AI Season 12- Top 3 Performance

So, tonight we have the Hometown Visits, which were instituted back in Season 2 (I think- I'm pretty sure they didn't do it in Kelly Clarkson's season). We get a bit of advance excitement, jets, parades, flowers, and tears. Same old same old.

Nicki is in pink and cleavage. What might be her own actual hair has been crimped and curled in an unusual manner, with lots of black root showing. Mariah is wearing a white knit belly shirt with a scalloped hem, and a low-slung white pleated semi-full skirt with a scalloped hem. I do believe that she's been working on the abs. Randy is in a black leather jacket with a red felt R stuck haphazardly to the lapel. Keith is in a faded purple tee. Ryan is wearing a pewter suit, a baby blue striped shirt with a white collar, and a baby blue tie.

Since each of the girls is singing three songs tonight (one chosen by Jimmy Iovine, one chosen by the judges- all together, agreeing on something, imagine that, and one chosen by the producers), we get right down to business.

#1. JI has chosen Perfect for Kree. She's wearing blue jeans with one holey knee, a black top, and a shorter white jacket with gold trim on the lapels. And stiletto booties (bootielettos). Her tone is excellent and she's connecting with the audience well (something Kree has had trouble doing). This is a very good performance.
K: Kree is a country girl, with a signature sound
N: warm sweet voice, but the song was too short, recommends that Kree wear flats so she can dance around the stage more
R: yo, didn't love the song choice, acknowledges that Kree wasn't responsible for that
M: babbles on and on about herself

#2. JI has chosen U2's One for Candice. She's wearing a leopard print top which is gathered between the boobs, a black leather bolero with shirred sleeves, black pants, and a sparkly chain necklace. Candice sings effortlessly as always, but it wasn't a great song for her.
N: loved her secret husband's song choice, Candice did the song justice
R: in it to win it
M: babble babble
K: great song choice, felt every bit of the emotion

#3. JI has chosen Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word for Angie. She's wearing a black leather and spandex dress with cut-in shoulders, which manages to be both longer and looser than the stuff she usually wears. Tonight Angie has straight hair. The stage floor fills with smoke, and Angie is not sitting at the piano, which  makes no sense since they're always after her to play, and this is an Elton John song. At any rate, she sounds fine until she gets to the high notes, which make my ears bleed.
R: wow wow wow, and then harps on the lack of piano so much that it makes Angie visibly uncomfortable
M: refers every comment back to herself, as usual
K: should have held back a little more
N: loves the dress and shoes, thought there wasn't quite enough emotion in the performance

Jimmy Iovine Opines: Kree was good but not as good as she should have been, Angie was stellar even without the piano, Candice was good but Angie took the round.

During the Judge's Choice Round, the girls will sing in a different order, and we'll see clips from each hometown visit.

#4. Candice is wearing a royal blue zip-front top and matching zip-front jacket (with lapels, it's not a windbreaker), over wildly patterned black and white pants, and platform patent leather boots. This time, she's wearing a heavy silver medallion necklace, and big hoop earrings with lots of sharp pokey-points like they are some kind of Ninja weapon.

On her trip to her South Carolina island home we see: rain, crowds, cheering, greeting of the former boss, a staged answering of the phone, riding on a Vespa-like scooter, cousins, family, tears, limo, cheering, more tears, concert, and Candice Glover Day.

The judges have chosen Next to me, by Emily Sunday (Sandy? Sundae?). I don't know this song, but I like it, and as usual, Candice's performance is easy and comfortable.
M: A+mazing (Me: that's exactly what Mariah said: A plus mazing), Candice was obviously re-energized by her home visit
K: the opening lyrics were a perfect confession, and Candice ended in the zone
N (teary and barely able to talk): came out swinging
R: congratulates himself and the show for choosing that song

#5. Angie is wearing black pants, and a black sleeveless top with gold and red trim down the center front. Her dorky brother joins her on stage for a bit.

On her visit to Beverly, Mass, we see how being from a Big Town is not quite as moving on these hometown visits. No one meets Angie at the airport, and her crowds are markedly smaller than either of the other girls'.  But still, there were: TV green screens, waving at empty streets from limos, lots of Boston Strong signs, coffee shop, very small crowd, squealing friends, elementary school, screaming small children adorably presenting dandelion bouquets, parents and brother (no other family that I saw), snuggly kitty, parade people walking along with the car, good crowd for concert, song with brother, tears.

