Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Nicki Minaj arrives late and misses judging the first singer.

Now that’s an Idol first.

The Idol gals soar while the Idol guys fall flat.

That might never have happened so dramatically either.

But get used to it. Welcome to Idol Season 12.

Where the faces might have changed.

Where two of the judges can barely stand one another (did you check out some of Mariah’s expressions while Nicki was talking Wednesday? Did you?)

But where producers are up to their same old tricks, doing everything possible to tilt the odds in favor of their favorites.

More on that in a bit.

The recap:

Best of the night: Randy said Kree Harrison made him “tingle.” Kree was very good. Candice was even better. But there was only one time all night when I felt a “tingle.” And that was the closing 15-30 seconds of Angie Miller’s performance of “I Surrender.” To this point, Angie’s most magical moments have come from behind her piano. But this performance was pitch perfect from the word go. And that ending. Loved, loved, loved it. She certainly lived up to her billing as the favorite on Wednesday.

Runner-up: This won’t sit well with Candice Glover fans. Hey, she hit some incredible notes. She delivered more “moments” than anyone else on Wednesday. But I also thought she oversang the second verse of “I Who Have Nothing,” perhaps trying to do just a tad too much with the song. Anyway, I’m ranking her a whisker below Angie. My opinion might be influenced by the fact that Candice promised a surprise in her pre-performance interview, then stepped on stage and performed another big ballad. What, precisely, was the surprise?

Worst of the night: I have absolutely no idea what the judges were hearing when Burnell Taylor tried to sing Ruben Studdard’s “Flying Without Wings.” What I heard was a performance that never landed in Burnell’s sweet spot. And some very strange sounds coming from Burnell’s voice whenever he tried to do something with the song. Mariah’s never going to get over how Burnell made her cry at his audition. That, judges, would have had me crying for all the wrong reasons. Just awful.

Please keep him: She might have arrived late, she might have doled out fashion advice when she clearly didn’t have time to fashion up, but Nicki hit this critique on the ol’ noggin: Lazaro Arbos seemed to have lost his confidence performing Kelly Clarkson’s “Breakaway.” In theory, it was a nice song choice, with the lyrics sorta matching Lazaro’s experience on Idol. But on this night, Lazaro was not up to pulling off a Kelly cover. He’s better than that. Here’s hoping his many fans save him.

Baffled by the judges: For the most part, the judges seemed to be speaking truth Wednesday. Until Burnell and Amber Holcomb closed the show. Amber decided to sing “A Moment Like This.” Yep, Kelly’s victory song from Season 1. The moment that made Idol. Someone should have talked her out of it. She was not up to it. She sang well enough to deserve another week, but she also came off as a poor imitation of Idol’s first-ever champ. And that’s what folks will remember. As for the judges: Nicki loved it. Randy said she killed it. Keith and Mariah raved. Hey, she was performing in the pimp spot. So it must have been great, right? Wrong. Thanks, judges, for disrespecting Idol’s past with your over-the-top critiques.

Cut it out. Now! Hmm, did you notice how the camera panned to Randy Jackson not once, not twice, but three times during Candice Glover’s performance? Clearly, Idol wanted to show up how much he was loving Candice Glover. The last time, he was leaping to his feet — well, as quickly as Randy ever leaps — to give her a standing ovation. Keep the cameras on the contestants, Idol. The judges get their turn when the performance is over. And quit playing favorites. I know. I’m wasting my type. This is Idol, after all.

Also deserving a mention: Kree Harrison was solid again on “Cryin’,” though I would have preferred to see her tackle something upbeat with a touch of sass. Bet she could have kicked butt on “Before He Cheats” or something of that sort. Janelle Arthur went upbeat — thank you, Janelle — with “Gone” and delivered her best performance since Hollywood Week.

Prediction for Thursday: Burnell sang late in the show and might be saved by the judges’ flawed feedback. If so, that could spell trouble for some of the guys who sang earlier and were unimpressive — Curtis Finch with Fantasia’s “I Believe” or Devin Velez with Carrie’s “Temporary Home.” Truthfully, voters could boot any one of the three and I wouldn’t be “Cryin’.”

For the song by song grade blog, go here.