Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Maddie Poppe performs on American Idol Sunday night. (NBC Photo)

Then came Sunday’s American Idol performance finale. And more fans started weighing in.

By 2 a.m. Monday morning, Maddie Poppe’s “Going Going Gone” had surged nearly 40 spots on the chart, all the way to number 33.

Caleb was still at number 60 on the chart with “Johnny Cash Heart”; Gabby Barrett was at 87 with “Rivers Deep.”

And those numbers have held steady all day.

At 2:30 p.m., Maddie was sitting at number 30, Caleb at number 54 and Gabby at number 82.

Is that a good omen for Maddie when the results come in tonight during the American Idol season finale?

Well, downloads don’t count as votes on American Idol, but they’re certainly a sign of fan approval.

And I scored Maddie as the top contestant during Sunday’s show, though I still think Gabby’s shown more versatility and stage presence over the course of Season 16.

A couple other notes about those new singles …

1. The American Idol judges, after muttering very little criticism all season, suddenly turned harsh during the opening round Sunday night, when the Top 3 were performing their new singles. Very odd timing. I mean, way to promote those new songs, Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan.

2. Most of the criticism centered around the Top 3 not being entirely comfortable with their new songs. Gee whiz. Take the pressure of the finale, add new songs the Top 3 were still learning, then sprinkle the opening performance of the night on top. Yep, that’s a recipe for a bad case of nerves.

Idol producers should have opened the show with the reprise songs, let the Top 3 settle in, then end the night with the new songs.

Here’s betting the performances would have been better.