The Top 4

You know, this is as good as a Final in many ways. Five good contestants and I could imagine any one taking the title.

Favourite out there is probably La'Porsha who has put a foot wrong so far but I still wonder just how successful she would be as a long term record selling artist. She is superb as a singer but lacks something on stage and on camera that might hold her back and I am not so sure the Country lands would vote for her,

Next in my book and my own prediction to win is Dalton. He has something of Adam Lambert about him but, while he is not quite so perfect vocally, he has a great personality and a very individual and cool way to present material. He would also be popular across the planet with the right backing.

Then there's the remarkable Mackenzie. He writes very good songs and that should nean he deserves success in the future. He is popular and has a back story that many will appreciate. In the same way that Phillip Phillips sneaked in at the end so too might Mackenzie.

Sonika is the one who just made it to the last five. She is attractive and sings almost anything very well and I can see her going down well across the land. She lacks conviction - I don't think she's had much experience of life - and that shows sometimes in the interpretation of emotions in lyrics. I feel she is the least likely to make the Top 4 but she'll be pleased to make No.5 anyway.

The other candidate is good ol' Trent. I would not have put him in the last few based on early auditions but the guy has grown on me since and I have to admire his very good tuning and how he works with the songs. He has a great range, is more accurate than Dalton and has a lot of support out there. A good 'all American boy' too - he would be a popular choice for the last American Idol. Having said that, he just lacks that presence and magic that La'Porsha and Dalton possess and that's not something you can manufacture. I don't think he would export to places like UK or Europe either.

So, let's see how they do.

La'Porsha starts with a Bon Jovi number. I am not sure that suits her. She is most definitely not a cowboy and so the lyrics sounded odd, as did the tempo and general feel which was not what we're familiar with from this girl. I hope they have more than one track as that will not help her cause. Having said that, rumour has it that she is so far out there that it won't actually make any difference. Scott is already printing the CD covers. I didn't like that at all, though.

Mackenzie Bourg is next to make the Top 4. Cheap Trick's I Want You To Want Want Me is presented in his pleasant and easy-going style. I like the chap and this suits him. It didn't have a wow factor and may have been a bit over-produced with a lot going on in the background. I would have preferred him on his own or less heavily backed. A better job than La'Porsha and, as Harry said, it was 'all right'.

Keith says he hated the arrangement. After I'd written my bit! Nice to see I get some things right.

A past winner, David Cook, performs Heartbeat which I guess is a new single for him in the States. I liked him a lot in 2009 when he won but have heard almost nothing of him here in the UK since. He is jolly good and in this time of Mumfords and similar he could do well on this side of the Pond if his record people would bother trying. This particular track seems to be going nowhere until two-thirds the way through when it erupts and is quite impressive after all. It is one of those rare tracks that you want to play again almost before the first play ends. Nice. Come on SYCO or The Cook Record Company whoever you are, get him over here in 2016, OK.

Two places left. Who gets the first? I'm guessing Trent. Yes, although I don't agree with Ryan referring to Dalton and Sonika as the 'Bottom two'. I do hope that they weren't. Well, Sonika may have been but surely not Dalton? Anyway, Trent shows that he deserves his place in the Top 4 with a super version of ZZ Top's Sharp Dressed Man. I would never have expected that from him and he did really well, adding 'swampy' to the rock song. He 'muddied it up' and that worked well for him. Very smart, as Harry told him. A nice performance. The crowd loved it and that will do him proud. Unexpected and may see him through further than I might have thought. Good move. Best so far.

Dalton is the one that makes the last place. And he was in the Bottom Two with Sonika. Sad to see her go but it makes sense, looking at the talent she is competing with.

Dalton's song is God Only Knows, the great Beach Boys number. He 'Daltonizes' it, of course, slowing it right down and trying hard to pull in the audience. However, it was a bit weak. He should have attracted all his fans with that and he seemed genuinely emotional so maybe that will bring in a few much-needed votes for next week. His arrangement was good. He is a natural performer. He said he was 'a bit shook up' when Ryan questioned him afterwards and you can tell that he will be really disappointed not to make the Final. He has made the Final 4, though and that counts.

Very nice to see Katharine McPhee on stage singing Somewhere Over The Rainbow. The microphone was catching some noise as she sang which spoilt it a bit. She has done very well since with a career in film and TV series which is probably earning her far more than even winning would have brought. She is gorgeous in Scorpion.
I seem to remember that Sia was to act as a mentor in a programme and we did see a glimpse of her with Sonika. Ah, as I write this she is appearing and we see that she is working with each of the four to do one of her own songs. Sia has a remarkable skill and has written so many tracks for top acts across the world. She is good. I dislike the wigs but that's just a thing.

