Idol Chatter & Voice Views

If you like singing shows, you should have been watching American Idol Monday night.

Idol put on one heck of a show, featuring solo performances by its talented Top 20.

That number will soon become a Top 14 as it draws nearer to the Season 17 live shows.

It certainly helped that Idol put aside most of the filler, limited the tears and presented each and every performance in its entirety.

Here are my 10 favorites.

1. Laci Kaye Booth, “I Want You to Want Me” by Cheap Trick: She takes the stage looking so dang pretty, you’re likely to underestimate her. Then she flips a song with smoky vocals and unleashes a second gear midway through the performance! And you know, just know, you’re watching the birth of a star.

2. Uche, “Figures” by Jessie Reyez This performance, coupled with Sunday’s manic “Play That Funky Music,” make Uche Idol’s most fascinating performer. He might wind up being too over-the-top for some Idol viewers, but he sure isn’t going to bore.

3. Wade Cota, “All I Want” by Kodaline; Great song choice, fabulous vocal from Idol’s big guy with an equally great backstory (he was physically abused by his dad as a youngster). And who knew Wade had so much range?

4. Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon, “Make You Feel My Love” by Bob Dylan: This started great and kept getting better. And tell me you didn’t feel that. The latest in a string of stirring vocals and passionate performances from Jeremiah.

5. Madison VanDenburg, “Domino” by Jessie J: Idol picked her to open the show, an indication of how highly they think of Miss Maddy. Better yet, she proved to she great stage presence to pair with those great pipes.

6. Dimitrius Graham, “Hello” by Adele: Monster song choice, and he decided to open in operatic fashion, back facing the audience. The result: Just listen as Dimitrius unleashes that ridiculous range of his. A risk that paid dividends.

7. Evelyn Cormier, “Leaving On a Jet Plane” by John Denver: Great song choice, and Evelyn made a sorta corny classic seem amazingly fresh again. Another Season 16 cast member with a distinct sound!

8. Alejandro Aranda, “I Fall Apart” by Post Malone: I haven’t been as infatuated with Alejandro as the Idol judges have. I thought that “best audition ever” hype raised my expectations a bit too high. But this performance already has 500,000 views on YouTube, more than twice as many as any other Monday performance.

9. Laine Hardy, “Bring It On Home to Me” by Sam Cooke: Check out the way Laine says “go,” then kicks this performance into another gear. He and Alyssa are proof that sometimes, saying “Come back next year” can be a blessing for a singing show contestant.

10. Ashley Hess, “When You’re Dreaming With A Broken Heart” by John Mayer: Wow, Idol has uncovered a wealth of female singer-songwriter talent for Season 16. Sitting behind a piano, Ashley reminds me a bit of Season 7’s Brooke White. Which is a very, very good thing.

Everyone else, in no particular order

Kate Barnette, “Sunday Morning” by Maroon 5: A splendidly funky performance that made me wonder why we hadn’t heard more from Kate until this point in the competition. Before Monday, Idol had only shown tiny snippets of Kate.

Bumbly, “Vision of Love” by Mariah Carey: A solid cover of a Mariah hit would typically be enough to advance on a singing show. What does it say about the strength of Idol’s Season 17 cast that it doesn’t make Bumbly a lock for the Top 14.

Walker Burroughs, “How Deep Is Your Love,” The Bee Gees: Another unexpected song choice. Loved the a cappella opening more than the rest of the performance, which stayed a bit too true to the original for my liking.

Riley Thompson, “Jolene” by Dolly Parton: Way too safe a song choice, well done, with a nice touch at the end. But Katy’s right, Riley needs to dirty it up a bit.

Logan Johnson, “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore” by Rose Royce: Way too sleepy for my taste, but Idol is pushing him as a teen heartthrob, which can’t hurt his chances.

Raquel Trinidad, “Lovefool” by The Cardigans: This one didn’t work for me. It seemed too much like Raquel had adopted a character.

Ryan Hammond, “You Say” by Lauren Daigle: Another great, powerful, passionate vocal from Ryan, but he’s going to have to step up his style game to compete with the likes of Jeremiah and Dimitrius.

Alyssa Raghu, “Ain’t it Fun” by Paramore: Idol wanted her to step up her performance game after she made the Season 16 Top 24. I think she has proven that she aced that test.

Eddie Island, “Ho Hey” by The Lumineers: Easily my favorite performance to date by the self-dubbed Mayor of Nashville. He showed off a nice rasp in that voice of his and, like Luke said, Eddie isn’t boring.

Shawn Robinson, “Jealous” by Nick Jonas:Shawn has one of the show’s most engaging personalities, but this was not his best performance.