I missed the title of the song that the judges chose for Angie, but it's fierce. I'm never going to love Angie's voice (especially her upper register), but this is her least pageanty performance to date. It was genuinely entertaining.
K: Angie never looked so comfortable on stage as she does tonight
N: shows Keith her notes to prove that she wrote exactly the same thing down
R: name dropping and more self-congratulation
M: Angie found her place

#6. Kree is wearing a dowdy black prom dress with a high-necked black lace yoke.

Her Texas hometown visit is different from the others' given that her parents both died young. Kree meets with her sister and walks through the wreck of the old family home. It's extremely sad. On a happier note, there are: lots of other family members, crawfish, babies, great small town parade, rodeo, mutton wrangling, mechanical bull riding, concert, and then we finish with more sweet and sad.

The judges have given Kree Rascal Flatt's Here Comes Good-Bye. It's a plaintive and lovely performance, exactly of a piece with the montage we just saw.

N(visibly crying): Kree reconnected with herself and it shows
R: Most Talented Top 3 Ever!
M (red eyes): overwhelmed with emotion
K: too sniffly to talk

JI Opines: Not the best song choice for Candice. Kree won the round.

The final songs of the night were chosen by the producers, which are almost always horribly ill-suited to the kids. We're going to have to zip right through the performances (and more importantly, the critiques... ahem, Mariah) in order to finish in time, since there are less than thirty minutes left.

#7. The producers have chosen Maybe (another Emily Sandy/Sunday/Sundae song) for Angie. She's at the piano in a black leather sleeveless vest over a black and white print top, and shortie shorts. She sounds fine, but she's back to following the camera's every move with her eyes, and bouncing weirdly on the piano bench (Note to Angie: hit the bathroom before you go onstage, honey). Except for the high notes, this sounds fine.
R: Angie is a complete performer, with or without the piano, or even standing next to it
M: agrees with Randy, though the song was in a fairly high key
K: recommends singing underneath the piano next week
N: Angie has come full circle and her growth has exceeded expectations

#8. The producers have chosen Better Dig Two, by The Band Perry for Kree. She's wearing a black leather jacket over a sexy black leather bustier, and black jeans. This is a real fiddlin' country song, and Kree is rockin' it.
M: loves to see Kree's wild side
K: loves the song but it wasn't the perfect song for Kree
N: disliked the song choice, but Kree did the best she could with it
R: same babble some more

#9. The producers have chosen Somewhere for Candice. Yeah, that one. From West Side Story. Candice is wearing a sparkly black long gown with a drapey neckline. She has on a very cool, very ornate silver and stone necklace. We start with the kettle drum, and pan past an entire orchestra, to Candice in the center of the stage. This is full-on Broadway. And wow wow wow wow. And wow some more. Okay, that last note had just a bit of wobble, but still, wow. The camera catches Keith with his Enraptured Listening Face- it's purely adorable.
Candice gets a 4-way Standing O, the only one of the night.
K: is so beside himself that he can't form actual words
N: four words: see ya next week!
R: Greatest! Vocal! In! Idol! History!
M: thanks Candice for making her cry again.

They zipped through the performances and comments too quickly, so Jimmy Iovine is dragged out on stage to kill a couple more minutes. He says that Candice won the entire night with that performance.

My Round 1 Ranking:
1. Candice
2. Kree
3. Angie

My Round 2 Ranking:
1. Kree
2. Candice
3. Angie

My Round 3 Ranking:
1. Candice
2. Kree
3. Angie

For me, Candice won the evening handily, with Kree a solid second. But I'm not taking bets as to who will be voted out (no one's going home- all of the finalists have already gathered to begin rehearsal for the finale).

Also, I have a school band concert tomorrow night, so I'm recording the show and may not even watch it until Friday morning. I'll get the recap up as soon as I can.

AI Season 12 Top 4 Elimination

We're informed that the tradition continues because next week the Top 3 will head for their Hometown Visits. We see clips of former Hometown Visits, and miracle of miracles, there's a brief flash of Taylor Hicks. Well actually, this week all four of the girls will go home, but one will be staying (for a couple of weeks anyway).

Nicki is wearing a pink sweatshirt, blue jeans, and a white shirt with a gold motif that looks a bit like the Starbucks lady. Tonight, she has blonde hair. Mariah is in a short, tight beige sheath. Randy is in a very odd jacket with a black body and orange and gray striped sleeves. And I don't mean long stripes, I mean horizontal stripes, like a 50's little boy's tee shirt. Ryan is wearing a charcoal suit, a pinstriped shirt and navy tie.

