agrees with Nicki and thinks she's going to kill herself with song choice.

 

Angie Miller, "Who You Are" by Jessie J

At this point in the competition, Angie has the checklist of things she's bringing to the stage, and tonight she packs them all. The theatrics? Check. Piano? Check. Song she's competed with before? Check. The judges who can get up for her do, but honestly? I've seen this before. Like, literally, this exact performance, back in Vegas Week. So if you want to know what I thought about it the last time, you can check out that recap. Mariah calls it a "professional moment," but she does want to see her performing her own original songs when she has the opportunity. Keith calls her out for changing her name from Angela to Angie, which is good because it's bothered me for weeks. He reminds her that it's ok not to be perfect. Nicki just loves her at the piano, which is interesting to me because it seems like the same performance every week. She calls it exceptional. Randy dubs it "10 out of 10 out of 10," the best performance of the night, and declares her IN IT TO WIN IT. Jimmy puts her neck and neck with Amber.

 

DUETS:

 

Amber and Kree, "Rumor Has It" by Adele

I'm not sure these two voices bring out the best in this song, though either may have been impressive individually. For me, Kree has the more powerful vocal, but the performance as a whole doesn't blow me away. The giant bongo drum things are totally awesome though. Keith calls Amber riveting and Kree sensational, but he wanted to see someone "cut loose" a little bit. Nicki credits Amber for dominating the stage and Kree's personality. And by credits? I mean she starts yelling at Kree for not knowing how to duet. And then that's it. So apparently only half the judges will critique the duets.

 

Candice and Angie, "Stay" by Rihanna

Was this better than Amber and Kree? Yes. Are they just yelling? Yep. The judges love it and are on their feet, and I can only assume that Amber and Kree are back there going, "Well, sure, now that they know what we did wrong...." Randy says "YO" about eighteen times, then calls it "UNBELIEVABLE. THAT'S THE WAY YOU DO A DUET." He says Candice redeemed herself and Angie made herself even stronger. Among other praise, Mariah commends them for their versatility...and also their ability to perform in smoke.

 

 

ROUND TWO: One Hit Wonders

 

Amber Holcomb, "MacArthur Park" by Richard Harris/Donna Summer

First of all, I'm not sure how a Donna Summer song is considered a One Hit Wonder, so I clearly misunderstand the theme. Secondly, Amber hits a sour run at the beginning before taking us back to the disco, and I always laugh at the "someone left my cake out in the rain" line. I don't think it's as strong as her first performance, but the judges are living for Amber right now, so Mariah and Randy are on their feet. Keith says, "Summer has set in for you, and it's here to stay." He thought it was an incredible performance. Nicki compares her to a blooming flower...and called her Angie, which is probably a mistake, but maybe not. Of the four girls, Amber is the one she'd want to get to know. Randy declares her IN IT TO WIN IT. (Sidenote: I yawned.) He also calls her current, which is probably true if disco is making a comeback. Mariah notes that she's got an inner glow and confidence called "star quality." Jimmy disagrees with the judges and said not even Amber can pull that song off.

 

Candice Glover, "Emotion" by Samantha Sang

This is SO much more of Candice - she sounds great with this performance, hitting every note and every run with a jazzy blues sound. The judges can say she's taking it to church, but honestly? I think she's just delivering the song. Nicki says she was grooving with the song, but then takes over and makes it a critique about Amber because apparently the judges took issue with Jimmy's response to Amber. Wait, what? Didn't Candice just sing? Why are we re-critiquing Amber? Randy calls it another great performance. Mariah calls it a stellar performance but brings up Candice's cold, but says next week she's gonna kill it with every song. Next week? So, what, are we just not voting anyone off this week? Keith doesn't think her song choice was good enough to help her stand out. Oh, but wait - Jimmy is here to address the judges. He still doesn't agree with the judges, and he challenges them to just admit that Candice was better than Amber in that round. Which is great (because she was), but why do we have to keep talking about Amber?!

 

Kree Harrison, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Percy Sledge

This show is so crazy tonight I don't know what to think. Kree sounds beautiful, of course, though it's missing some of the sparkle of her performances a couple weeks ago. Vocally? I like it. Is it enough for the judges? Probably not. Randy says she can "flat out sing" and that she redeemed herself for him. Mariah says there was no redeeming necessary - a great song just accentuated her talent. "Feel good about what you just did." Keith doesn't really agree - he thinks both of her songs were just sort of in the middle. Nicki doesn't think it was enough to keep her out of the Bottom Two tomorrow night and says something inside seems to be dimming. She tells her that even if she leaves tomorrow, she'll put out a multi-platinum record.

 

Angie Miller, "Cry Me A River" by Julie London

I'll give credit where it's due - Angie sounds good in this performance, which is set on a cloud in the sky without a piano. The song seems crazy short because she does it so well - it manages to be both sweet and powerful. Mariah calls it an elegant number and has nothing more to say. Keith calls it "mystical and celestially powerful." Nicki says she came to "snatch some wigs," which is translated to mean IN IT TO WIN IT. Randy declares it the best of the night. It wasn't the best, but you know Randy and his hyperboles.

 

THE WRAP UP

 

Musical Mentors: The Idols visited Children's Hospital of LA to spend some time with young Idol fans being treated at the facility and treating them to a mini concert. The kids all seemed to love it, but it's also really great to see the Idols' reactions. Being that they're new to the "celebrity" role, it's nice to see the genuine interaction they have with the kids.

 

Big Twist: Ryan reveals that there will be a surprise twist about the competition revealed on tomorrow's show. Based on the judge's comments to several of the contestants about their songs for next week, I'm gonna go ahead and guess that we'll still have four ladies left for next week's competition.

 

Final Thoughts: I guess I'm biased at this point in the competition. If I was the voting type, my votes would be going to Candice and Kree, mostly because I don't understand how the judges are SO blown away by Amber and Angie. I think all four of the ladies are on an even playing field - some are stronger vocalists, while others bring more personality and so-called marketability to the competition. I think it may backfire - I'm still not sure Amber is as safe as they think she should be, but it's hard to guess how the votes will go. Honestly? I don't think it'll matter - whatever this twist is, I think it'll remedy the fact that there are three weeks of competition left and not enough eliminations to fill those results shows.

 

What did you think about tonight's themes? Do you agree with the judges about who is IN IT TO WIN IT? 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!