‘American Idol’ top 7 rankings: Janelle Arthur passes Kree Harrison for first time

Allow us on “American Idol” season 12 to present a tale of two genders: one continues to get more amazing, and one continues to flounder in its own despair. We don’t think we’ve ever seen any singing show with so great a divide, and the deck may be stacked so much against the guys at this point that we could have a final five without a man around for the first time ever. If the save wasn’t still out there, we would say with confidence that a guy would sneak in there; however, we’re not quite so sure now with the save still out there.

Our voting criteria, as always, is pretty simple: we look at voting history, performance quality, and also perceived fan following to figure this out; and contrary to what you may think, Twitter followers are only a tiny part of the latter’s equation.

7. Lazaro Arbos (last week: 7) – After last week’s disaster of a trio performance, there really is no hiding Lazaro now. He struggled mightily, and you get the feeling that some of the people who did support him a little bit earlier on in the season are now starting to jump ship. More concerning is the fact that it just doesn’t seem like he’s working hard enough; that may not be the case, but it’s the impression that we get as a viewer.

6. Burnell Taylor (3) – At the end of the day, we still believe that Burnell will probably finish higher than sixth place even with the save played, but with the way in which the guys are going downhill, he really needs a comeback badly if he wants to actually defeat one of the women. Not only that, but the show may even need one from him to get some credibility back. We already know that “American Idol” has some great ladies this season, but you want the guys to not be as bad as they were at times Wednesday.

5. Angie Miller (4) – It’s been a rough two weeks in a row now for Angie. She came across as theatrical at times during Beatles week, and she was downright awkward with her Motown song. The problem here is that she seems comfortable doing slow piano ballads, and this upcoming theme is rock songs, and not any ballads. What in the world is she going to do?

4. Amber Holcomb (6) – Amber had a great recovery from being in the bottom the week before with Motown, and she also had a knockout vocal. There’s no question that she can really sing, and from here on out her test may be making sure that she picks songs that viewers are really able to connect with. From a personality standpoint, this should also help her figure a few things out.

3. Candice Glover (2) – We’re a little worried about Candice, and we even admit that it is in a way for a very stupid reason. We’re worried that she is almost too good for her own good. Everyone wants to see a contestant go on a journey, and how do you do that when you’re awesome every week? The great thing right now is that the judges do still have the same, and if there is a voting lapse coming up, they will be able to lend her a hand.

2. Kree Harrison (1) – For the first time in weeks, we have Kree at a position lower than #1, but we have to say this: it’s not because she did anything wrong. We may have just underestimated our current leader earlier on this season, and she’s going to have to find a way now to rise yet again to a new level after so many great performances.

1. Janelle Arthur (5) – After her stirring, artistic solo performance Wednesday, there’s no way we can rank Janelle anywhere other than the top. Along with Kree’s “Crying,” it was our favorite moment of the live shows so far this season, and she’s really starting to put together an impressive run after looking at first like she was just happy to be at the party. It’s really now looking like we could have a finale of two female country singers, and that is something that we never would have predicted two months ago.

Who do you think is in the best position right now to win? As always, be sure to vote in the poll below, and you can also check out the interesting new controversy involving Devin Velez and Nicki Minaj over here.

Photo: Fox