Chris Tungseth performs during the Ohana Round on American Idol. (ABC Photo)
American Idol introduces it’s new Ohana round tonight, with the Top 30 competing for spots in the Top 20.
Platinum tickets will apparently return. And the sole say won’t be in the hands of the judges.
Weighing in on who should advance from this round will be the families of the contestants, a panel of experts and the contestants themselves.
By the end of the night, we should know the identity of the Top 20, setting the stage for shows the next two weeks during which they perform.
I’ll be live blogging tonight’s show with song by song grades — when Idol airs full or nearly full performances. I won’t be grading small snippets of performances, and I fear there might be lots of those tonight with everything Idol is trying to squeeze into one two-hour show.
Jordan McCullough, 27, Murfreesboro, Tenn., “Grandm’s Hands” by Bill Withers: Jordan has a silky smooth voice and he’s showing it off again. This guy belongs in the Top 20. And check out that range. He’s one heck of a showman too. He even has the judges on their feet. Great performance. No wonder they opened the show with him. Grade: A
Chloe Lauren, 25, Warrenville, S.C., “Hello” by Adele: Chloe has a nice tone and grit to her voice, but stumbles badly early in the performance. Even before the stumble, there was the sense that she’s isn’t as prepared or confident as she needs to be for Idol’s big stage. Chloe recovers to finish the performance. But my guess is she’s not going to advance. This group is too talented to stumble like that. Grade: C–
Lucas Leon, 18, Gallatin, Tenn., “The House That Built Me,” by Miranda Lambert: The Season 24 cast is loaded with talented male singer-songwriter types. Lucas starts a little slow, but finds his groove on the chorus. Liked the passion he showed at the end of the song. Pretty composed on stage at just 18 too. Carrie Underwood praised his control. Solid performance. Grade: B
Keyla Richardson, 29, Pensacola, Fla.”A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri: Keyla is dedicating this to her son, who’s gotten more airtime than some members of the Top 30. Just saying. Keyla delivers an impressive vocal and makes some smart changes to the song to show off her vocal firepower. It might have been overdone in a couple of spots, but here’s betting it gets her into the Top 20. Carrie calls her talent “limitless.” Grade: B+
Braden Rumfelt, 22, Murphy, N.C., “If I Ain’t Got You” by Alicia Keys: Interesting song choice by Braden. The opening was a little slow. The chorus allows him to show off more of his vocal chops. This is a just a little sleepy for the moment. He does deliver a very nice high note at the end. Carrie calls his voice velvety and big. Grade: B–
Hannah Harper, 25, Willow Springs, Missouri, “Go Rest High on That Mountain”: Hannah dedicates her song to her grandpa. This was his favorite song. And Hannah’s delivering what I’ve been waiting for most — emotion. This is absolutely lovely. So is her voice, by the way. That’s was just absolutely beautiful and will do nothing to diminish her status as a front-runner. Grade: A
Genevieve Heyward, 26, Lake Geneva, Wis., “Your Song” by Elton John: This young woman was brilliant rocking out in Hollywood. Now she’s going to slow it down. Do her voice on this remind anyone else of Lady Gaga? It’s a solid performance from Genevieve, who holds that one note forever. She’s a skilled performer and deserves to be in the Top 20. Lionel called it “amazing.” Grade: A–
Idol did not show enough of these next two performances to grade.
Abayomi Lewis, 15, San Francisco, Calif., “Rise Up” by Andra Day: She has a lovely voice and a big voice. Idol cut that up too much for me to deliver a grade. Carrie calls her like a Disney star.
Ruby Rae, 16, Pacific Palisades, Calif., “Til Forever Falls Apart,” by Ashe and Finneas: She delivers an impressive vocal for someone so young. That was closer to her stellar Idol audition than her Hollywood performance.
