The Voice Season 4: And the winner is...

The Voice Season 4: And the winner is...

Danielle Bradbery!

The Voice Season 4 Winner:
Daniell Bradbery #TeamBlake

2nd Place: Michelle Chamuel, #TeamUsher

3rd Place: The Swon Brothers, #TeamBlake

The Voice Final Top 3 Who Will It be?

The Voice Final Top 3 

The Voice Top 3: Danielle Bradbery, Michelle Chamuel
and the Swon Brothers

Song choices:

Duets


The Swon Brothers with Blake Shelton - Celebrity, Brad Paisely (2003)

Michelle Chamuel with Usher - One, U2 (1992)

Danielle Bradbery  with Blake Shelton - Timber, I Am Falling In Love, Patty Loveless (1989)


Reprise

The Swon Brothers - Danny's Song, Kenny Loggins (1988)

Michelle Chamuel - I Knew You Were Trouble, Taylor Swift (2012)

Danielle Bradbery - Maybe It Was Memphis, Pam Tillis (1991)

Solos

The Swon Brothers - I Can't Tell You Why, Eagles (1979)



Michelle Chamuel - Why, Annie Lennox (1992)

Danielle Bradbery - Born To Fly, Sara Evans (2000)


Who will it be?

Electronic Pop or Country?

My prediction:

3rd Place: The Swon Brothers, Team Blake

2nd Place: Michelle Chamuel, Team Usher

Winner: Danielle Bradbery, Team Blake

American Idol Season 12: Candice Glover Your American Idol Winner!

American Idol Season 12: Candice Glover Your American Idol Winner!

American Idol Season 12 Winner: Candice Glover

May 16, 2013. In a said tight race to the finish, Candice Glover edge out fellow finalist, Kree Harrison, to win the American Idol trophy live at the Los Angeles Nokia Theater Thursday Night. This was the third attempt for the soul diva and it proves that persistent does win.

Here are the songs that made Candice a winner this season:

Charlotte Auditions: Syrup and Honey, Duffy

Hollywood Week: "Girl on Fire", Alicia Keys

Vegas Rounds:

"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", Aretha Franklin

"Ordinary People", John Legend

Victory Song: "I'm Going Down", Rose Royce

Finals Top 10 - Music of the American Idols: "I (Who Have Nothing)", Ben E. King

Finals Top 9 - Songs of The Beatles: "Come Together", The Beatles

Finals Top 8 – Music of Motor (Detroit) City: "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", The Miracles

Finals Top 7 – Rock: "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", The Rolling Stones

Finals Top 6 – Burt Bacharach and Hal David and Songs They Wish They'd Written:

"Don't Make Me Over", Dionne Warwick

"Lovesong", The Cure

Finals Top 5 – Year They Were Born and Diva Songs:

"Straight Up", Paula Abdul (1989)

"When You Believe", Mariah Carey & Whitney Houston

Finals Top 4 (1) – Contestant's Choice and One-Hit Wonders:

"Find Your Love", Drake

"Emotion", Samantha Sang

Finals Top 4 (2) – Songs of Now and Then:

"When I Was Your Man", Bruno Mars

"You've Changed", Harry James

Finals Top 3 – Jimmy Iovine's Choice, the Judges' Choice and the Producers' Choice:

"One",U2

"Next to Me", Emeli Sandé

"Somewhere", Reri Grist

Finale – Simon Fuller's Choice, the Winner's Single and Favorite Performance:

"Chasing Pavements", Adele

"I Am Beautiful", Candice Glover

"I (Who Have Nothing)", Ben E. King

Congrats Candice!

The Voice Season 4: Teams for the Live Shows

The Voice Season 4: Teams for the Live Shows

Team Adam

The Voice Season 4 Team Adam:
Sarah Simmons, Judith Hill and Amber Carrington

Team Blake

The Voice Season 4 Team Blake:
Danielle Bradbery, Holly Tucker and The Swon Brothers

Team Shakira

The Voice Season 4 Team Shakira:
Sasha Allen, Kris Thomas and Garrett Gardner

Team Usher

The Voice Season 4 Team Usher:
Michelle Chamuel, VEDO and Josial Hawley

Who's gonna win this season? Choose your team!

