Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Sarina-Joi Crowe turned in another outstanding performance on American Idol last week. (FOX Photo)

That means two girls and two guys from last week’s Top 8 won’t make the cut.

Based on what’s happened the last two weeks, that means we should be saying goodbye to Daniel Seavey and Adam Ezegelian among the guys.

Based on what’s happened the last two weeks, that means we should be saying goodbye to Loren Lott and either Maddie Walker or Alexis Gomez among the gals.

Tonight, we’ll also be treated to a performance by Jennifer Hudson, who will also guest star on tonight’s episode of “Empire.”

OK, so here’s the format. Ten singers will advance based on fan voting. The others will advance based on a judge’s save after performing tonight.

And our finalists via voting are …

Sarina-Joi Crowe: She’s singing “Til the Love Runs Out.” Sarina-Joi has done an excellent job in the competition to this point. But this is not her best vocal. I’m not sure she was in tune for much of that. Keith tells her to be careful of pitch. Harry says she’s extremely talented. Grade: C+

Rayvon Owen: He’s singing “Wide Awake.” This is tough, being called to stage and asked to sing instantly. Rayvon, though, is doing a very nice job, showing off the range in his voice. And he ends with a flourish, which is always smart on Idol. Jennifer calls it a great job. Harry says he sounded terrific. Keith loved the ending. Grade: B+

Daniel Seavey: Poor pick, America. He’s been the worst singer in the semifinals. He’s getting by on cuteness and nothing else. He’s trying to sing “Straight Up.” And, once again, it’s not very good. I mean, this wouldn’t be a good karaoke performance. Harry admits the performances haven’t been strong lately. Keith suggests picking emotional songs. Grade: F

Maddie Walker: Little surprised by this pick. She wasn’t especially strong last week. Of course, it was Motown Week, not exactly a dream theme for a country singer. Tonight, she’s singing Gwen Sebastian (of The Voice)’s “Suitcase.” She’s doing better, but there are better singers among the ladies. Keith says the song suited her. Jennifer wants her to loosen up and just sing. Harry calls it a solid performance. Grade: C+

Tyanna Jones: Good pick, America. She’s going to sing “Wings” by Little Mix. And she starts strong. And you have to love the way she’s working the stage. OK, I’m not sure the shrieks were a good touch. But otherwise, Tyanna is delivering a very nice performance. Another big ending. Jennifer loves her composure on stage. Harry calls it very impressive. Keith calls her a star. Grade: B+

Nick Fradiani He’ll sing “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel. Wonder if the singers had any idea they’d have to reprise their audition songs at some point. This isn’t quite working for me, and the background singers aren’t helping matters. It all seems very disjointed. Harry calls it a nice job. Keith says he needs to believe in himself more. Jennifer wants him to pick better songs. Grade: C

Jax: She’s been one of the best so far. She’ll sing “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” She has a knack for taking classic songs and making them her own. She’s doing it again now, but that won’t surprise anyone who recalls her audition. Like the way she left the piano halfway through. This young lady knows what she’s doing on a stage. Another very, very strong performance. Jennifer calls her “compelling” and calls it really, really great. Harry calls it nice work. Grade: A–

Qaasim Middleton: He’ll do “Sir Duke” by Stevie Wonder. Slightly off-key, but then Qaasim turns on the Qaasim and turns it into a party on stage. He’s dancing and racing around the judges and turning in a bizarre sort of crazy performance that will have everyone remembering it. Jennifer loves his energy. Harry calls it an explosion of energy. Keith says he killed it. Grade: B+

Clark Beckham: He’ll sing the oft-done “It’s a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World.” And he’s doing a very nice job of it. But that doesn’t surprise me. He’s been solid every time he’s taken the stage. And one reason this song is done so often is because it allows a singer to flex his or her vocal muscles. And Clark just delivered the best vocal we’ve heard tonight. Superb. Harry calls it a nice job. Keith calls it amazing. Jennifer calls it the vocal of the night, too. Amen. Grade: A

Joey Cook: She’ll sing “The King of Spain.” She has her ukulele again. Love how different this young lady is. And she seems much more composed tonight than she did when she learned she made the top 8. And she’s turning in a very solid performance. With a nice little twist at the end. Jennifer calls it one of the best performances. Harry calls it a nice job and says “you might be finding a spot up there. Grade: B

Now, the judges make their instant wild card picks …

Quentin Alexander: Superb choice, judges. He’ll sing “Royals.” You have to love the way he sounds on the chorus of this song. He has a really nice voice. I was afraid he wouldn’t be able to make this song memorable, but he did it until he was overcome by emotion at the end. That was very good. Jennifer says she can’t wait to see his future performances. Keith likes the “spiritualism” he brought to the song. There were, as Harry noted, a couple of pitch problems. Grade: B

Adanna Duru: Another great pick by the judges. She’s singing “You and I.” And she’s delivering it with attitude. And I mean a lot of attitude. Dang, Adanna just proved how worthy she was of the judges’ save. She has Harry on his feet. That was excellent. Harry calls it out of tune, but said she needs to control her energy. Jennifer says the same: She has to get a little more control of her energy. Grade: B+

That means the end of the road for Adam, Alexis, Loren and Mark Andrew, formerly of The Voice.