Idol Chatter & Voice Views

For the third straight week, the remaining Season 13 American Idols have been given a nice broad theme.

Here’s hoping songs from the movies inspire better performances than songs about home.

American Idol’s top 11 will tackle songs from the movies Wednesday night. (FOX Photo)

Top 12 week brought a couple of solid performances and a couple of splendid partial performances (I’m looking at you, Majesty Rose and Jess Meuse).

But all in all, the judges were justified in being a wee bit harsh on the Top 12 and suggesting they expect better.

On with this week’s rankings.

1. Sam Woolf (1): Forget the judges’ critiques. Just remember the adoring looks on the faces of all those teenage girls who will vote like crazy for Sam. And last week’s performance was one of the night’s best.

2. Caleb Johnson (5): Hey, Harry, I don’t care if he changes the history of rock-n-roll. Through three weeks, he’s been the show’s most consistent singer and most entertaining performer. Right now, that makes him a rock star.

3. Majesty Rose (3): She performs like she was born for the American Idol stage. But her chance to seize a moment as last week’s show-closer went horribly awry as she and the chorus tried to outsing one another. What’s up with that, Randy?

4. Ben Briley (4): Hope Ben didn’t take last week’s critiques to heart, because they sure seemed contradictory. I’ve seen him perform live for three weeks and have been impressed each time. Still the top of the class of the country guys.

5. Jess Meuse (6): You get the feeling Jess is on the verge of a performance that will make her a serious contender in Season 13. The first half of last week’s “White Flag” performance was brilliant and she might have the most unique sound among the ladies.

6. Jena Irene Asciutto (2): Hey, I still think she has the talent to win the show. But it’s tough to deny that something isn’t clicking for the viewers. She needed a wild card spot to make the finals; then landed in the bottom three last week after a “happy” performance that was probably too lightweight.

7. Alex Preston (7): He deserved high marks for originality last week, putting his own spin on “I Don’t Want to Be.” But he deserved lower marks for his vocal and still lower marks for those rolled up pants legs. Not quite sure how he’s going to register with voters as the field narrows.

8. C.J. Harris (9): He comes across as a sincere, humble guy who’s easy to root for. But three weeks into the live shows, I’m still waiting for a performance that’s better than average.

9. Dexter Roberts (10): He sounded much better singing “Lucky Man” last week than he did in week one of the finals, when you could barely hear him over the background music. But he hasn’t displayed the trademark sound that made Scotty McCreery a country sensation.

10. Malaya Watson (12): The teen is a joy to watch because of her fun-loving personality. But she shouted her way through the end of “Take Me to the King,” a performance that was only good when compared to her own Top 13 week effort.

11. M.K. Nobilette (11): The judges haven’t been nearly harsh enough on M.K.’s subpar vocals. Based on what we’ve heard, there were five female semifinalists who never got to sing a note, and one of them had to be more deserving of this spot in the finals.