Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The Top 14 on Idol include (front, from left) Catie Turner, Ada Vox, Mara Justine, Michelle Sussett, Gabby Barrett, Jurnee, Michael Woodard; back row — Marcio Donaldson, Jonny Brenns, Dennis Lorenzo, Caleb Lee Hutchinson, Cade Foehner, Maddie Poppe and Garrett Jacobs. (ABC Photo)

In each of the last two weeks, five contestants were sent home on American Idol.

This week, the show loses four more as the rush to crown ABC’s first-ever Idol champ continues.

All 14 contestants sing for fans’ votes tonight. Viewers can cast those votes between the time tonight’s show starts on the East Coast (8 p.m.) until 9 a.m. eastern time Monday.

During Monday’s show, the six top vote-getters will automatically advance to the Top 10. Then the other eight contestants will perform again, trying to convince the judges they deserve a Top 10 spot as well.

The performances we’ll see tonight were filmed Saturday, so we already know what the contestants will sing. Check out the list below.

I’ll be back later with song by song grades.

See also …
Ranking the Top 14
Social media rankings
How to vote

Editor’s Note: I will provide a quick assessment here. I’ll be back later tonight to fine tune the grading and rank the performances from #1 to #14.

1. Caleb Lee Hutchinson, “Midnight Train to Memphis” by Chris Stapleton: Caleb shows up on stage with a banjo and a song well-suited to his deep country voice. Solid country performance, and considering what was to come, he seemed very assured on stage. He also nailed a big glory note near the end. Grade: B+

2. Michelle Sussett, “FRIENDS” by Marshmello and Anne Marie: Michelle is a heck of a performer and one who’s anything but bashful on stage. And I really liked the current song choice. But I’m not sure that was a Top 10 vocal. It sounded best when she was singing with the Idol background singers. Unfortunately, she’s more fun to watch than listen to. Grade: C–

3. Marcio Donaldson, “It’s a Miracle” by Barry Manilow: What the heck was behind this song choice? Oh, no, Marcio. You’ve sounded so, so much better. I wrote that I didn’t know if Michelle’s performance was Top 10 worthy. I can pretty much proclaim this one wasn’t. Marcio caught fire in the last 15-20 seconds with that big ending. Before that? The only miracle is that the judges didn’t point out all the pitch problems. Grade: C–

4. Mara Justine, “This is Me” By Keala Settle: Loved this song choice, but Mara seemed very, very nervous at the opening, then seemed to let her emotions get the best of her. That was far, far from her best vocal. Have the judges critiques gotten into her head too much? There was a big note to too that reminded us of how much power and beauty rests in the teen’s voice. I’d suggest something very upbeat tomorrow night. Grade: C–

5. Garrett Jacobs, “Raging Fire” by Phillip Phillips: I’m afraid it’s happening again. The Top 14 are being intimidated by the live performances. That said, once Garrett settled in, he delivered a solid performance and one of his better locals to date, even if it lacked some of the fire required by the song’s title. Grade: C+

6. Ada Vox, “The Show Must Go On” by Queen: OK, well Ada / Adam wasn’t intimidated by Idol’s big stage. There were more pitch problems than I realized the first time I heard the performances, but the sheer power of Ada’s vocals make them easier to overlook. Lionel pretty much guaranteed Ada a spot in the Top 10. Katy proclaimed she was glad “somebody finally started the show.” Based on vocals + charisma, I’d sorta agree. Grade: B

7. Catie Turner, “Take Me to Church” by Hozier: Bold song choice by Catie. And she started off well. But she did not seem vocally capable of pulling off that huge chorus, at least not until she hit a really pretty final note. And devoid of the hairband tossing, mic stand shoving that we saw on “Call Me” in the semifinals, the vocal misfire on the chorus was all the more obvious. Still, I’d love to see this young lady advance. Grade: C

8. Cade Foehner, “Black Magic Woman” by Santana: Another solid rock performance from Cade. And kudos to the show for letting him rock out week after week. Not sure that’s ever been permitted before on Idol. I’m also not sure it was Cade’s best vocal. But it was certainly an impassioned performance. And Top 10 worthy based on what we’ve heard to this point and what we’ve seen from Cade in the past. And, look, Katy gets a lock of Cade’s hair. Oh my. Grade: B+

9. Dennis Lorenzo, “In My Blood” by Shawn Mendes: Another singer who opens a bit shaky, but this turned into a solid performance for Dennis. And another in which the singer seemed oh, so connected to the song he was singing. I would have preferred the Dennis held back a bit more the first time he went through the chorus so the ending would have seemed even more dramatic, but he drew praise from the Idol judges. Lionel said he broke through a ceiling tonight. Nice song choice too. Grade: B

10,. Maddie Pope, “Homeward Bound” By Simon and Garfunkel: Wow, Maddie. That was absolutely her best performance yet. Her voice was so lovely and so tender on that classic song. Katy said she closed her eyes and thought she was hearing Joni Mitchell. Nope, that was Maddie at her best. Note how she tastefully slipped in that lilting tone she has in her voice. Best of the night to this point. Grade: A–

11. Jurnee, “Bang Bang” by Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj: Dang, look at Jurnee transforming into a pop star in front of our eyes. She worked the stage and the crowd and delivered a solid vocal too. How about that rap segment? Didn’t know she could do that. Then she proceeds to nail one of the night’s best glory notes. All the while delivering a fun, high-energy performance. Katy says she just transformed from wedding singer to artist. Hopefully a Top 10 artist. Grade: B+

12. Johnny Brenns, “This is Gospel” by Panic at the Disco: The curtains opened. The girls squealed. And then all the momentum Idol had gained with a string of solid performances came to a screeching halt as Jonny missed note after note after note on what sure sounded like an ill-advised song choice. If he’s not voted through, Jonny’s going to need to do much better Monday night to merit a spot in the Top 10. Grade: C–

13. Michael J. Woodard, “Titanium” by Sia: Michael did a great job of building that song to a climax. I wasn’t so sure about the vocal at the beginning, but he delivered in the end. Katy called him a star. Lionel seconds that. I’m not as high on Michael as the judges are, but that might be his most impressive performance yet, and I have it ranked among the night’s Top 6, so … Grade: B+

14. Gabby Barrett, “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus: This has to be the most overdone country song in singing show history. And I grew to loathe the Miley Cyrus version. That said, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t loathe the song if Gabby had release it first because she absolutely nailed this vocal. Like, Michael, she did a great job of building to a big climax. And when it came, she delivered. Grade: A