Idol Chatter & Voice Views

American Idol’s Top 10, including (front row, from left) Breanna Nix, Thundertorm Artis, Mattie Pruitt, Jamal Roberts; back row (from left) Canaan James Hill, Slater Nalley, Kolbi Jordan, Gabby Samone, John Foster, Josh King (ABC Photo)

It’s Ladies Night on American Idol, meaning the Top 10 will perform songs made popular by female artists.

At the end of the night, two more contestants head home.

You know what that means. Vote, vote, vote for your favorites before Ryan Seacrest announces the closing of the voting window near the end of tonight’s show.

I’ll be posting song by song grades here, but they won’t land until after tonight’s show ends.

See also …
Ranking the Top 10
Most popular performance from last week
Song by song grades for the Top 14
Song by song grades for the Top 12

John Foster, 18, Addis, La., “Something to Talk About” by Bonnie Raitt: John gets to open the show. And he’s in danger of going no where but the Top 8. This was a solid performance, and it was nice to see him interact with the crowd. Since he’s a legitimate contender for the Season 23 title, it would have been nicer to see him do something more impactful — either a tear-jerker or a country flip of a non-country song. This seemed almost too easy and too comfortable for him. Grade: B

Kolbi Jordan, 26, Tulsa, Okla., “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac: Kolbi singing Fleetwood Mac? While wearing a cowboy hat? Oh, my. Kolbi, Kolbi, the haunting vocals and the harmonies are what made this song so special. Not power and glory notes. How did you ever land on this song. Well, I guess she was more reserved with the belting than she has been in some of her performances, but I wouldn’t listen to that again. Grade: C+

Josh King, 24, Charlotte. “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele: Well, this is a brave song choice. But it’s time to take risks when you need a judge’s save to make the Top 14. Sitting at the piano, Josh is delivering one of his best vocals. Then he gets up, continues to sound good, and launches into an extended and impressive harmonica solo before running back to center stage. Wow, fun, impressive performance. Easily Josh’s best on the show. And it brings the judges to their feet. Well done, Josh! Grade: A–

Breanna Nix, 25, Denton, Texas, “Water Under the Bridge” by Adele: Not sure that was sassy. In fact, the first 45 seconds or so of the performance were pretty sleepy. Then Breanna unleashed her rasp, her range and her vocal firepower. She goes big without sounding like she’s shouting. The second half of that performance was, as Carrie noted, diva-like. And I love the way that prompted a laugh from Idol’s stay-at-home-mom. Grade: B+

Canaan James Hill, 17, Dallas, Texas, “Love Wins” by Carrie Underwood: Canaan’s first non-Gospel song on the show, though it’s not as though he’s singing Britney Spears or Pink. In fact, this isn’t much of a stretch from the kind of performances Canaan’s been singing on the show. He still managed to turn on the Gospel like passion near the end. Until that point, his vocals seem either a little more tentative or a little more strained than usual. But he recovered for a nice ending. Still, not one of his best. Grade: B–

Thunderstorm Artis, 29, Nashville, Tenn., “When We Were Young” by Adele: We’re six performances in and this is already the third Adele song. Thunderstorm’s normally playing guitar. Tonight, he starts behind the piano. In fact, he stays behind the piano for the entire performance. I keep reading comments about how Thunderstorm’s cheating by being on Idol after making the finals of The Voice. Idol allowed him to audition. Thunderstorm’s just doing what he does, which is perform like a pro every time he takes the stage. That was solid; I didn’t think it was quite as impactful as his two performances last week. Grade: B

Slater Nalley, 17, Atlanta, Ga., “Whoever’s in New England” by Reba McEntire: A cowboy hat last week. A Reba McEntire song this week. Slater’s playing a smart hand on a show where fans love country males. Having just written that, I’m not loving this song choice. Slater’s voice cuts through like it typically does, especially on the ending with the big song-ending glory note. Not one of my favorite Slater performances. Grade: B–

Jamal Roberts, 26, Meridian, Miss., “Undo It” by Carrie Underwood: Jamal singing Carrie? This shound be interesting. He’s wearing a cowboy hat too. And smiling ear to ear. Okay, this is pretty fun. And Jamal seems to be having fun with it, wagging his finger, tipping his hat and eventually tossing it into the crowd while he sings the ending in a chorus line with the background singers. The only thing wrong with that it Jamal’s aim. He meant to throw the cowboy hat to Carrie. Luke wound up catching it. Not Jamal’s best, and I think he might have flubbed the lyrics at one point. But I don’t think there’s any danger of him not making the Top 8. Grade: B

Mattie Pruitt, 16, Engleville, Tenn., “The House That Built Me” by Miranda Lambert: Here’s a young lady who needs a standout performance tonight. Glad to see she’s going with a ballad. And playing guitar. It’s allowing her to show off her distinct tone and her rasp. Wow, the song must have struck a chord with Mattie, because she got very emotional toward and end and was crying by the time the judges started giving their feedback. Still a bit worried about her tonight. She just turned 16 and the pressure of this competition must be immense. Grade: B–

Gabby Samone, 22, Baltimore, Md., “I Was Here” by Beyonce: And the already ascending Gabby gets to close the show. Let’s see if she can take advantage. Well, she certainly looks like a star. And after a couple of shouty moments early in the performance, she sounds like one, nailing a couple of glory notes near the end, then delivering a soft ending. Luke points out the key for Gabby: Fans have seen her transform into one of the show’s top contestants, and that’s always impressive to watch. Grade: B+

Ryan announces as safe: Breanna Nix, Mattie Pruitt, Jamal Roberts, John Foster, Josh King, Gabby Samone, Slater Nalley and Thunderstorm Artis.

That means the elimination of platinum ticket recipients Kolbi Jordan and Canaan James Hill.

Not shocked by Kolbi’s elimination. She turned in my least favorite tonight. Considerably more surprised by Canaan, because I considered him one of the best vocalists on the show.

That said, he stumbled a bit on a night where Josh King turned in his best performance yet and Mattie Pruitt delivered one of the night’s most heartfelt.

Tomorrow night, the Top 8 become a Top 7, and I’ll be grading the performances again!