Hello all. Did you notice this unique date? Before the introductions we see our top ten on the red carpet plus quick scenes of prior winners of this show (it was great to see our Tay if only for a second). Now come the intros of Ryan Seacrest and our judges. Oops, Nicki Minaj is late as she got stuck in traffic. I was kind of hoping she would not show up at all since she offers nothing to this show except her lust for some of the contestants. After some lameness by Ryan on why Nicki is late we see our top ten as a group. We are reminded of the supervote on the AI website. Our show tonight are songs that past winners either sung during their season or after their win. Frankly I was pretty much on a B side kind of vibe with most of them.
One last note, Jimmy Iovine has a sitdown with each of the contestants to talk about their strengths and weaknesses. Some of his advice made perfect sense to me but some of the contestants did not follow through as he suggested.
Now for the performances:
Curtis Finch Jr. has the "death spot" this week and rightly so as he opts to sing season 3's champ Fantasia. The song "I Believe" was so poorly done. His start was rather shakey with most of the rest of the song just boring. The only good part was his high note at the end and I liked the choir. Keith Urban however thought Curtis picked the right song and looked great. Nicki Minaj missed this performance due to her being late. Randy Jackson was sensible and told Curtis to show a new take while Mariah praised the choir and gospel feeling of the song. My grade: C-
For once I sort of liked Janelle Arthur who did more of an upbeat version to Montgomery Gentry's "Gone". You may remember Scotty McCreery of season 10 performed this song. She showed lots of energy but sadly her voice sort of faultered towards the end of the song. She does say her mouth felt like cotton. Keith appreciated the many runs in the song. Nicki's here finally and said she would like to hear more of the pretty side of Janelle's voice. Randy did not like the song choice and felt the song never went anywhere. Mariah says her aura was showing but she too was not wild about the song choice. My grade: B
Sorry but Devin Velez was absolutely boring while singing Carrie Underwood's "Temporary Home". He said he chose this song to try something new but in reality it was just another ballad like he has done numerous times on this season. It's too bad because he does have a good voice and showed very good control. However I was not wowed by any means. Keith did not care for this song choice and also felt this was not one of Devin's better performances. Nicki disagrees and says she liked it. Randy calls it too safe. Mariah prefers his regular style of singing and feels he has the ability to do better. My grade: B-
Angie Miller definitely picked the wrong song I think. She is opting to sing "I Surrender" by Celine Dion. Kelly Clarkson did this number on her season. I do not understand why Angie did not pick one of Kelly's top hits. I found the performance to just be okay over all. Personally I thought Anthony Fedorov from season 4 sang this so much better. Keith likes her high range and feels she made this song current (baloney I say). Nicki mainly talks about how Angie looks but finally says she is perfection. Randy feels Angie can sing anything. Mariah only has one word to say and that is stellar. Sorry but I totally disagree. My grade: B-
Paul Jolley does better with his choice which is "Amazed" originally by Lonestar. Scotty McCreery covered this in his season. I thought it was a nice vocal but again I was not wowed. Keith thinks this was one of his better vocals (I agree). Nicki the sex fiend talks about how Paul has stirred her sexual appetite and feels he did the song justice. Randy compliments Paul about taking Jimmy Iovine's advice about the over-singing and liked the song choice. Mariah agrees with Randy. My grade: B
Finally I am excited by tonight's show as Candice Glover does a great job with the song "I, Who Have Nothing" which was a big hit for Tom Jones. This was one of Jordin Sparks top moments during her season 6. I actually liked how both of these ladies did the song. Candice changed it up some and made it her own I think. Her high notes gave me chills. The judges loved it as well by giving her a standing ovation (except for Mariah who would have but said her skirt was too tight). Keith also mentions how Candice commands the stage. Nicki thinks she is refreshing and no one should ever do this song again because it totally belongs to Candice. Randy feels Candice is one of the best singers this season. Mariah is transfixed and feels Candice can do any genre and sound great. I Agree 100%. My grade: A+
Sadly Lazaro Arbos opts to sing "Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson. I felt although his vocal was nice it was done too softly. Another thing I noticed with him is he never seems to hold his notes long. Overall it was just okay. Keith was not impressed either and felt this song was not in his wheelhouse. Nicki thinks Lazaro came off nervous and this was her least favorite performance by him. Randy thinks the pitch was all over the place. Mariah talks about how people are loving Lazaro's courage but thinks this song did not give him a chance to excel. My grade: B
If you have ever heard K.D. Lang sing the song "Crying" you would know that Kree Harrison did not do so well with this song. Carrie Underwood did a fair version of this Roy Orbison song during her season I think. My take on Kree was that she never showed the passion this song needs as she sang. The only thing I liked was her last note. Keith however loves her voice and thought she was great. Nicki compares her to warm waffles with syrup (oh brother). Randy says Kree's singing makes him feel good. Mariah likes her enormous range. For me this was just okay. My grade: B-
Why on earth do so many think Burnell Taylor is so good? To my ears it appeared that Burnell seemed to be struggling with the notes of the song "Flying Without Wings" by Westlife. Ruben Studdard during his season sang this so much better. Keith thinks Burnell has a unique timbre to his voice. Nicki just says good job. Randy liked how Burnell put his own twist on it. Mariah claims that Burnell's singing makes her feel emotional. Personally I just do not get it at all. My grade: C-
Amber Holcomb looks great tonight (I loved her outfit). She is singing Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This". She sort of made it her own but frankly no one could sing this song as good as Kelly in my opinion. I did however feel that Amber did a nice job with it. Keith admires her effortless singing and feels it was a good choice of song. Nicki calls it the best performance of the night (I would not go that far). Randy says it was so beautiful. Mariah thinks Amber sounded magnificent. I forgot to add that the judges gave Amber a standing ovation. My grade: B+
Well, there you have my thoughts on tonight's performances. Not sure how many they are sending home but my pick would be Burnell Taylor or Curtis Finch Jr.
On the results show we will be seeing Phil Phillips and Bon Jovi. Yippee I say. Also we will be getting a sing-off between the highest voted guy and girl who missed getting into the top ten. One of them will be joining the idol tour this summer.
It is now time to call this a wrap. Have a great day and I welcome your comments.
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Subject: Top Ten Perform - 3/13/13 
Thu Mar 14, 2013 12:52 pm
