Tonight and tomorrow night the American Idol 2013 votes are in your hands America. Up first tonight are the 10 girls that make up the Season 12 Top 20. Tomorrow night the 10 guys will sing and then on Thursday the 20 will be cut in half.
Now that we’re in the real competition (sort of), I’ll revive my grading scale for each performance. I’ll review each performance and assign it the letter grade I think it deserves. Oh, and be warned, I’ve decided to not be so easy on the contestants this season. So don’t be surprised if I don’t hold back.
And as always, you can chime in and let us know what you think in our comments section below.
The Top 20 Performances Night One: The Girls
Zoanette Johnson, What’s Love Got To Do With It. At least I according to the music, I think that was the song. As for the lyrics I wasn’t sure. I’ve been a Zoanette fan UNTIL tonight. First of all, don’t mess with Tina’s songs. Secondly, eeeeh. She went from being fun to just kind of bad. I was hoping to see her go to the Top 10, but I don’t think tonight’s going to do it. Grade: F (sorry, Zoanette! I still think you’re hilarious though).
Breanna Steer, Flaws & All. I haven’t really thought much of Breanna, but her cover of Beyonce’s Flaws & All may have changed my mind. I like her tone and the tenderness her voice had. And she has good stage presence. I don’t think the song may have been the best choice since it doesn’t lend itself to any big moments or notes (except for the end), but I still liked it. Grade: B+
Aubrey Cleland, Big Girls Don’t Cry. Eh. I think this was a horrible song choice for her. After your great performance last week, why would you pick Fergie? Ugh. Sing a big song! Half of you are getting cut! Why am I talking to her? Anyway, she’s talented and this wasn’t bad, but it was BORING. She’s better than this song. Grade: B-
Janelle Arthur, If I Can Dream. I like the song choice. I’m not sure if someone I’m unaware of has covered this, but I know it as an Elvis song. So I’ll say that was a risky choice for her. She may have wanted to do something a little more modern. But she should be fine with the votes. As for the vocals, that wasn’t really her best. Not bad, just not great. Grade: B
Tenna Torres, Lost. First of all, I have to say that I had to wait for her name to appear on my screen before I could remember her name. Not a good sign. Her performance night was pretty good, though. I mean it was sort of boring and I don’t know the song, but it wasn’t bad. Does she have what it takes to move on? I don’t think so. I think we’ll say goodbye to her Thursday. Grade: B
Angela Miller, Never Gone. It’s nice to see her at a piano. I like to see a real musician on my screen. Why she chose to sing a Colton Dixon song, however, is BEYOND me. It actually makes me kind of mad. No one knows this song, do they? And on top of that it didn’t even sound that good. Sorry, Angela, this was not a good way to follow up your past two performances, which were great. There’s a reason they didn’t give you the pimp spot this week. Zzzzzzzz. The song wasn’t a bad song, I just don’t think it was a good idea. Grade: B-
Amber Holcomb, I Believe In You And Me. Hm. If you’re going to do Whitney, you’ve got to REALLY do Whitney. And this wasn’t exactly Whitney. And they should’ve updated the arrangement. It sounded like it was being played on a Casio circa 1987. Grade: C+
Kree Harrison, Stronger. Is she a country singer? I didn’t think so, but this sure sounded like it. Her cover of Faith Hill’s Stronger was better than Janelle’s song, if we’re going to compare country artists. I think she’s got a much better sound, but if only one can go on, it sadly probably won’t be her. I liked it. Grade: A-
Adriana Latonio, Stand Up For Love. I think this was supposed to be good, but I thought it was awful. I didn’t know what the song was, but it was very cheesy. Basically the only good part was the last note. Had it not been for the note, this would have gotten an F. Grade: D
Candice Glover, Ordinary People. I never really imagined hearing her sing a John Legend song, but it was very good. Her performance was effortless and she was very connected. She’s immensely talented and I hope America does the right thing and puts her through. And Idol must think so too since she got the pimp spot of the night. Grade: A
I’m not feeling as strongly about the American Idol 2013 girls after tonight. Maybe I’m just being very picky. No one absolutely wowed me. Candice was the best of the night, clearly, but no one earned an A+ from me. I was waiting on that moment. Sigh. Oh well, these are just my opinions. What are yours? Let us know!
Update: We’ve added a photo gallery and a poll below. Vote for your favorites!
Im pulling for jannelle
I thought Breanna did a good job.
Is Nicki on some serious Xanax, or what?
Aubrey also did a good job, song choice could have been better. I like her though. The girls are so good, so why are they not being as good tonight?
Janelle did a great job. Rooting for her!!!!!
Agreed
Tenna did a good job, just did not entertain me.
Angie is so great! Finally, I was entertained! Loved it! My vote is for her. . .
Mine, too.:)
I disagree with most of these grades… haha just goes to show how opinions can vary.
Yep! Thankfully we’re all free to express our opinions! And thankfully we don’t always agree on everything! Life would be SO boring. 🙂
Janelle & Angela are the best……. love them both!
Angie was and is awful
You obviously are deaf and ignorant to what the judges have to say.
