Lazaro’s lackluster performances from tonight could lead to his elimination. (Photo courtesy of FOX)
Lazaro Arbos has become this season’s Sanjaya Malakar.
The Naples, Florida singer has defied the American Idol odds and has landed in last week’s Top Three. Arbos’ high placement may have pleased his fans but has frustrated and angered many loyal Idol followers. Ever since the Top 40, Lazaro’s vocals have gone down hill and his range is mediocre compared to the vocal juggernauts that are still standing in the competition.
Will the judges (Randy Jackson, Nicki Minaj, Keith Urban and Mariah Carey) finally give him the honest “Cowell-like” feedback that viewers have been desperately waiting for weeks? Has Lazaro ultimately run out of chances? Read on to find out….
While the Naples singer waited in the wings for his turn, it was Angie Miller’s job to open the show. She tackled a boring cover of Dionne Warwick’s “Anyone Who Had A Heart.” It was like a beauty pageant performance and it was utterly boring! Both Keith and Nicki wanted Angie to show emotion in the song and Randy added that she needed to understand the meaning behind of the song. That performance was a horrible way to start the show! D+
The tribute to Dionne Warwick continued as Amber Holcomb delivered a solid cover of “I Say A Little Prayer.” There were a lot of great vocal runs and a stunning last note that had Nicki Minaj declaring Amber, her favorite girl in the competition. Hopefully, she will go 2-2 tonight! A-
Lazaro was the next contestant to take the stage as he performed the Carpenters’ “Close to You.” While he started out at a good spot, it slowly went down hill from there as he showcased weak runs that made everybody fall asleep. Finally, the judges gave him the feedback every anti-Lazaro fan has been waiting for. Randy stated that it was his worst performance ever and Mariah stated that it was wrong to change the key. If Simon were on the panel, he would have ripped him a new one. F
The last two country singers performed next. Kree tackled “What the World Needs Now” and it was her best performance of the season. She finally connected with the lyrics and showed off some great runs that received great comments from all four judges. A- Janelle tackled a cover of “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again” that belonged in a lounge not the American Idol stage. Like Nicki and Randy said, it was boring! This was her worst performance on the stage. C-
The Queen of this season (Candice Glover) saved the first round with a cover of Dionne Warwick’s “Don’t Make Me Over” that received a standing ovation from Keith, Randy and Nicki and had Mariah dancing in her seat. She gave a stunning vocal and that had an amazing wail at the end of the song. A+
Angie kicked off Round Two of competition by singing Kari Jobe’s “Love Came Down.” Despite the backing singers drowning her and being a little sharp, it was so much better than her first song! Her performance received a standing ovation from Randy and Keith. Like Nicki said in her critique, there is something magical when Angie performs at the piano and if she is going to be in the finale, Angie must do what she did tonight for the remaining weeks of the competition. B+
Amber finally tackled Beyoncé on the Idol stage. While she covered Kelly Clarkson and the late Whitney Houston on the show, Amber was not able to match the Dreamgirls star with her vocal range and showmanship. This was not her best performance but Amber should move on to the next round. B
Lazaro tackled Robbie Williams’ “Angels” and sent it to the slaughterhouse. It was boring, lacked emotion and passion. Someone should get plane tickets ready because something tells me that Lazaro will be leaving tomorrow night if the viewers let it happen. F
Kree went backwards this time around and did not connect with the viewers while she honored her favorite songwriter of all-time: Kris Kristofferson. While the judges stated that she has a bright future ahead of her, I think viewers would have liked it to give some feedback to make her performance better instead of showering her with praise. C+
Janelle tackled Garth Brooks’s signature song “The Dance.” While she redeemed herself from her first song, it was a little bit boring. I agreed with Keith that she could have performed the song with just her playing her guitar and that would have been an Idol moment for her. C
Candice closed the show with an R&B cover of the Cure’s “Lovesong.” This was an intriguing choice for her because this could have been a disaster. However, this was her second best performance of her time on American Idol and she earned the only four judge standing ovation of the night! As Mariah sprinkled glitter on her, Randy stated that it was one of the best performances in all of Idol’s 12 seasons. A++++++++++
Tomorrow night, Kelly Clarkson and Scotty McCreery provide the entertainment and one of the finalists might be eliminated!
