Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Just call it the night rock fashion overshadowed rock performances on American Idol.

Not that the performances were too shabby. Far from it.

But when the contestants are bringing the 100th serving of “We Are the Champions,” “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and “Piece of My Heart” … well, something fresh is needed.

And that turned out be what the Idols were wearing.

Janelle Arthur showed up on stage wearing a fringed vest and multi-colored rhinestone boots.

By the end of the next commercial break, Nicki was wearing the boots and Randy was sorta wearing the vest.

Amber Holcomb showed up on stage wearing a pair of jeans with such large holes, it looked as though an envious judge had tried to tear them off her body before she reached the stage.

Even the best lines of the night dealt with footwear.

Kree Harrison, on the very high-heeled boots she was wearing: “It doesn’t tickle my feet, but it looks good, Keith.”

Janelle, on the aforementioned rhinestone boots; “I thought they’d fit the rock thing because they’re stoned.”

Then there was Lazaro Arbos, who decided to stop dressing like the candyman for once, sang a pair of Freddie Mercury songs and, somehow, avoided complete disaster.

The recap:

Best of the night: Look, Kree Harrison was pretty much vocally perfect on “Piece of My Heart.” Candice Glover was probably a tad more vocally impressive, and rock star fierce, with “Satisfaction.” But the song choices were snoozers. We’ve seen them done way too often, and often very well. For that reason, by a smidgeon, I’m giving best of the night honors to Angie Miller. She sang the much less heard “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence. And if it wasn’t quite vocally perfect, Angie is a gal who knows how to end a song. Brilliant glory note. And, of course, in keeping with the night’s theme, clothing almost mattered. Twice mid-performance she had to snatch the bottom of her top as it was blown up from below by a wind machine that had kicked into overdrive. Bottom line: All three of these singers will advance with ease.

Runner-up: For probably the first time all season, I heard what the judges hear when Amber Holcomb performs. She opened and closed Heart’s “What About Love” wonderfully. But what about the ban on ballads, Idol? I mean, I’m pretty sure “What About Love” qualifies as a power ballad. Oh, well, Amber looked young and fun for a change and certainly showed off her legs, even if it meant ripping a pair of jeans to shreds. One day, she might sing something upbeat.

Worst of the night: Burnell Taylor was nudged way out of his comfort zone by this theme, actually played by the rules and sang something upbeat, but was just way too timid and not nearly adventurous enough with Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name.”

Please keep her: The judges really liked Janelle’s performance of Billy Joel’s “You May Be Right,” but I thought it was a pretty big tumble from last week’s brilliant rendition of “You Keep Me Hanging On.” I just hope Janelle keeps hanging on, because she’s so darn likable. My favorite moment Wednesday came when she gave an on-stage compliment to Amber for doing so well on their group number, a performance Amber was apparently fretting about.

Perseverance honors: Combine Lazaro’s recent struggles with his decision to tackle not one, but two Freddie Mercury tunes, and you’d figure it’s all over for the lad from Florida. Guess again. Yeah, he forgot a couple of lyrics in his group number with Angie Miller. But by the time his solo performance of “We Are the Champions” ended, that was long forgotten. Was it brilliant? Not by a long shot. But Lazaro delivered two really big notes and sidestepped what could have been a train wreck.

Which means: Say goodbye to Burnell Taylor. His solo was the first of the night, and wasn’t very good. Then he had the misfortune of being paired with the vocal powerhouse known as Candice Glover for a group number. Did his vocal pale in comparison. Oh, yeah. Mark my word, Burnell will be singing for a save tomorrow night. The only question is whether Nicki will live up to her week-old words to the Idol guys: “NONE of U get saved!”