It's the top five, y'all! America figured out what the judges knew all along, and this year's winner will be a woman - this week they are bringing two songs - one from the year that they are born, and the other is categorized as a "diva" tune... hmmmm...

Candice: "Straight Up" - This arrangement is pretty cool, and I would say that 85% of the time her alternate melodies/riffing and scatting worked - but sometimes it wasn't there. And I got dizzy from the camera work. Over the time of the song though, it didn't really go anywhere - but the place it already was was pretty amazing.

Janelle: "When I Call Your Name" - This is a perfect song choice for her, and the chorus is in the sweet spot for her voice. She may not win, and is likely to go home tomorrow just based on the overall competition, but this pick is her, being the best that she can be, with the best music for her voice and personality.

Kree: "She Talks to Angels" - This almost worked. It seemed like she was unable to really enter the song's lyrics - her brow was furrowed quite a bit which I had never noticed before in previous songs. Great last note, but ultimately, I think this might be a problem for her - it wasn't quite there for me.

Angie: "I'll Stand By You" - This was fantastic - probably the most mature performance I've seen her give. Obviously the emotion of the Boston dedication makes it extra special, but beyond that the performance was fantastic.

Amber: "Without You" - I know this is building to that big chorus, but it's a pretty big risk, because so far, prior to that point, this is just boring. And when she got to the high notes, she was pushing. I am a fan of hers, but this was not her best moment. Just tried to take to big a bite of the piece of pie.

Candice: "When You Believe" - I love this song, and it was a perfect song for her to Diva out on. Fantastic. Send her to the finals.

Janelle: "Dumb Blonde" - I don't really know this Dolly song, but wouldn't it have been better for her to do Dolly's arrangement of "I Will Always Love You" - since she wrote it, and then you get the Whitney love too. Well, strategy aside, this unmemorable song seemed like a country version of Pat Benatar, and it didn't really work for me. Great ending though, good spunk. Probably going home.

Kree: "Have You Ever Been in Love" - This was very good for her, even though the style wasn't anything like what we're used to with her. I think this week ends up being pretty uneven for her, even in the midst of some good performances.

Angie: "Halo" - What she is doing with this lower register part of the song is exactly what the judges were wanting from the earlier competitors. It's great and with feeling and emotion even though she can't really hit the notes. Here's why this pick is brilliant - she's basically telling the world, hey, don't be fooled by my piano playing and the color of my skin - I have a voice that's just as rich and R&B ready as Candice or Amber or even Kree. I was really impressed with this one.

Amber: "What Are You Doing With The Rest of Your Life" - This is so much better for me than her first song. Great offspeed pitch - only question is, will the song itself be as memorable as Funny Valentine was, as a song? Tough to be memorable with this tune up against Halo and When You Believe.

Random notes and thoughts:
The key to a tighter close up shot for the judges: ridiculous cleavage. Take note, Keith.
Nicki to Mariah: "Simmer down... sir" - classic.
Jimmy Iovine needs a spot at the table for Pete's sake, he's been the surrogate Simon for a few seasons now.
I know that Mariah is for the most part a non-contributor in the judging department, but I did enjoy the diva-love that was sent her way with the back to back song tributes, and her performances over time are worthy of such celebration. So it was nice to see her get her props, even accidentally from Nicki.
The judges really liked Kree's choices a lot more than I did. When Keith said again that she was country, it was a reminder - if you just started watching tonight, you'd not have a clue that she was country. That may not be a bad thing, but I don't agree with the judges that it's a good thing.
I don't think Kree's missteps will put her in the bottom two. Mainly because without them, Amber's been in the bottom before. So I think the bottom two are Janelle and Amber, and Janelle's going home. But if Amber goes home, everyone on the judges' table will be outraged, and Janelle will become the new Lazaro.

Here we are, 6 left and only 1 guy... and it's the guy who probably should already be home... so let the catfight begin! (is anyone reading this anymore?) Here are my thoughts, uttered before the judges wax semi-philosophical...

Angie: "Anyone Who Had a Heart" - This is kinda Milquetoast to me - not really tranforming the song to her own style, feels really adult contemporary and not great. Good thing she has another song.

Amber: "Say a Little Prayer" - Half of this song really worked, and half of it fell to the same adult contemporary dilemma - she attacked it with more passion, but seriously, whose idea was Bacharach songs? If you needed more ammo for the charges that AI was fading into obscurity... just listen to the "locked in the 70s" songs...

Lazaro: "Close to You" - a little flat on one of those notes... apparently Kristi knows every word to this song and insisted on singing with Lazaro so I couldn't really hear his performance. Oh and also it was totally boring, and he didn't hear the key change at all, so that was a little scary. Lazaro is like Sanjiya was except that we all feel bad for him because he stutters.

Kree: "What the World Need Now Is Love" - She is handling the style better than anyone else so far, mainly because she chose to start the song acapella - once the horns kicked in, though, it was back to dated and old fashioned. What are they doing to this show?

Janelle: "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" - She was running this like she was at her concert or at her own variety show - but still, in an arrangement that doesn't cater to her strengths. Still, she sounded good. But man am I getting jaded on Burt Bacharach - and I like his music! But how about Elvis Costello's arrangement of this song instead?

Candice: "Don't Make Me Over" - This was good, mainly because she's amazing, and she picked a song that was performed previously by Dionne Warwick in a style that matched what Candice does really well. This was the best version of any of the Bacharach songs, but I'll speak to that issue later after this is all done. It was very good.

And now we shift to "songs the singers wish they had written"...

