Idol Chatter & Voice Views

If the results have been mixed on Season 13 — and they certainly have — don’t blame the themes.

American Idol producers have certainly fulfilled their promise to freshen up song choices for the contestants this year.

The American Idol judges during last week’s show. (FOX Photo)

Remember last year, when some members of the Season 12 cast said they were being asked to sing tunes they’d never heard before?

This season, we haven’t had a Beatles night or a Motown night yet.

What producers have served up are a lot of broad and more current themes that give the singers plenty of options to select songs with which they’re familiar.

Tonight’s theme isn’t broad at all, but it sounds like a recipe for success.

The singers are being asked to repeat their audition songs, the ones that earned them golden tickets when they tried out for Idol last year.

We might even hear an original song or two — an Idol first for a performance show.

Jess Meuse

1. Jessica Meuse: Yep, that’s how we’re going to start off the night. With Jess singing her original “Blue Eyed Lie.” And is it my imagination, or is Jess already more animated than during most of her performances? Excellent song, and Jess is doing a great job with it. Singing first is usually a disadvantage. Not tonight. She’s starting off the night on a great note. Really, really nice performance. Keith calls it a great start to the show and says he loves the ferocity she sings with. Jennifer calls it perfect. Harry says he loves the song. I love that Jess got to perform an original. That’s a song I plan to download. Grade: A

Curtis (C.J.) Harris

2. C.J. Harris: The guy from Jasper, Alabama, will sing “Soul Shine.” He tells us his parents spent a lot of time in prison, and his grandparents helped raise him and give him direction in life. Singing second is a dangerous spot for C.J., who has been way short of special lately. No idea how C.J. did. His performance was interrupted by an update on the tragedy at Fort Hood. Okla., so now I’ve got to go back and watch C.J.’s performance. It was certainly better than the past two weeks. And it was certainly heartfelt. But the pitch was still shaky in spots, and that could be a problem tonight if everyone else does well. Grade: C+

3. Jess Meuse and Alex Preston: Here comes the first duet of the night. Jess and Alex will sing “Just Give Me a Reason.” Gotta say, I’m not digging Alex’s look tonight. That performance started off sort of slow. But Jess hit a really nice note midway through the performance and that seemed to propel a better vocal the rest of the way. Jess also did a much better job than Alex of selling the song. Grade: B–

Sam Woolf

4. Sam Woolf: He auditioned with “Lego House,” and recalls how nervous he was before his audition in Boston. We also learn that he had a really big head as a baby. Regardless, he needs a really good performance tonight, because he’s landed in the bottom three twice. Sam was doing better before the background vocals started. Something wasn’t meshing in the middle of the song. That said, he displayed a nice tone. Not sure that’s the performance that will change lots of viewers’ opinions, though Idol sure keeps pushing Sam on us as this year’s guitar-playing cutie. Well, there are several girls screaming. Harry still thinks a connection is missing in Sam’s performances, but says he did a nice job. Keith says he’s getting better every week. Jennifer says he showed a glimpse of the magic of Sam Woolf. Grade: B

5. Caleb Johnson and Jess Meuse: They’ll sing “Stop Dragging My Heart Around.” Nice song choice for these two, and they’re doing a really good job on it. Jess is even flirting with Caleb a bit. And Caleb is never bashful on stage. Asked to judge the performance, Caleb gives himself an 11. Don’t know if it was that good, but it was a fine performance. Jess Meuse is on fire tonight. Grade: A–

Malaya Watson

6. Malaya Watson: She sang “Ain’t No Way” for her audition. She says she spent a lot of time with her dad while she was growing up and they would perform music together. Malaya says the audition “Was 5-year-old me. I think you’ll see a drastic change.” A bit of a too soft opening from Malaya, but she quickly shifts into full conviction. The most impressive thing about Malaya is she’s stopped letting her emotion control her performance and, as a result, she’s showing much, much more control over her vocals. Dang, combine her personality with vocals like those, and Malaya is going nowhere but onward in this competition. That was Malaya’s best performance to date. Really, really good. Grade: A–

Dexter Roberts

7. Dexter Roberts: Like these clips of the Idols growing up. We get to see Dexter as a young boy in a sailor’s outfit. He sang “Drive” for his audition. But apparently he did “One Mississippi,” too, and that’s the song he’s singing tonight. Dexter is delivering a pretty good vocal tonight. Really wish they’d stifle the background singers. That said, Dexter just delivered his best performance since the finals began. Hmm, Jennifer liked the background vocals from former finalists Allison Iraheta. My only complaint is that it’s Dexter we’re supposed to be listening to. Harry calls it the perfect song for him to sing and calls it a “fantastic job,” one he really needed at this stage of the competition. Keith suggests he could have done a slightly better job of selling the lyric. Grade: B+

8. Sam Woolf and Malaya Watson: They’re singing “Lucky.” OK, they started out OK, but then it sounded as if there was a problem with the sound, and then it just turned into a train wreck. They’re trying their best, but this just isn’t working out. No amount of cuteness would make me want to hear that again. Grade: D

Jena Irene Asciutto

9. Jena Irene: She recalls waiting 10 hours to audition and staying very quiet while everyone around her kept singing. She’ll sing “Rolling in the Deep.” Wish she wasn’t doing Adele. This might be a hard sell, though Jena has built nice momentum over the last couple of weeks. She’s starting off nice and slow. And crystal clear. Brilliant opening. Unfortunately, after that wonderful smile, the vocal seemed to hit a long dead spot before Jena launched into the chorus. But Jena came back with a really, really strong ending. Harry said she did a great job, but comments on how tough the competition is getting. Keith loved the fact that she made the song her own, calling it “incredibly bold and I loved every second of it.” Personally, I loved the beginning and end but thought the verses dragged a bit. Grade: B+

10. C.J. Harris and Dexter Roberts: They’re singing “Alright” by Darius Rucker. Well, you can relax, Dexter, because performances like this duet are not going to win you a “concert in the city.” That got better as the song went on, but the start was really rough. C.J.’s pitch strayed badly. Dexter was definitely the dominant vocalist on that. Grade: C–

Caleb Johnson

11. Caleb Johnson: He’s singing “Chain of Fools.” Here’s a shocker — Caleb was not a shy, quiet kid. And he’s going to deliver a full-on rock version of the song. Some of the Idols don’t look very assured on stage. Caleb owns the stage. He sang the song brilliantly. He changed the song up with an arrangement that worked. He performed to the crowd. He performed to his backing singers. That just came off like a very polished performance. And the judges loved it too, though Harry is encouraging him to slow it down and sing a ballad, just once. Personally, I think Caleb should keep doing what Caleb does best. Grade: A

Alex Preston

12. Alex Preston: And we’ll end the show with another original. Alex will sing “Fairytales.” We learn that Alex fell in love with the violin as a child and gets his singing talent from his dad. Alex says he did an original for his audition because he wanted to make it to Hollywood completely on his own. I’m not nearly as big a fan of this song as Jess’, but I love the fact that Idol is letting the singers who write some of their own material to get some exposure for it. And you could see in both performances tonight that singing an original brings out more feeling in the contestant. And he gets solid critiques from all three judges. Grade: B