The Voice Season 4: Team Usher Artists in the Playoffs

The Voice Season 4: Team Usher Artists in the Playoffs

The Voice Season 4 Team Usher:
Michelle Chamuel, VEDO, Josiah Hawley and Cathia

Michelle Chamuel (26 from Amherst, Massachusetts) is a returning contestant to The Voice. She is an indie/pop artist

She had a breakthrough moment during the playoffs with her own rendition of Cyndi Lauper's True Colors.

VEDO (19 from Atlanta, Georgia) is an R&B singer. From his The Voice journey, he hopes to launch a successful career that will help him take care of his mom, who is battling cancer.

In the playoffs, he gave a heart-felt performance with Phil Collin's Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now).

While pursuing a career in music, Josiah Hawley (27 from Forth Smith, Arkansas) is a model. He performed Muse's Starlight during the playoffs.

Stolen by Usher during the battle rounds, Cathia (19 from New York, New York) was originally one of three Latin artists on Team Shakira. She performed Whitney Houston's I have Nothing during the playoffs. She and Josiah ended up in the bottom two. Usher choose Josiah to move forward to the Live Shows.

Do you think Team Usher has what it takes to win The Voice?

The Voice Season 4: Team Shakira for the Playoffs

The Voice Season 4: Team Shakira for the Playoffs

The Voice Season 4 Team Shakira:
Sasha Allen, Kris Thomas, Garrett Gardner and Karina Iglesias

Sasha Allen (30 from New York, New York) is a mother of two. She sings songs of any genre. She's been delivering stellar performances when she connects emotion or mood with power of her voice. Originally from Team Adam, Shakira stole her during an awesome battle with Amber Carrington in the battle rounds.

Her outstanding rendition of The Beatles' Oh! Darling propelled her to move forward. Sasha is is the only stolen artist left in the Live Show.

Kris Thomas (27 from Memphis, Tennessee) gave one of the most surprising auditions on The Voice. His wide range voice allows him to sing any Whitney, Bruno Mars or Adele song with ease.

Kris sang Bruno Mars' When I was Your Man during the playoffs and through to the Live Shows.

Garrett Gardner (17 from Ringwood, New Jersey) is a returning contestant to The Voice. He is one of the most surprising artist this season. Garrett sang John Lennon's iconic song, Imagine in the playoffs. However, he landed at the bottom two with Karina in Team Shakira.

Karina Iglesias (35 from Miami, Florida) is another stolen artist from Team Adam. She lost to an epic battle against Judith Hill in the earlier round. She sang Let's Stay Together, a single by Al Green, in the playoffs. However, she was eliminated when Shakira favored Garrett to move forward to the next round.

Do you think that Team Shakira has a fighting chance to win this season?

The Voice Season 4: Team Blake Artists Through to the Playoffs

The Voice Season 4: Team Blake's Artists Through to the Playoffs

The Voice Season 4 Team Blake:
Danielle Bradbery, Holly Tucker,
Justin Rivers and The Swon Brothers

Danielle Bradbery (16 from Cypress, Texas) never had a vocal lesson prior to joining. But her voice and stage presence greatly compensate her youth and lack of experience. She is definitely a country protege with a potential to win The Voice.

In the playoffs, she sang Maybe It Was Memphis by Pam Tullis which gave her the much needed public votes to boost her to the Live Shows.

Holly Tucker (19 from Waco, Texas) is a student and a member of the marching band at Baylor University. She definitely can sing and her big booming voice gives her performances moments to shine and impress. In the knocout rounds, she fought an awesome battle with Luke Edgemon. The coaches were split over the pair, but Blake chose her as the winner of the battle. In the playoffs, Holly gave a wonderful rendition of How Do I Live by LeAnne Rimes (or Trisha Yearwood) which rewards her a seat in the next round of The Voice.

