Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The American Idol Top 4, MacKenzie Bourg, Dalton Rapattoni, Trent Harmon and La’Porsha Renae. (FOX Photo)

Was anyone besides me disappointed when Sonika Vaid didn’t get to perform either of her songs last week?

Hopefully, the same won’t happen to American Idol’s fourth-place finisher. Not after preparing three songs for Thursday’s show.

That’s right, folks, we’ll hear three songs each this week from the Top 3.

One will be chosen by the judges. One will be chosen by Idol mentor Scott Borchetta. The third will be a hometown dedication selected by the contestant.

This week’s rankings:

1. La’Porsha Renae (1): This is the week La’Porsha should re-establish the fact that she’s in a league of her own among Idol’s Season 15 cast. And even that might not be enough to seal the deal given past Idol voting trends that favor cute guys. Remember, we’ve had just one female winner since Jordin Sparks in Season 6. And this is the second straight year that three of the top four are guys.

2. Trent Harmon (2): The former farm boy is on quite a roll. He might have been the best performer on the Idol stage last week. And that’s the first time anyone but La’Porsha could say that since the Season 15 finals began. I hate that contestants have so little say in what they’re singing this week. Who would have guessed Trent would impress with songs as different as “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Chandelier.”

3. MacKenzie Bourg (3): The gap seems to be widening between La’Porsha and Trent and MacKenzie and Dalton. Back on wild card night, when MacKenzie sang his original called “Roses,” he appeared to be the guy most likely to challenge La’Porsha for the Season 15 crown. Last week, one could argue that he was the only member of the Top 4 who didn’t score an Idol moment.

4. Dalton Rapattoni (5): He landed in the bottom two last week, meaning those blue eyes, that blonde hair and those boyish good looks might not be reeling in as many votes as I suspected. And while Dalton’s vocals have been inconsistent for the most part, he deserves credit for delivering one of his best in last week’s slow-closer, his cover of Sia’s “Bird Set Free.”

See also
Photo gallery of Dalton Rapattoni’s return home
Photo gallery of La’Porsha Renae’s return home
Photo gallery of MacKenzie Bourg’s return home
Photo gallery of Trent Harmon’s return home
Sonika Vaid talks about like after American Idol