Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The American Idol Top 5 of Jamal Roberts, Slater Nalley, Breanna Nix, Thunderstorm Artis and John Foster pose with the judges. (ABC Photo)

Tonight, American Idol fans select the three finalists for Season 23.

But first, each member of the Top 5 will perform a pair of Disney songs.

As usual, make sure to get your votes in via the American Idol app, the website and via text before the first commercial break.

I’ll be posting song by song grades for tonight’s performances, but not until after the show ends.

Who’s likely to make the cut? My hunch: Jamal Roberts, John Foster, Breanna Nix.

Why?

Slater Nalley is a very talented vocalist. But at his young age, he’s not quite as skilled in dynamics as his Idol counterparts. He tends to start a song at 10 with those powerful vocals of his rather than building to 10.

The Idol judges seldom offer helpful feedback, but Lionel Richie tried to nudge Slater in the right direction after his Disney performance Sunday night. It didn’t take. Slater did the very same thing in the Mother’s Day round.

In fact, I thought he had the weakest night of the seven singers on Sunday. And was a little surprised to see Gabby Samone head home instead of him.

Then there’s Thunderstorm Artis, who doesn’t have a growth curve on a show where fans love to see contestants improve. That’s not a knock on Thunderstorm. He’s a joy to watch perform. It’s a joy to listen to him perform.

But he arrived on Idol as a pro, a 29-year-old who makes his living through music and has already released lots of music. So he’s performed like a pro, from his blind audition through Sunday’s show.

There’s also a faction of American Idol fans who feel as though he doesn’t belong after making the finals on The Voice a few years back. Fans who think that should have made him ineligible for Idol.

I’m pretty sure Thunderstorm doesn’t make the eligibility rules. Technically, lots of former Idol standouts would be eligible to return if they wanted to. But it is noteworthy that Wé Ani, another former Voice finalist, was eliminated on the Top 5 show two years ago.

See also …
Song by song grades for the Top 7
Ranking the Top 7

ROUND ONE

Slater Nalley, 17, Atlanta, Ga., “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from Toy Story — Slater needs a big night. He’s looking sharp, but this isn’t the type of singer-songwriter fare we’re used to hearing from him. That seemed a little corny in spots, but Slater did about as well as you could expect given the song choice and delivered a nice ending. Grade: B–

John Foster, 18, Addis, La., “The Bare Necessities” from The Jungle Book — And that is we’ll be watching John Foster in the finals next week. I doubt singing “Bare Necessities” to a national audience was on his dream wish list. But he took the Disney theme and turned it into a fun performance, complete with a sometimes playful vocal. Extremely well done. Grade: A

Thunderstorm Artis, 29, Nashville, Tenn., “A Dream is a Wish You Heart Makes” from Cinderella — No instrument? We almost never see Thunderstorm like this. He’s still delivering a solid vocal, showing off his rasp and the ability to nail a high note at the very end. Still, the performance was a little sleepy for Thunderstorm. Grade: B

Breanna Nix, 25, Denton, Texas, “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)” from The Parent Trap — Breanna is coming off a really strong night that I thought improved her chances of making the finale. This started a bit slow vocally, but Breanna navigated the rapid-fire lyrics at the midway mark, then cut loose vocally with another impressive performance. She’s peaking at the right time. Grade: B+

Jamal Roberts, 26, Meridian, Miss., “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” from Remember the Titans — And I think round one was confirmation that if the fans get this right, Jamal and John should make the finals and tonight is really a battle for the third spot in those finals. As soon as I saw the song choice, I thought, ‘Jamal is going to slay this.’ He didn’t disappoint. Grade: A

ROUND TWO

Slater Nalley, “Born to be Wild” from D3: The Mighty Ducks — This is the fun, high-energy song choice Slater so desperately needed. It came with a couple of guitar solos and a high-intensity vocal from Slater. Will it be enough to get him that third spot? Time will tell. If not, it was a great last American Idol solo for the teen from Georgia. Grade: A–

Thunderstorm Artis, “Find Yourself” from Cars — He has his guitar back, and a stripped down arrangement that showcases the nuance in his vocals. Really nice vocal from Thunderstorm, and the ending got emotion, another nice touch. Not sure it will make as bit an impression as a performance like “Born to Be Wild” though. Grade: B+

John Foster, “Rainbow Connection” from The Muppet Movie — Idol had John sit on a stool and play guitar for this performance, between two groups of young girls gazing at him lovingly. You think this guy isn’t going to make the finals? He’s already there. As for this performance: Another solid John Foster vocal. How can this guy be so composed under the pressure of the Idol stage at such a young age. Grade: B+

Breanna Nix, “You’ll Be in My Heart” from Tarzan — I love the way Breanna builds a vocal. You think she can’t go any further, then she does. She did it again at the enof this performance, then reigned it in for a soft landing. On Disney night, it’d be somehting of a Cinderella story if she made it to the finals. I find it hard not to root for her to do it too. Grade: B+

Jamal Roberts, “Beauty and the Beast” from Beauty and the Beast — An odd song choice for Jamal and an odd choice for the final song of the night. Why didn’t they end the show with “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough?” Oh, well, this wasn’t Jamal’s best vocal. But with most of the votes likely already in, I doubt it will hurt his excellent chances of making the finale. Grade: B

Now, it’s time for results.

John Foster and Jamal Roberts advance. No shocker there.

That leaves Slater Nalley, Thunderstorm Artis and Breanna Nix hoping for that third spot. While, seems Thunderstorm’s been in this situation a lot over the last couple of weeks.

And the final spot in the finale goes to: Breanna Nix!

So it’s be John Foster, Jamal Roberts and Breanna Nix vying for the Idol title next week. Should be a great show!