Justin Rivers (28 from Bowling Green, Kentucky) surprises everybody when he won over early favorite Savanna Berry in the knockout rounds. He sang Meet In The Middle by Diamond Rio in the playoffs. However, his luck ended here when Blake choose The Swon Brothers to move forward to the Live Shows.

The Swon Brothers (24 and 27 from Muskogee, Oklahoma) are the last of the duos to have reach this far. The brothers stick to their country roots and deliver amazing harmonies and energy in their performances. In the playoffs, they chose to sing The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's Fishin' In The Dark.

In this season, Blake is sticking to his roots by building an all country team. Would he be able to win three in a row?

The Voice Season 4: Team Adam Line Up for the Playoffs

The Voice: Coaches' Teams for the Live Playoffs
Team Adam

Team Adam:
Sarah Simmons, Judith Hill,
Amber Carrington and  Caroline Glaser

Sarah Simmons (22 from Memphis, Tennessee) sang Angel by Sarah McLachlan. Sarah is my favorite to win this season of The Voice. During the blind auditions, Sarah received a four chair turn with her powerful rendition of Joan Osborne's One of Us. This round, however, we find her at the bottom two of Adam's team. Adam save her to move forward to the Live Finals.

Judith Hill (29 from Los Angeles, California) is an equally powerful singer. Her music credentials include working with Michael Jackson in his This Is It  documentary. She is another strong contender for the title of The Voice. In the playoffs, she sang Feeling Good, a song first heard in 1964 by artist Cy Grant. She got one of the higher votes in Adam's team thereby advancing to the Live Shows of The Voice.

Amber Carrington (19 from Rockwall, Texas) is one of the few country artist that slip away from the grasps of country guru Blake Shelton. Amber can transcend any genre with her voice. She sang Stay by Rihanna. She advance to the Live Show by receiving one of the highest public votes in Team Adam.

Caroline Glaser is a 19 years old indie/folk singer from Chesterfield, Missouri. Adam saved Caroline from Blake's team in the Knockout rounds. In this round, she sang Ed Sheeran's The A Team. An odd song choice by Caroline but with her unique sounding voice, she made the song her own. However, she got one of the lowest votes in Adam's team. She was eliminated when Adam favored Sarah to move forward to the Live Rounds.

Team Adam is the team to beat this season. 

American Idol Season 12 Top 2: Who's gonna win, Candice or Kree?

American Idol Season 12 Top 2: Who's gonna win, Candice or Kree?

Candice Glover

American Idol Season 12 Finalist: Candice Glover

Kree Harrison

American Idol Season 12 Finalist: Kree Harrison

My pick is Candice for the win! 

Who are you rooting for?

American Idol Season 12: Top 4 Performance Round 2

American Idol Top 4 sings the standards

American Idol Top 4 Performance, the second time around

Round 1: Songs of 2013

Angie Miller
Diamonds, Rihanna

It was not good at all. It was a bland arrangement. The piano magic is gone. 

Amber Holcomb
Just Give Me A Reason, Pink

Amber's performance is a bit unsure. She seem to be in a trance -- singing while trying to remember the words or struggling not to forget the lyrics.

Candice Glover
When I Was Your Man, Bruno Mars

I love the way Candice handled the song. She showed her of vocal power and prowess very well.

Kree Harrison
See You Again, Carrie Underwood

Superb! Kree is in her element.

Round 2: Standards

Angie Miller
Someone To Watch Over Me

Great. She redeem herself in this round. It was much better than the first performance. 

Amber Holcomb
My Funny Valentine

Amber definitely has the voice and it twist and it turns like a Balerina.

Candice Glover
You've Changed

I like the classic side of Candice. So pure and powerful.

Kree Harrison
Stormy Weather

Very bluesy. That is the standard way of singing. It was a bit boring. I would have wish she puts her stamp into it to make it more appealing to the present crowd. That's how you get votes. I need my runs, HCJ.

