American Idol 13: Top 9 Results Show

Majesty Rose. This is the first week of American Idol Season 13 where I felt wronged. Majesty, from her audition to Hollywood week, looked to be in a strong position capable of moving her into the Top 5 contestants. Then, something happened to her. She stopped thinking like a competitor and began to pick songs that she loved (See, Let It Go) rather than songs that would showcase her lovely tone and not push her vocal range to its limits. Plus, you have to make a connection with America, and she always seemed to have a trouble doing so. So yes, she was living on borrowed time, but not before Dexter Roberts and CJ Harris!

Next week's theme: Audition song. Sigh. I wanted to have a studio version of Majesty's Violet Hill. This makes her elimination a lot painful no?

Results after the jump!

American Idol 13: Top 9

It’s the "I'm With The Band" week - or as they say, sing anything random - at American Idol as the Top 9 took on an array of songs and managed to deliver a relatively solid night where almost all of the contestants were in fine form - ALMOST. Oh, and they had a weird group number at the top of the show, and I somehow wish they focused more on their solo performances.

As for the judges, they were still really good! Again, they managed to stay eerily relevant as they gave a mixture of adequate to great advice and then still show some palpable chemistry between the panel. Good stuff.

On to the rankings!

Movie Review: Divergent

I have never read any of the books - I just don't read books in general. Haha - but Divergent surprisingly stood on its own as a nicely executed adventure series that would probably fill the gaping hole that was left by both Harry Potter and Twilight. Sure, as dystopian films go, this was no better or worse than many and it did tend to rip off a couple of concepts from other sources, but it works well with the movie and I genuinely found it quite enjoyable. The premise was dependable, the film was beautifully shot, and the acting was unexpectedly good. Shailene Woodley, in particular, was terrific. She managed to anchor the film with subtlety and there's a good balance of strength and awkwardness in her portrayal that was quite refreshing. Divergent was far from perfect, but it managed to be interesting and riveting enough to merit a sequel. And it's always good to have a heroine you find yourself rooting for no? 7.5

Movie Review: Need For Speed

Here's the thing: Need For Speed captured the core essence of what it sets out to do - an entertaining holdover for vehicle-based action fans. There were a couple of interesting set pieces that kept the story moving, the action sequences were executed pretty well and the editing was quite snappy. Also, the characters, though stereotypical, were captivating to some extent. But the film was far from perfect. I thought the plot was completely ridiculous and strangely underwhelming, the pacing was shockingly slow, and the writing was too straightforward to a fault. So yes, the film was a mixed bag. It has its flaws, but where it counts, it came across pretty well. Ultimately, if you enjoy fast cars and whatnot, then Need For Speed is for you. If not, then there's really nothing to miss here. 6

American Idol 13: Top 10 Studio Versions

Just when I thought the show's done producing studio versions of the finalists' performances - they didn't release any for the last 3 weeks - here they are in full force. In fact, American Idol has allowed these tracks to rank for the first time on iTunes. The results aren't great maybe because they weren't as advertised as previous seasons, but it's an interesting insight.

Here's how they ranked against other songs available on iTunes (as of 2:30am EST).

#61 Story Of My Life - Alex Preston
#191 We Are Young - Sam Woolf
#351 Pumped Up Kicks - Jessica Meuse
#490 Wake Me Up - Majesty Rose
#623 When I Was Your Man - Malaya Watson
#1028 Clarity - Jena Irene
#1301 Perfect - MK Nobilette
#1316 Edge Of Glory - Caleb Johnson

Others are outside of the Top 1500.

Interesting stuff right? Alex Preston is obviously pulling away from the pack, and yes, his studio recording sounded mighty fine. I also enjoyed Jessica Meuse's Pumped Up Kicks and Majesty Rose's Wake Me Up.

American Idol 13: Top 10 Results Show

MK Nobilette. MK finally made her exit and there was no nail biting as to whether or not she’d be saved by the judges - although they made it seem like they were having a hard time deciding. See, MK is a unique contestant - take it however you like - but she was a unique contestant with very little technical skills. She loves music and that's clear, but she didn’t do herself any favors. She failed to make a connection for several reasons, and the least of which was her lovely but mediocre vocals. Good riddance!

Oh, and Jessica Sanchez, Pia Toscano and Allison Iraheta performed with Jennifer Lopez. They had some killer harmonies at the beginning until Jennifer decided to gyrate and whatnot on stage for her new song, I Luh Ya Papi. Haha. Not kidding. That's the actual title. But as much as it murdered the English language, it's pretty infectious. /Sue me.

Results after the jump!

American Idol 13: Top 10

Hey, are you aware that music still exists after the year 2000? Haha. If you had been watching American Idol for the past few years then you may not have been. We’ve been given theme night after theme night focused squarely on older music, and tonight, we were actually treated with an array of interesting current song choices. Yes, the performances as a whole weren't as strong as last week, but I saw a couple of shining moments. Oh, and do I see a new darkhorse in the competition?

Also, the judging panel this year has been pretty outstanding. I may not agree with some of their critiques, but at least, they have their own opinions about each performance. It's pretty entertaining to watch and I love how they disagree on things. Oddly, that was a thing of beauty. Ha.

On to the rankings!