Emily wows J.Lo with her cover of 'Let's Get Loud', while Malaya Watson's performance of 'Take Me to the King' almost brings the female judge to tears.
- Mar 6, 2014
AceShowbiz - The 12 finalists of "American Idol" season 13 sang songs that reminded them of their hometowns in the Wednesday, March 5 episode. Jena Irene was the first performer of the night, singing "Suddenly I See" by KT Tunstall which reminded her of road trips with her mom and brother.
Keith Urban liked her "stage presence," while Jennifer Lopez said her "unique voice makes it your own." Harry Connick Jr. liked that she made "different choices in the melody," but still "wanted more."
Up next was Alex Preston who went with Gavin DeGraw's "I Don't Want to Be". J.Lo thought it wasn't his best performance and "the arrangement overtook your vocal performance." Keith complained that the performance was unstable and "the song was kind of around you, instead of you centering and being in the song." Harry, however, praised Alex for stepping out of his comfort zone.
Jessica Meuse sang "White Flag" by Dido which reminded her of being a teenager and learning to be herself. Harry got booed when calling the performance unfocused and sharp, but Harry thought "if you really really mean it then no one is going to care about your pitch." J.Lo concluded it, "I feel like you feel like you're comfortable, but it doesn't come off that way." Jessica said she would watch her performance back and believed the judges when they said she was sharp.
Dexter Roberts slowed down "Lucky Man" by Montgomery Gentry. Keith said it was a perfect song choice which matched his voice. J.Lo suggested him to surprise the judges on every performance night, while Harry called it "the best performance of the night" by far.
Emily Piriz made a brave choice by singing J.Lo's song "Let's Get Loud". "I have to say I loved it, I'm bias," J.Lo commented. Harry thought "the song and the production was too big for you tonight," but Keith believed the performance just secured her a spot in the Top 11.
Caleb Johnson rocked the stage with his rendition of "Working Man" by Rush, which is his favorite band. While acknowledging that Caleb was the most consistent performer on the show, Harry worried that he would become "predictable." Keith suggested him to "figure out how to get that thing going on without a ban," while J.Lo only had good words for him.
Showing up with a slack wardrobe choice, M.K. Nobilette covered Train's "Drops of Jupiter". Keith told her to "keep working on connecting how you look with how you sing." J.Lo said it's not a breakout performance, and Harry still got "the feeling that you don't really want to be here."
C.J. Harris's performance of "Waiting on the World to Change" by John Mayer also drew a "sharp" complaint from Harry, but he still enjoyed it. Keith advised him to figure "out a way to make a song more your own," while J.Lo loved the song and the way C.L. looked that night.
Sam Woolf sang "Just One" by Blind Pilot which reminded him of his times in Michigan. Harry found it a pleasant performance, but said, "There has to be emotional dynamics though." Keith liked Sam's voice which is "like butter," and J.Lo suggested him to produce "super wow performances."
Malaya Watson earned rave reviews for her performance of "Take Me to the King" by Tamela Mann. Keith said it was a great song choice, and J.Lo said the performance almost brought her to tears and she had "gooseys from head to toe." Harry chimed in, "I'm very proud of you, because you didn't get off the rails."
Ben Briley did "Turning Home" by David Nail. J.Lo said he wasn't in sync in the beginning, "but in the end you had me." Harry felt it lacked emotion and said, "It just felt shouted." Keith added, "For me, there was so much focus on the technicality and the range ... I lost the story."
Coming out the last, Majesty Rose delivered a cover of Coldplay's "Fix You". Keith thought the performance just guaranteed her a spot on next week's show, and Harry said, "You look very much like you belonged on that stage you have a lot of confidence." J.Lo commented, "Where you had us was great," but added, "You don't always have to go big, sometimes you can stay small in that zone."