My ranking: 

Top 2 for me are Candice and Kree 

Bottom 2: Amber and Angie

Who I want to go home: Angie

Who I predict going home: Amber

American Idol Season 12 Top 5: Who is the "IT" girl

American Idol Season 12 Top 5 Performance:
Judges'standing O!

It is definitely gonna be an American girl idol this year. 

Idol sends love to Boston.

Top 5 ladies on the house and only month away until we know which girl will it be.

Tonight, two themes: idol birth year songs and diva's song.

Birth year songs

Candice Glover
Straight Up, Paula Abdul

Definitely Candice is having a feel good vibe from last week's breakthrough moment. it was alright compared to last weeks. wonderful voice, awesome runs. I expect more power in the diva round.

Janelle Arthur
When I Call Your Name, Vince Hill

Lets lay on stacks of hay and look at the stars. A sleeper. That's a big guitar.

Kree Harrison
She Talks To Angels, Black Crows

Kree puts so much emotion in her voice which makes her performance so good. Janelle should take a page from her.

Angie Miller
I Stand By You, The Pretenders

Great song choice and it was a wonderful performance behind the piano. 

Amber Holcomb
I Can't Live, Mariah Carey

It was a tall order and she did good. It was not great as Mariah's version but she definitely delivered the power.

The diva round where the real battle begins.

Candice Glover
When You Believe, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey

Now that's what you do when you do a Mariah and Whitney song. I got goosebumps all over. Another breakthrough performance from Candice.

Janelle Arthur
Dumb Blonde, Dolly Parton

Blah! She sounds rushed or behind the song. Not a good song choice.

Kree Harrison
Have You Ever Been In Love, Celine Dion

Kree is channeling Celine. She is so consistent. I feel she is the only one we can pit against Candice. 

Angie Miller
Halo, Beyonce

Over dramatic. 

Amber Holcomb
What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life, Barbra Streisand

Haunting!

Nicki is in her annoying self tonight. 

Kree is sure to the finals with Candice if amber fails to get a breakthrough moment.

Who will it be?
Candice, Kree, Amber, Angie, and Janelle

Candice, Kree, Amber, Angie, Janelle

Considering how american is been voting in the past weeks, I predict a Janelle and Amber bottom 2. It would be travesty if Amber leaves this week but there is the judges save and Amber is sure worth saving.

American Idol Season 12 Top 8 Results: Devin Velez is out!

American Idol Season 12 Top 8 Results Night:
Who deserves to be saved?

It's been a tough three weeks for the boys as Devin Velez is the next to get the boot out of the American Idol stage.

Devin did a heart-felt performance worthy of the save. Too bad, the judges are not unanimous to give the Latin balladeer another chance of redemption.

The judges still clinging to that one save vote like Gollum to the ring. I wonder who they will be the lucky one who gets the judges' safety net.

American Idol Season 12: Top 8 Results
Devin Velez eliminated!

American Idol Season 12: Top 8 Sings from the Motown Songbook

American Idol Season 12 Top 8:
Sings from songbook of Motown

This week's theme is Motown. The great Smokey Robinson sits on the house as a special guest and mentor to the young aspiring American Idol hopefuls. Everybody seems to have a piece of Smokey tonight.

Candice Glover
"I Heard It Through the Grapevine", Marvin Gaye

As always, Candice delivers all the time. That performance was so gritty good. Maybe she can do something slow next time. Something that Amber is doing for the past weeks or so, just to remind us how high she can soar.

Kree Harrison and Janelle Arthur
"Like a Prayer", Madonna

Motown??? That song is more on Janelle's lane.  But Kree did a one up on Janelle. There was an 'is it you or me?' moment towards the end. 

Lazaro Arbos
"For Once in My Life", Stevie Wonder

Did Lazaro redeem himself from last week's slump? Nah! Lazaro is getting boring. There are parts in his performance that it looks like he's so uncomfortable on stage.  In the end, he looks so relieve for not forgetting the words of the song. Remembering the lyrics is necessary, but we do need more than that at this point.

