American Idol 12 – Trey & Nick’s Week in Review – Top 6

Welcome to Week In Review, American Idol edition, where fellow writer Nick Roman and I will give our stance on this week’s performances and results on Idol.

Disagreements? Think something different? Join us in the comments!

Photo: FOX

Whose chances of going further have improved?

Candice Glover. Jimmy and the judges (sans Mariah) now look like more morons for not putting her in their top 3 last week, and America looks even worse for leaving her out.

Whose chances have decreased?

Amber Holcomb. Her appearance in the bottom 3 this week may be the nail in the coffin unless she comes out next week and nails it with not just the judges but the audience alike. The pimping may really be backfiring on her. Or maybe "backfiring" is the wrong word, since she never really had all that big of a fanbase to begin with. It's certainly a large enough fanbase to have gotten her here, but not big enough to keep her out of the bottom 3 early into the competition. It's to the point where we think she has another two weeks in the competition, unless she's the recipient of the save, in which case, she could possibly ride the wave to top 3. But she's in a position right now where we don't think she has any shot of actually winning. Some would argue that's always been the case, but she's always had the chance to be a dark horse, even after her first bottom 3 showing. Yet that groundswell of support hasn't really materialized for her.

Best performance of the week?

We don't agree with Randy often, but Candice's performance of "Lovesong" really was one of the greatest performances in any talent show on American television today, full-stop. It was gripping, emotionally engaging and vocally flawless of flaw. It was the rare perfect performance and arguably the only "moment" the show has seen all season.

Worst performance of the week?

While we don't think Lazaro Arbos's "Close to You" was anywhere near the disaster Randy seemed to think it was, yet it was unquestionably the weakest vocal of the night. And hey, it's not like Lazaro didn't know that when it was done. It was his time, and he knew it, and took it in stride.

Most disappointing performance of the week?

No doubt Amber is a good singer, but the judges' and Jimmy's fascination a lot at times. "Say A Little Prayer" was utterly anemic, yet they praised it as though it were a complete showstopper. I'm pretty sure Ashton Jones or Jasmine Murray (even Paige Miles) could have given that exact same vocal. Yet that wasn't even the most disappointing performance of Amber's. She could have taken the opportunity to use the "Songs I Wish I Wrote" theme to really deliver something special -- something current but also something distinctly Amber. Yet "Love On Top", while far from a mess, felt like a complete derivative of Beyonce. If you're going to do a Beyonce song, do a Beyonce song you can make your own. And if not, at least find a way not to dress/dance/sound like her. We already have Solange.

Will this season be remembered as the season that had to cheat to get a female winner? Or, given the talent going into Vegas rounds, were we always going to get a female winner?

Pretty much once we got our top ten guys for the semifinal vote, there was almost no chance that there wouldn't have been a female winner. But the judges cut a performer or two that could have upset the apple cart, so to speak. Josh Holliday could have easily been the new Kris Allen: gotten the female vote and white singer/songwriter type. There was no reason why they shouldn't have put him through (especially considering the ones that did get through), other than to prevent exactly that kind of inevitability from happening. And while I don't feel either man could have won, Nick thinks that Jimmy Smith and Johnny Keyser could have made it pretty deep into the competition if they'd been put up for America's vote. I just couldn't have stood a top ten with Keyser.

But given the top 40 we got, we genuinely believe that this season was always going to produce a female winner. With that said, some cuts were made in Hollywood that Nick says there could have made things a bit more difficult on the ladies, like Gabe Brown or maybe even Christian Lopez. But again, it's a situation where neither guy would have won. They just would have made it less of a pushover for the girls. That said,  it's not going to prevent this season from being remembered as the season that had to cheat to get a girl winner, regardless of whether or not that's actually the case.

Were the judges too harsh on Lazaro on Wednesday?

