Idol Chatter & Voice Views

We should all appreciate what American Idol is doing in Season 19.

Sunday night, the Top 12 will take the stage for their ninth competitive performance. Voting started two weeks ago. The show even lets the contestants sing original songs.

Now, contrast that to The Voice, where some contestants will sing for the third time Monday night, voting for all remaining contestants is still weeks away, and the live shows are so few that producers should be forced to rename the show Voice Lite.

I mean, it’s not even a contest: American Idol is clearly the best singing show on television right now.

Singers know it too. Look at all the top-notch young talented Idol attracted for Season 19.

So with all that going for Idol, why do producers keep doing things to make me so grumpy?

Monday’s Comeback Show is a horrible idea that wouldn’t be nearly as horrible if it didn’t include last year’s runner-up and one of last year’s Top 7. Picture the guy who finished second in Season 18 winning Season 19. Oh, yeah, that’s fair.

Anyway, more on how Idol should have handled that tomorrow.

My other gripe this week is the voting window.

Remember when the judges were deciding who to save Monday night? Katy Perry said the decisions were based solely on Monday night’s performances.

That, in itself, is an inane approach. When I rank the singers, I take into consideration all their Idol performances with emphasis on the latter ones because you want to see the contestants improve as they gain confidence and get more acquainted with the Idol process.

Judges should do the same.

But if the last performance is all important, as judges seemed to indicate Monday, how do you explain Sunday’s voting window?

Voting will start when the show opens — before anyone performs. Voting will close before the end of the show. In fact, the show will end with the results as Ryan Seacrest reveals a Top 9.

I guarantee Ryan will open the show by encouraging viewers to start voting for their favorites. So, last week, that night’s performances were all-important? But this week, vote before anyone sings?

Which would be more understandable if the Top 9 were returning to perform again Monday night.

They aren’t. That’s comeback night. Meaning there’s absolutely no reason voting couldn’t start after Sunday’s show — letting viewers see all the performances first — and run overnight as it has in the last two weeks, with results revealed Monday.

Come on, Idol. You can do better than that.

Anyway, here’s what everyone is singing tonight. I’ll be back at 8 p.m. to update this post with song by song grades.

See also …
Ranking American Idol’s Top 12

Grace Kinstler: “Happy” by Pharrell Williams from Despicable Me 2 — This is an interesting song choice for Grace. But she sure starts off impressively. Kicking off the show, she’s showing absolutely no nerves and the arrangement is still allowing her to show off that big voice of hers. That was a great way to open the show. Good job, Grace. Grade: A–

Ava August: “City of Stars” by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone from La La Land — A lovely vocal from Ava who’s emerged as my favorite female contestant. This is a little too sleepy for my liking, but that ending was really nice and I always want to hear more from her. And, unlike the judges, I’m not giving her bonus points for being 15. She’s impressive regardless of age. Grade: B

Caleb Kennedy: “On the Road Again” by Willie Nelson from Honeysuckle Rose — No, he can’t go two weeks straight without a hat. And, no, he can’t bring anything new to this song. Or even deliver an impressive cover. There’s a bit of rasp in his voice and the tempo is kicked up a notch to create a celebratory mood. He does deliver a nice ending that salvages the performance. Grade: C+

Hunter Metts: “Falling Slowly” by Glen Hansard and Mrket Irglova from Once — First off, he learned his lesson from Bobby Bones well. He’s making that visual connection with the audience at home. He’s also delivering a heartfelt performance and a great vocal. But he lost his lyrics right at the end and broke down as a result. The judges tell him to keep his head up. Grade: B+

Madison Watkins: “Run to You” by Whitney Houston from The Bodyguard — Madison says she grew up singing this song. You know what, Madison’s delivering an impressive vocal. I’m just not sure this is the song to make the kind of impression a saved artist from last week needs to make to leapfrog several others in the voting. Grade: B

Chayce Beckham: “I Do It for You” by Byran Adams from Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves — I don’t like this song choice. It’s been done to death on singing shows. But let’s see if Chayce can change my mind. Nope. He turned in a fine vocal, but it was probably my least favorite Chayce performance to date. Grade: B–

Beane: “The Time of My Life” by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warner from Dirty Dancing — Beane’s heading home. He started this off acoustically, making me think he was going in a completely different direction with it. Then he stepped from behind the mic stand and it became the same old song we love, though maybe not that pitch-challenged version. Grade: C–

Alyssa Wray: “This is Me” by Keala Settle from The Greatest Showman — Impressive performance by Alyssa, who was locked in emotionally and let out a fabulous growl near the end. I believe that was my favorite Alyssa Wray performance to date. And the girl does have a certain star power. Grade: A

Deshawn Goncalves: “The Way We Were” by Barbra Streisand — First off, kudoes for Deshawn for riding a rainbow chicken on a ferris wheel and not looking at Bobby Bones and saying, “Are you kidding?” That said, this is a fine vocal. And Deshawn wratcheted up the emotion over the last 30 seconds or so. But he’s not delivering the big moments Idol tends to yearn for. Grade: B

Casey Bishop: “Over the Rainbow” by Judy Garland from The Wizard of Oz — Casey says Wizard of Oz is the first movie she ever saw and she has a strong emotional attachment to this song. Casey sounded great on the chorus, not nearly as good on the verses. I thought this might be a moment for her, but it didn’t work quite as well as when Kat McPhee sang it on Season 5. Grade: C+

Cassandra Coleman: “Writing’s on the Wall” by Sam Smith from Spectre — Cassandra didn’t think her performance last week was her best. She’s sure making up for it tonight, providing more vocal dynamics that we’re used to hearing from her. And with the same emotional attachment we’re used to too. Very strong performance. Grade: A–

Willie Spence: “Stand Up” by Cynthia Erivo from Harriet — This is a great song and Willie gets the pimp spot to perform it in. Let’s see if he can pull it off. That was my favorite Willie Spence vocal to date because of the way he picked up the emotion and intensity at the end. Again, I thought the judges overrated it by a bit. Grade: B+

Now, time for results …

Advancing to the Top 9:
Grace Kinstler
Casey Bishop
Willie Spence
Alyssa Wray
Caleb Kennedy
Deshawn Goncalves
Chayse Beckham
Cassandra Coleman
Hunter Metts

Eliminated:
Ava August
Madison Watkins
Beane