Janelle Arthur
"You Keep Me Hanging On", The Supremes

What a recovery from the duet. The song, the arrangement and the guitar - all work perfectly for Janelle. It sounded new and current. She did good this time.

Devin Velez
"The Track of My Tears", The Miracles

Devin's star is at a rise. He has preformed wonderfully. But did he do well enough to catch up with the rest of the pack? Only the votes can say.

Candice Glover, Amber Holcomb and Angela Miller
"I'm Gonna Make You Love Me"

American Idol Top 8 Performance Night:
Angela Miller, Candice Glover and Amber Holcomb
channeling  "The Supremes"

Angie looks a bit like Miley Cyrus. A wonderful trio performance and the flirting was good too. Well, a bit too much flirting from at least one. Good job you three Dianas!

Burnell Taylor
"My Cherie Amor", Stevie Wonder

The man in white, Burnell is great as usual. I love his voice in this song. He made this most favored Stevie Wonder hit very present and soulful. The voice and hand inflections is superb.

Angela Miller
"Shop Around", The Miracles

Angie performance was not good. The song choice was a miss, I think. It's her worst showing so far. It was not fun at all. What was that song about? I am getting a different kind of message here.

Amber Holcomb
"Lately', Stevie Wonder

This is another great number from Amber. She definitely raise the bar every week. She sings so effortless. I hope she is not in the bottom again. That would be a travesty.

Burnell Taylor, Devin Velez and Lazaro Arbos
"I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch"

American Idol Top 8 Performance Night:
Burnell Taylor, Devin Velez and Lazaro Arbos
receives some bitter medicine from Idol judge Nicki Minaj.

One thing is certain. Lazaro is not Motown material just yet. That was a hilarious number. What a breath of laughing gas. I meant it in a good way. Really! Lazaro forgetting some lyrics again.

Kree Harrison
"Don't Play That Song (You Lied)", Ben E. King

Kree is so consistent. Her talent is way up there. How do I describe it? I imagine a high plateau but I was kinda hoping it can grow more into a mountain.

My Prediction

1st: Amber
Safe: Burnell, Janelle, Kree, Candice
Bottom 3: Devin, Lazaro, Angie

American Idol Top 9 Results: It's Paul Jolley Day!

American Idol: Jessica Sanchez and Ne-Yo performs 'Tonight'

I agree with Jimmy Iovine. Judges, don't cuddle your favorites. Be fair and help the contestants by giving them good critiques to improve on.

A scruffy-looking James Abrams works the crowd with his version of The Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There".

Wow! Last season's runner-up Jessica Sanchez and Ne-Yo performs their dance single "Tonight".

The town of Dresden, Tennessee proclaims March 16, 2013 as Paul Jolley Day! The celebration came to a halt when Ryan Seacrest announced he is in the bottom 3.

So Ryan is announcing the results in no particular order. It is either the contestants are safe or on the bottom 3.

Devin Velez is in the bottom 3.

Lazaro Arbos is safe. Is he sad or just being humble about it?

Kree Harrison, Candice Glover And Angela Miller are safely through to next week.

Janelle Arthur also moves on to the next round.

Surprise! Burnell Taylor and Amber Holcomb are left in the couch. Either one of them is in the bottom 3.

American Idol Top 9 Results Night

Burnell is safe.

So, Paul, Devin and Amber are the bottom 3.

Amber did wonderful last week. Are the votes reflecting results from another parallel world?

Ryan revealed that Paul received the lowest number of votes.

Paul sang Heart's "Alone". A song not fitting to a day named after yourself.

Randy announced that the judges was not a unanimous decision.

Paul is coming home. A Jolley day to all!

American Idol 12 Top 9 sings The Beatles

Aubrey Cleland and Charlie Askew.
Aubrey takes on 11th place and a spot
on the American Idol Tour. 

American Idol goes with the songs of The Beatles for inspiration. Most Beatles' songs has the most profound combination of words and melody. Some contestants have the tendency to over sing these songs. No frills, no gimmicks. The key to perfection is singing these songs with emotion and clarity.

