Idol Chatter & Voice Views

American Idol named a Top 14 Monday night, with voters selecting 10 members and the judges adding four wild card picks.

Those wild card picks included Amanda Barise, Che Chesterman, Desmond Roberts and Josh King.

Amanda, Che and Desmond all turned in excellent save-me performances during Monday’s show.

Josh’s selection was a little more difficult to understand, because it meant the elimination of standouts like Drew Ryn and Victor Solomon, both of whom have successfully navigated a singing show in the past.

But, hey, you’re never going to 100 percent agree with the eliminations in these situations.

And the good news is that the Sunday and Monday episodes of American Idol were chock full of excellent performances, raising hopes for an exciting season on the show.

Idol’s going to keep the music coming. The Top 14 will perform a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame show Sunday night, with fans voting for a Top 12.

The very next night, former Idol champ Fantasia will be the guest mentor for a round of Iconic Idol Performances and fans will vote again to whittle the Season 23 cast to a Top 10.

Between now and then, I’ll be ranking the Top 14. In the meantime, here’s a photo gallery from Monday’s show.

Amanda Barise performs ‘Ain’t No Way’ to secure a judges’ save on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Breanna Nix reacts to the news that the made the Top 14 on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Canaan James Hill performs ‘Stand’ on American Idol after learning he made the Top 14. (ABC Photo)

Che Chesterman performs ‘Jealous Guy’ to earn a judges’ save on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Desmond Roberts performs ‘Titanium’ to earn a judges’ save on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Filo performs ‘Skyfall’ on American Idol after learning he was voted into the Top 14. (ABC Photo)

Gabby Samone gets the news that she made the Top 14 on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Jamal Roberts performs ‘Try a Little Tenderness’ after making the Top 14 on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

John Foster gets the news that he made the Top 14 on American Idol from Ryan Seacrest. (ABC Photo)

Josh King performed ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ and secured a judges’ save on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Kolbi Jordan performs ‘I’m Every Woman’ after making the Top 14 on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Mattie Pruitt performs ‘In the Stars’ after making the Top 14 on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Slater Nalley performs ‘This Ain’t It’ on American Idol after making the Top 14. (ABC Photo)

Thunderstorm Artis performs ‘I Love You” after making the Top 14 on American Idol. (ABC Photo)