Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Who should win Season 13 of American Idol?

My pick is Jena Irene.

Jena Irene with Ryan Seacrest after advancing to the American Idol finale. (FOX Photo)

I moved her into the top spot in my weekly Idol rankings on Top 9 week, and she’s held that spot nearly every week since.

Why should she win?

Here are 10 reasons.

See also
A look back at Jena Irene’s Idol performances
A look back at Caleb Johnson’s Idol performances
10 things Idol did right in Season 13
10 things Idol did wrong in Season 13

1. A Jena victory would cap a storybook season during which the judges and mentor Randy Jackson couldn’t even get her first name right heading out of Hollywood (it’s pronounced, Gina, not Jenna, folks) and during which she needed a wild card berth to make the finals.

2. Her wild card performance of an original — “Unbreakable Me” — was incredibly gutsy and proved that Jena Irene Asciutto is much more than a pretty face and a teenager who sings very well.

3. I don’t get goosies nearly as often as Jennifer Lopez. But her heart-warming trip home, the reception she received and her reaction to it, gave me goosies.

4. After years of male dominance, her victory would prove Idol voters will support a deserving female even in a season when the cast included talented male contestants.

5. Her cover of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” wasn’t only an unexpected song choice, it will go down as the best performance of Season 13 to date and one of the all-time Idol moments.

Jena Irene performs “Can’t Help Falling in Love” on American Idol (FOX Photo)

6. Speaking of moments, she created more than any other Idol finalist in Season 13, from “Unbreakable Me” to “Creep” to “Bring Me to Life” to the aforementioned Elvis tune.

7. She refused to go along with the Top 5 Idol twist, even though a lukewarm reception to her iTunes single indicated that she could have been the singer to go home that night.

8. She’s shown the most versatility and creativity of the final two, putting her own twist on such popular tunes as Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” and Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie.”

9. As a young pop-rock singer, still just 17, she’s the more marketable of the two finalists. Caleb prefers classic rock, which makes for wonderful live performances, but might not sell as many records post-Idol.

10. Every Idol fan out there now knows how to pronounce Jena’s first name.

Jena Irene of American Idol reacts to the support shown by fans in her home state of Michigan on her Top 3 hometown trip. (FOX Photo)