Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Just four contestants remain, and I’m still not certain who I think should be the next American Idol.

It’s that close between Candice Glover, Kree Harrison and Angie Miller.

This week, the Idols will supposedly get one theme — one-hit wonders — and a free choice.

Pick wisely, ladies.

Those free choices don’t come along very often. They offer the perfect opportunity to play up your strengths and turn in a performance that will separate you from the rest of the contenders.

This week’s rankings …

1. Angie Miller (1): “Halo” could have gotten Angie into trouble. As soon as I heard the song choice, I thought: potential train wreck. Instead, it was the best performance of the night on a night filled with very good performances. Angie’s first-round performance last week, “I’ll Stand by You” — even with the Boston dedication — wasn’t quite so special. Angie’s strength is her flair for performance. And no one in Season 12 has shown a greater knack at the big finishes Idol fans love so much.

2. Candice Glover (2): Is there any doubt Candice is the best singer among the Season 12 contestants? I don’t think so. And lost among all those splendid performances last week was the first of the night, that very imaginative arrangement of “Straight Up,” the old Paula Abdul hit. Candice might have to do that a couple more times to win. Idol viewers also love surprises. And, at this point, no one is going to be surprised if Candice stands behind a mic and delivers a beautiful cover of a well-known ballad.

3. Kree Harrison (3): No way Kree belonged in the bottom two last week. She’s simply been too consistently excellent to deserve that fate. Help might be on the way. Why? Because all those Janelle supporters might still vote. And they’re more likely to vote for Kree than anyone else among the final four. My suggestion to Kree: Use that free choice to pick a song you can rock out on. Too many of her performances have been laid-back solid rather than you-must-watch-this spectacular.

Insert photo of Amber Holcomb’s legs or the Grand Canyon here.

4. Amber Holcomb (5): In other words, I think there’s a very long drop, or a canyon-sized gap, between the top three and Amber. In other words, I’m not buying the crap the judges have been spewing about Amber being the second coming of Beyonce or Rihanna. Is she good? Yes. Is she in the same league with Angie, Candice and Kree, let alone Beyonce and Rihanna? Nope. That point was proved last week when she tried to tackle Mariah Carey’s “Without You” and came up way short. A fact most of the judges ignored. Of course.