La'Porsha sings Elastic Heart. She does it well - pretty much as Sia would have presented it, but that is no bad thing. Nice job and I imagine she'll sail through to the Top 3.
Mackenzie chooses Titanium. Not my favourite song as so many seem to do it and usually finish up wailing annoyingly. His version is one of the better ones. I still don't think it suits him and I'm not sure he didn't decide not to risk some notes along the way. Quite good but I do feel he could have done a lot better and he needs to beat Dalton and Trent.
Dalton really should do Sia well. I can imagine him interpreting her stuff exactly as both she and he would like and he ought to be more confident too.

Sia performs what I think was Cheap Thrills. Brilliant, brilliant dancers and set design. I am tired of her face-hiding stuff now. It seems more a gimmick than a statement. She is superbly talented and really needs to forget all that. I am sure the way she actually looks will not affect anything. I think she initially didn't want to be successful just because she was a pretty Australian blonde but judged on her music instead. Interestingly, though, she has used the device of an attractive and very sexy dancer in most videos I've seen which I am sure has increased the initial impact of the early tracks. I remember being enthralled by a couple of videos and may not have noticed her otherwise. I even though she was the girl dancing for a while!
OK, back to people with faces. Trent is singing Chandelier,  which Sia says is her favourite song. Trent does an amazingly good version of this and my guess is that he seals his own Top 3 place ther and then. He really does show Mackenzie just what was required. One of the Season's 'moments' I feel. Well done, Trent. Every single note was right and that was not an easy song by any stretch of the imagination. The timbre and timing were just, as Harry said, phenomenal. Very difficult but he gave it 100/100 and, from Harry, that's one hell of a complement.
Dalton is closing the show with Bird Set Free. Another damn difficult track and not as commercial as the others have been. They won't be as well remembered, perhaps. I was genuinely moved watching this. he really did mean thse lyrics - every word and he chose so well a less than famous track. He moved the audience too and may just have knocked some of the sparkle off Trent's performance. He will be remembered.


I do hope he makes it through. So many people say they 'need this'. He genuinely does. Keith tells us how he is up against some insane talent and yet he has that conviction and inspires us all. Keith would rather hear Dalton's inspiring efforts than someone else's perfection. He doesn't say whose perfection he was thinking about, of course!

This is one hell of a competition and a great way to end the series. There will be tears.

The Top 5 are revealed

Huge applause at the very start as Adam Lambert opens this week's Idol show with the song he performed way back in 2009, Mad World. This guy is so good. I remember saying at the time that he simply has to succeed and I am so glad that he has, although I still feel he needs more exposure here in the UK. Of all the finalists, he is the one above all of them, in my opinion.

Tonight, well, a few nights ago for those in the States who get it on time, six will become five.

First saved is Trent. He performs Counting Stars, a new track for this guy and which shows another side to what he can do. His pose on stage is a bit weird but there have been plenty of dodgy idols in that respect. One even won! This fellow is a good singer, notes spot-on and he is confident. I can see America liking him, but I can't position him anywhere. Keith says he was watching him but didn't feel pulled in. The songs are chosen by the audience and viewers for the acts this time. That didn't suit him that well and he gets as good a review from the panel as he can expect. I don't see him winning and he may be getting near the end of his run.

Unless something odd happens La'Porsha will be there in the Final with Dalton and Mackenzie. Sonika, Trent and Tristan will be the ones going between now and then and, to a large extent, it doesn't really matter in which order they go. Tristan is just a little young to be convincing, emotionally, although she is the best of the three for me. She will almost certainly get a contract as she looks just like a pop star manager's dream and the camera loves her.

Sonika is a little bland. It is as if she has really behaved herself very well and, whilst singing brilliantly, she also leaves us a little cool emotionally. Has she actually experienced much in the love department, I wonder? I am not being critical, just wishing that I could believe the things she sings about. Strangely, the 15 year old Tristan is more creditable in ways that simply shouldn't be.

Dalton is next up. That was another reasonable effort of a track that I didn't recognise. It wasn't his best performance but he gets credit from Harry for the effort made. Again, the panel are not so impressed by the audience requests! He is very good, though, and seems pretty popular. He would be my choice to win from what I have seen so far. I just see him as a future star doing 21st century stuff, not recycling old numbers.

La'Porsha is the one everyone seems to expect to win. I can see why as she is damn good. She sings perfectly and takes on all kinds of music and seems to inject something special into each and every performance, all of which have been excellent. This one I don't know either. It is more of a ballad, gentle style than she has done before. She soars through the notes but there is a slightly annoying vibrato and more runs than I would have liked. Having said that, she can get away with them. And she is believable. Well done. Another step to winning, for sure.

