Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Wow, has an American Idol judging agenda ever been more transparent than Wednesday night?

Here’s how that agenda went …

1. Boost Amber Holcomb.

2. Show America Candice Glover really does belong in the Top 3.

3. Get Lazaro Arbos.

4. Sacrifice Janelle Arthur if we must.

Lazaro complied, turning in two performances that made it clear he’s the weakest singer left in the competition.

Candice went along with the script, turning in two wonderful vocals in an act of redemption.

The problem is, Amber and Janelle didn’t play along.

And the judges wound up sounding pretty silly as a result.

The recap.

Best of the night: Was it the best singing show performance ever like Randy Jackson implied? Probably not. But after being left off the top three list by Jimmy Iovine, three Idol judges and Idol voters last week, Candice stole the show with her performance of “Love Song” (previously recorded by The Cure and Adele). In a Season 12 not exactly chock full of Idol moments, Candice delivered one, decorating the song with all sorts of flourishes I doubt anyone else on the show can match.

Runner-up Angie Miller returned to her piano to perform “Love Came Down” by Kari Jobe. And she quickly made the judges forget all about her lackluster first-round performance Wednesday night. But I disagree with Nicki. Angie does not need to deliver every performance from behind a piano. Before you knew it, the Idol judges would be criticizing her lack of versatility. Angie simply needs to be allowed to sing songs she can connect with. She rocked it out last week and did just fine. Remember, Nicki?

Night’s stupidest idea: When any mention of a Burt Bacharach-Hal David theme disappeared from an Idol press release late last week, I was hoping it had been ditched for something more current. No such luck. And the Idol Top 6 didn’t have much luck with these songs either. It wound up being a wasted half of a show. Thank you, Idol, for bringing us six more songs from the “classic” past that these Idols should not have been forced to sing. For the record, Candice won that round too with her version of “Don’t Make Me Over.”

Baffled by the judges: What were the judges hearing when Amber Holcomb performed Wednesday night? I mean, the praise would have had you thinking we were watching the birth of a new Beyoncé. One judge (I think it was Nicki) even drew that comparison. Wow. I sure didn’t hear a young Beyoncé. I heard a young woman struggling with her vocals. Struggling mightily at times. For weeks, I’ve been hoping Amber would sing something upbeat. Wednesday, she tried. My advice now: Go back to ballads. The only good thing I have to say about Amber: The cut-off jeans were a big improvement over last week’s jeans-torn-to-shreds look.

Please keep her: How much clearer could the message from the judges’ table have been? That message: If a girl goes home Thursday night, it should be Janelle. News flash, judges: No it should not. It should be Amber. Janelle sang an upbeat song in the first round (“I’ll Never Fall in Love Again”) and did fine. She sang a ballad (“The Dance”) in the second round and did fine. In terms of talent, she’s much closer to the same level as Kree than Amber is to Candice. Oh, she’s also the most endearing member of your Top 6.

Worst of the night: Lazaro Arbos sang “Close to You” during the Bacharach round and, well, it wasn’t very good. Randy called it his worst performance yet, which it probably wasn’t. I’d say forgetting all his cues and lyrics in that group performance a couple of weeks ago was worse. But it certainly demonstrated that with Candice, Kree and Angie in the competition, there’s no way Lazaro belongs among the top three vote-getters, which is where he landed last week.

What should happen Thursday night: Lazaro Arbos should finally go home, leaving American Idol with a Top 5 consisting solely of ladies for the first time in its history.

What will happen Thursday night: Lazaro’s sizable fan base will rally and help him avoid a sixth-place finish. If Amber winds up as the low vote-getter instead, the judges will save her in a heartbeat. If Janelle winds up in that position … I’m not so sure.

If you missed the song-by-song grades, you can check them out here.

And check back tomorrow night for a live blog as the results come in.