Bryant Thomas, 26, Mobile, Ala., “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac: He dazzled with his take on Taylor Swift’s “Champagne Promises” in Hollywood. Love Bryant’s voice, but I’m not sure his grit worked quite as well covering Stevie Nicks. That said, that was a heck of an ending. Grade: B
Rae Boyd, 24, Frederick, Md., “I’ll Be There” by The Jackson 5: She was one of the absolute best in Hollwyood. This young woman can sing. She has a great soulful tone. She’s quickly proving herself the best pure singer among the women on American Idol Season 24. Another stellar performance that gets the judges to their feet. Luke Bryan compliments her on the way she commands the stage. Grade: A
Jake Thistle, 21, Paramus, N.J., “Sleep On Me,” an original: Nice. He’s going to sing an original. I like that fact that he’s taking that sort of risk with so much at stake. It’s a fine singer-songwriter tune. Lionel said he did well. Grade: B
Brooks Rosser, 22, Bel Air, Md., “Everywhere, Everything” by Noah Kahan: You know that crowded male singer-songwriter group I wrote about earlier. Brooks’ unique tone gives him the heads up on all of them. This is another reminder of how special that voice is. I’m impressed by the fact that he seems so assured on stage, because he hasn’t performed that much. Nice performance. Grade: B+
Can’t grade the following because Idol showed just a snippet.
Madison Moon sings “Faithfully” by Journey. Daniel Stallworth sings “The Climb.” I would have loved to have heard that entire performance. I demise the song, but it sounds like Daniel did something entirely different with it. Chris Tungseth performs “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls. Sounded like another performance I would have liked to have seen in full.
Jesse Findling, 19, Long Island, N.Y., “Photograph” by Ed Sheeran: He’s another of the show’s flat-out excellent photographs. I’m not sure this song is the best showcase for that. But the last 45 seconds or so were very, very special and made the performance, both vocally and emotionally. Carrie called it honest, real, believable and beautiful. Grade: B+
Shelby Riley, 26, Melbourne, Australia, “To Build a Home”: Not sure why he has little feathers all over him. He’s such a good singer. He doesn’t need the accessories. Oops, after an impressive start,he breaks down in the middle of the performance. He recovers. Then breaks down again at the end of the song. Carrie is worried he’s building up walls. Grade: B
Julian Kalel, 19, El Paso, Texas, “Surrender,” an original: He’s going back to an original he wrote about his anxiety. His sister is going to be playing violin. Among the Idol guys, he’s one of my favorites. And has some excellent music out. The mix isn’t letting his voice cut through the way it should, but I’d put this guy in the Top 20 in a heartbeat. Luke calls him “so solid” and his performance one of his favorite of the night. Grade: B
Kutter Bradley, 22, Florence, Ala., “Amarillo Sky” by Jason Aldean: The theme, family dedications, has led to a string of ballads. Kutter goes upbeat. He and Michael Garner are the closest to country males among the Season 24 cast members. Kutter’s vocal got stronger once he stopped playing guitar. Luke called it a great job. Grade: B–
We barely see Brenna Brigman, Bella Emry and Brianna Yancey. Michael Garner, just 16, gets a bit more airtime. I have a feeling the four singers we just saw aren’t advancing.
Kyndal Inskeep, 29, Fishers, Indiana, “Woman of Me” (an original): Kyndal recently released this song. Kyndal has folks in tears in a heartbeat. And she has a really great tone too. My guess is that emotional performance got Kyndal to the Top 20. Very nice. Lionel calls the song-writing incredible. Carrie says she’s a great songwriter with a voice to back it up. Grade: B+
Philmon Lee, 25, LeGrange, Ga., “All I Want” by Kodaline: Another of the standout male vocalists, this is a nice showcase for Philmon’s vocal power and range. He’s delivering a fine, passionate vocal with a touch of grit. Eyes open, Philmon. A bit more stage presence. But that was a very, very good vocal. Grade: B+
Makiyah Mustiful, 24, Pine Bluff, Ark., “Stand Up” by Cynthia Erivo: Makiyah has a unique vocal tone too. And she is building this very nicely. I would have suggested she get to the chorus quicker. But she belts impressively once she does. Very nice. She has the crowd on their feet. Luke loved the southern gospel and the uplifting moments in the performance. Grade: A–
The three platinum ticket holders are:
Industry experts: Kyndal
Family members: Brooks Rosser
Idol contestants: Jordan McCullough
Also advancing:
Philmon Lee
Madison Moon
Braden Rumfelt
Jake Thistle
Jesse Findling
Ruby Rae
Genevieve Heyward
Lucas Leon
Hannah Harper
Chris Tungseth
Julian Kalel
Rae Boyd
Daniel Stallworth
Abayomi
Kutter Bradley
Makiyah
Keyla Richardson
That means the elimination:
Of Michael Garner, Sheldon Riley, Chloe Lauren, Bryant Thomas, Tianna Roberts, Jacquie Lee, Bella Emry, Brenna Brigman, Brianna Yancey.
Leave a reply