Angie: "Love Came Down" - a song she wished she had written is a worship tune by Kari Jobe, and wow - that's pretty gutsy. The mix was a little off and I wanted to hear more of her vocal and less of the BGVs, but this is definitely in her wheelhouse. Great stuff.

Amber: "Love on Top" - A bit of a shaky start, but she is getting into the groove - a surpising uptempo song for this theme. The pre-chorus really sold it - she has a great range that is super-confident. I think this played much better live and in the room than it did toward the end of the number on TV. Didn't end well.

Lazaro: "Angels" - After the train wreck of the first song, the judges are likely going to praise this song as being much better than it actually was - the chorus was good, but he spent way too much time in this arrangement in his lower register. Please America, let it be a top female five...

Kree: "Help Me Make It Through The Night" - She really tapped into to her inner K.D. Lang with this one. This was just okay for me - the arrangement kept it moving when I would have wanted it to feel more intimate, more private and emotional. I think that this was more of an emotional pick for her, and she probably needed a more strategic pick for a song that would really push her past her very capable competition.

Janelle: "The Dance" - This was a good honest performance for her. Tough to have to follow Kree, but I think that she held her own really well.  All except for the very last note - it got a little shaky at the end. Overall though, I thought it worked.

Candice: "Love Song" - this was fantastic. Granted, she's aping Adele's arrangement of this song, but still, it's so unique to her in her performance - fantastic. She should win - they should hand her the award right now and close up shop.

Okay - here's the thing - with a style so specific as "songs by Burt Bacharach", the show needed him there, like they have had in the past. Or at least we need to see these young singers paired with someone who is going to teach them about the style, about the era, about what it takes to pull off these melody intensive songs, and show us, through video, that they are taking this seriously and that, yeah, they should be cut some slack because they're stepping into an arena that they are unfamiliar with, but that because they are great vocalists, they can do it. But instead, we got no video, no set up of who Bacharach even is, absolutely nothing to prepare the audience for "hey this is some old-timey stuff, but you're still going to like it." - I knew almost all of the songs, but with no setup, almost all of them fell flat, and it really made this show look like a "phone it in" moment, which, given the general lack of pop culture conversation about AI, plus the surge of "The Voice", well, this is not good for this 12 year old franchise. Yes, AI is super-influential, but the goal is an entertaining show - and what they did with this phoned-in theme was lackluster and not entertaining.

Lazaro must go... And if he doesn't, then the save gets used for sure, so either way, the ladies are staying put for another week.

Here we are - back to form, chatting about American Idol - I took a week off of my blog for spring break, and with "the Voice" starting last week, Idol's ratings took a break too! Nonetheless, still a top 10 show and worth a brief snarky commentary from yours truly - uttered as always, before I've heard any of the judges comments...

Burnell: "You Give Love a Bad Name" - No to that jacket. This was a brutal pick, I want Orianthi to advance on this one. If he looked and sounded any more uncomfortable, they would have to pack him up for the wax museum.

Lazaro & Angie: "This Thing Called Love" - This is like Donnie and Marie but Donnie got replaced by that guy who stutters from Cuba that I can't make fun of because I would be making fun of a stutterer. This thing called love was no good.

Kree: "Piece of My Heart" - yes please. So I guess everyone is required to go stand near the blond axe player, huh? I thought she might go for a Heart song, but I'm glad she did this, showed that this is actually a great song, and that her voice shows no strain attacking a song that lives that long that high in her range. Killed it.

Candice & Burnell: "The Letter" - this is the kind of thing Burnell should have done for his solo piece. That's gonna cost him, because I don't think he can steal teenybopper votes from Lazaro. This was really good, but I was also kind of done with it after the first minute. Again a weird song to turn into a duet, lyrically.

Janelle: "You May Be Right" - perfect arrangement for her for this song. this was very good, but it isn't going to blow anyone away - it keeps her still in the hunt during a week that could have really caused her to stumble. Nice ending with the octave up - didn't see that coming!

Lazaro: "We Are the Champions" - okay, this is pretty close to a ballad, isn't it? Okay I can't make fun of his stutter, but can I make fun of "we are the shampions?" - One thing about him is that he doesn't smile when he sings. Ever. He actually attacked this song fairly well, but where is the joy? He is one of the champions, isn't he? I think they will give him lots of praise to be in line with the fact that he's stayed in the competition so far.

Amber, Janelle, Kree: "It's Still Rock & Roll to Me" - What is up with Angie's jeans? I can really take or leave all these duets and trios, it's just so obviously filler for the competition. I think they need a new idea for this.

Candice: "Satisfaction" - Ummm Orianthi, that's not how the guitar lick goes. I thought she attacked this song fairly well - The Rolling Stones have always been secret R&B influenced, so it works- My only thing is that you only have two shades, the chrous and the verse, it's pretty repetitive. She is so amazing that even though it was probably her worst performance of the show so far, it was still pretty darn good.

Amber: "What About Love" - I'm just gonna say that this is also a ballad. And in Heart's catalogue, it was practically pop more than rock. But she did very well with her rendition, just kept on wailing. Of the ladies who had to make the switch to rock, I think she did the best.

Angie: "Bring Me to Life" - Ooh, this is going to be good I think. And it really was, until the chorus. It was like it had taken all the tension and mystery that was present in the verse, and just kind of sat on it. The bridge got better, but then there's just something about the chorus that isn't working - until the end note - big finish + fan blowing the long curly hair = ROCK.

So what can one say about this week? Here's what I say: Lazaro must go, but Burnell might instead. We are still not going to see a lady leave...