Idol Chatter & Voice Views

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Did you ever think you’d see that on American Idol? A final five consisting solely of females?

This is, after all, the same show that crowned five straight male winners.

The same show where the voting was so ridiculously tilted in favor of guys that I’d grown fond of referring to it as Cute Boy Idol.

Of course, it helps that no guys with guitars or dudes with a combination of dashing good looks and adequate vocals were allowed into this year’s finals.

But regardless of how we got here, we’re left with five very talented young ladies, three of whom look like potential winners.

This week’s rankings …

1. Angie Miller (1): She’s got the look. She’s got the charisma. She’s got the smile. Most of all, she’s got the biggest fan base. Give Angie a song she can connect with and she’s likely to out-perform — notice I didn’t write out-sing — anyone left in the competition. Speaking of her fan base, it will be interesting to see how they respond to the fact that she wasn’t among the top two last week. Of course, she sang first, which never helps a contestant’s vote totals.

2. Candice Glover (3): Is there any doubt Candice brings more vocal fireworks to the stage than any of the remaining Idols? After last week, there shouldn’t be. But this isn’t just a singing competition; it’s a popularity contest. And Candice needs to show a bit more personality. Cluing us into that special dialect she learned — the one that allows her to say in 10 seconds what a typical person would say in 30 — was a start. By the way, Candice, any chance you could give Mariah a few lessons?

3. Kree Harrison (2): I had Kree at the top of this list from Top 10 week through Top 7 week, then bumped her down because of a string of perfectly fine vocal performances that simply lacked spark. And she did it again last week. “Help Me Make it Through the Night” was a wonderful vocal. But it might have put some viewers to sleep. As a performance, it ranked as the week’s fourth best. At best. To win, Kree needs to stop playing it safe and start creating Idol moments.

4. Janelle Arthur (4): Jimmy Iovine nailed the key for Janelle in his critiques last week. She doesn’t have Candice’s vocal firepower. She lacks the soul in Kree’s voice. She doesn’t quite have Angie’s flair for finishing a song. What she has shown is a wonderful ability to change up songs we’ve heard countless times to fit her twang. Her version of “You Keep Me Hanging On” is still one of Season 12’s best performances. She needs to do more of that.

5. Amber Holcomb (5): For weeks, I’ve been writing that Amber needed to go upbeat, young and fun because there’s no way she’d be able to out-belt Candice. Well, Amber tried last week. She tried twice. And despite what you heard from the judges table, that was not the second coming of Beyonce we witnessed. Far, far from it. So, go back to ballads Amber, and hope for the best. Besides, I’m pretty sure there’s a save tucked in a judge’s pocket with your name on it.

Check back Wednesday night for a live blog, complete with song by song grades.