American Idol 14 Top 5 Soul Songs/Judges Hometown Song Suggestions (UPDATED)

MLB_2362_hires2

This week, April 29 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed), on American Idol, the Top 5 will each sing two songs. One song will define the singer’s “soul” and the other will be based on the judges respective hometowns. What do YOU think the Idols will choose to sing?

Update. Warning! Spoiler alert!

JAX has revealed her song choices for this week! Check them out.
1- Human, by Christina Perri
2- Empire State Of Mind, by Alicia Keys and Jay-Z
(CALLED IT!)

I wonder what happened to the rumored Katherine McPhee song she said she was doing. I bet someone steered her away from it and she had a last minute switch.

Some other notes about JAX’s performances: Based on her tweeting clues, it seems Empire will be performed at the piano (!!!!), while Human will be sang straight up as is. My first impression? Excellent song choices! This could be JAX’s week! Alicia has a fantastic piano version of Empire that will be everything JAX needs in this competition if she pulls it off.

Another Note: Nick Fradiani revealed he will be doing a song by Matchbox Twenty song! Unwell? 3am? Some good songs to chose from there.

——
Hey guys, Adam here with another batch of song suggestion! I hope you enjoy my list this week!

I feel like I say this every week, but once again, we find ourselves facing yet another bizarrely vague theme week. “Songs That Define Your Soul/I Am Who I Am”? I don’t want to trash the show or anything, but… WHAT?! What kind of songs are the contestants supposed to base their picks off with such an odd theme? That theme is as vague as the antagonist of Game Of Thrones! Are the producers basically just handing the contestants a free pick theme, because that is what it sounds like to me. Do You Want To Date My Avatar is my soul song, and if I was on idol I would totally bust that song out this week, just saying.

As vague as the first theme is, the second is just as worse! “Songs From The Judges Hometown” is just an excuse to have more shtick from the judges, keeping the focus off the contestants. In that sense, it is kind of fitting that Harry will be performing this week. I hate to say it, but this week is totally whack! I wish Quentin Alexander was still around to sing Gives You Hell to Harry…

With another theme week that is super vague, please keep in my mind that these are simply suggestions, so take it all with a grain of salt. These themes are killing me guys. Lets just get on with the suggestions.

Note: Despite Keith Urban being from Australia, his hometown this week was assigned as Nashville to the contestants.

Clark Beckham

I love Clark behind the piano. I picked some songs for him that I think will play to his strengths and I think he can do great things with.

“Soul Songs”

0- This Is My Now, by Jordin Sparks. Just kidding XD
1- The Riddle, by Five For Fighting. Please Clark
2- Say Something, by A Great Big World
3- I’ll Stand By You, by Pretenders
4- All Of Me, by John Legend
5- Try A Little Tenderness, by Otis Redding

“Songs From The Judges Hometown”

1- Seven Nation Army, by The White Stripes (Urban)
2- Use Somebody, by Kings of Leon (Urban)

JAX

Picking songs for JAX this week was super fun. There are some great songs that I think she can really shine on with the soul theme. As for her songs from the judges hometown, being from Jersey, I think she will probably go with a song from New York, as it is closest.

“Soul Songs”

1- Iris, by The Goo Goo Dolls
2- The Scientist, by Coldplay
3- Gravity, by Sarah Bareilles
4- You Raise Me Up, by Josh Groban
5- Black Horse And The Cherry Tree, by K.T. Tunstall (JAX revealed in an interview that she will be doing an iconic Katherine McPhee song, which she performed sitting down and that is not Somewhere Over The Rainbow. She described it as her second most iconic song. This is my guess with the hints shes been giving, but I hope I am wrong and it is Someone To Watch Over Me).

“Song From The Judges Hometown”

1- Bridge Over Troubled Waters, by Simon and Garfunkel (Lopez)
2- Empire State Of Mind, by Alicia Keys and Jay-Z (Lopez)

Nick Fradiani

I am honestly blown away by the progress Nick has been making this season. Of all the contestants, by far he has been the most consistent, and I am just so excited to see what he does next. It is between him and JAX for who is going to be in the finale, and right now I think it is a pretty close race.

“Soul Songs”

1- Yellow, by Coldplay
2- Ho Hey, by The Lumineers
3- I Will Wait For You, by Mumford and Sons
4- What About Now, by Daughtry
5- Wherever You Will Go, by The Calling

“Songs From The Judges Hometown”

1- New York State Of Mind, by Billy Joel (Lopez)
2- The Boxer, by Simon and Garfunkel (Lopez). This could be amazing.

Rayvon Owen

Rayvon is still here! I’m so happy for him, and am just amazed how well he performs under all that pressure. Every time people write Rayvon off, he just keeps coming back stronger with great performances. I’m Not The Only One was in my top 3 of best performances last week, and I hope we get another great performance from him this week.

“Soul Songs”

1- Stay With Me, by Sam Smith
2- Budapest, by George Ezra
3- When I Was Your Man, by Bruno Mars
4- A Thousand Years, by Christina Perri
5- Titanium, by David Guetta (feat. Sia)

“Songs From The Judges Hometown”

1- Thinkin’ ‘Bout You, by Frank Ocean (Connick)
2- What A Wonderful World, by Louis Armstrong (Connick)

Tyanna Jones

My guesses for Tyanna’s soul songs are really just a shot in the dark. I just really picked songs I think she could do well with, but I doubt she will ever perform any of them on Idol. I worry for her this week, so I hope she has some great songs lined up to keep her in this thing.

“Soul Songs”

1- Human, by Christina Perri
2- Ghost, by Ella Henderson
3- Anything Could Happen, by Ellie Goulding
4- Landslide, by Fleetwood Mac
5- Take A Bow, by Rihanna

“Songs From The Judges Hometown”

1- Anyway, by Martina McBride (Urban)
2- To Make You Feel My Love, by Bob Dylan (Lopez)

Thats all I got, I hope you enjoyed it! Think there is a song a contestant HAS to sing this week? Sound off in the comments! If you liked what you read and want to show your appreciation, following me on Twitter at @adamhsamuel would be awesome.

About Adam Samuel 151 Articles
Contributing Writer/Researcher at mjsbigblog.com I'm a typical college student balancing a journalism major with my love for reality singing shows.