It’s the Top 7 and the save hasn’t been used. Be afraid. Be very afraid. This week’s theme is Rock Songs (No Ballads), and I have to take that into account here, as some contestants are likely to do better than others at rock songs.
7) Lazaro Arbos- I think his time is up. He’s started to develop an attitude, and continues to blame other things for his poor performances (I didn’t know the song/lyrics, and didn’t have enough time). Look, the lack of knowledge on your part isn’t our problem. You’re the one that chose to compete on a major karaoke competition without knowing even basic themes, like Beatles songs. He also called Randy Jackson “boo” and butchered his group performance. He’s in way over his head, and I think America has finally gotten that in their heads. Plus, rock songs? UP TEMPO rock songs? I can’t see this theme working out for Lazaro.
6) Burnell Taylor- I gotta say, his performance last week was overrated (he added a M at the end of everything). He’s a better singer than Lazaro, but he’s gotta step up his game overall if he intends on outlasting a girl. I’m a little worried that rock week isn’t going to be the best week for Burnell, but I’m banking on Lazaro’s fanbase being tired with his whining at this point. What will be interesting is a Top 6 week and no save having been used, because then they’d have to use it, or finish a week early, or change the rules to allow the save to be used during Top 5 week. Regardless, I think Burnell has another week in him.
5) Amber Holcomb- The only girl to ever hit the bottom. Sure, she turned in an excellent performance last week, but this theme is “no ballads”, and Amber has basically only done ballads. This theme seems to not be working into Amber’s strong suit. She needs to step her game up if she plans on outlasting these girls, because Candice, Kree, and Janelle are all on upwards trajectories.
4) Angie Miller- Having an off week last week, and then laughing about it like you have no idea what the judges are talking about, isn’t exactly the way to keep yourself from being a shock elimination. Still, I think Angie has a better shot at being able to succeed on up-tempo rock week than Amber. Angie specifically needs a strategy to get back into the top 3, because Janelle has had two really strong weeks back-to-back, and can’t be counted out at this point.
3) Janelle Arthur- After dethroning Angie, Janelle could be moving into the top 2 if she continues the trajectory she’s been having. Idol often loves redemption arcs, and embraces the dark horse contenders (even if they only make it to 3rd place— Haley Reinhart comes to mind). Janelle is making a comeback, and she’s gaining more fans by doing it. She’s also already shown her desire/ability to perform up-tempo on the show, and there are plenty of southern rock songs she could do this week. She should definitely be safe.
2) Kree Harrison- Kree just doesn’t seem to be lighting as much of a fire as Candice does each week, and isn’t quite attacking each song like Candice. Honestly, last week probably both Kree and Candice weren’t as exciting as Janelle or Amber, but they are playing the “long game”, and have more of a consistent body of work to back up their rankings. Still, Kree has to outshine Candice at some point if she plans on surpassing her. She just feels one step behind every week to me.
1) Candice Glover- Candice vocally slays every song she performs. Her energy was a little low last week, but that’s really my only complaint. I wonder if she can keep this up for another 7 performance shows though. Kree is nipping at her heels, and Janelle finally has her game face on. All the girls are waiting for a boring Candice performance, and the chance to knock her down a few pegs. I don’t think this is the week. I’m waiting for another ridiculous theme, like Andrew Lloyd Webber week or something.