The group sing is Crazy in Love, from the new Gatsby movie (which, frankly, looks terrible. It's in 3-D, for crying out loud). The song seems to involve a lot of sassy hip shaking and lyrics rattled off at lightning speed, with frenetic backup dancers. It's sort of Charleston Flavored Rap. But the girls can dance and sing at the same time, which is something.

This week's Fiesta Mission is the lamest one yet- the girls get to help design two Ford Fiestas, the result being two ugly cars that will never sell.

Jimmy Iovine Opines:
Angie: could have shut things down but chose the wrong song last night, twice
Amber: first song was Karaoke, but killed the second
Candice: Bruno Mars should write a song for Candice
Kree: still hasn't lived up to her full potential

David Cook, Season 7 Winner, is back tonight. His top hair is weirdly tall and combed back from his very smooth forehead. He's sporting artfully sculpted facial fuzz. He's wearing a black shirt and a sleeveless black denim vest. The song is Your Basic David Cook song- lots of shouting, guitar, bass, and stomping. There is also a modicum of rhythmic clapping. I note that the judges applaud politely but stay firmly seated.

Next up, Will.I.Am performs yet another song from The Great Gatsby. It's also 20's adjacent, and loud and weird. WIA is wearing white pants, a white cumberbund, a black tux jacket with tails, and a white top hat. He looks like Uncle Sam without the beard or stripes, and the whole tap-dancing performance whiffs strongly of Vaudeville Review. I mean, I know it was written for the movie, but still, it's very odd.

And then for no reason that I can discern, we an update with clips about Constantine Maroulis.  GAH! My eyes! He's still creepy. And he's still greasy. Constantine has been very busy on Broadway, and has been nominated for a Tony. He's now starring in a new Broadway play called Jekyll and Hyde. Constantine is not in the house, so I have no idea why we spent time with him, but I'm glad he's busy. I guess.

Harry Connick Jr. found time for a shave and a haircut between yesterday and today (both much needed). Tonight he's wearing a Rat Pack suit, and he's sitting on a stool in the middle of the stage, surrounded by an orchestra. He sings the slowest, dullest song ever but the judges give him a Standing O.

So, finally, we're down to the Nitty Gritty. The girls stand. Angie is wearing a short, sleeveless, red and black tight dress and black booties. Amber is in a vaguely 20's style black spangly top with a whole lot of fringe, over lighter shortie shorts. Candice is in black and white, as usual, as is Kree, though Kree'a pants are leather.

This hour long show with a single purpose has waited until the last ten minutes to get to the meat of the episode, so Ryan wastes no time naming both Angie and  Candice safe! Candice looks stunned, I am thrilled.

So it's down to Amber and Kree, both of whom look like they're facing execution. And after 81 million votes (combined over the last two weeks), Kree is in the Top 3.

Amber is the saddest girl I've ever seen on this show. The clip show reminds us that she used to smile and sparkle and laugh. The Amber of the last couple of episodes has been somber and tired, and probably exhausted. She can barely watch the clips, and she's not even pretending to smile. When Ryan brings her weeping father out on stage, she loses it completely. So do the other girls. So does Mariah. So does Nicki. So do I. Damn, where are those tissues.

So the Top 3 are Angie, Candice, and Kree, which is just about right. Next week will be interesting.

Thursday Tab- Lowe 1942- Career Girls

This is a wonderful set, though you might want to skip reading the little *handwritten* notes, if you worry about your blood-pressure. It's hard not to do some massing eye-rolling when you think of a teacher being so happy that her students approve of her dress... (not to mention that these were the only careers mentioned...)

AI Season 12- Top 4 Performance, Again

Did you know that four girls performed last week, but none of them went home? The show thinks we might have forgotten that, so we're reminded. Several times. We're also assured that none of the girls want to go home this week either. Huh. Never woulda guessed.

Nicki is wearing  a black wig with straight cut bangs. She's also wearing a tight, short,  long sleeved, white knit dress with a vaguely Egyptian design in black and yellow. Her eyes are lined with neon green. Mariah is in a black bustier dress with a knee-length full skirt and a wide black leather belt laced up like a milkmaid. Randy is in a red blazer over a white shirt with a polka-dot collar. Keith is in a tee which reads: I am the Stig. I had to look it up and I still don't understand it very well. Ryan is in a pewter suit with a white shirt, white pocket square and a navy tie.