In a special public voting run, Aubrey Cleland won over fellow semi-finalist, Charlie Askew and took the last spot in the American Idol tour. Congratulations and well deserve, Aubrey!

Kree Harrison ~ "With A Little Help From My Friends"

Kree is definitely has the chops to sing any kind of song. This was a perfect song for her to sing. It does make you feel good. Everybody would feel good voting for her. 

Burnell Taylor ~ "Let It Be"

Burnell's voice, especially when he sang the phrase 'Let It Be', gave me the chills and the goosebumps. He is definitely a pro and head boy of the class.

Amber Holcomb ~"She's Leaving Home"

I didn't know this is a Beatles' song. She made it her own and current. She is definitely the diva of the bunch. This is one of her best performances.

Lazaro Arbos ~ "In My Life"

The performance was not that good. It felt a bit depressing. But knowing how the American audience love his story, I think he still can rack more sympathy votes in his favor. 

Candice Glover ~ "Come Together"

She exude rock. l think she can do great in any genre. Can she do hip-hop? Because I see a bit of Queen Latifa in her. 

Paul Jolley ~ "Elenor Rigbey"

It was good song choice. one of my memorable performance in American Idol is when David Cook sang this song. l wish he inject more feeling to the song like anger or remorse. I didn't fell anything at all. I'm not liking the falsetto. It takes him long time to peak then it fizzle in the end. 

Angie Miller ~ "Yesterday"

It was great vocal overall, but I feel there is something wrong with it. The essence of the song escape me. I think it is best heard close to the original.

Devin Velez ~ "The Long and Winding Road"

Devin is really a great singer. I can sense there is more to him inside that we never seen yet. I think he need to loosen up a bit and just let go. He better do it soon or he might not survive in the coming weeks.

Janelle Arthur ~ "I Will"

Janelle is the 5th girl in the bunch. She is the prettiest and it shines through in this performance. She is also most improved. There is a strong chance that she might exceed her current rankings in the competition.

Some did very well, while some flopped down to the ground.

My American Idol Top 9 performance ranking.
#1 Amber, #2 Burnell, #3 Kree,
#4 Candice #5 Angie, #6 Janelle
#7 Devin, #8 Paul, #9 Lazaro

Are the girl's winning streak continue until tomorrow? I think so, for tomorrow, we will see another guy leave the competition.

American Idol Season 12 Top 10 Results: Then there were 9

American Idol: Nicki Minaj almost walk
out after Curtis Finch Jr's last place announcement.

American Idol Season 12 Top 10 Results

Highlights:

Candice Glover and Kree Harrison are safe.

Kree receives a key to the town of her birth. 

Sing off between Charlie Askew and Aubrey Cleland for a slot on the Idol tour. 

Charlie sings an original composition "Sky Blue Diamond". 

Aubrey sings 'Out Here On My Own'

Phillip Phillips comes home to Idol and performs his new single. He receives a quadruple platinum for his single 'Home'.

Lazaro and Angie on center stage.

Angie Miller completes the top 3.

For the first time, American Idol reveals results by ranking.

American Idol Top 10 results highlights:
Angie, Kree and Candice celebrate their top 3 placing.
Fourth placer, Lazaro.
Top 9 contestants: Burnell, Angie, Lazaro, Devin,
Candice, Janelle, Paul, Amber and Kree.
Devin and Curtis in the bottom 2.
Curtis sings for the judges' save.

4th place: Lazaro Arbos.

5th place: Amber Holdcomb

6th place: Janelle Arthur

7th place: Burnell Taylor

8th place: Paul Jolley

9th place: Devin Velez

10th place: Curtis Finch Jr.

If you go home, I go home." says Nicki to Curtis in reaction to the shocking outcome. 

Curtis sings for dear life. However, the judges were not unanimous in their decision to save the troubled singer. 

Only Nicki Minaj was the only one among the four judges who wanted to save the gospel singer. So Curtis is out. 

Curtis is such a charismatic singer but I think he over sang himself out of the competition. 