Nick said Randy's comments were right on the border. They could be seen as insulting, in some respects, to have a contestant make it this deep into the competition when they aren't vocally at the level of the other contestants. We get that Randy (who fancies himself as a hipper Simon) felt it incumbent upon himself to be "real" with Lazaro. But telling Kree, "I'm so glad you went after the last performer, because this is how it's done!" was a bit much. Speak your peace when the guy is onstage, but leave it there. Don't use the other contestants' performances as a platform to continue the critique. This could be taken easier if Lazaro were being a jerk, who was convinced of his greatness and wouldn't hear otherwise. But we haven't necessarily been given any indication that he's anything other than a relatively polite, somewhat introverted guy who's in over his head. That's all. So we don't know why Randy had to make a big to-do about driving the point home about Lazaro's dud of a performance, as if Lazaro and America didn't already know. It just smacks of attempting to influence the result, and that's not his job. He's just lucky it didn't backfire on him like it did with Haley Reinhart.

Which contestant will Lazaro fans support now that their favorite has been eliminated?

More than likely, no one. Lazaro has a very specific, passionate fanbase, whose needs were satisfied only by him. Amber fans could get their fix from Candice, if their favorite was to get eliminated. Janelle Arthur fans could back Kree Harrison, and so on. From face value it would seem that a good deal of Lazaro's support is centered on his being a young, good-looking guy. And who else satisfies that criteria? Even from a vocal perspective, no one else in the competition is doing the kind of songs Lazaro did, nor do any of the remaining contestants have the kind of backstory Lazaro has (though Kree has seen some serious hardship of her own -- and this is not to say that the other contestants hadn't had their share of troubles). So we feel comfortable saying that many of Lazaro's fans are out, and that they'll either opt not to vote, or they'll simply vote for whoever they like best on a given night, with no real loyalty to one contestant or another.

Nick's song suggestions for Divas and Songs from the Year You Were Born:

"Divas" is fairly vague as it is, since it's hard to really pinpoint what constitutes a "diva" in this day and age. Is Pink a diva? Kelly Clarkson? VH1 seems to consider Adam Lambert one. Is he fair game? (I'm only half-serious on that one) I'm just going to go with my gut for these picks:

Candice: In an ironic bit of business, had Candice not performed "Lovesong" already, she could have performed it here, as it was released in 1989, the year of her birth. But since she's done it already, I recommend "Giving You The Best That I Got" by Anita Baker. She could do wonders with it, as far as making it feel current.

As for the Divas theme, I think "No More Drama" by Mary J. Blige could be a perfect fit on her.

Janelle: Janelle is second oldest, so she, too, is saddled with songs from 1989. If she hadn't performed a Garth Brooks song this week, I'd recommend "If Tomorrow Never Comes" for this week, as it was one of the biggest country hits of that year. Come to think of it, there's no real reason she shouldn't be able to do it anyway. But I think one of Dolly Parton's songs from that year would be better for her, either "Yellow Roses" or Why'd You Come in Here Lookin' Like That".

For Divas, she could probably get away with a Faith Hill song. If that's a route she decides to take, I would love her for the rest of my life if she did "Paris."

Kree: The first of the 90s kids, with 1990 as her birth year. I think "Black Velvet" by Alannah Myles would give Kree the opportunity to show a little versatility and edge.

As for Divas, let her do Adele's version of "Make You Feel My Love".

Angie Miller: "The Power of Love" by Celine Dion was released in Angie's birth year of 1994, and it would probably fit her voice like a glove. That said, it's kind of a safe song. So I'm going to recommend another song hit from 1994 that would fit her even better: "Stay" by Lisa Loeb. (Seriously, make it happen, Angie)

For the Divas theme, she could have a real moment with a stripped-down, piano take on "Who Knew" by Pink, assuming she counts as a diva. Otherwise, "Beautiful Disaster" by Kelly Clarkson would be aces.

Amber: Our youngest contestant is also a 1994 birth. If she does her homework, then all roads should lead her to "Again" by Janet Jackson. It's to the point where I feel like this is a song she absolutely MUST do. I know it has an infinitesimal chance of happening, but I'm positively convinced this would be outstanding.

For the Divas theme, my immediate inclination is to tell her to avoid Whitney at all costs. But since the judges have frequently gone out of their way to compare her to a young Whitney, and since she's already gotten a standing ovation for doing a Whitney song in semifinals, she might as well do "Run To You" and bring the house down. Just as long as she avoids "I Will Always Love You." Anything but that.