‘American Idol XIII’ top 5 rankings: Alex Preston, Jena Irene, Caleb Johnson keep winning

“American Idol” has at times had an uneven crop of contestants, but we’re at least pleased to report that out of the five remaining singers, all of them have delivered at least one performance that we would define as “great.” Granted, some of them have been greater than others, and it definitely feels right now like the next two eliminations are pretty inevitable.

Still, we’re going to go through the process of separating the promising from the struggling, and rank these contestants in order from worst to first. We’re labeling performance quality as the most important thing when it comes to these performances, but fan base comes close behind as an also-import factor.

5. Sam Woolf (last week: 5) – Continuing the recent voting history, this was a tough debate. However, we have to imagine that performance quality does matter here on a certain level, and out of everyone left, Sam’s performances have been the weakest. With that being said, it wouldn’t shock us at all if he somehow finds his way still until the top 4.

4. Jessica Meuse (4) – The good thing that Jessica has going for herself moving into this week is that she is the only singer left with any country persuasion. Maybe thanks to this that all of the CJ Harris supporters will come over to her. Still, she doesn’t have the judges on her side for some reason, and the fact that she was in the bottom two despite the pimp spot last week doesn’t bode that well for her future.

3. Jena Irene (2) – One of the only changes at all on the chart this week is largely because of her somewhat-botched country cover from last week. Her “Barracuda” was sensational, but someone like Jena, who did have struggles getting votes before everyone realized how awesome she is, needs to almost be perfect considering who the other top two are.

2. Caleb Johnson (3) -At this point, we probably need to separate whether or not Caleb will be a big star after the show to whether or not he is one of the best contestants out there. The answer to the second question is a decisive “yes.” While there are understandable criticisms regarding many of his performances blending together, he has some of the best pitch, range, and stage presence ever on the show. He doesn’t just work the stage; he makes the stage work for him.

1. Alex Preston (1) – It is very boring how long we’ve had Alex at the top of the list, but there is no reason to put him anywhere else, even after a subpar take on “Animal.” He’s got a great back catalog, fans of the show often embrace the singer / songwriter, and he comes across as likable and funny. You can at least for sure pencil him in for the top three, and at that point it could almost be anybody’s game.

Who is your favorite now among this top five? Share your thoughts below, and click here to get some further TV updates worth singing about from our CarterMatt Newsletter.

Photo: Fox