Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Kudos to American Idol for spreading out the wealth on its second Hollywood Week episode Monday night.

We got to hear from several singers we didn’t on Night 1, including a couple who make my list of Top 5 performances of the night.

Here that Top 5 is though I’ve gotta say, it might be different if Idol had aired longer song snippets. Some were just too short to judge.

1. Laci Kaye Booth, “Stars” — Think Idol realizes it’s discovered a potential star in this young country singer from Texas? The camera loves her. Those smoky vocals are wonderfully unique. She was the absolute breakout star on Hollywood Week — making this song title quite appropriate — and did it with non-country. Just keep those eyes open when you sing, Laci.

2. Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon, “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face” — I didn’t need Luke Bryan to tell me this was a fabulous vocal, perhaps the best we heard on Day 3 in Hollywood. Lloyd, you’ll recall, is the guy told Idol he left his job at his father’s church since we met him in the audition round because he didn’t feel as though his gay lifestyle was welcome there.

3. Madison VanDenburg, “All I Ask” — She was going to sing an original, until the vocal coaches talked her out of it. I wold have liked to have heard the original, but this was mighty impressive. And that ending proved Madison can sing tender just as well as she can belt.

4. Drake McCain. “Always on My Mind” — This was an unexpected song choice. But, wow, did Drake make it. Great, crystal clear vocal delivered with passion. Drake is the young man with 10 sibling who told Idol his family’s water got shut off shortly before he left for Hollywood Week.

5. Uche, “Scars to Your Beautiful” — I remembered Uche more for his dance moves than his vocals from the audition round and we hadn’t heard from him yet in Hollywood Week. This vocal left me wanting to hear more. Another Texan, he delivered a solo round performance that showed off his range and vocal versatility without being too over the top.