Idol’s final two contestants, Kree Harrison and Candice Glover, took to the stage last night to try to win the title of season 12’s American Idol.
Kree and Candice performed three songs each last night: creator Simon Fuller’s pick, their own personal favorite performance from previously on the season, and their Idol coronation song, which will become the winner’s first single.
Amid the top 2’s vocal acrobatics, Carly Rae Jepsen took the stage to perform “Take A Picture,” in a performance orchestrated by American Idol fans. The fans have been voting online all season to decide certain elements of the performance, from the song lyrics, to the set design, to the stage effects. It was your standard poppy, catchy, Carly Rae Jepsen song, and a fun performance. Good job, America!
‘Idol’ creator Simon Fuller’s picks
Kree Harrison
Kree won the coin toss last week, and chose to perform first. Simon Fuller chose Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel” for Kree, and she kicked off the night looking beautiful in a sparkly white gown (a rarity for Kree, who usually wears pants and the tallest heels she can find.) It was a great song choice for her, as the song seemed perfectly suited for her voice, and her “countrified” version sounded beautiful.
Candice Glover
Simon chose Adele’s “Chasing Pavements” for Candice, and while there are many other Adele songs that would have shown off her vocals a little better, she was still able to make the song her own. She added a bit of a bluesy tone to the song, and showed off her deeper register. She manages to make every one of her performances seem professional. Randy gave the edge to Candice in round one, but felt both contestants’ songs were a bit sleepy.
‘Idol’ coronation song
Kree Harrison
Kree’s Idol coronation song, and potential first single, is called “All Cried Out.” It’s a great song that is perfectly suited to Kree’s voice. Not only is it a great country tune, but it showed off a lot of the strength and power in her voice that we didn’t get to see enough of this season. It will, however, make an amusing victory song, to have her singing about being “all cried out” while undoubtedly sobbing.
Candice Glover
Candice really connected to her coronation song, called “I Am Beautiful.” No, not the Christina Aguilera song; this one is all her own. The performance was great, because not only were Candice’s typical powerhouse vocals on display, but she was obviously so passionate about the song’s message that it really shone through in her performance. While this makes for a better victory song, sentiment-wise, than Kree’s, it will still sound a little strange in her victory moments.
Contestant’s favorite performance
Kree Harrison
Kree chose her Vegas standout “Up to the Mountain” for her final performance, except this time she was on a much bigger stage, backed up by a gospel choir. It was a great choice for her, as it was definitely her best performance from previously in the competition. It seemed like a weight was off her shoulders as soon as the performance was over. The performance had such a great energy that it was the perfect number to finish off her Idol journey.
Candice Glover
Candice chose to revisit her show-stopping performance from Top 10 week, “I Who Have Nothing.” It may have seemed like there was no way she could top her original performance, but one should never underestimate the power of Candice Glover. As a change of pace, she started off the song completely a capella, and it was absolutely flawless. When the band kicked in, it didn’t take anything away from Candice’s vocals; she just kept building in momentum and pulled out all the stops for the ending.
So that’s it! Candice and Kree have given it their all throughout the entire season, and they gave their final performances everything they had. Kree sounded better than she’s sounded in weeks. She connected to the audience, she connected to her songs, and she seemed to really be enjoying herself. Candice, however, is a difficult opponent. Her performances have been outstanding all season, and they seemed to have all built up to last night’s unbelievable final performance.
Both girls are very talented, very likeable, and have a huge fan base. Either would do us proud as the first female Idol in six seasons. Tune in tomorrow night at 8/7c on Fox for the star-studded 2-hour finale results show.
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