The dual themes tonight are Songs of 2013 (and I can guarantee that I won't know a single one), and Standards. I may know some of the standards, unless the show uses the same dictionary as they used last week to define One Hit Wonders. Harry Connick Jr. is a mentor tonight. Let's hope he's not as big an ass as he was last time he was on the show.

#1. Angie- singing Rhianna's Diamond
HCjr (who has facial scruff and artfully foofed hair) tells Angie that he doesn't like her. Angie assumes he's joking. She pretends to know his current song and then is trapped into trying to sing this non-existent song with him. It could be real, it could be a bit- either way, it's awkward and unamusing.

On stage, Angie is wearing black shortie shorts which bag weirdly at the crotch, a splotchy loosish black top, and, once again, she's festooned with yards and yards of intertwined and interlocked chains. Angie is sitting at the piano because she finally heard the repeated pleas from the judges that she meld herself to the instrument. I don't know this song (just assume that throughout this portion of the festivities), but she's doing a slowed-down, ballady version with bongos. It's actually pleasant until Angie gets all shrieky toward the end. Her ability to follow the camera at all times is spooky.

K: loved the percussion-heavy original version of the song, but not so much this arrangement
N: bland, lackluster, played to the camera
R: agrees with Keith, but loves the shorts. (Me: shut up, Creepy Randy)
M: changed it too much, agreed with Nicki, which may be a first
Me: It stands to reason that the judges dislike the one performance of Angie's that I mostly liked.

#2. Amber- singing Pink's just Give Me a Reason
HCjr calls Amber out on forgetting the words and then says that it doesn't matter because her voice makes up for it.

On stage, Amber is wearing an ice blue silk halter blouse with a tight, high collar, tucked into cream jeans with precisely shredded legs, black boots, and huge earrings. She's singing a slow version of this song, and it is not impressing me. Her higher register is shrill tonight, and for a minute, I think she lost her place altogether.

N: likes the jeans, but felt that Amber was disconnected
R: wonders why every year at about this time in the competition, it seems like the kids stop having fun. (Me: Think about that for a minute, Randy, and maybe the answer will come to you)
M: babble babble, agree with Randy, babble
K: talks technical musical shop stuff, but says the same thing the others did

#3. Candice- singing something by Bruno Mars
HCjr goofs with Candice, and is surprised that she's choosing to sing a Boy Song without changing it to a Girl Song

On stage, she's wearing a quilted black leather jacket, a purple top, and a very blingy necklace and matching earrings. Of course, I don't know this song either but I love it. The entire performance is great.

R: yo yo um yo, Candice can sing anything
M: babble
K: didn't care about the gender in the lyrics, that was a winning performance
N: that deserved a Standing O (which all 4 did, belatedly),enthusiastic babble

#4. Kree- singing Carrie Underwood's I'll See You Again
HCjr wouldn't change anything that Kree did in rehearsal.

On stage, Kree is wearing a loosish royal blue blouse tucked into black jeans. She has great smoky eye shadow. And this performance is gorgeous, and better-sounding than her rehearsal, which seemed a little shrill in the upper notes to me. She's sitting on a stool, next to a guy on another stool playing a guitar, but there is a band somewhere in the dark recesses of the stage.

M: Kree connected to the song and audience
K: felt there was a slight disconnect between the duo in the spotlight and the obviously larger-band arranagement.
N: loved it
R:amazing voice and great vocal
HCjr (on stage): loved it too

#5. Angie is singing Someone to Watch Over Me
HCjr wonders why she chose that song (Answer: Angie's mom used to sing it to her. After she got done calling her a fatty, I guess). He wants all of the girls just to sing these songs and not embroider them.

On stage, Angie is wearing a deep red, belted, satin night gown with an open back (just the top part, not the lower). There's not a chain in sight. Are all y'all sitting down? This is quiet and restrained, and lovely. Well, at least it is until the end. I think she's physically unable to resist oversinging. But I did like it until then.

K: asks Angie why she chose that song (Me: guess who doesn't pay attention during the clips) and then says it was such a beautiful performance that the song choice didn't matter
N: calls Angie a Disney Princess, and I'm pretty sure that wasn't a compliment (Me: I've stopped calling her Mini Miley, but the resemblance remains)
R: loved the beginning, but the middle lost him
M: takes time to introduce her own mother, and then says that Angie is best suited for Broadway.
And then for some reason, Mariah and Nicki start to argue, even though they said pretty much exactly the same thing (though as always, Mariah used ten times as many syllables).

