'American Idol' has five girls

'American Idol' has five girls, could we get a Spice Girls number out of this?

For the first time in the show's history,"American Idol" has a Top 5 made up only of girls. Kree Harrison,Candice Glover, Angie Miller,Amber Holcomb and Janelle Arthurbeat out all of the guys in the Top 10 so we could have an all-female race to the finale.

This is pretty cool by itself. But how much cooler would it be if "Idol" somehow managed to work The Spice Girls into the mix?

Think about it: The most popular girl-band of all time was made up of five beautiful, singing women. "American Idol" Season 12 is made of up five beautiful, singing women. The match is just about perfect!

It gets even more perfect when you think about the identities of each member of the Spice Girls and try to match that with an "Idol" singer. What do we get from that?

• Candice = Scary Spice (the singer with a big voice that you can't ignore)
• Kree = Sporty Spice (the girl next door with an incredible singing voice)
• Janelle = Baby Spice (the little blonde who is just so cute)
• Amber = Posh Spice (the fashionista of the group, notable as much for looks as for singing)
• Angie = Ginger Spice (the slightly wild and very outgoing one that you can't predict)

We don't need an entire week devoted to Girl Groups or the Spice Girls or anything like that. A single group performance would work. This coming Thursday, before the Top 5 elimination, would be perfect.

"American Idol" -- make this happen!

Gerry's Spice Girls connection

One of a host of musicians from the 1960s still going strong, Gerry and the Pacemakers frontman Gerry Marsden is almost ready to hit New Zealand.
Billed as "the last great 60s tour", Marsden will perform all his best-known songs at the Trafalgar Centre on March 30, ensuring audience members will never walk home in disappointment.
"It's been a fabulous tour," Marsden says. Shows have been sold out in Australia, and promoters are happy with how tickets have sold in New Zealand.
It's his final tour Down Under, and the Liverpudlian admits they are bittersweet shows, but says the tour is a way of saying goodbye to people who've supported him through the years.
And what years they've been. In 1959 Marsden formed Gerry and the Pacemakers with his brother Fred, Les Chadwick and Arthur McMahon. They had a string of hits during the 1960s, beginning with How Do You Do It? and including Girl on a Swing and Ferry Cross the Mersey.
They were a large part of what history now calls the "60s British Invasion", along with their friends from Liverpool, the Beatles, who they rivalled early in their career. The band was the second to sign with Beatles manager Brian Epstein, who later signed them with Columbia Records. Their first three singles all reached the top spot on the UK singles chart - the feat would not be bettered until the Spice Girls did it in the 90s.
This time around Marsden is touring with another 1960s Liverpool group, The Searchers, famous for Sweets for My Sweet, Sugar & Spice and Needles & Pins, their three number one hits that saw total world sales exceed 30 million.
It's all a long time ago, but Marsden has endured. He says these days the music industry is much better, as are the hotels, promoters, labels, venues, and people.
"It improves with age; the whole thing is easier now than it used to be." The only thing that isn't? Over-wrought airport security. "It's the big battle."
He says he notices that those watching him are not all of a certain vintage. As he mingles with the audience after a show he often asks youngsters why they turned up.
"I said, ‘Did your mum and dad drag you here?' They said, ‘No, we've heard your records all our lives'."
Marsden last toured New Zealand two years ago, and although he's now 70, he has no plans to stop.
"The first thing is I've got no money," he jokes. "I enjoy being on the stage. I sing the hits - as many as I can."
When away from his heavy touring schedule, he likes to play golf and jet-ski. He still writes music too, but says his producers had a hard job getting him into the recording studio.
During his rare moments of free time he often flies to Spain to take a break.
But he has no intention of retiring. "I love it so much. I just really enjoy it. I wouldn't know what to do. I think my brain would just cave in."
Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Trafalgar Centre, March 30, 7.30pm. Tickets $55-$65 from Ticketek.