American Idol XIII 2014 – Live Blog and Recap – Rush Week, Top 13 Revealed – Video
Welcome to the live blog and recap of American Idol XIII "Rush Week, Top 13 Revealed"! Which singers will advance directly to the top 10? And which five singers will compete for the three wildcard spots? Who will make the Top 13?
Credit: FOX
Rickey.org readers predict that the 5 guys going home will be: Emmanuel Zidor, George Lovett, Malcolm Allen, Dexter Roberts, and Caleb Johnson. This means our readers are predicting that Spencer Lloyd, CJ Harris, Ben Briley, Alex Preston, and Sam Woolf will be declared safe!
For the girls, Rickey.org readers predict that the 5 girls going home will be: Marrialle Sellars, Bria Anai, Kristen O'Connor, Emily Piriz, and Briana Oakley! This means our readers are predicting that Jessica Meuse, Malaya Watson, MK Nobilette, Jena Irene, and Majesty Rose will be safe!
It's not too late to voice your opinion in the polls, so head on over and vote! Or you can voice your opinion here in real time by hitting up the comments section and also by voting on The Buzz Dial below!
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Let's get this show on the road!
Recap
-We kick things off with a full recap of last night's performance show that runs almost four whole minutes (not that I'm complaining. Last night was pretty damn great). Ryan introduces the judges, and while J-Lo's dress does nothing for me, she's wearing the living hell out of it.
-And we're kicking it off with results?! NICE!
RESULTS, Pt. 1
-Ryan asks for the lights to be dimmed, and he reveals the first singers going through...
MALAYA WATSON advances to the Top 13!
BEN BRILEY advances to the Top 13!
EMILY PIRIZ advances to the Top 13!
ALEX PRESTON advances to the Top 13!
JESSICA MEUSE advances to the Top 13!
DEXTER ROBERTS advances to the Top 13!
CALEB JOHNSON advances to the Top 13!
MAJESTY ROSE advances to the Top 13!
I love that we're breezing through the results to get to the wildcards, but this is already turning into Season 9 all over again. It's positively OBSCENE the amount of talent that's going home vs. the talent that's already gotten through. I wouldn't have put Emily or Dexter through, and I go back and forth on whether Caleb will pan out in this competition, although I still like him a lot. Only two spots are left, I'm nervous as hell for my girl Jena as well as MK and CJ. And Sam, and UGH THERE'S SO MUCH TALENT THAT HASN'T GONE THROUGH YET!
-Back from break with one spot left for the girls and one spot left for the guys, and three wildcard spots. Nerves, nerves, nerves!
RESULTS, PT. 2
-Ryan dims the lights and reveals the results in no particular order:
MK NOBILETTE advances to the Top 13! (YES!)
-And the final spot from America's vote belongs to...
SAM WOOLF advances to the Top 13!
-Caleb talks about how blessed and humble he is to be here among such incredible talent, while Majesty cheers that with each new name called, she declares, "We're going on tour!" Emily talks about how hard they all worked to be voted through.
-J-Lo explains how the wildcard picks are going to work. Of the ten that didn't make it, five will be chosen to compete for the three wildcard spots. She says, however, that tonight's performance will be what they judge on.
-Harry announces the first wildcard performer...
CJ HARRIS performs first!
-CJ looks nervous as hell, and I can't blame him. America didn't vote through a single male of color, which is probably discouraging.
-CJ sings "Bring It On Home to Me" by Sam Cooke, and it starts out incredibly rough and shaky. I think it's actually pitched too high for him. But as the performance goes on, I think it gets better. They just have to put him through. They just have to. He has so much potential, you guys.
-After the performance, CJ looks scared, as if he feels he didn't do enough. Harry says he doesn't know what he should address first, the fact that the band screwed up the song, or that CJ screwed up the song, because they both messed up. He says it was average, and that it had none of the magic of his past performance. J-Lo, meanwhile, says that she still felt his soulfulness coming through. Keith explains that CJ needs to not lose his emotional attachment to a song, and says it didn't do much for him.
-Keith announces the next performer...
JENA IRENE performs next!
