American Idol XIII – Idol Chat with M&M – The Top 8 Strike Back!

Mac & MJ compare their American Idol Top 8 Redux power lists! How would you rank the Idols?

MAC: 1) Alex Preston- After leading my power list for weeks, Alex decided to close the show last week with an original song. If that didn’t 100% solidify his front-runner status, then I don’t know what did. Plus, it charted pretty high on Itunes (Top 40, I believe). Alex will undoubtedly change up an 80’s hit this week. Hopefully it’s not another I Don’t Wanna Be.

MJ: 1) Alex Preston – Alex is on a roll. The designated “true artist” of American Idol XIII appears to have a similar trajectory to season 11 winner,  Phillip Phillips, who was also crowned thusly, at the time, by Jlo and her fellow judges.  If I were a betting person, my money would be on Alex for the win. Although, that could change in the coming weeks, in a season where viewers just ain’t that invested.

MAC: 2) Jena Irene– I’m going bold with Jena here. She’s been having an absolutely fantastic past couple of weeks, and it is literally impossible to ignore her. She may have been in the bottom in the past, but that was old Jena. New Jena is a force to be reckoned with… providing she never takes a step backward.

MJ:  3) Jena Irene – That is bold. I wasn’t in love with her “Rolling in the Deep” arrangement, but it did show originality and a willingness to take a risk. She won’t end up in the bottom again, but her performances are still too shaky for me to rank her second.

MAC: 3) Caleb Johnson –I think Caleb should heed Harry’s advice and think about showing the softer side soon. The last time he did, it was Skyfall, and it was mindblowing. If Caleb can recreate that moment, he’ll be in the game for sure.

MJ: 4) Caleb Johnson – Caleb has been awesome, but I agree he needs to shake things up a little so he doesn’t fall victim to the Chris Daughtry syndrome.  He has potential to be a shock boot one of these weeks. His song pick this week, “Faithfully,” although not a terribly creative choice, could do the trick if he sings the crap out of it.

MAC: 4) Jess Meuse- Has never been in the bottom 3. That’s important. She also just performed an original song. Her audience seems to love her, even when she’s coasting. 80’s week could be awesome for her.

MJ: 2) Jess Meuse –  Jess’ ability to stay out of the B3, even when she’s delivered so so performances, likely means she has a very loyal fan base. She killed it last week, with what I believe, was one of the strongest performances of the night. She’s proven herself to be a talented songwriter.  She’s behind her fellow artist, Alex, at #2.

MAC: 5) Dexter Roberts– I think he definitely did himself a favor last week and showed America he can actually sing, which they might have forgotten. 80’s week makes me curious. I’m not entirely sure how this will work out for him. Hopefully he finds a strong song to perform.

MJ: 5) Dexter Roberts – Blargh. Maybe I should rate him higher after his strong performance last week. But he’s too inconsistent. He only seems to land with ballads, and he can’t sing them every week.

MAC: 6) Malaya Watson- Malaya has the benefit this week of not being Sam or CJ. Going forward, she’ll need to figure out how to prove herself as an artist and not just a singer, because the five people above her have more artistry than her. At some point, her personality will stop carrying her.

MJ: 6) Malaya Watson:  The young singer has nabbed the “most improved” arc.  Who doesn’t love a trier? If she keeps improving, she could move up the list. I disagree a little here. I think her recent song interpretations DO reveal artistry.  She’s just a bit unformed at this point. If Malaya were a few years older, she could have been a real contender.

MAC: 7) Sam Woolf- Sam was saved, after having been in the bottom the week before, so I’m not sure if the save will actually mean anything in the long run. I do think that people are tired of seeing CJ, so Sam will get a reprieve this week, but I’m not even sure Sam can escape the bottom 3 this week. If not, it’ll show how big of a waste the save really was.

MJ: 7) Sam Woolf – If Idol history holds, on the heels of being the recipient of the judges save, Sam will be safe this week. The bad news is, somebody more worthy of a second chance could be booted this week.  If Sam doesn’t improve, his Idol reprieve will be short lived.

MAC: 8) CJ Harris – It seems as though CJ’s time on Idol is coming to an end. He’s been in the bottom consecutively, and the “Idol Chatter” is that people are done with CJ. Many felt CJ should have gotten the axe last week, and most agree he wouldn’t have been saved. You don’t want to be the contestant that overstays their welcome, and if CJ survives this week, he will have done just that.

MJ: 8) CJ Harris – His Idol journey so far has been super-cat like. I’ve predicted his demise numerous times so far, and he always manages to escape, no matter how jarringly off key or weird his performances are. Has his time finally run out? I hesitate to say yes. But, yeah. Maybe.

About SirMac 241 Articles
Contributor to mjsbigblog.com. EIC of macthemovieguy.com, Contributor at houseofgeekery.com. Holds a BA in Film from the University of Central Florida.