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A few weeks ago, when Sam Woolf was still competing on American Idol, Harry Connick Jr. told the handsome teenager to look directly at someone in the audience when he heard screams and smile at that person. Woolf tried it, and the camera cut to his grandparents.

That moment encapsulated the problem with Idol in Season 13, which ends this week with a performance show and star-studded results finale (Fox, Tuesday and Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET/PT). No matter how much the show's producers tried to present these singers as the voices of young America, no matter how full they packed the front of the house with screaming girls, this season's competition boiled down to a bunch of kids singing for their elders.

Sure, half the show's ever-dwindling viewership is eligible for AARP membership, but that's not the only problem. For much of the season, the contestants performed with the mildly desperate look of people hoping to earn the approval of authority figures — their moms and dads, their grandparents, the three judges in their mid-40s.

Caleb Johnson — the 23-year-old rocker from North Carolina who's one of the two remaining finalists, along with Jena Irene — based his appeal on a style of music that fell from fashion two decades ago. Woolf, 18, appeared panicked by the idea that all those girls clamoring for his attention might actually desire him. Alex Preston and Jessica Meuse thrived on praise but just couldn't generate enough viewer enthusiasm to stick around.

Idol did some things right after last year's disastrous run, remembered primarily for the constant bickering between Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey. It found articulate judges who had a natural rapport. It licensed more contemporary songs. It finally allowed the singers' downloads to chart on iTunes. Unfortunately, it also had perhaps the most amateurish batch of finalists in the series' history, contestants who barely knew where to look when the cameras were on, much less command an audience from the stage.

Jena Irene, a 17-year-old from Farmington Hills, Mich., has been the sole exception, the one singer who has expressed an interest in current pop, the only person whose performances have felt like they were geared more for the kids than the grown-ups. She'll have a hard time beating Johnson, easily the season's most polished and consistent entertainer. But her penchant for Paramore-style rock, combined with the occasional foray into EDM rhythms and tender piano moments, makes her the only person who has a chance of coming off this show and making any kind of mark on the music scene.

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C.J. Harris flipped through the family photo album tonight, plucking a few baby pictures for the "American Idol" audience. Other contestants on the show did the same, but Harris, a country-soul singer, took the prize for most heartwarming. 

It's his strength on the show -- that earnest, good guy quality -- and when Harris talks about his mother or his grandfather, he seems extremely huggable. Mr. Congeniality? Definitely.

This week's theme: Contestants revisited the tunes they performed during their initial auditions for the judges. The idea, of course, was to show how much they're grown (or not) over the past couple of months on the show.

What he sang: "Soulshine" by the Allman Brothers Band. It's a popular track from the 1994 album "Where It All Begins." Warren Haynes, who wrote the song, has performed it with his own band, Gov't Mule.

What Harris said: "I'm feeling great right now. Words can't explain." 

What the judges said: "You know it was better than the first time you did it," Jennifer Lopez said. "You felt it, and we felt it … There's something that comes from you that just touches my heart. … I'm rooting for you. I think you have an amazing, amazing voice. That sounded so soulful and heartful to me. I think that's your gift as an artist." Harris received kudos from Harry Connick Jr., for improved intonation and the unique quality of his voice. "If you get a record deal, and I hope you will, 'cause you're that good, you're going to go in the studio and when you go home or go out to have dinner afterward, if you don't get that pitch together, they're going to Auto-Tune your voice and suck all the life out of it," Connick said. "If you can crack that, and you're coming really close, you're gonna be great." Keith Urban kept it brief: "Good job tonight, man."  

Critical reaction: Harris relies on instinct and emotion during his performances, and this one was no exception. The gravel in his voice was affecting, and he clearly plugged into the lyrics of the song. Still, it's becoming apparent that "Idol" might not be the proper platform for him. Harris' basic vibe is like one of those talented street performers in New Orleans -- rough around the edges, but so what? -- or an old-school bluesman. A slick reality show doesn't cater to such musicians or show them off to advantage. 

Bonus: The top eight were paired off for duets tonight. Harris joined forces with fellow Alabamian Dexter Roberts for a cover of Darius Rucker's "Alright." Unfortunately, their performance was disjointed and sloppy. The vocal blend didn't work -- Harris was off key through most of the song -- and Roberts couldn't carry both of them. Bleah.