Idol Chatter & Voice Views

American Idol voters bumped off the singer sitting at number seven in last week’s Top 10 rankings.

And they put the Idol life of the guy at number six in jeopardy.

But nothing that happened last week prompted me to make drastic adjustments in my predicted order of finish.

And if the male singers on Idol don’t start delivering, we might as well jump forward a few weeks and just have a showdown between the five remaining ladies.

This week, the remaining Idols take on songs by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, meaning songs by The Beatles are fair game too.

The rankings, with last week’s ranking in parenthesis. Keep in mind that I’m basing these on some strange combination of how talented I think the contestants are and where I suspect the singers will finish.

1. Kree Harrison, 22, Nashville, Tenn. (1): That’s four straight solid performances by Kree. Her rendition of “Crying” might not have been quite as good as Angie and Candice were last week. But I still think her versatility will pay off in the long run. And was pleased to see Idol voters recognized her talent by placing her in the top three last week. Last week’s grade: B. Last week’s finish: Top 3.

2. Angie Miller, 19, Beverly, Mass. (2): If Angie has been paying attention to her Idol history, she’ll know that five years ago, sitting behind a piano and singing “Let It Be” worked very splendidly for one Brooke White. Oh, Angie also picked up 7,000 Facebook fans and 16,000 Twitter followers in the past week, far and away the most of any contestant. Last week’s grade: A–. Last week’s finish: Top 3.

3. Candice Glover, 23, St. Helena Island, S.C.(4): Candice has already won over my ears, but would raise her stock considerably in my mind if she truly delivers last week’s promised surprise this week by going upbeat with a Beatles tune. Idol’s past is littered with talented R&B singers who couldn’t win on the strength of brilliant ballads alone. Last week’s grade: B+. Last week’s finish: Top 3.

4. Lazaro Arbos, 21, Naples, Fla. (3): Unlike the Idol ladies, Lazaro showed up with far less than his “A” game last Wednesday. And still finished fourth. The guy’s got lots of fans, folks. That said, I can see Lazaro tackling something like “The Long and Winding Road” this week and doing just fine as long as his confidence isn’t too shaken. Last week’s grade: C–. Last week’s finish: 4th.

5. Amber Holcomb, 19, Houston, Texas (8): In retrospect, I might have been a little tough on Amber during last week’s recap. But when someone says they think they can sing “A Moment Like This” as well as Kelly Clarkson, I expect it to be golden from the word go, and it took Amber about half the song to find her footing. If she goes first this week, she’d better be golden from the word go. Last week’s grade: B–. Last week’s finish: 5th.

6. Janelle Arthur, 23, Oliver Springs, Tenn. (5): She’s coming off her best performance since Hollywood and should be comforted by the fact that she finished no where near the bottom last week. But this theme has sometimes proven troublesome for those with a twang, landing Kristy Lee Cook (Season 7) and Aaron Kelly (Season 9) on the brink of elimination. Last week’s grade: B–. Last week’s finish: 6th.

7. Devin Velez, 18, Chicago, Ill. (6): So, who gets to sing “Imagine?” Burnell or Devin? If it’s Devin, I think he’ll excel with the song, making viewers at least temporarily forget last week’s version of “Temporary Home” that put me temporarily to sleep. But if Devin thinks he’s going to out-ballad Candice to the Idol crown … ain’t happening, dude. Last week’s grade: C–. Last week’s finish: 9th.

8. Burnell Taylor, 19, New Orleans, La. (9): I’m still wondering what the judges were raving about when Burnell sang “Flying Without Wings” last week. Heck, for that matter, I’m still waiting for a Burnell performance I’ll remember five minutes after it ends. Oh, and after last week’s assault on the ears, I’m not sure he’d excel with “Imagine.” Last week’s grade: D+. Last week’s finish: 7th.

9. Paul Jolley, 23, Palmersville, Texas (10): Worried about Jimmy Iovine’s criticism about over-singing, Paul dialed it way back last week, holding back when he should have soared on “Amazed.” He’s clearly still searching for his Idol footing, and he’d better find it fast because time isn’t on the side of the guys at the tail end of this list. Last week’s grade: C+. Last week’s finish: 8th.

Check back Wednesday for a live blog during the Idol performance show, complete with song by song grades.