OH,THE IRONY
I’ll be voting for Kree this season.
sudden the guys look waaaaaay better. really awful night
I thought Briana Steer was fantastic and what stage presence she does have that it factor.
I thought janelle is the best.
is voting free if i call in on a cell phone,
“I got unlimted minutes” im just meaning does it cost to vote?
Candice is the obvious top choice… no matter what she’s got a spectacular career ahead of her…
Kree is amazing!!! I cant wait to see what the future holds for her:)
I want to hear her pull her pipes a little bit more. There’s just something in her voice that seems so powerful.
Candace Parker is the best female singer in the competition this year, and it’s not close. She is probably the best overall singer as well. Many good performances tonight, but Candace is vocally on a different level than everyone else.
Glover, not Parker. And yes, ITA, she did a very awesome job singing “Ordinary People” by John legend.:)
Whose Candice Parker????
I love Angie, like when she plays piano and i feel she can do really better if we gave her more time to express herself.
Loving both Kree and Janelle
Not to sound draconian, or harsh, but if other female viewers and critics don’t like the idea of a girl, or woman, winning the title of “American Idol”, then they can stay out of the way and let the producers do their thing to make it happen. That’s my thought.
Very underwhelmed as well…
I don’t get what’s so great about Adrianna?
It’s filipinos rooting for her that’s it
Top 5 – Candice, Kree, Angie, Tenna, Amber… (beat that!!!)
Breena – good song choice for her voice but not a stand out.
Aubrey – pretty but there’s nothing special in that performance, rather trying hard.
Adriana – except for the final note which is forced, everything seems mess up.
Janelle – slow ‘loungy’ country song…too safe…seen better.
Candice – this is one to beat (for the girls)…great rendition, great vocals of RnB jazzy flava.
Tenna – nice belting voice.
Angie – it fits her well, its like her very own song.
Amber – perfect song for her, great delivery…got the potential.
Kree – smooth with high upper range of voice…reminds me of Carrie Underwood.
Zoanette – there are moments that you could hear Fantasia when her voice got raspy, something gospel in it, but then again nothing special on her rendition. No wow factor there.
Of course these are just your opinions.Sorry but it seems like you’re sick of EVERYTHING.As for me, I liked Angela, Kree & Candice.
Agreed. Top 3 girls by a million miles.
Are you insane? No really, are you?! Angela is one of the best girls and absolutely pulled an A+ performance. The most relevant singer on the whole show.
Angela will definitely make it far, if not win the whole competition.
Loved Amber. I could listen to her for hours. She did Whitney proud and didn’t overpower the song.
Kree looked so much better in that reddish dress and nice necklace instead of the long men’s shirt the other day. I agree her tone is wonderful.
Joanette was a complete train wreck. When I think they put her through instead of Rachel Hale.
Top 5 girls could be: Amber, Candice, Janelle, Angie and Kree. but if there would be a wild card, it could be either Tenna or Aubrey
Agreed.
i think tenna and aubrey was good enough to be a wildcard.
but top 5 is same as u list
I think adriania was the worst and she need to go,.
I disagree i think the worst was zoanette.
I think zoanette was kind of entertaining though. She was pitchy but what I liked about her is her personality and the raspy powerful tone she blew at the end of her song. But I must say, the beginning of the song was horrible.
who was your fav?
rooting for Angie, Kree and Candice.. but based on the girls’ performances, Candice was ,by far, the best. And I do think that Angie Kree Amber and Candice already marked their spots to the Top 10. The fifth spot would either belong to Janelle or Tenna based on their performances. (But still rooting for Janell, though I ain’t sure if her performance would redeem her to the top 10.)
Im pulling for janelle asweel,
i think she has a good shot, since she;’s the only country person on the show*(:
Kree is also a country performer, isn’t she?
i dont think she is. i aint sure,
i didnt even remeber her to last night.
Yes Kree is country.
Top 5
Kree
Janelle
Angie
Candice
& Tenna
I thought amber wasnt good.
I hope a girl would take the crown this season. A guy consistently wins the competition. (since season 7)
Im hoping for angie or janelle
I’m kind of worried about Janelle if she could stay far in the competition. She should not focus with bland songs.. what I mean is that some her performances seems cabaret and loungy. I want to see her have wow moments on the show. Nevertheless, she’s one of my fave country singer (just next to Kree)
Oh Kree is country?
now im worried, cause the country vote may have went to her.
Janelle’s voice is like a mixture of country and indie while Kree is more of a current pop ballad country.. I think it won’t matter. They’ll be both through.
did anyone vote for adriana?
For me, Angie had a great performance, but if you would ask me if she had topped her hollywood performance (You set me free), I’d say no. It’s just so hard to follow that peak performance and I do think she will do best on original songs. That makes her a good singer-songwriter.
Janelle is so overrated! Skylar Laine of last season is WAY better than her. at some point I even thought Skylar was gonna win.
I think that Candice, Kree, and Angela are the only guaranteed ones. I think they should definately make top 10. I also think that Aubrey and Breanna should take the other 2 spots, I liked them. Amber was eh, Tenna was Bleh, and Adriana and Janelle were ouch.
i love janelle so far :)) wish her to be in top 5!!