American Idol Top 10 Finalists Pay Tribute to Past Idol Winners

American Idol Top 10 performances: Where is Nicki Minaj?

The American Idol pays tribute to past Idol winners tonight with the theme "Music of the American Idols" . The top 10 finalist get to choose a song from a set of songs that past idol winners covered brilliantly in their respective seasons. The top 10 contestant has their work cut out this week. Song choice is key. Not only will they perform to compete with one another tonight, the voting public will see if they are at par with past Idol winners. The pressure is there as they need to do better by surpassing what their chosen winner have done with the song.  

Curtis Finch Jr.

Our Luther Vandross wannabe reprise the song "I Believe" by Fantasia. This was Fantasia's winning song in her season. He is infectious as usual but the performance was nothing close to the original. It was not even close to the Joshua Ledet cover done last season. There was nothing exciting about the performance except the big thrilling note at the end. One thing for sure, he is not this season's Mantasia. Not in this number.

Janelle Arthur 

Janell picked the song "Gone" by Montgomery Gentry which Scotty McCreery covered in his season. It was just alright. I think she sense that too when she made that "cotton in her mouth" comment with Ryan. I was expecting she picks a song from the Carrie Underwood vault. That is what I picture her. If there would be a next time, she should sing a country ballad that can tug on everyone's heartstrings. 

Devin Velez 

Devin picks "Temporary Home" from the Carrie Underwood music vault. It sounds a bit of a sleeper for me. There is that big falsetto at the end. That's just it. Its getting too familiar for Devin, too safe. I think he needs to veer away from singing ballads for a moment and think what he will do next. I think the recipe needs some spice.

Angela Miller 

Angie picks a Kelly Clarkson cover of a Celine Dione song, "I Surrender". Mariah summed it up into one word. Stellar!  Yes, I see the performance is pageantry. She does bring a bit of a drama to the performance which makes it interesting. But I don't see the fire. She needs to invoke more emotion to what she sings. A little vulnerability and humility goes a long way.

Paul Jolley 

Paul sings Scotty's "Amazed" cover of a Lonestar original.. The thing with Paul is to achieve balance in his performance. If he doesn't over sing, he is just ordinary. when he over sings, it becomes staged. It was good, a bit held back.  Not stellar.

Candice Glover 

Candice does a Jordin Sparks' cover of "I Who have Noting" by Ben E. King. Controlled power. That's how I describe that performance. And it left me wanting more. It is the first SO (standing ovation) of the night. All stood up for her, including Mariah's non-standing O. Mariah said she wanted to stand up for her but her skirt is too tight.

Lazaro Arbos 

Lazaro takes on a Kelly Clarkson's "Breakaway".  Wrong song choice, I can tell. It's so painful to watch Lazaro flop this song out. Still, he is inspirational.

Kree Harisson 

Kree picks Carrie Underwood to emulate when she did "Crying" by Roy Orbison. If America wants a country artist to win this year, Kree definitely fits the bill. She can sing anything country and make it current. Yes, she does make you feel good. 

Burnell Taylor 

Burnell's choice is Idol Ruben Studdard's "Flying Without Wings". Burnell's Inflectons is contagious. His strong points are his distinct voice and how he use that to make the song his own. He makes you hear him out with his unique voice alone.

Amber Holcomb 

Again, I am going to use the word "pageantry". But she did nail the song brilliantly which gave her the second standing O of the night. She sang Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This" so effortless. Great job!

My prediction

Candice, Amber, Kree and Burnell are my top 4.

American Idol Top 10: #1 Candice Glover,
#2 Amber Holcomb, #3 Kree Harrison, #4 Burnell Taylor,
#5 Angela Miller, #6 Paul Jolley, #7 Devin Velez,
#8 Curtis Finch Jr, #9 Janelle Arthur and #10 Lazaro Arbos

Angie takes the 5th spot.

Then I have the next five with Paul, Devin, Curtis, Janelle Lazaro. Anyone of the five is in danger of leaving this week.

Who is your favorite? Who do you think will be the first one to go?