‘American Idol’ top 4 review: Kree Harrison, Candice Glover rule standards, 2013 hits

For an episode of “American Idol” that featured modern hits, you would have certainly hoped for some of them to be better than this. Instead, what we ended up having here was a pretty uneven first half of the episode that had some awkward song choices, two middling performances, and the judges unleashing their inner fire.

This episode also brought the return of Harry Connick Jr., who may be our favorite mentor out there. Can we have him around every week, or as a judge? Either way, it would be pretty’ awesome.

Round One – Modern Songs

Angie Miller, “Diamonds” – What was interesting about this song was that Angie has covered it before, and we had expected her to really deliver. However, what we had instead was a vocally inferior performance that had her trying to do a little too much, and also an ill-fated attempt to trying to play to the cameras at home more so than the song.

Amber Holcomb, “Just Give Me a Reason” – We didn’t dig this at all. It wasn’t the right song for Amber to sing given that she’s not really a pop / rock singer, and it was originally a duet. Plus, the dance moves were completely cheesy. The judges stood for her after “MacArthur Park,” but not for this.

Candice Glover, “If I Was Your Man” – Randy Jackson literally said “I don’t care about the gender” during this critique. Sage words from the Dawg, no? This was without a doubt a pretty great performance, but we don’t know if it was necessarily the best of the season. We’re just happy that she did not get sandbagged like she did last week.

Kree Harrison, “See You Again” – This was actually the best performance of the entire first round, even though it was probably our least favorite song. Kree is actually a storyteller as much as she is a singer, and you get the sense from her more so than anyone else that she is trying to sell the song, and not just doing it for a talent show.

Round Two – Standards 

Angie Miller, “Someone To Watch Over Me” – If there is one primary issue that we have at the moment with Angie’s performances as a whole, it is that she does come across as Broadway at times. (Plus, we totally agree with Nicki’s Disney princess comment.) When it comes to the “American Idol” legacy, we like Angie, but she is probably not the winner the show wants or needs if it wants to succeed commercially.

Amber Holcomb, “My Funny Valentine” – Listening to Harry Connick educate her on this song was actually pretty cool, and it just shows yet again what a great mentor this guy us! Please, more Harry Connick! This song has been done a million times on the show before, and while this was not on par with Melinda Doolittle’s stellar rendition, it did bring Amber back into the competition again after that weak first outing.

Candice Glover, “You’ve Changed” – What a stellar, emotional outing for Candice this was. We couldn’t have been happier for her. We don’t really know this song very well, but she felt like pure class in here, and a professional if there ever was one. Candice is going places, regardless of if she wins this season or not.

Kree Harrison, “Stormy Weather” – There were way too many ballads to end the show, and the only issue with Kree’s was just that we were almost asleep by the time that she started. She’s probably not the best singer of the bunch, but there is something extra about her that has made her into an audience favorite.

Which one of these solo performances was your favorite this week, and do you like how the show went with a group number rather than a solo performance at the end? Be sure to share some of your thoughts below, and you can read some more news about an ex-judge returning to the show to perform at the link here.

Photo: Fox