American Idol Season 13: Top 13 Perform: This is Me
07 March, 2014 3:09 PM
After weeks of auditions, the dramatic Hollywood week and the intense Rush Week, Idol is finally down to 13 finalists, all vying to be the next American Idol. This week, they'll take on songs that represent who they are as artists, which is basically a free theme. Will they take advantage of it? .... This ... is American Idol!
Recap and videos after the jump ...
Dexter Roberts
"Aw Naw" - 5/10 - The contestants are being ambushed into telling us 5 things about themselves in 20s. He's scared of spiders, had braces, fell of a horse, got his first kiss on top of a slide, broke his finger playing football (must be honest, didn't understand most of what he said, made some guesses. Haha) He picked this song because it's a really fun song. Eh, I must disagree on that. This isn't a good song and he doesn't sound well on it either. It's pretty boring and verging towards karaoke. Keith says he couldn't fault it though Dexter needs to find a way to make it his own.
Malaya Watson
"Runaway Baby" - 2/10 - She's 5'2, she's afraid of dogs, plays a lot of instruments, wears glasses because she cannot see and loves everybody. She wants America to know that nothing is the same. She picked the song because it's really up like her. This is embarrassing to watch. I've no idea who thought this was a good idea. I mean, someone must have heard her rehearsing this song but she still went for it? Atrocious singing, the enunciation was such a disaster. JLo felt the performance was kinda eh and at the end it went off the rails.
Kristen O'Connor
"Beautiful Disaster" - 5,5/10 - Her best friends are quadruplets, loves swing dancing and she's really bad at all sports. She fails the challenge. Kristen says the song it's about herself, she thinks the song it's about putting yourself out there. She says she's got a lot to prove. The singing is pretty, minus some pitch issues during the chorus, but the problem with Kristen is that she wants to be so perfect, she fails to connect with the lyrics she's singing and if she cannot do it herself, how does she expect us to do so? Harry felt something was wrong with the in-ears, since he's heard her sing in tune before.
Ben Briley
"Folsom Prison Blues" - 7/10 - He can name every capital, loves to see the Vols, his favourite animal is the kangaroo (loves Keith Urban! lol), his really good at throwing rocks at things, he really wants to skydive and he has a superpower? He always open his gigs with this songs and since this is the start of his career, he's opening with it. The tempo is super fast but otherwise, I'm really enjoying this performance. His vocals are in tune and the fiddles added a nice twang to it, plus he performed with conviction. Keith loves that he did a Cash song. He felt the tempo was a little quick and thinks it was a little kitsch. Harry disagrees, it was his favourite performance so far.
C.J. Harris
"Radio" - 5,5/10 - He doesn't like climbing high things, hates icy roads, doesn't like the deer hunt, hate people with bad attitude and no personality and is really religious. He picked this song because he felt in love with it the moment he heard it on the radio. Song choice is predictable, CJ shines better when he picks songs with meaningful lyrics. I felt nothing on this one. "You have this kinda cry in your voice that I love to hear" Harry tells him. He wished he could've heard it tonight.
MK Nobilette
"Satisfaction" - 7,5/10 - She's a mediocre snowboarder, has played soccer her whole life and is an awesome goal keeper, loves "Single Ladies", wishes she was a dancer and dogs are her favourite thing in the world. Her song is different from the ones she's done before since it's not a ballad. Never heard this one. It fits MK I think, she sings it really well though there are some issues. She doesn't seem to have the confidence to pull it off. She needs to feel more comfortable when she's on stage, cause whenever she wasn't singing she looked lost, something Harry noted. Other than that, the performance was pretty cool, mainly because this was such a great, different song. JLo loved the song and how MK delivered it. She thinks it was really smart for her to do a song like that and show people a different sound of her.
Majesty Rose
"Tightrope" - 7,5/10 - She was born on a leap year (really 5 years old), is left handed, she longboards, does ballet and likes to make her hair bigger. She chose this song because there's a balance to everything in life and she's trying to find the balance between humility and confidence. Unlike "Happy", this felt a lot more like Majesty. She's giving us another cool, upbeat number. Her charisma is off the charts, she's definitely going places. I want her to go back to songs like "Violet Hill" though, that was superb, this was just pretty great. Harry's favourite thing about her is the mystery and how it's gonna unravel.
