3 Girls, 3 Songs - 5/8/13

Hi there. I almost missed the show since I had fallen asleep but luckily woke up in time to catch the performances of all three girls. Seems our contestants would be performing three songs; One was Jimmy Iovine's pick, one from the judges and the final song from the producers. I liked the fact that they switched up the order of the performances and of course the home visits were covered which I will comment on later in this post. Now for the actual perfomances:

Angie Miller - Jimmy's pick - She was in the third position for this choice. Her song is "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" by Elton John. I felt this was her best performance of the three songs she did. It was sweetly done and she seemed sincere with her lyrics. Keith Urban felt she could have held back just a bit more with the power notes. Nicki Minaj loves her outfit and even though she thinks Angie can sing, the emotion just was not there. Randy Jackson liked the restraint she showed which Mariah agrees with. My grade: B+

Angie - Home Visit - Judges pick - Second position - She is from Beverly, Mass. We see her landing in Boston and heading to a radio station. It was cute how she did the weather part of this venture. Next she goes to her favorite coffee shop to hook up with old friends. They ride along with her to Centerville Elementary School (where Angie went). The little kids were so excited to see her. Next is the trip home with many of the neighbors out and about on the street across from her house. Finally we see the parade and concert. She had a fairly good turn-out for her concert. I would say the thing that got me most about her comments regarding the tragic incident in Boston seemed kind of phony.

Her song after the visit is "Try" by Pink. This is one of my favorites by Pink. I thought Angie did a fairly good version of the song but definitely lacked the passion that Pink gives when performing it. Both Keith and Nicki thought Angie seemed very comfortable performing the song with Nicki finally bringing up the fact that Angie resembles Miley Cyrus in many ways. Randy thought the song fit like a glove and Mariah added how she liked her confidence. My grade: B

Angie - Producers Pick - 1st position - Angie is back at the piano and doing the song "Maybe" by a new artist from England called Emeli Sande. For me this was just okay overall. She sang in her higher register most of the time and appeared to be almost yelling the lyrics to my ears. The judges however liked it with Keith saying he felt she had found her groove. Nicki feels she has come full circle. Randy calls her the complete performer and she sang her heart out. Mariah agrees and mentions this was a difficult song to sing in the higher register. My grade: B-

Have to add that Jimmy gave the first round of his pick to Angie.

Kree Harrison - Jimmy's pick - 1st Position - In a way I think Kree was sort of sabotaged with this song. Jimmy's pick is "Perfect" by Pink. It came off just okay overall and the judges pretty much agreed it was the wrong song pick. You could hear off notes here and there and I wondered why Jimmy did not pick a country song for her since that is her chosen genre. Only Nicki applauded her effort while the other three judges felt it was kind of flat. My grade: B-

Kree - Judges pick - Home Visit - 3rd Position - This home visit was truly emotional I think. After arriving at Woodville, Texas we see Kree going to several places she went to in the past which included the Crawfish Boil restaurant and the rodeo. She met with her sister and they visited the old house they lived in with their parents who were both killed tragically while the girls were in their teens. I could feel the tears welling up myself watching their visit to the house. Then we see Kree giving a concert to a truly massive crowd in the Ford Park Arena. I was glad so many were there to support her.

After this footage Kree performs the judges song choice which is "Here Comes Good-Bye" originally by Rascal Flatts. Just a side note here: Chris Sligh from season 6 co-wrote this song. Kree performed the song with emotion, power and control. I feel it was one of her better performances. Keith feels this was the perfect song and she had him from the beginning to the end. Nicki is quite emotional as she mentions how Kree seemed to re-gain her confidence in singing this week. Randy calls it beautiful while Mariah who is overwhelmed a bit by the home visit says how she loves the purity of Kree's voice. My grade: A

Kree - Producers pick - Second position - Finally Kree is singing a country song. It is called "Better Dig Two" by The Band Perry. I thought she was pretty good with this more rocking type of country song however the judges were not. I honestly did not understand their comments that this was the wrong song for her. They mostly agreed it just did not feel right. Phooey I say, I liked it. My grade: A

Jimmy gives Kree the round for his pick for her.

Candice Glover - Jimmy's pick - Second positon - I really got the Mary J Blige vibe as Candice performs one of her hits called "One" although U2 is the originator of the song. I really liked the power she showed but have to say I think she could have done a bit better which is sort of mentioned by Mariah as Candice herself said she was not happy with her performance of the song. Regardless Candice is still my fave. Keith talks about the power of Candice's voice. Nicki feels she did the song justice. Randy feels she soared and this was a good song pick. Mariah adds that Candice brings so much to the table. What was really a surprise is that Candice had never heard this song before it was picked for her. Hard to believe. My grade: B+

Candice - Judges pick - Home visit - 1st Position - This was another emotional rollercoaster with Candice visiting her hometown of St. Helena Island, South Carolina. She was overwhelmed with tears seeing her old boss and her family. She had some happy moments riding a motor scooter and having May 4th voted as Candice Glover Day. Her parade had quite a group of people attending but it was her concert that showed miles and miles of people showing up. Candice was in awe of all her supporters.

Candice - Her song pick from the judges was a song I have never heard. It is called "Next To Me" by Emeli Sande. Her voice sounded clear and perfect on this number and I once again got the vibe she was telling a story. Keith mentions this also. Nicki is once again emotional as she tells Candice how proud she is of her (this got the tears going from Candice herself). Randy thinks she is one of the best they have had on American Idol and calls her amazing vocally. Mariah says A+amazing and feels Candice was rejuventated by the home visit. My grade: A

Candice - Producers pick - 3rd position - This was definitely the highlight of the entire night with Candice performing the song "Somewhere" from the musical West Side Story. She has a full orchestra backing her as she gives a powerful and straight performance of this song. I felt the chills running up and down my spine throughout most of the song. This was the only standing ovation the judges gave tonight and the audience was really showing their love as well. Keith is cute as he says if you could not feel the emotion from this performance you had no pulse. Nicki just says "see you next week" (sure hope she is right on this). Randy calls it incredible and one of the greatest vocals ever on the show. Mariah is in tears and just loved it. My grade: A+

Jimmy not only gives his round to Candice but feels she won the entire night of performances.

I have to applaud all three girls for making it this far. Of course my top favorite is Candice Glover. Somehow though I think Kree Harrison is the most in danger as the judges seem to be pimping Angie Miller a lot and I do believe she has a big fan base. If it was up to me personally I would be sending Angie home. However I honestly think each of these girls will get contracts regardless of who goes to the finale.

I will be back later with the results. In the meantime enjoy your day and as always I welcome your comments.