Since Idol was nice enough to post full-length videos of the Vegas group performances, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity and grade them.
It’s a chance to see some singers we’ve seen way too little of — like Hollie Cavanagh, Jessica Sanchez and Joshua Ledet — and try to determine whether some of the others are as special as advertised.
So here are the videos and the ratings. Sorry for breaking it down into four sections, but it makes it more manageable. Those Idol embed codes are monsters. Here are the links for part 2, part 3 and part 4.
The link attached to each singer’s name will take you to a profile of that performer.
“Be My Baby”
by Aubree Dieckmeyer, Baylie Brown, Chelsea Sorrell and Janelle Arthur
Right off the bat, there’s a reason to be glad Idol posted these full-length performances. We get to hear Baylie Brown sing, not just watch her smile. She sounds great here, and I’ll be shocked if she isn’t in the semifinals. She has that certain sparkle. In fact, I thoroughly enjoyed this quartet, and found it interesting that three of the top female country singers — Baylie, Chelsea and Janelle — decided to perform together since you know there will only be room for so many country gals in the semis. Chelsea sounds splendid, too. Not surprising, given her pre-Idol experience. Grade: B.
“At the Hop” / “Blue Suede Shoes”
by Joshua Ledet, Shannon Magrane, Amber Holcomb, Curtis Finch Jr.
OK, if I’m on Idol, the last thing I’m going to do is join a group that includes Joshua Ledet. Because he’s going to steal the show. And he does here, even when the group comes back together at the end of this mini-medley. Sure glad he decided to hop on that plane to Hollywood. Idol kept him and Shannon Magrane from this quartet. Nigel raves about David Leathers Jr. Well, I think Shannon’s the best young singer among this year’s Idol contestants. Grade: B+
“I’ll Cry If I Want To” / “Burning Love”
by Caleb Johnson, Josh Sanders, Blaire Sieber, River St. James
This one really comes alive when Caleb Johnson and Josh Sanders take the stage for “Burning Love,” the second half of the mini-medley. Josh in particular sounds great, so I’m surprised he’s the only one of the quartet not on the top 42 list in Vegas. River St. James, who went by Phillip Brooks back in Season 10, has a distinctive tone. Not surprising since he sings British pop. Poor Blaire forgot to fall over at the end of the song. I’m starting to understand the plight of the Idol judges. Whom do you cut when all the performances are very good. Grade: B-
“Dedicated to the One I Love”
by Cari Quoyeser, Colton Dixon, Chase Likens, Skylar Laine
Have we heard Chase sing before? Gotta say, I was more impressed by him on this song than by Colton, who I’m pretty sure is semi-finals bound. I’d bet a lot of gals will vote for Chase, too. Idol seems taken by Skylar’s big country voice; she’s gotten tons of screen time compared to the other talented female country singers who’ve made it this far. It’s a little too twangy for my taste. I was really disappointed to see Cari eliminated; she’s a fine singer-songwriter who probably isn’t going to come off her best singing a classic from 1961. Grade: B-
“Great Balls of Fire” / “Shake Your Tail Feather”
by Adam Brock, Erika Van Pelt, Angie Ziederman, Shelby Tweten
Three from this quartet made the top 42, surprising since it’s my least favorite performance so far. Shelby gets lost among the other big voices in the group; she must have advanced based on past performances we didn’t see. Angie’s a great performer; I just can’t see her attracting a ton of votes on Idol. Apparently, neither could the judges. She was one of the last Vegas cuts. I’m not a big fan of Adam, but that’s partly because he reminds me too much of some mediocre Season 8 performers of his ilk. The real singer here is Erika. Wow, big voice. Grade: C.
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