Idol Chatter & Voice Views

American Idol’s Top 11 take the stage in a special Thursday night episode at 8 p.m. on FOX.

Of course, only 10 of the singers will be performing for America’s vote.

One will be singing for a save at the very end of Thursday’s show.

Here’s how I’d rank the Top 11 after we got to see them all perform twice last week.

Check back Thursday night for a live blog with song by song grades.

1. Clark Beckham: Hey, he’s a good looking guy and he plays guitar. That’s been enough to win a couple of seasons of Idol. It might not be enough among a talented Season 14 cast. Luckily for Clark, he’s also got a great voice, one of the best, to listen to mentor Scott Borchetta. And he showed it with his performance of “It’s a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World.”

2. Jax: The 18-year-old from New Jersey dazzled us with her fresh renditions of “Bang, Bang” and “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” and is clearly one of the most popular among the Season 14 cast, for good reason. The judges were right: She lost her way on Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space.” My hunch, she’ll recover nicely Thursday night and sail deep into this competition.

3. Tyanna Jones She was one of the top performers both nights last week, and her stage presence at age 16 defies logic. The fact that she absolutely sparkles when she hits the stage is an added bonus. And she earned the ultimate compliment from Harry Connick Jr. last week. Had he been an Olympic judge, he said he would have given her a 10.

4. Quentin Alexander: The Idol judges have made some questionable wild card choices in past seasons. They granted a very well deserved wild card to Quentin last week. It’s a shame he even needed it. He shouldn’t have, because he’s clearly another of the show’s most talented artists. If he has a problem, it might be that he’s a bit too edgy for Idol voters.

5. Joey Cook: I’m just hoping she hangs around this long, because I’d love to see her perform many more times. Whether she’s playing the ukulele, the squeeze box or just singing, as she did last week, you can always count on something unique from the 23-year-old from Woodbridge, Va.

6. Nick Fradiani: He’s been more steady than spectacular to this point. But he turned in one of his best performances yet when he sang Avicci’s “Wake Me Up” near the end of last Thursday’s show and you wonder if it might propel him on an upward trajectory. Scott Borchetta calls him the show’s “pop hunk,” which never hurts.

7. Rayvon Owen: Rayvon could use just a touch of Quentin’s edge, because he needs to find a way to stand out among a more-talented-than-usual Idol crowd. He shouldn’t be in danger when the results come in Thursday night. But he did perform first on last Thursday’s two-hour show. Hopefully, voters didn’t forget how good his vocal was.

8. Qaasim Middleton: This guy is a bundle of fun when he’s unleashing his dance moves and soaring with a fast-paced cover song. Last week, he stood behind a mic, played guitar and decided to rely mostly on his voice. He’ll have to sing better than that when he’s not delivering those high-energy performances.

9. Adanna Duru: The former Voice contestant has a big voice and hits the stage with tons of energy and attitude. Her cover of “Runaway Baby” was one of the best performances on Top 11 night. But there are a lot of contestants that fall into the pop-soul-R&B genre, and Idol voters tend to support the guys better than the gals.

10. Maddie Walker: She turned in her best performance so far covering Jason Aldean’s “She’s Country” last week. And she’s the only pure country singer in the finals, which might help her chances. But I have to wonder if she, too, might have benefited from a couple more years of experience before hitting Idol’s big stage.

11. Daniel Seavey: He’s cute. But he’s 15 and not anywhere near ready to go up against the rest of these singers from a performance or vocal standpoint. If he survives another week, it will be because someone much more deserving goes home.