Top 4 Girls Redux - 5/1/13

As we all know last week there was a new twist to the show with no one being eliminated. That was then and this is now with of course comments from the girls saying they do not want to go home. This was our opening for the night. Hard to believe that the finale is only two weeks away. As our judges and Ryan Seacrest take the stage I notice that Baby Face and Haley Reinhardt are in the audience.

Our theme tonight consists of song from 2013 and Standards. How cool that Harry Connick Jr. will be mentoring the girls tonight. Now this guy really should be considered as a judge next season if there is another season. Harry has indeed had lots of success with his career which include 28 million albums sold, 3 Grammies and I really like his acting skills as well. I thought his mentoring was awesome. Now for the performances:

First to perform from the category of songs of 2013 is Angie Miller. Her song is "Diamonds" by Rhianna. She is once again playing the piano and the beginning sounded kind of pretty. However as the song progressed it got pretty rough especially on the high note which sounded more like a croak as Angie plays to the camera more than the audience. The judges take seemed to kind of jive with my thoughts as Keith Urban says he kept waiting for something good to happen even though he appreciates the risk she took singing this song. Nicki Minaj called it bland and lackluster. Randy Jackson and Mariah Carey agreed the song didn't go anywhere and it was not stellar. My grade: B-

Angie's "standard" song is "Someone To Watch Over Me". This was better but overall I found it to be just okay. Keith this time around thinks she sung it beautifully. Nicki agrees this song was better than the first one. Randy did not love the arrangement but does like Angie's voice. Mariah feels that Angie is very comfortable with her theatrical performances and feels she sang well. My grade: B

For some reason I kept getting the vibe that Amber Holcomb appeared so down-hearted tonight. I missed the spunky girl we have seen in the past. For her 2013 song she picks the song "Just Give Me A Reason" which is a big hit right now for Pink. Sadly in rehearsal we see that Amber can not remember the lyrics. After much prodding by Harry she finally is on track. However the actual performance for me bordered on boring. The chorus part was better but I feel some of her notes appeared to be almost screechy to my ears. Only Keith was sort of kind on the critiques. He mentions how he likes the clarity of her voice. Nicki feels she was not connected to the lyrics. Randy says it was not stellar and Mariah agrees. My grade: C-

Amber's standard song is "My Funny Valentine". Honestly they over-play this number too much on this show I think. We are once again seeing Amber struggle in rehearsal with no connection to the lyrics. While I feel she did a better job on this second number I was not blown away like the judges were. I felt her high note was kind of sharp-sounding. The judges give her a standing ovation. Keith calls the second half of the song stellar. Nicki felt it was beautiful and emotional which actually brings out the emotion from Amber who starts crying. Randy feels she slayed it with Mariah adding her spirit is getting bigger and better. My grade: B

I honestly believe that Candice Glover is "in it to win it" as Randy would say. Her 2013 song is Bruno Mars "When I Was Your Man". She opts not to change the gender and gives us a performance I found to be awesome. Many of her notes were sending chills up and down my spine. The judges were also blown away by giving her a standing ovation. Keith calls it a winning performance. Nicki sees her as being current but also mentions she looks like she has lost some weight (does that mean that is why she is current because she is thinner?). Jeesh Nicki is a real jerk I think. Both Randy and Mariah call the performance amazing and feel she can sing anything. My grade: A

I was totally blown away on Candice's first number but she tops it by singing the Billie Holliday classic "You Changed". It was almost like she was telling a story as she sang and I believed every single word. Keith said what I thought that she showed such power and control in this song. Nicki for some reason opts not to say anything which was alright with me. Randy thinks Candice brought everything she needed to. Mariah wants to download this performance and calls her spectacular. I so agree. My grade: A+

I think Kree Harrison is a really good singer but she totally lacks excitement as a performer in my opinion. Her first song of 2013 is "See You Again" by Carrie Underwood. The singing was sweet and full of melody but Kree just sits on a stool as she sings. I feel her lack of stage presence made this almost boring to watch. Keith felt Kree was out of sync with the number. Nicki however loved it and felt Kree stayed true to herself. Randy calls it a great vocal. Mariah thinks she is authentic and felt the connection in the beginning. My grade: B+

On her standard number she picks "Stormy Weather" which was a hit by both Lena Horne and Etta James. Harry wants her to do the Lena version but Kree sort of ignores this by trying to bring a little Etta into her performance. Overall this bordered once again on boring even though Kree sang fairly well. I did not care for the arrangement at all and honestly felt Kree should have maybe chosen a country singer like Tammy Wynette to show her talent. Each of the judges were sort of in unison by calling this the wrong song choice even though they thought she sang well. Some disagreeing took place between the judges and Harry who was in the audience. He was brought up to the judges chairs to argue his point of how Kree should have done this song. My grade: B

Before we get to the end of the show our four girls take the stage to sing another song. Sorry I did not recognize the song but I thought this performance was really good.

I honestly don't know how the results show will go since last week I thought the top two were all wrong. I do know I voted my fingers off for Candice who I feel deserves to be in the finale. I honestly think Angie Miller should go home but think maybe it might be either Amber Holcomb or Kree Harrison who will be gone. I will be back later with the re-cap.

On the results show we will be seeing Will.I.AM and of course Harry Connick Jr will be performing as well since he has a new album coming out. I am most excited to see David Cook who has released a new single I really like. This should be an interesting show. Until next time, take care and have a wonderful day.

I'm so far behind this week. I'm going to have to catch the show on Hulu to see Harry Connick, Jr. I did manage to see him mentoring Angie a little bit. Such a handsome man. I'll try to come back later.