Mac and MJ compare American Idol 13 Top 5 power lists! Share YOURS in comments!
MJ: 1) Alex Preston – Welp. Alex has made it back to the top of my list! Last week, “Sweater Weather” was a solid performance, while “Say Something” was an emotional tour de force. Alex has a very good chance of taking the crown. He continues to be the “true artist” of season 13. Even voting No on Thursday’s “Idol Twist” will not hurt him, thanks to Caleb Johnson, whose use of a slur while dissing his fans during a post-show interview started a new controversy.
MAC: 1) Alex Preston– It’s gotta be Alex at this point. I think Jena will give him a good run for his money, but Alex has proven himself week in and week out. Even if he turns out to be the most boring winner since Lee Dewyze, he’s clearly America’s choice. And he didn’t just call his fanbase a bunch of retards.
MJ 2) Jena Irene – Jena also said no to keeping the group together, but it won’t hurt her either. It helped that she was completely forthright and honest about saying no and why. She readily admitted that when given so little time to make a decision, she voted in her own self-interest. Honest and smart. It also didn’t hurt that her energetic and well-sung performance of “My Body” was praised by the judges. “Valerie” didn’t go over as well, but not so poorly that it will hurt her.
MAC 2) Jena Irene – I’m excited to see Jena fight for her spot in the finale. I think she will, and there’s even a small sliver of a chance she’ll win. Alex doesn’t always pick the right songs, just like Jena. In a weird world where Alex picks all the wrong songs, and Jena picks all the right songs, she could win American Idol.
MJ: 3) Jessica Meuse – The judges seem to be finally embracing Jessica, and with good reason. Both songs “Human” and “Summertime Sadness” were right in her wheelhouse and perfect for her vocal abilities. The judges noted how connected she was during her performance. Jessica even smiled during her duet with Caleb! And, she got more votes than Teen Dream, Sam Woolf. She has a very good chance of heading home to Slapout next week for that hometown visit because….
MAC: 3) Jessica Meuse– Maybe America wants to see Slapout, Alabama. They’re probably going to. I think Jess might still go home this week, because Caleb’s comments don’t gain nearly enough traction, and the judges seem to hate Jess more than the others left.
MJ: 4) Caleb Johnson – After Caleb sang “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” badly for last week’s “America’s Choice round, he went on to complain about how he hated the song, and what a bad choice his fans made. A day later, in another interview, he called fans who sent him song suggestions “r*tards” and made jokes about hookers and cocaine. Because the video ended up on the front page of Yahoo, it now has more than 60K views. Caleb’s “non-apology” afterward actually made the situation worse, I think. Wednesday’s fabulous show ending performance of “Still of the Night” may be all for naught. He moves from first place to last in one week. Unless he releases another apology that’s actually heartfelt, AND kills both his songs on Wednesday, with no excuses, he could be in big trouble.
MAC: 4) Caleb Johnson – I would send him home on principle. He blabbed about how he hated America’s choice for him, and then called his fans ‘retards’ in an interview. His apology was awful, basically saying he didn’t mean to call his good fans ‘retards’, just the bad ones. The crazies. Mmmhmmm. I don’t care if he resurrects Freddie Mercury on stage, I’m never voting for Caleb again. A second apology at this point would obviously be forced. He had his chance to apologize, and he messed it up. It’s time he was sent home.