-Back from break with Jena on her piano. She sings an original song, I believe (or at least, Google isn't bringing up any results when I type in these lyrics). [It's called "Unbreakable Me". Thanks, ArchieSue!] Her vocal is positively STELLAR. It's startling what a natural she is, and how utterly captivated Keith appears to be by that performance. The Top 10 give her a standing O in the background. In short, I ADORED this.
-Keith says her performance was a great display of her immense talent, as she played the piano with no band and didn't get distracted when the crowd cheered for the high notes. Keith is the only judge we hear from, not that I'm complaining. Keeping it concise, FTW!
-Back from break with three more performances left. J-Lo announces the next competitor...
SPENCER LLOYD performs next!
-The girls collectively lose their minds as Spencer anxiously grabs his guitar and seeks to rectify whatever scheming he did in Hollywood Week that apparently cost him America's support (coupled with the generally lackluster vocals from last night).
-He starts the song saying "This is the one about the ordinary girls." He sings "Ordinary Girl" and this is a MUCH better display of his star quality than last night ever was. I think he took it as given that he's go through, and so sang whatever he felt like, whether it was actually the best showcase for his talents. While this isn't as good as "Say Something", it's a really solid performance. I dig it.
-J-Lo says they wanted to give her a second chance because they've believed in him since the beginning, but while she says he did a good job, she isn't sure that's what she would have wanted America to see from him.
-Harry reveals the next artist...
BRIA ANAI performs next!
-Bria is immensely likable in her reaction, talking about her heart beating out of her chest. Ryan motivates her to do her best, and she assures him she's going to get it done.
-She sings "It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World" by James Brown, and it gets shouty in places. But this is exactly the kind of ostentatious performance that will convince the judges to put her through. There isn't a lot of nuance, but it's showy as hell. And honestly, it's not bad or anything. But I'm not sure it's deserving of a wildcard spot.
-Harry says he doesn't applaud most of the time because he's really focused on the performance, so he warns her not to read too much into it. With that said, he adds, "Bria, it was all over the place. It was very passionate, but I think you overshot the mark." And here comes the chorus of booooooos! Bria seems dejected, but I still think she has a better chance of getting pushed through by J-Lo and Keith than she might realize.
-Back from break with the last spot...
KRISTEN O'CONNOR closes the show!
-SERIOUSLY?! I mean, it's not the worst pick they could have made, but I'd have chosen Briana or Malcolm.
-She gets on my tired side by singing "Unconditionally" by Katy Perry, and while she can certainly sing really well, I just find her boring as hell. Sweet girl, but no discernible star quality whatsoever. Keith and Harry are discussing the picks during the performance while J-Lo is really attentive. Kristen is able to salvage it a bit towards the end, but it doesn't change that the majority of the performance was all over the map.
-Keith says it was a really good performance of that song, but advises that she should have used her adrenaline and sang it a little bit higher, since she struggled to keep it in the same key. Kristen acknowledges she could have done so, but was remaining cautious.
WILDCARD RESULTS
-So the judges will deliberate over the break: it's down to Kristen O'Connor, CJ Harris, Spencer Lloyd, Jena Irene, and Bria Anai. SO nervous! I'm hoping for CJ, Spencer, and Jena.
-Back from break with Ryan saying that, aside from the finale, this is the biggest night of the competition: The top 13 reveal.
-So Keith goes first...JENA IRENE advances to the Top 13!
-Harry goes next...KRISTEN O'CONNER advances to the Top 13!
-J-Lo goes last...CJ HARRIS advances to the Top 13!
BRIA ANAI and SPENCER LLOYD are eliminated from American Idol 13!
-Your Top 13 are: Majesty Rose, Malaya Watson, MK Nobilette, Emily Piriz, Jessica Meuse, Kristen O'Connor, Jena Irene, Sam Woolf, Ben Briley, Alex Preston, Caleb Johnson, Dexter Roberts, and CJ Harris!
-So what do you think of the Top 13? Who are you sad/shocked to see go? Sound off in the comments!
-I'll be adding videos as the night rolls on, so keep it locked! Until then, thank for hanging out! You guys are amazing.