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!

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 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?

American Idol Season 12: Top 10 Revealed

American Idol reveals it's Top 10 finalists.

Boys:

American Idol Season 12 Top 5 Boys:
Burnell Taylor, Curtis Finch Jr, Devin Velez, Paul Jolley and Lazaro Arbos

Burnell Taylor, 19 - New Orleans, Louisiana

Curtis Finch Jr, 24 - St. Louis, Missouri

Devin Velez, 18 - Chicago Illinois

Lazaro Arbos, 21 - Naples, Florida

Paul Jolley, 22 - Palmersville, Tennessee

Girls:

American Idol Season 12 Top 5 Girls:
Candice Glover, Kree Harrison, Angela Miller, Amber Holcomb and Janelle Arthur

Amber Holcomb, 18 - Houston, Texas

Angela Miller, 18 - Beverly Massachusetts

Candice Glover, 23 - St. Helena Island, South Carolina

Janelle Arthur, 23 - Oliver Springs, Tennessee

Kree Harrison, 22 - Nashville, Tennessee

No wildcard round was announced. Happy with the results? 

American Idol Season 12 Semifinals: Top 10 girls performances

The top 10 girls perform and half of them will move on based on public vote. The finalists will be announced Thursday night. Here is my take on what has transpired.

Zoanette Johnson
Song Choice: What's Love Got To Do With It, Tina Turner

She's a hot hot mess now. It's not good at all. She's all over the place. Her voice is irritating and she doesn't move well on stage. Well, we don't expect her to become Tina for one night. But it would definitely give her a seat in the Idol finale is she miraculously did. She won't get through, methinks. 

Breanna Steer
Song Choice: Flaws and All, Beyonce

Breanna is such a pretty girl. But when she sings, she seems so pissed. I wish her beauty shines more when she sings. In terms of her performance, her voice is haunting. Overall, it was just alright. 

Aubrey Cleland
Song Choice: Big Girls Don't Cry, Fergie

Both Breanna and Aubrey are beautiful. But compared to Breanna, Aubrey sings with a clearer face. She looks and sings so delicate. And that makes her a bit boring. The song is about being a big girl but she sings it like a (little) girl. She needs to take some fire from Zoanette. She should think Rhianna when she performs. 

Janelle Arthur
Song Choice: If I Can Dream, Elvis Presley

She judges say she's spectacular but it doesn't seem to translate outside the TV. She just don't jump out like Carrie Underwood does. Or is it just me. We'll soon find out Friday.

Teena Torres
Song Choice: Lost, Faith Hill

Teena's voice disappears in parts of the performance especially when she's at the lower register or at falsetto. The performance also needs heating up as it's like cold soup.  

Angela Miller
Song Choice: Never Gone, Colton Dixon

Angie is a front-runner.  We haven't seen anything bad from this girl. She has perfect or almost too perfect performances. Maybe too perfect that people might want to move away and look for someone else that they can root for and bring to the top. Everyone loves an underdog. She's not. 

Amber Holcomb
Song Choice: I Believe in You and Me, Whitney Houston

She's a wonderful singer. She's so brave singing a Whitney and she did pull it off splendidly. But I kinda feel she overrun the song. l like to hear her sing clear and clean.

Kree Harrison
Song Choice: Stronger, Faith Hill

In the battle of the Country singer, Kree definitely takes the first place. Love her when she's up there with the notes. She's so natural her voice and with her looks.

Adriana Latonio
Song Choice: Stand Up for Love, Destiny's Child

The youngest in the bunch and smallest. I think she is the boldest of them all. She takes risks in her song choices and performances. It means it's not boring.  She does command the stage very well. Pass or fail I think she is someone you want to fight for.

Candice Glover
Song Choice: Ordinary People, John Legend

Candice is likable. Her likability is base on her talent and how she carries herself on stage. There is power in quietness and behind that calm demeanor is a big voice. And definitely she got it.

My predictions.

American Idol: Top 10 Girls performance

I definitely see Candice moving on to the finals. I also see Kree and Angie as top contenders. The maybes for me are Amber, Adriana, Breanna, and Janelle. Aubrey Teena, and Zoanette are definitely out of the running. 

My 5 picks: Candice, Kree, Angela, Amber and Adriana