#6. Amber is singing My Funny Valentine
HCjr watches Amber sing for few lines and then interrupts to ask her what she thinks the song means. As God is my witness, Amber says that she thinks that the song is about a couple of friends who are laughing at each other's looks. HCjr firmly but gently tells Amber that she really needs to study the lyrics and understand them before she tries to sing them in front of an audience.

On stage, Amber is wearing a red brocade sleeveless top with a peplum, matching pants, and very tall gold stilettos with wide ankle bands. Her hair has been rolled up and it looks really pretty. Her performance sounds pretty good for a girl who seriously thought that the song was about kids making fun of each other. I now wonder if she understood the lyrics of any of the songs she has performed.
She gets a 4-way Standing O.
N: so beautiful
R: stellar
M: thanks Amber
K: Amber needs more confidence.
Up with Ryan, it's obvious that, despite the universal praise, Amber is barely holding it together. Personally, I think she's really embarrassed by the clip with HCjr, but she could just be exhausted and stressed out. Amber is crying, and in the audience, her stoic father has tears running down his cheeks as well.

#7. Candice is singing Billie Holiday's You've Changed
HCjr once again reminds Candice just to sing the song, and not to embellish it, that the fourteen year olds in the audience might not get it, but the grownups will.

On stage, Candice is glammed up in a black dress with a black lace jacket. She looks gorgeous, and, oh man, this is amazing. GOOSIES! Wow!
4-way Standing O, and Mariah was the first one to stand (she's generally last, if she stands at all)

R: in it to win it
M: no critique, but will download that song immediately
K: enjoyed watching Mariah watch Candice
N: says there is no time for her comments
(Me: Why? There's at least twenty minutes left and only one performance to go).

#8. Kree is singing Stormy Weather
HCjr is still preaching simplicity.

On stage, Kree is wearing a one-shouldered black short dress with a long black transparent overskirt. Her hair and makeup are perfect. She looks beautiful. I'm not sure any performance could add up to what Candice just did, but this is close. She's throwing in a few more runs than HCjr recommended (How many did he recommend? None, that's how many), but it sounds great. I did like the sultry beginning more than the slightly ramped up ending, but it was still lovely.

M: dinged Kree for song choice, would like to have heard God Bless the Child instead
K: also didn't like the song choice
N: not loving the song choice either, but tells Kree to listen to her heart (Me: presumably, instead of HCjr)
R: says the same thing and then in a single sentence, tells Kree to be herself AND sing the Etta James version of the song.
Keith grabs HCjr by the hand and leads him to the judges table so he can call Randy out on his BS

Back from the commercial, and instead of a very long recap of the evening's performances the girls all in varying casual denim outfits, prance out of the audience and onto the stage, followed by lots of sassy backup dancers, in order to sing some song that I don't know. There was no intro, and no explanation for why they had a group sing tonight, complete with lots of stompy choreography. It's not a great song, and it's not a great performance, and it sort of ruins the mellow glow from the last half of the show. Afterward, as the girls stand on stage, panting, Amber looks even sadder, and Kree seems equally depressed.

When the song is over, Ryan has barely enough time to run clips and repeat the phone numbers.

My Best Round 1:
1. Candice/Kree (tie)
2. Angie
3. Amber

My Best Round 2:
1. Candice
2. Kree (but #2 only by a hair)
3. Amber
4. Angie

The votes tonight will be combined with last week's totals, but since Amber was in the bottom last week too, and she's been a consistent bottom-dweller, I think she'll be going home. But I'm not taking any bets.

Cruise Mysteries No Longer!

Here are the two fingerless mitten designs that I will be teaching on the Fantasy Fiber Arts Cruise to The Bahamas in July!

Each is a separate class, and each class will provide the pattern, chart, instructions, yarn and extras (beads, if needed, stitch markers, pins, post-it notes). Students will be able to choose their own colorways from the yarns and beads provided. All they'll have to bring are Size 3 needles (dpns or long circs, as desired).

There is room in both of these classes, and in fact, I think you can still sign up for the cruise itself... it's to The Bahamas, if you forgot....

I've booked my flight to Charleston, and I'm getting excited!

And the winner of Contest #3 is...

Elizabeth D!!!!!

Congratulations! E-mail me your address and how you'd like the booklets signed, and I'll get them in the mail on Monday!

Next week, the 4th and final drawing! Stay tuned!