Keith says he just feels that he is no longer judging but just watching and enjoying now.

Now that's odd. The 4Music Channel here in the UK jump to the bottom two. It is Sonika and Tristan. Seems like Mackenzie survived but we don't get to see what he sings. Oh well.

Tristan sings Independence Day which is a sort of Country number and she is great. If there were a way to keep her with the nation's votes then I am sure that would bring her in and secure a 5th position for her. A very nice, and controlled, performance as she sat at the piano, looking more like 25, and singing really well. Harry says she needs to grow older and that's all that's wrong really. Keith says how beautiful she is and mentions her photogenic quality too. It is pretty clear that she is the one who'll get the 6th spot this week.

Sonika does Let It Go originally by Demi Lovato and I can see that suiting her down to the ground. This, of course, is the famous Frozen theme that we heard week after week by someone else last year. She put her heart and soul into it. She missed quite a few notes this time and I am not convinced she beat Tristan at all. She did, however 'perform' better and started to become alive a bit more. She has really got as far as she should now, though, and, of the two, this week I would save Tristan as I just feel she is better and deserves 5th. However, it will be Sonika that gets another week. It is not that important and both will be on the well-remunerated Idol Tour this year.

Sonika is saved by the panel.

I remember when this Season began it was the girls that got all the attention. There were so many really talented auditions by girls and the boys didn't get much of a look-in, apart from the few we now know well.

We do get Never Let It Die which is a new release from an Empire show across The Pond. It is all good stuff but I would have preferred to see Mackenzie's number, being more of interest to UK viewers.

Ha ha! They've got the order of the programme mixed up! We do now get Mackenzie being saved after all! How could that have happened? I guess the UK Channel get several digital files and just got them in the wrong order!

Mackenzie is given Wild World, a Cat Stevens number that is pretty light and generally unimpressive. Sod this audience thing. If the series were to continue I would go back to getting numbers chosen by the mentors there and colleagues who know what they're doing.

So second songs now from the Top 5.

Dalton is first. Sound Of Silence is, or could be, perfect for him. Fabulous. I love this song and the power that Paul Simon brings to it (not the commercial version) and this is as good. So, so good. Well presented too and he emphasises those lyrics so well. Brilliant.




Adam Lambert follows, performing Welcome To The Show, a new release over there, with Leleh on stage too. That was the première of that track. I don't know if you'll be able to see the video here but it's worth checking out.



Mackenzie is next with a magnificent version of the Michael Jackson classic Billie Jean. He must be in the Top 3. He even has a shot at winning. Think Ed Sheeran.



Another fine performance from Trent with A Simple Man. Nicely done, and this is another song that actually does suit his style very well. Quite a different style to the two guys that have gone before and I feel he is making that extra effort to stay in the game. Harry says he'd like to see a duet between him and Adam and I can see the point. They're both spot-on with the notes and Trent has a good range too. This might be one of the guy's best performances. Jennifer even gets quite emotional.


Wow. Next week Sia is going to be featured, with acts doing some of her numbers. I wonder if she will be there herself and actually get out of the silly facial disguises. For now, Sonika is on stage again and she really ought to be there for Sia next week so I hope she gets the votes she needs. Will this be enough to steal some from the three guys though?

That was good. she was dancing around and moving. She let go and, finally, we began to see a free spirit in tight leather. She deserves a contract for Pixar even if she doesn't get one from Idol. I like how she seems to have realised that she can do what she pleases. Next step is to take her parents away so she doesn't get embarrassed as you just still get the feeling they limit her self-expression.



La'Porsha gets to close the show. A powerful version, clearly heartfelt and brilliantly portrayed. I don't really know how anyone can match that. Packed with genuine emotion. Jennifer is in tears again and so is La'Porsha.



I do hope the papers don't dig up dirt on her. It's the sort of thing I can imagine happening as jealous relations or past boyfriends try to make a few dollars and spread some old muck around which could affect her votes. I feel she'll have a rough ride even if she wins. But she must be pleased with how she has really dominated this Season. Whilst I still give Dalton and Mackenzie a chance, she is almost there.

The Top 6 Revealed

Here are the solo performances from this week's Top 8, now reduced to just 6 as another two depart.

These are not in any particular order and I let them stand without comment. I reckon you'll be able to judge for yourselves who is really heading for that big Final and who has reached the end of their journey. The videos do include, however, the excellent panel summaries in case you're not sure.

The Beatles, of course, feature this week as a tribute to Sir George Martin who passed away last week. I am not sure why some did not. Maybe they did a Beatles tack in their duet performances. I have not included those as they were pretty meaningless on the whole, few of the remaining acts having much chemistry with the others.

















Two of these have now departed and six move on to next week when just one will leave.