Jena Irene
"The Scientist" - 8/10 - Her hair is actually brown, she's best friends with her brother, favourite movie is The Wizard of Oz, her eyes are sometimes green and sometimes blue and she's really short. This was one of the first songs she learnt on the piano, when she was 9. She's not playing it tonight though. The arrangement was quite surprising, she didn't sing the song how I expected her to and it was that much better because of that. Her voice's intense sound really elevated the performance and helped her deliver the message plus the power with which she approached the chorus was gorgeous. The fact that she's like a powerhouse singer makes JLo angry but she loves it.
Alex Preston
"A Beautiful Mess" - 9/10 - He loves extreme sports, writes poetry, is a hopeless romantic and loves coffee. He fails, as well. He relates to the lyrics because he thinks life is a beautiful mess because when you are following your dreams you have to go through a lot of stuff. Wow. The slow, acoustic, intimate arrangement was simply gorgeous. Alex has such a great tone, it may be a bit too niche but I really hope people are connecting with him. He's so, so talented. Jillian Jensen and XF winners Alex & Sierra are in the house cheering for him. Harry felt it was so inward that he didn't really feel what he was singing about. Disagree.
Jessica Meuse
"The Crow & the Butterfly" - 9/10 - She likes hand sanitizer, is obsessed with the supernatural, likes ponies, has way too many animals and failed band. Loved how they used the word freak for everything she said. Haha. She's the crow chasing her dream. "Crows are beautiful" she says. This is such an amazing song choice for her. It worked so phenomenal with her gritty, folky vocals, my favourite part being when she harmonized with former Idol contestant Allison Iraheta (now background vocalist). Her body could relax a little, as JLo also pointed, but other than that, my fave of the night. Keith thought the song choice was very bold but cool. It reminded him of the first time they saw her during the auditions because of the dark, haunting tone of her voice. JLo got goosies everywhere and calls it her fave vocal performance of the night.
Emily Piriz
"Glitter in the Air" - 6,5/10 - She went to chef camp when younger (Gordon Ramsay's Protege!), her eyes change colors depending on her environment or her clothes and does a really cool whistle. She fails, though good ones. She picked this song because it's about taking risks and following your heart and that's what she's doing. She's such a great singer yet one with no direction. Last week she did a rock number, now she does a ballad. What's next? Country? Emily needs to pick a style and stick to it. That said, this genre worked beautifully for her. So maybe she has her pick right here. Harry thinks she sang the melody well and conveyed the emotions well.
Sam Woolf
"Unwell" - 6/10 - He's afraid of spiders, size 10 shoes, stepped on a sea urchin once, broke his ankle falling down the stairs and his middle name is Joseph. He thought this song showed this whole Idol experience and that he's not crazy for trying out for AI, he's just trying to live his dream. Again, perfect pitch, lovely tone. What this was missing was any kind of emotion. The chorus was so painfully languid. Sam needs to connect more if he is to win this. Harry thinks that the lyrics are so important in that song and wished that his vocals mirrored them. He wishes it was a little more messed up.
Caleb Johnson
"Pressure and Time" - 7,5/10 - He's brushing his teeth when ambushed. I will not get a single thing of what he says. Something about a cow, something about koala pancakes, favourite band is Rush, cross country team in high school and loves biscuits and gravy. He chose this song because this is the type of music he aspires to make if he ever makes a record. Wonderfully powerful vocals but unfortunately, I just can't see Caleb as a viable musician. He screams Vegas Rock of Ages to me and one that could be very successful. Maybe he can even mirror Adam Lambert's career, who knows. He needs to work on bringing something current. JLo feels he's so ready for the rock star life.
Ranking
- Jessica Meuse
- Alex Preston
- Jena Irene
- Majesty Rose
- MK Nobilette
- Caleb Johnson
- Ben Briley
- Emily Piriz
- Sam Woolf
- Kristen O'Connor
- C.J. Harris
- Dexter Roberts
- Malaya Watson
Results
Bottom 3:
MK Nobilette
Bottom 2:
Malaya Watson
Kristen O'Connor
Eliminated:
Kristen O'Connor
Kristen O'Connor
She sings for the save and while still really pretty, it's obvious from the get go she's not getting it. Connecting is important and that's the one thing she couldn't master.
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