Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Odell Bunton Jr. performs during the Top 24 show on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

The second half of the Top 24 perform tonight on American Idol with fan voting determining which two singers go home.

That said, we won’t get results until the start of the Top 20 show next Sunday night.

You can vote for your favorites from the time the show starts until 6 a.m. eastern time tomorrow.

And you can vote up to 10 times per contestants via each of the three voting methods — americanidol.com, the Idol app or by texting votes using the contestant numbers provided during the show.

Here are tonight’s singers and their rumored song choices. The number in front of each name is the number you reportedly use to text vote for that singer.

13. Odell Bunton Jr., 28, Dallas, Texas, “Uptown Funk!” by Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars: Nice upbeat song to start the night. Check out the patch of red in Odell’s hair. I was most interested to see how Odell showed off his vocals on this song. And he showed off his vocal firepower midway through the performance, though it seemed to leave him a bit out of breath. Jelly Roll called it amazing. Lionel said he delivered the sermon. Grade: B+

14. Elleigh Marie, 20, American Fork, Utah, “Forget You!” by Cee-Lo Green: Elleigh says she was cheated on and is pissed, so that’s what fueled this song choice. Elleigh is a bit of a mystery because we didn’t get to hear her in Hollywood Week. But she has some great dance moves you can check out on her Instagram. This needed more sass and even more attitude. The best part was the big note at the end and the accompanying wink. Lionel called it a great performance. Grade: C

15. Mackenzie Sol, 23, Las Vegas, Nevada, “Jealous” by Nick Jonas: Mackenzie’s the guy who won the sing-off with Ziggy to nab the final spot in the Top 24. Excellent opening from Mackenzie, who is changing up this song. And he nailed those high notes he was pushing for. That’s the best performance we’ve seen from any of the male pop performers on Season 22. Katy and Luke called it their favorite Mackenzie performance so far. Jelly Roll said he should coast into the Top 20. Grade: A–

16. Jennifer Jeffries, 17, Starkville, Mississippi, “Bruises” by Lewis Capaldi: Idol certainly has rounded up a group of talented female singer-songwriters for Season 22. Jennifer has the most distinct tone of the group. And she’s certainly easy to root for. She’s showing off that tone here. And she’s showing the ability to dig deep too. That was very impressive for someone with so little performing experience. Katy calls her “so authentic, so Mississippi.” Luke said she did “so amazing.” Jelly Roll loved her performance too. Grade: A

17. Emmy Russell, 24, Nashville, Tenn., “Beautiful Things” by Benson Boone: Interesting. Emmy’s singing a song by a guy who ditched Idol after an excellent audition a couple of years ago. The song was number one on Apple Music’s singles chart today. She’s another of those talented singer songwriters. With a very appealing ache in her voice. Really nice ending. I thought the second group of Idol was weaker than the first. Group two is changing my mind. Lionel loves her story-teller voice. Katy said she sang it like it was her song. Grade: A–

18: Ajii, 27, Brooklyn, N.Y., “Higher” by Tems: The judges are clearly loving this performance. After a couple of emotional singer-songwriter numbers, I’m not feeling it as much as they are. Ajii has an admittedly great voice. But he tends toward too many frills. This was the first time Ajii’s mom has seen him at a performance. Lionel loved the way he took command of the stage and said his voice was commanding. Katy called it A+ stuff. Luke said he owned the moment. Grade: B+

19. Kennedy Reid, 23, New Albany, Indiana, “Fancy” by Bobbie Gentry/Reba McEntire: Kennedy’s audition wasn’t all that impressive. She’s shown off much better vocal chops the last two times we’ve heard from her. She wanted to deliver sass with this performance and did so. She was especially effective when she started to work the stage. Lionel loved the way she cut loose. He called it her best performance yet. Luke loved the growth in her confidence. Grade: B

20. Jack Blocker, 25, Dallas, Texas, “Rainbow” by Kacey Musgraves: Jack has a really nice voice, but I’m not sure about this song choice. It’s a little sleepy for the moment. Those odd facial contortions when he’s singing help him stand up. Nice mentoring by Jelly Roll on the ending because that was the best part of a solid performance. Katy said that was his best performance. Luke said it felt “pro.” Lionel calls him a great story teller. Grade: B–

21. Roman Collins, 24, Long Beach, Calif., “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” by Marvin Gaye/James Taylor: Roman’s determined to change this song up, and he’s getting encouragement to do so from Jelly Roll. He’s certainly making the song his own before slipping into the well-known chorus. This is a fun performance. Roman’s going a little crazy on state. And it’s working, right down to the big ending. Great job. That was a fearless performance. Jelly Roll says he took America to church. Katy says he found a sweet spot, bringing sauce but not too much sauce. Grade: A

22. K-Blocks, 27, Montgomery, Ala, “Harleys In Hawaii” by Katy Perry: K-Blocks is one of the singers who needs to deliver tonight. She’s the only member of the Top 24 who wasn’t featured during the blind auditions. Her unique performance style is what sets her apart. She’s a fearless performer, adept at working the stage. But this vocal isn’t on the same level as most of the performances we’ve heard tonight. Luke called her something visual to behold. Lionel called her possessed on stage and urged her to remain unpredictable. Grade: C

23. Mia Matthews, 18, Centre, Ala., “Daddy’s Hands” by Holly Dunn: She’s dedicating this song to her late father, who was born in Hawaii. There’s gotta be a female country singer on Idol, right? Mia’s really impressed me with her vocals on her last couple of performances. Add the emotion of the song and I think Mia found a ticket to the Top 20. She nearly broke down on that final line. Lionel loved the emotion in her performance. Katy called it “profound” and said Mia blew her away. Grade: B+

24. Triston Harper, 15, McIntosh, Alabama, “God’s Country” by Blake Shelton: This is quite an honor for Triston. The youngest singer on the show gets to close the show. Listen to that voice. Triston is one of the absolute front-runners on the show. Hey, can someone shut up the background singers. I want to hear Triston. Not them. He’s showing not a single sign of nerves in spite of his age. My big complaint about that performance is the background singers. That’s going to affect the grade that follows. Jelly Roll says he could win the show. Katy calls him a “major deal.” Luke predicts he’ll do well on the show. Grade: B+

See also
Song by song grades for the Top 24, Group 1