WBKR's American Idol expert, Steve Thompson is here. Taking a look at last night's episode featuring the top ten, Steve rates 'em in this countdown.

I thought this would be a great theme-- but somebody royally screwed things up in translation. We were originally informed that the theme would not include coronation songs or songs covered after the particular idol won. They should've stuck to that philosophy. I don't think it's a coincidence that the best songs covered tonight were actually songs that were originally sung in competition.

I'm not certain if the voters will totally agree with the judges tonight. It's always hard to tell how the dominoes will fall with at least ten weeks to go. But I'll try to list these ten performances from worst to first...

10. Curtis Finch Jr. sang I Believe (originally performed on AI by Fantasia) Singing what is generally believed to be the best performance by Fantasia as your first song in the top ten may not be the wisest move ever made. Keith thought his adrenaline may have caused him to over sing-- I think that's just a nice way of saying Curtis didn't sing very well at all. If his arrogance from previous weeks hasn't caught up to him yet, there's a good chance karma will be instant tomorrow night.

09. Devin Velez sang Temporary Home by Carrie Underwood. I realize Carrie has her own unique style, but Devin proved tonight that not everyone should try to sing her songs. I actually like Carrie's interpretation of this song-- and I've liked Devin in previous weeks. However, this was probably Devin's worst night of the year. He better hope his fans vote for him with all their 50 app votes.

08. Lazaro Arbos sang Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson. I still like the moxie of this kid, but trying to sing an iconic song like this one from the Original Idol may have been too much for his voice to handle. He sounded very flat and the excitement of the song just melted like the timepieces of a Salvador Dali masterpiece. I am still worried that he is just one bad review away from a meltdown like Charlie Askew.

07. Burnell Taylor sang Flying Without Wings (originally performed on AI by Ruben Studdard) I've called him Steve Urkel's more successful cousin in the last few weeks, but I really thought Burnell chose the wrong song to cover tonight. This song was just barely interesting when Ruben sang it. The fortunate thing for Burnell is that other guys were much, much worse tonight. The unfortunate thing? He may not have as many fans as some of his compatriots.

06. Janelle Arthur sang Gone (originally performed on AI by Scotty McCreery) As much as I like Janelle and want her to get to the semifinals, I don't know if her decision to sing this song would've helped her get enough votes to continue on another week. If it were up to me, I'd give her points for not trying to sing another melodramatic ballad like many of her fellow contestants were dusting off this evening.

05. Paul Jolley sang Amazed (originally performed on AI by Scotty McCreery) Last week, in his victory song, I felt like Paul was starting to get a bead on how he needed to perform on Idol. Tonight, I have him as the best of the male singers. Is he really that good? Not likely. But comparisons being what they are, Paul seems like the second coming of Waylon Jennings after hearing the clinkers the rest of the guys came up with.

04. Amber Holcomb sang A Moment Like This (originally performed on AI by Kelly Clarkson) The good news is-- the girl can sing. The bad news? This song needs to be retired immediately so that no future singers are hurt by the accompanying shrapnel. I didn't hear this as perfect as the judges and the audience seemed to think it was-- which leads me to believe that the sound system in the venue is completely different than how the show sounds over the television. Still. Better than any of the guys.

03. Angie Miller sang I Surrender (originally performed on AI by Kelly Clarkson) Some felt (at least according to the several discussions I saw posted on Facebook) Angie was awful and the women can't stand her hairstyle. Speaking for myself, I thought she was just as excellent as she has always been. Yes, I prefer her sitting and playing the piano while she sings-- but that's just me.

02. Candice Glover sang I, Who Have Nothing (originally performed on AI by Jordin Sparks) A truly great performance, perhaps surpassing even Jordin's original performance. While no one in the world will ever sing this song with the ferocity of Dame Shirley Bassey, I thought this may have been the first time I could see Candice as a potential winner this season. She would've been first on my list except for...

01. Kree Harrison sang Crying (originally performed on AI by Carrie Underwood) One of the best songs ever written. Roy Orbison, Don McLean-- even k.d. lang have done wonders with this song. I thought this was the best song of the night and the best performance of the night. The girl just always seems to be on point and never seems to have a bad performance.

 

 

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