Idol Chatter & Voice Views

American Idol’s Top 7 of Brooks (Rosser), Braden Rumfelt, Hannah Harper, Chris Tungseth, Keyla Richardson, Jordan McCullough and Daniel Stallworth. (ABC Photo)

Fans will get a double dose of performances from American Idol’s Top 7 Monday night.

And it’s a good thing. Stretching seven meaningful performances over two hours would have made for a very slow-moving show.

In addition to tackling songs by Taylor Swift, the Idol hopefuls will sing songs made famous by artists with links to California.

In fact, Idol has already announced what the Top 7 will be singing. You can check out their song chooses below.

See also …
Ranking the Top 7 on American Idol
Song by song grades for the Top 9 on American Idol
Last week’s most popular Idol performances

Brooks Rosser, 22, Bel Air, Md., “She Will Be Loved” by Maroon 5: Hey, Brooks just had himself a pretty good night on Idol. He seemed more relaxed on this song and he seemed to push harder. The song choice was smart, another nice fit for his voice. The judges liked that performance much more than his first. Brooks even smiled when answering questions from Ryan, proclaiming that “I’m in love.” Last week, you’ll recall, Idol announced that Brooks and fellow Season 24 contestant Rae are dating. Grade: B

Jordan McCullough, 27, Murfreesboro, Tenn., “I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt: Wow, there’s the Jordan I’ve had ranked first all season on Idol. He delivered the emotion. He delivered the vocals. He made some tasteful changes to an oft-performed song. That was a show-winning type of performance. Carrie says everything he sings, she feels the “holy spirit.” Brilliant bounce back from the Taylor Swift round. Grade: A

Daniel Stallworth, 27, Moss Point, Mississipp, “Best Part” by Daniel Caesar and H.E.R.: Daniel slips behind the keys for the start of the song, then gets up in the middle of the song and goes into full performance mood. The vocals were already great, and then his range reaches that stratosphere. That was so, so, so much better than his performance in the Taylor round and shows why Daniel’s a contender for the finale. Grade: A–

Braden Rumfelt, 22, Murphy, N.C., “This Love” by Maroon 5: Braden goes upbeat and made it work pretty well. Carrie said it was a great moment for him and that he was as comfortable as she’s even seen him seem on stage. It wasn’t one of his better vocals, but he did deliver a very good ending. I didn’t like the song choice for someone who’s likely singing for his Idol life tonight. Grade: B–

Chris Tungseth, 27, Fergus Falls, Minn., “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish: Chris says this song means a lot to him because he didn’t have a clear direction in his life for a while. He lets his hair down for this one. And he’s delivering emotion, just like he did in the Taylor Swift round. That’s Chris’s forte, because you don’t expect that tender voice to come from such a big guy. I liked his first performance tonight better, but this one was solid. Grade: B

Hannah Harper, 25, Willow Springs, Missouri, “That’s the Way Love Goes” by Merle Haggard: That was much closer to what we’ve come to expect from Hannah than her performance in the Taylor Swift round. A wonderful country vocal that felt like “a warm blanket,” according to guest judge Nikki Glaser. I’d agree, though I’m beginning to sense more nerves from Hannah as the pressure builds on Idol. Grade: B+

Keyla Richardson, 29, Pensacola, Fla., “I’d Rather Go Blind” by Etta James: Oh, yeah, Keyla is going to slay this. And she did that and more. Combine a powerful voice with a powerful performance and that’s the result. Keyla knew it too. You could tell it form her expression when the song ended. Guest judge Nikki called it an Idol moment, and she’s not wrong. She and Jordan delivered finales worthy performances in the second round tonight. Grade: A

And it’s results time. The seven becomes a Top 5.

Advancing to that Top 5: Keyla Richardson, Braden Rumfelt, Jordan McCullough, Hannah.

That leaves Daniel, Brooks and Chris. And the last spot goes to: Chris.

That’s a bit of a stunner. Daniel and Brooks head home.