American Idol Recap: In My Life

American Idol, Episode 20: "Top Nine Perform"

American Idol loves the Beatles.  Ever since they got access to the Lennon/McCartney and then Beatles catalog, they have done a Beatles night.  I'm not sure if this was the most successful Beathles theme night that they have ever had, but it did include some interesting, not expected song choices and only one really train wreck performance.  Unfortunately, that horrendous performance was by Lazaro Arbos and since people feel sorry for him, there is no way that he will go home yet.  Which is bad news for some of the other contestants.  Let's dive in to the top nin performances.

Kree Harrison kicked things off and did it in pristine vocal style.  I think sometimes Kree gets over shadowed by Angie and Candice, but you can't deny that she definitely has the chops to pull off a win. She sang "With A Little Help From My Friends" and I was a big fan of her countryfied version of the song.  They mentioned that she had a cold in her pre-packaged intro, but you wouldn't have known it.  I would say the one downside for Kree is that she is still working on her stage presence.  She still kind of meanders around the stage and is a little awkward, but all of that can be fixed with experience.  I mean, compare Carrie Underwood now to when she was on Idol and you wouldn't believe that they were the same person.  

Burnell Taylor had never heard "Let It Be" before, and he wasn't the only contestant who copped to haveing never heard a Beatles song before.  Seriously?  I felt ridiculously old and I felt a little sad.  How do you go that long without being exposed to the music of, arguably, the best band of all time.  You have to experience music that is outside of your preferences.  You have to be knowledgeable.  Ugh.  Sorry.  Rant over.  Burnell's actual performance was decent.  I'm a big fan of Burnell's tone.  It is very unique and it's not something that you hear much on the radio now, which is a shame.  It was one of my favorite Burnell performances, but I'm not sure if it was the moment that Jimmy was hoping for.

Amber Holcomb performed "She's Leaving Home."  It was a very unexpected song choice and because it was a deep cut, I wasn't as hard on her for not knowing the song.  Amber was the victim of some odd judging.  The judges were lukewarm about this performance.  I don't understand why.  I thought Amber was nuanced, understated.  She really interpreted the song.  I wasn't a big fan of the smoky staging and I chuckled at the rehearsal footage.  I'm hoping that America doesn't listen to the judges, because it would be a shame if Amber was sent home.

Lazaro Arbos was up next.  I'm not sure why they keep styling him like he is some 1950's teen idol or Ricky Ricardo as Nicki put it.  Lazaro's performance was just awful.  His voice was shaking worse than usual.  He was off pitch the entire time.  It is just time for him to go.  I understand that he is cute and people feel sorry for him, but that is not a reason to keep him in the competition.  Also, I'm not sure why Nicki is trying to blame Jimmy for Lazaro's horrendous performance.  I mean, you can blame Jimmy for a lot, just not this.  He was this bad back before he even met Jimmy.

Ugh, could Candice Glover be any more amazing?  Seriously.  Her version of "Come Together" was another phenomenal performance.  Will she ever put in a bad performance?  Will her string of stellar performances leave her apathetic to voters leading to an unfair, early, exit?  Questions to ponder.

Paul Jolley was the second victim of lackluster judging.  I really loved his subtle take on "Eleanor Rigby."  It was Paul's best performance that has the audience has seen.  He really took his time.  He built to something.  It was very mature and very un-Paul like.  He built to something in the song.  It was really good.  The judges though couldn't be bothered to do anything but read from their Uncle Nigel provided script.  Lame.

Angie Miller was up next.  She sang a pretty cover of "Yesterday."  Angie did a good job, but I worry about her sometime when she isn't behind the piano.  She seems like she is really focused on the camera and it pulls her out of her performance sometime. When she looks at the camera she begins to grin and when you are singing a song like "Yesterday" that can be detrimental.  I don't think that Angie has anything to worry about, but something that she should think about.

Devin Velez was next with "The Long and Winding Road."  It was pretty and he sang it well enough, but it was boring.  That is my main problem with Devin.  I start to doze off every time he sings and when he doesn't slip into Spanish there is nothing to stay awake for.  I mean, he definitely doesn't deserve to get voted off, but he needs to change it up if wants to finish behind Lazaro.

Janelle Arthur closed out the show with another deep cut, "I Will."  I have to say this was by far her best performance since she entered into the finals.  She finally lived up to the promise that she showed back when she first auditioned and I finally saw what Nicki has been raving about all season long.  I still don't think that Janelle has what it takes to finish before any of the other ladies, but if she keeps it up, she could definitely beat out the boys.

So, what did you guys think?  Had you all heard "Let It Be?"  Who do you think will be sent home?  Does Lazaro deserve to stay?  Hit me up in the comments.