Idol Chatter & Voice Views

What a difference a week makes.

Last week, I was ready to write off American Idol Season 12. The Idols were collective … well, not great … on “Home” night.

Jena Irene performs “Decode” during Wednesday’s episode of American Idol. (FOX Photo)

But on Wednesday, the 11 remaining Idols took on songs from the movies.

And most of them found their groove.

C.J. Harris, Malaya Watson and M.K. Nobilette were vastly improved.

Harsh Harry wasn’t nearly so harsh.

And I had to watch three performances back to determine my favorite of the night. That seldom happens.

On with the roundup.

Best of the night: Jena Irene (Asciutto) needed a knockout performance after landing in the bottom three last week and delivered just that. Sitting behind her piano, she sang “Decode,” showcasing her unique tone on the soft parts of the song, showing off her vocal firepower when the tune swelled. I’m with Jennifer. No way does she belong in the bottom three on this show. The top three perhaps. But not the bottom three.

Jess Meuse performs “The Sound of Silence during Wednesday’s episode of American Idol. (FOX Photo)

Runners-up: Jess Meuse has one of the most pleasingly distinct voices on the show and turned in a very fine performance of “The Sound of Silence,” even if the band did try its best to screw her up. A brilliant song choice, and her best performance to date. And Caleb Johnson continued a string of solid performances, singing an Adele song (“Skyfall”) of all things, showing nice control, then delivering one of the night’s most memorable finishes.

Worst of the night: If you’re going to cover a song as well known as the Academy Award winning “Let It Go” from “Frozen,” you’d better be dead-on vocally. Majesty Rose was anything but. She was barely discernible when the song began, then got on stage and started screaming at us. After the last two weeks, Majesty might be best off going back to her guitar-playing, singer-songwriter vibe.

Please keep them: Jena Irene falls here, only because she needed a wild card spot and then wound up among the lowest three vote-getters a week ago. But I’m also hoping Ben Briley survives an off night and some of the night’s most critical feedback from the judges. I did not love his version of “Bennie and the Jets.” But the guy shows no fear when it comes to changing up songs, and that will pay off in the long run.

Ben Briley performs “Bennie and the Jets” Wednesday night on American Idol. (FOX Photo)

Baffled by the judges: They continue to be way too kind to M.K. Granted, she was much, much better this week. But, by Idol standards, her vocal was still just average. And she tried nothing special with the oft-done “Make You Feel My Love.” Dexter Roberts and Sam Woolf were chastised for not changing up their songs enough; M.K. got a free pass.

Judges’ line of the night: Jennifer to Caleb Johnson: “We’re seeing great performances tonight, so I’m very excited. This is what I’ve been waiting for you from you for you …” And then Jennifer stopped talking, realizing she’d tied herself into a verbal knot. I shouldn’t be too tough on her, though, most of her critiques were right on the mark.

Best cameo: Randy Jackson is being given less and less to do each week. Thank you, Idol. This week, he was seen wearing Malaya’s trumpet right before her performance. Perhaps that’s the best use of Randy yet in Season 13.

What should happen Thursday: On a night when front-runners (Sam Woolf, Ben Briley, Majesty Rose) stumbled a bit … well, I find it tough to put them at the bottom based on one off night. My bottom three would be Dexter Roberts, M.K. Nobilette and Malaya Watson, with one of the ladies going home. While much improved, I can’t envision either winning the show.

What will happen: Anyone’s guess. But if Jena Irene lands in the bottom three again after that performance, I might throw something at my TV.
Given that Malaya performed last and received solid critiques, my guess is that M.K. is the contestant most in danger of elimination.