Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Three weeks of auditions, two weeks of Hollywood and a Rush Week bring us to this.

Yep, it’s time for the American Idol finals to start.

Which also means it’s time to rank some the Season 13 Idol cast.

I’m pretty confident in these rankings three deep, then things get really murky because we’ve only heard one full performance.

So I’m basing some of these rankings on the pre-Idol music I’ve listened to. The links will take you to blogs where you can hear some of that music too.

Check back Wednesday night, I’ll be live blogging and providing song by song grades.

1. Sam Woolf, 17, Bradenton, Fla.: The departure of Spencer Lloyd leaves Sam as the good-looking, guitar-playing male lots of Idol’s female voters might gravitate toward. That’s fine because he also happens to be a solid singer-songwriter, and we saw a glimpse of that when he turned in a fine performance of “Babylon” in the semifinals.

2. Jena Irene (Asciutto), 17, Farmington Hills, Mich.: She had so much trouble getting people to pronounce her first name correctly (as in Gina), that I guess she gave up and just exorcised the last name. I could care less. I care far more about the two wonderful performances she turned in during the semifinals, including a wild card original that was the week’s best performance.

3. Majesty Rose, 21, Goldsboro, N.C.: On a night when most of the Idol ladies seemed almost paralyzed by nerves, Majesty opened the show with a breezy performance of “Happy” that wound up being one of the night’s best. While playing guitar. Combine performances like that with a winning personality, and I’ll be surprised if we aren’t still watching her two months from now.

4. Ben Briley, 24, Gallatin, Tenn.: News flash: Idol voters apparently like Ben. They voted him into the semis when the show held that silly vote-off with Neco Starr. And they voted him into the finals last week. If he keeps delivering fun performances like “Soul Shine,” complete with a guitar solo seldom seen on Idol, I’m predicting he’ll win the battle of Season 13 country guys.

5. Alex Preston, 20, Mont Vernon, N.H.: Hey, we’re down to the top five and I’ve already listed three guys. What a difference a year makes, right? Another singer-songwriter type, Alex has an even more distinctive style than the guy parked at #1. He’s also calls himself a geek and says he’s shy, two obstacles he’ll have to overcome to climb higher.

6. Caleb Johnson, 22, Asheville, N.C.: He’s quite the performer, isn’t he? His “Stay with Me” performance marked a great start to the guys’ semifinals show. And that bear hug of Ryan Seacrest after he made the Idol finals was classic. My only hesitation with Caleb is that Idol Twitter poll from Hollywood Week where more than 80 percent of those who voted thought he was heading home.

7. Jessica Meuse, 23, Slapout, Ala.: It was gratifying to see Idol voters support Jessica after the Hollywood Week rant from Stephanie Hankey’s mom, who predicted they wouldn’t. And Jessica is better than she showed in a semifinal round performance where nerves played a role. I’ll be disappointed if she finishes lower, not surprised if she climbs higher.

8. M.K. Nobilette, 20, San Francisco, Calif.: I’m not sure her semifinal vocal on John Legend’s “All of Me” was quite as good as the judges thought. But it was full of passion. And connecting with an audience in that way can overcome some vocal missteps. Idol’s first openly gay singer might have been better off in a cast with fewer female singer-songwriter types.

9. Dexter Roberts, 22, Fayette, Ala.: I remember his “I’m hoping they can fix my hair” comment more than I remember his performance from the semifinals. I remember Ben Briley’s performance though. And it’s bad news for Dexter if that trend continues because Idol voters will support country singers (remember the Season 10 finale), but probably not three male country singers at the same time.

10. Emily Piriz, 18, Orlando, Fla.: I didn’t like the “Paris (Ooh La La)” song choice, and it had nothing to do with the lyrics or the fact that a teenage girl was singing them. My objection: Idol promised us fresher song choices in Season 13, and this one has been done to death on singing shows. Still, Emily shows promise vocally, and could find her stride given a couple weeks to settle in.

11. C.J. Harris, 23, Jasper, Ala.: On the plus side, C.J.’s repertoire extends beyond country music, which is good because I’m counting him as one of three country singers among six guys in the finals. On the not-so-plus side, C.J. got two chances to wow us with his vocals last week and didn’t do it. He has a unique tone, but needs to quickly find his stride on the Idol stage.

12. Kristen O’Connor, 24, Sebastian, Fla.: The singing nurse with the million-dollar smile also has a darn good voice and deserves credit for the way she performed in a sudden-death situation Thursday night. But here’s guessing she’ll need to do something unique to make viewers take notice if she wants to last long. Singing Adele songs pretty well is not the recipe for long-term success.

13. Malaya Watson, 16, Southfield, Mich.: Hey, someone had to wind up here. Look, Malaya has a ton of personality. But her Hollywood Week performances were inconsistent, her final solo made me wonder why she was picked for the Top 15 and her semifinal vote total probably benefited because she was the last gal to sing and one of just a handful capable of shaking off the nerves that night.