Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Jovin Webb performs during the showcase round on American Idol Season 18. (ABC Photo)

The show will go on in a brand new fashion on American Idol Sunday night.

The show will air pre-recorded performances by the Top 20. The judges will chime in with comments from their respective homes.

Then fans will vote on who they think deserves to be in the Top 10.

Results will not be announced Sunday night. Idol won’t reveal who advanced until the start of next Sunday’s Top 10 episode.

I read somewhere that voting will run until Monday morning, but haven’t seen anything official from Idol to confirm that.

You’ll be voting on AmericanIdol.com, via the Idol app and presumably by text for the contestant numbers provided on the show, with a limit of 10 votes per method.

And now I’ve reached the point where I’d normally rank the contestants. But I won’t be doing that for a simple reason.

Idol has failed fans by not providing enough uninterrupted performances to rank the Top 20. Then producers compounded the issue by airing the same chopped up, voiced over performances during four hours of wasted airtime the past two Sundays.

Instead, I’ll list some singers I think definitely deserve to be in the Top 10, complete with the following disclaimer, which will accompany all prediction and performance blogs regarding Idol and the Voice for the rest of their Season 18s.

Disclaimer:
Producers, coaches, judges and hosts on American Idol and The Voice will pretend they are hosting a legitimate singing competition over the next few weeks. Having blogged about singing shows for more than a decade, I can assure you they are not.

You can not go from a Top 20 to a winner in four weeks (American Idol) or a Top 17 to a winner in three weeks (The Voice) and call it a fair and legitimate singing competition.

So have fun watching. Vote if you want. Put very little stock in the results because they will mean virtually nothing.

Most of all, support the singers when their time on the show ends. They deserved a better showcase for their talent.

Now, who deserves to advance? Here are my picks, in no particular order.

1. Jovin Webb: He’s been the most impressive male vocalist to my ears. And in a season where some of the guys seem to have been reluctantly pushed into the spotlight, he’s one heck of a performer, though I’m not sure how well that will translate in these at-home performances.

2. Jonny West: The show has a bounty of talented male singer-songwriter types in Season 18. Jonny’s my favorite at this point, partly from what he’s done on the show, mostly because of the original music he’s released to date.

3. Dillon James: And among those male singer-songwriters, he has a distinct sound, a distinct look and his own handful of very fine originals.

4. Just Sam: The young woman from Harlem has gotten lots of screen time and one of the best edits on the show, a potential boon in a short season. But she’s also backed it up with some stellar performances.

5. Kimmy Gabriela: The bilingual teen absolutely lights up the stage with her smile, her enthusiasm, her performances and her voice. Will the same translate in an at-home performance? Hopefully so.

6. Makayla Phillips: She’s got a great voice. But, more importantly, she’s another young lady who seems to thrive in the spotlight. Plus, she’s got pet rats named Bada and Bing. How can you not root for a gal willing the share the spotlight with her pet rats.

7. Sophia Wackerman: She announced that she’s changing her stage name to Sophia James in honor of her brother during one of the This is Me episodes. But it’s the impeccable vocals that should land her in the Top 10, especially after she went upbeat in Hawaii and still sounded fantastic.

Check back Sunday night. I’ll be live blogging and grading each performance.

With the above disclaimer, of course.

Kimmy Gabriela performs during the showcase round on American Idol (ABC Photo)