Idol Chatter & Voice Views

John Foster and Clara Rae perform during the head-to-head round on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

It sure sounds like American Idol will have a Top 24 when tonight’s show ends.

And that means fan voting will begin next week! Hooray!

Tonight’s show will feature head-to-head duets. I can’t imagine that means one singer advances and one goes home, but we’ll have to see how it plays out.

I’ll be grading the performances as they occur, at least when Idol airs the complete performance.

Last night, Canaan James Hill, Gabby Samone, Zaylie Windsor and Mattie Pruitt earned automatic spots in the Top 24.

Looking at the list of contestants still in limbo below, I think we can rule out Keilene, Rylie O’Neill, Cali Morris, Krystal Molina and Rileyy Laenz as singers who make the Top 24.

Idol typically showcases the singers who make it deep into the competition in the early rounds, and we haven’t seen a single performance from any of those five.

There are several others on the list below who we haven’t seen since their audition aired. And I’m very curious about the fate of Canaan’s platinum ticket counterparts.

Kolbi Jordan over sang badly in the group performance that opened the first day in Hollywood, then turned in one of the weaker performances during the Showstopper round. And Idol only aired a snippet of Filo’s Showstopper performance. Had a platinum ticket holder brought the house down, I’m sure the full performance would have aired.

Oh, and with three ladies already in the Top 24, the gals will be facing longer odds than the guys on tonight’s show. You can be sure the judges would prefer a 50-50 split of guys and gals in that Top 24.

Off the list below, I’ll be rooting especially hard for Slater Nalley, Thunderstorm Artis, Drew Ryn and Victor Solomon to make the cut. In my mind, they’ve already done enough to prove themselves Top 24 worthy.

See also …
Song by song grades for Showstoppers

Drew Ryn and Thunderstorm Artis, “The Night We Met” by Lord Huron: For crying out loud, Idol judges, put these two in the Top 24. Like right now. They are clearly two of the absolute best of Season 23. Great vocals. Great connection to what they’re singing. Thunderstorm has a wonderful distinct sound. Drew has the perfect combination of power and emotion. Grade: A

Che Chesterman and Sonny Tennet, “Shallow” by Lady Gage and Bradley Cooper: They’re both from the UK, which is why they paired up. Well, I’m used to seeing that performed by a guy and a gal. Che had a more standout performance than Sonny. The latter also hit a bum note at one point and came off as nervous as he said he was. Che seemed more in control of his performance. Che advanced; Sonny did not. Grade: B–

Penny Samar and Grayson Torrence, “Wildflower” by Billie Eilish: We’ve seen more footage of Grayson crying that singing so far this season, so let’s see how this goes. Both are showing off nice performance skills. And Grayson has a really unique tone that I like. Wow, those harmonies were special. And both advance. Not sure I like this new format. Shouldn’t the judges hear everyone sing before deciding. Grade: B

MYK and Josh King, “Until I Found You”: They’re singing a song they’re not familiar with, and Josh is having trouble remembering the lyrics. Odd the way Josh is literally leaning on MYK. He seems timid at first, but comes into his own as the song progresses. Why the hell is Luke joining them on stage? Sorta cheesy, honestly. MYK showed confidence. Both advanced. A bit surprising. Grade: B–

Victor Solomon and Amanda Barise, “Lady Marmalade”: Victor’s voice is tired, so the duo limit their rehearsals. Great song choice for these two. They both have powerhouse voices, and I had no doubt they’d excel in spite of the drama Idol tried to create. Amanda is slaying this song. And I bet there are singers in the crowd who wish they sounded like Victor when their voice was tired. Excellent duet. Grade: B+

Kyana Fanene and Yani, “Please, Please, Please” by Sabrina Carpenter: Idol only showed a snippet of the performance. Yani did not advance. Kyana did.

Bryson Quick and Lexi Tieffel: They did not advance.

Lashon and Rileyy Laenz: They did not advance.

Nina Daig and Slater Nalley, “I Remember Everything”: Love Nina’s tone. Slater’s pretty dang special too. Wow, this is actually a very good performance. Both of them have unique country voices. Slater seems a little more self-assured and the ending harmonies got a little messy, but I’d send them both through. Grade: B+

Baylee Littrell and Keilene, “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper: Not sure we saw that entire performance. Either that or Keilene didn’t get to sing alone enough. Baylee sounded great on the first voice, but faltered toward the end. I didn’t get to hear enough of Keilene to make a judgment. Keilene did not advance; Baylee did. Grade: B–

John Foster and Clara Rae: John advances; Clara does not. We only see a snippet of their performance. Clara has a great voice. And she has songs out. Do yourself a favor and check them out.

Filo and Kolbi Jordan, “Die with a Smile”: Filo predicts a performance that could be epic. He sounds very good. Still don’t understand why we didn’t see his Showstopper performance. Still not convinced of Kolbi, who tends to oversing and did it again there now and then. Would have rather seen Clara Rae or Nina Daig in the Top 24. They advance. The judges were more impressed than I was. Grade: B

Isaiah Misailegalu and Krystal Molina, “Shallow”: Krystal sounds very good. Why haven’t we heard her before this? And she’s just 17. Isaiah started strong, but struggled on his second solo part. Nice choreography. Krystal is clearly carrying the harmonies. In an absolutely baffling decision, Krystal is eliminated; Isaiah advances. Grade: B for the performance. F for the coaches’ decision.

Cali Morris and Olivier, “Radiocative”: Idol airs just a snippet of the performance. Cali did not advance. Olivier does. Surprised by that decision. He hasn’t been that impressive to me.

Crews Wright and Kam’ron, “How Great Thou Art”: Again, Idol airs just a part of the performance, and interrupted that with judging comments. Both were eliminated. Not sure what was up with Kam’ron’s eye rolls. They didn’t exactly project confidence. Shocked to see Crews cut. Thought his combination of deep country vocals and engaging personality would take him far on the show.

Desmond Roberts and Jamal Roberts, “The Door” by Teddy Swims: Jamal looked concerned at the opening, but quickly found his groove, though I didn’t like the humming while Desmond sang. They went a little crazy with ab libs as the song came to a close and it got pretty messy. Desmond’s a great performer; that wasn’t a great vocal. Both advanced. Grade: C+

Breanna Nix and Rylie O’Neill, “Gratitude”: Both of these ladies sound very good. First time we’ve heard Rylie. Idol, please put Jelly Roll’s phone away. Is Idol trying to imitate The Voice? If so, very, very bad idea. We’ve heard Breanna before, and she’s impressed on every occasion. Breanna advances; Rylie does not. Grade: B

Well, American Idol has a Top 24, but that format was the worst idea the show has come up with in a long, long time.