Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Joey Cook performs during Wednesday’s Top 9 night on American Idol. (FOX Photo)

Well, does this seem familiar, folks?

Three contestants have been eliminated from American Idol.

And all three are female singers.

Idol bid farewell to Maddie Walker and Adanna Duru during Wednesday’s double elimination.

Neither elimination was a shock, though Daniel Seavey’s continued presence on the show defies logic.

So we’re left with a cast that includes three ladies and six gents. Maybe next week’s theme — Kelly Clarkson songs — will help even things out.

In the meantime — tonight’s recap. If you’d like to see tonight’s song by song grades, head here.

Best of the Night: As Harry pointed out, the American Idol 14 cast includes some pretty imaginative artists capable of commanding the stage. But no one has shown as much vocal consistency as Clark Beckham. I’m not a big fan of “Every Breath You Take.” I’m a big fan of Clark’s version. Easily the best vocal of the night.

Runners-up: Did she miss the mark just slightly? Did her voice get lost in the background music just a bit in the middle of the performance? Yep, on both counts. But the beginning and end of Jax’s performance of “You Give Love a Bad Name” were fantastic. And the concept was worthy of an A+.

Oh, Quentin Alexander also deserves mention here. He did a splendid version of Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight” early in a two-hour show bloated with filler material. Just hoping fans didn’t forget when it came time to start casting votes (though these days you can vote the minute the show starts).

Worst of the night: Daniel Seavey. Again. There was a Grand Canyon-size gap between the quality of his performance and the next worst of the night … at least until Rayvon Owen took the stage. Is anyone over 15 voting for this guy? If so, can they hear?

Please keep her: Joey Cook was so busy jumping around like she was having fun while singing “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” that she didn’t sing nearly as well as she had previously. But she’s one of the show’s true artist and deserves forgiveness for one stumble.

Baffled by the judges: Rayvon Owen got pretty solid reviews for a performance that left me actually pondering for a moment or two whether he or Daniel Seavey deserved next week’s heave-ho. But only for a moment or two.

Who should go home next week: Daniel Seavey.

Who will go home next week: Rayvon Owen.

Just a hunch.

All the grades:

Clark Beckham: A
Jax: A–
Quentin Alexander: B+
Nick Fradiani: B
Qaasim Middleton: B–
Tyanna Jones: B–
Joey Cook: C
Rayvon Owen: C–
Daniel Seavey: D