Where has the season gone? We're already down to the Top 6 contestants, with five girls and just one guy left vying for the Season 12 Idol title. Will tonight send the last of the guys home? Judging by Lazaro's place during last week's standings, the odds seem to be in his favor, but each week starts anew and every vote counts, which means it's anyone's game.
The Burt Bacharach theme to this week's performances tuned American Idol into the easy listening station, even with the theme split with "Songs They Wish They'd Written." Maybe America will pick a better theme for the singers. While it wasn't exactly the most exciting week of the season in terms of song choices, there were some solid performances. Right now, for me, it's coming down to Kree and Angie. Kree edges out Angie on vocals, but Angie has that camera-lens eye contact that really works, so it's a tough call. Candice is definitely up there with both of them. She seems to get better each week.
Jimmy Iovine offered his commentary this week, stating that Lazaro's performance hit him like an Ambien milkshake, going on to rank him tenth… in the Top 6. Ouch. And that followed the judges harsher criticism of the singer last night. I think Lazaro may be making up for in charm what he lacks in singing experience and vocal control, which makes him a bit frustrating to watch at this point. But is it Lazaro's week to go home?
The results were revealed after a performance by Season 10 winner Scotty McCreery and later, a performance by original Idol winner Kelly Clarkson, who's still going strong in a music career that launched to stardom more than a decade ago. Is it possible that any of this season's contestants will find that kind of success? And is it possible for Clarkson to be any more adorable when she's talking candidly on stage? Earlier this year she cracked people up at the Grammys when she accepted her award for Best Pop Vocal Album and openly admitted that she didn't know "who the hell" he is. (He's performing on SNL this weekend, in case you're still wondering, Kelly!)
Ryan has the contestants spread out on stage, pairing Candace with Kree. Amber stood in the center of the stage with Lazaro and Angie and Janelle were together. Here's how the pairs shook out:
Top 2:
Kree
Candice
Middle 2:
Angie
Janelle
Bottom 2:
Lazaro
Amber
Amber was safe and Lazaro, who took some rough criticism last night and tonight, between the judges and Iovine, was this week's lowers vote-getter. He sang "Feeling Good" in an effort to earn the save from the judges. It wasn't enough though to keep him around. Given the judges' criticism last night, it wasn't especially surprising that they didn't save him. What is a little surprising is how fast he fell from Top 3 to lowest. But with so few contestants remaining, it's entirely possible fans were scrambling to keep their other favorites safe, and didn't worry so much about him this week. That's how it goes sometimes.
On that note, it's an all girls Top 5!