AI Season 12- Top 4 Elimination

The letters appear across the screen, one at a time: What a week it's been. Then we get time-stamped clips: Janelle went home, the rest had interviews, rehearsals, Red Carpet appearances, recordings, more rehearsals, photo ops, a hospital visit, Brit Week, and then on the air. Yeah, I imagine they are pretty tired by now.

Ryan says that the results start now, and his pants don't burst into flame.

Nicki is wearing tight white pants, black short boots, and a very bright red leather zip-front jacket. Mariah sashays in a tight, sparkly silver strapless gown. Randy is also wearing a bright red jacket, but in a shade that clashes totally with Nicki's.

At the hospital the girls sang for some of the ambulatory patients, and then were joined by a few for a  sing-along. The girls seem moved and the kids enjoyed it, and one of the adults (maybe a worker, maybe a well dressed parent) rocked her bad self out.

Back on stage, the girls sing Alicia Keyes's This Girl is on Fire, which is the least musical of Alicia's entire catalog. Angie starts at the piano, and then joins the others, displaying her supernatural ability to know where the camera is at all times.

The Ford Fiesta Mission  is for the girls to spend the day hanging out with Ryan, the joke being that he's everywhere at once, and nowhere at all, always speeding on to the next appointment before the girls arrive. The payoff is that there are actually four Ryans. That was mildly amusing, as is the finish with the girls reading the chyron badly, in turn, as Ryan arrives late to the stage.

The girls are tasked with naming five things about themselves in 20 seconds, no rehearsal and no do-overs. They have a hard time coming up with five things.
Angie: hates the color pink, lives in heels, loves olives
Kree: once bitten by a snake, loves Rap, sucks
Candice: loves Spongebob, sleeps in socks, loves Drake, loves the color purple (the actual color, not the play, though she may love the play too. I don't know).
Amber: prefers showers to baths, likes 90 degree weather, was on the Drill Team, loves neon green, and has a pierced septum (and yes, that's six things- Amber wins).

Jimmy Iovine's individual analysis:

Amber (red sleeveless top which does not cover her belly button, black shortie shorts, denim shirt tied around the waist, stilettos, curly hair) was great on Power of Love, but McArthur Park is a stupid song and Amber didn't make it any smarter.

Kree (black drapey loose top, black pants) needed to redeem herself but didn't. Bad song choices.

We interrupt the analyses to bring back Stefano Langone, who was not one of my favorites during his season. He looks the same, except for the hipster glasses during his interview. He has a record contract, and is still annoyingly overconfident. Onstage, he's wearing a black jacket with a velvet collar and a scoop-necked white tee. His new single has a stripped down arrangement- just Stefano, a guy with a guitar, and a guy on a piano. It's called Yes to Love and it is surprisingly tolerable. I think he sounds better now than he did during his season, and he's miles ahead of any of this season's guys.

Back to the Iovine Analysis:

Candice (denim tie-front top, black pants) has a big voice which she needs to protect. Her song choices this week were too safe.

Ryan tells Candice that Drake left a recorded message, which begins to play, and then Drake (beige hospital scrubs. seriously) comes out on stage, and Candice loses her shit in a really adorable way.

I'm still bitter that Lee DeWyze won Season 9 over Crystal Bowersox. Lee met and married his wife after Idol, and now he's working on a new album, which is nice for him given that his debut album is the worst selling of all the winning records (including the reviled Taylor Hicks). His song is Silver Lining. He's wearing a black suit and playing a guitar. There are lots of folks on stage- a bass player, a fiddler, a banjo player, a drummer, and three or four backup singers. The song starts slow but in the middle it speeds up, all hoe-down like. At any speed, it's a pretty terrible song.

More Iovine:

Angie (splotchy red, white and black sleeveless top, black pants with raveled knees, straight hair) won the night with two great songs and two great performances, but she's more natural at the piano, and should stay there.

So finally- Ryan divides the girls on stage, Amber and Candice on one side, and Angie and Kree on the other, which is absolutely not the split I was expecting. He only wastes a little time before saying that Candice and Amber are in the bottom two, which no one saw coming. Especially Kree. And Candice, who is not holding it together very well.

Ryan says one o f them "could be leaving tonight", which tells me all I need to know, because guess what? No one is leaving.

Do I know this show, or what?

An extra week was built into the schedule for the Judge's Save, which wasn't used. So next week, all 4 sing again, but the votes from this week will be added in. Given the unexpected pairing tonight, I'm not making any bets as to which one will go home next week.