Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Wow, you might have to go back to Season 7, when David Cook and David Archuleta squared off for the Idol title, to find a final two who are this close.

If anything, Tuesday night’s performance finale muddied the Idol waters.

Jena Irene and Caleb Johnson at the end of Tuesday night’s performance show. (FOX Photo)

Neither singer — Jena Irene nor Caleb Johnson — scored a knockout punch.

And while I still think Jena has scored more Idol moments over the course of Season 13, I also think Caleb has been more consistently excellent.

Who has the edge tonight?

Well, maybe we take our clue from iTunes, which was a fairly accurate predictor of The Voice outcomes until this week’s major snafu. (Please, Idol, deliver a controversy-free finale.)

And on iTunes, Jena is the clear winner.

Her Idol single, “We Are One,” was sitting at number 78 on iTunes overall chart at 3:30 p.m. It was number 37 on the site’s pop chart.

Caleb’s single? It hasn’t hit the iTunes’ Top 200. It hasn’t even hit the iTunes’ Top 200 on the rock singles chart. You will find four other Caleb Idol performances on the latter chart.

Since The Voice finale prevented me from filing a recap blog, here are some other general impressions from last night’s show:

Performance of the night: Caleb’s cover of Aerosmith’s “Dream On.” He pulled off the Steven Tyler shriek as well as it’s ever been done on Idol. Before Tuesday, several had tried. Most had failed.

Reprise numbers: They should not be part of the finale and, if they are, they should not be songs the singers performed just two weeks earlier, for crying out loud.

The Idol singles: They aren’t bad if you’re judging them by Kara DioGuardi “No Boundaries” standards (remember that incredible turkey from Season 8). But they don’t sound like hits worthy of kicking off the next Idol’s post-show career.

Best judges’ move of the night: Thank you, Harry Connick Jr., for pinning down the judges on who they thought won the first two rounds of the finals. Idol judges get lots of money for judging, and Harry put himself and his colleagues on the spot, forcing them to do just that.

The final number: NOOOOOOO! In the past, contestants on Idol have been warned that covering Kelly Clarkson is a tough task. Then you’re going to end your season finale by asking the pitch-challenged Season 13 cast to tackle Kelly’s “Breakaway.” It amounted to a giant buzz-kill. Jena sounded horribly off key. And that’s a song Caleb should never be asked to sing. If it had to be done, it should have been the night’s first number.

Check back here at 8 p.m. I’ll be live blogging the two-hour season finale.

See also:
Predictions from some experts
Song by song grades for the Top 2
10 reasons Jena Irene should win American Idol
A look back at Jena Irene’s Idol performances
A look back at Caleb Johnson’s Idol performances
10 things Idol did right in Season 13
10 things Idol did wrong in Season 13

The performances …

1. Really smart opening on Idol, with Jena and Caleb exiting the elevator of terror and stepping right onto the big stage. Caleb launches into Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” Jena follows with “I’m Only a Girl.” Then they duet on “It’s Only Love.” Really nice opening segment, Idol.

2. Sam Woolf is performing “Home.” And he’ll be joined in a second by Season 11 winner Phillip Phillips. Come on, let Phillip start singing. He launches into his new single, “Raging Fire.” Phillips’ new album came out this week, if you missed it. This is the lead single. This is a great song. Very nicely done, folks.

3. Jennifer Nettles is singing “That Girl.” She’s joined by fourth-place finisher Jess Meuse for a duet of “Wrecking Ball.” And they sound really great on this. Idol is on fire tonight, folks.

4. Jennifer Lopez will be singing “First Love.” Is the barely-there attire supposed to help us not notice that this is probably lip synched. Or is it supposed to disguise the fact that this song just isn’t very good. Idol, we’ve hit a road bump called Jennifer.

5. OK, this is going to be fun. Kiss is on stage launching into their 1960s hit “Love Gun.” Caleb is with them, sounding as though this was one of his songs. And then they follow that with a snippet of “Shout It Out Loud.” And Caleb gets to close the number with one heck of a glory note.

6. Now here comes Aloe Blacc with “The Man,” his knockoff of an Elton John song, accompanied by the Idol guys. Oh, no, this is going to be bad. As in very, very vocally bad. Aloe sounds like crap; some of the Idol guys sound even worse.

7. Demi Lovato: Oh, a horrible thought just crossed my mind. If Idol can’t afford Jennifer next year, could Demi become an Idol judge? Please say no. Anyway, she’s eventually joined by the other gals who made the Idol finals and Jena for “Neon Lights.” Not bad, not great. Unfortunately, the lack of depth in the Idol Season 13 cast is really showing.

8. Jena is at her piano, singing “Decode.” She sounds fabulous, of course. And now Paramore takes the stage for “Ain’t It Fun,” soon to be joined by Jena. This is another high-energy, fun performance. Hope they can find Jena again amid all those yellow balloons.

9. John Legend takes the stage next, singing “You and I.” He’s joined by Malaya Watson for “All of Me.” Really pretty song. And Malaya sounded really good on the ending, but not nearly so good on her earlier parts.

10. Alex Preston and Jason Mraz will sing “Love Someone.” OK, this is a good song for Alex to duet on, even if the whole thing is a bit sleepy.

11. For comic relief, we have Ryan Seacrest and Richard Marx singing “Right Here Waiting for You.” And Ryan apologizes to the fans for that. Unfortunately, Ryan’s performance seems to have thrown off Richard’s vocals.

12. Darius Rucker will be singing “True Believers.” After a snippet of that, he’s joined by Dexter Roberts and C.J. Harris for “Alright.” And that was all right in a country sorta way.

13. Lady Antebellum shows up next to perform “Bartender.” Hey, like this song. And that was a neat opening with Caleb and Jena singing “Need You Now” a cappella. Easily my favorite of the new songs we’ve heard from guest artists tonight.

14. Randy, Keith, Jennifer and Harry take the stage next. Jennifer is singing with her baby girl voice. They’re singing “True Colors.” And then they switch to “Go Your Own Way.” Like this a whole lot more than “True Colors.” Great guitar work by Keith, right? And Jennifer is doing her best to channel Stevie Nicks. Rousing performance, judges.

And it’s time for the results. Jena and Caleb are center stage with Ryan. Keith says the judges don’t even agree who is likely to win.

The winner of Season 13 of American Idol is … CALEB JOHNSON.

Overcome with emotion, Caleb can’t quite get out the lyrics as he’s mobbed by the other Idol finalists while the music plays. And Caleb waits until he’s hugged all of the other Idols before he launches into his winner’s single. Even then, he interrupts the song to embrace his parents.

Hey, Idol, thanks for staging a very nice finale.