Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The American Idol judges completed their Top 24 Monday night in a show that, honestly, featured more show stopping performances than the one on Sunday.

Next week, voting starts. And it’s a very talented Top 24 that will take the Idol stage in spite of what I thought were a few missteps by judges.

That includes that final decision — advancing Cecil Ray and sending Drake McCain home.

Below are my picks for the night’s best and most noteworthy performance and most disappointing eliminations.

But first, to recap …

Gals Who Advanced: Grace Kinstler, Liahona Olayan, Ava August, Alana (Sherman), Madison Watkins, Anilee List, Mary Jo Young, Casey Bishop, Alanis Sophia

They join in the Top 24: Alyssa Wray, Andrea Valles, Cassandra Coleman, Hannah Everhart

Guys Who Advanced: Colin Jamieson, Cecil Ray, Deshawn Goncalves, Hunter Metts, Willie Spence

They join in the Top 24: Jason Warrior, Chayce Beckham, Caleb Kennedy, Wyatt Pike, Beane, Graham DeFranco

Notable eliminations: Althea Grace, EmiSunshine, Nia Renee, Ronda Felton, Laila Mach, Drake McCain

TOP PERFORMANCES OF THE NIGHT

1. Grace Kinstler, “Father” by Demi Lovato — Grace second-guessed this performance because it wasn’t glory note after glory note. Well, I’ll take emotion over shouting any day, and Grace was still able to remind us what a powerful voice she has near the end of the song. This was my favorite Grace performance yet.

2. Ava August, “Ghost of You” — Are you kidding me? At 15, she has the guts to go out on the Idol Showstopper stage and perform an original. And then she pulls it off with that much compusure. Ava is quickly becomng one of my Season 19 favorites. She sorta reminds me of a young Jewel.

3. Madison Watkins, “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” — I was a bit disappointed with the song choice because it’s been done so, so many times on singing shows. But how can you be disappointed in that vocal or that kind of stage presence. Madison is ready and capable of conquering this.

4. Hunter Metts, “July” by Noah Cyrus — No doubt about it, Chayce Beckham and Hunter are my favorite male voices on the show. And Hunter delivered another great vocal on this performance. It wasn’t a performance packed with dynamics, but it’s one I wouldn’t mind listening to over and over.

5. Mary Jo Young, “Us” by James Bay — Apparently, Mary Jo struggled remembering lyrics in the duets. But this was a great bounce-back performance. She showed off a great, distinct tone with nice grit in her voice. More importantly, she showed great stage presence and a sense for dramatics for someone who mostly sang in her bedroom, pre-Idol.

BEST STAGE PERFORMANCE

Liahona Olayan, “Me Too” by Meghan Trainor — Wow, did this young lady bring some attitude, some sass and some stage magic to the Showstopper round. The vocal wasn’t the best we’ve heard, but the performance was young and fun and far more interesting that the umpteenth performance of a singing show standard. And she ended it with a split!

I WANT TO SEE AND HEAR MORE!

Alana (Sherman), “Bust Your Windows” by Jasmine Sullivan — Where has Idol been hiding this young spitfire? Alana was montaged during the audition round and barely heard from since. Even her Showstopper performance was cut short. But she delivered attitude, star power and a great vocal on what we heard.

THE BAD NEWS

Most disappointing elimination 1 — Idol cut Laila Mach, a 15-year-old who has already released great music, including her audition song (“Drive Off a Bridge”). Right now, she’s more artist than cover singer, which isn’t a bad thing at all. I’ll certainly be following her on Spotify so I don’t miss what I’m sure will be more impressive music to come.

Most disappointing elimination 2 — I loved the way nia Renee lit up the room with her voice and her smile in the audition round. She sounded great to me on her Showstopper performance, certainly better than some singers who advanced.