Idol Chatter & Voice Views

American Idol’s Top 7 of Jack Blocker, Emmy Russell, Julia Gagnon, Abi Carter, Will Moseley, Triston Harper and McKenna Faith Breinholt. (ABC Photo)

The Top 7 on American Idol tackled a pair of themes this week, songs that make you want to dance and songs by Adele.

I’ll be posting song by song grades for the Adele performances here.

Unfortunately, however, that will not happen live this week. Grades will be posted after Sunday’s show.

But anyone fearing Adele songs might trip up the show’s country singers can relax.

Will Moseley and Triston Harper advanced to the Top 5 and Disney Night. So did Emmy Russell, Jack Blocker and Abi Carter.

That means Julia Gagnon and McKenna Faith Breinholt were eliminated. Katy had been saved last week by Katy Perry.

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Song by song grades for the Top 7 (dance round)

McKenna Faith Breinholt, 25, of Gilbert, Ariz., “Make You Feel My Love”: McKenna is playing guitar on this. And, damn, does she sound fine. She delivered some lovely sounding runs early in the performance. Wow, wow, wow. McKenna’s a bit of a long shot to survive, having needed a save last week. But if she has to go out on a performance, that was a brilliant vocal to go out on. Simply superb. Lionel called it so wonderful to listen to. Luke called it great. Grade: A

Jack Blocker, 25, Dallas, Texas, “One and Only”: I’m expecting this round of performances to be stronger than the dance songs, and the Top 7 isn’t disappointing so far. Jack’s just seems to be finding his groove on the Idol stage. You’d never know that was an Adele song, the way Jack made it his own. Katy loves his confidence. Luke loves his charisma. Grade: B+

Will Moseley, 23, of Hazelhurst, Ga., “Rolling in the Deep”: As soon as I learned this was the theme for the week, I figured this song might be the best match for Will. He starts super deep vocally with his hat pulled down over his eyes. And he can’t quite carry that chorus like Adele — who can? — but he’s doing a pretty good job with an Adele song. And he brings into a big smile at the end of the performance. Why not? The big guy, a country singer, just survived a week when he was asked to sing a dance song and Adele! Luke called it a great job. Lionel called it fantastic. Grade: B

Julia Gagnon, 21, Cumberland, Maine, “Set Fire to the Rain”: Go, Julia. She’s using her unique tone and rich voice to great effect on this Adele hit. If anyone among this Top 7 can belt like Adele, it’s Julia. And she’s belting while demonstrating great vocal control. That was one of her best vocals. And so much more indicative of Julia’s talent than her first round performance. Lionel loved the way she made the song her own. Grade: A

Emmy Russell, 24, Nashville, Tenn., “Water Under the Bridge”: This is a really challenging week for delicate-voiced Emmy. I think she would have been better off stripping down an Adele song to an emotional ballad. Instead, she’s sounding like the least versatile of the Top 7. But, that’s just my opinion. Katy says she’s never sounded better. Lionel likes the fact that Emmy is making eye contact and even got a little sultry and sassy during that performance. Grade: C+

Triston Harper, 15, McIntosh, Alabama, “Easy On Me”: Hey, young Triston is having a really good night on Idol. That vocal wasn’t perfect, but it showed off the richness in his voice and he delivered the song with lots of passion. Remember, folks, this is a 15-year-old country singer being asked to sing Adele. That’s a tall order. And Triston did it well. Lionel wants to check it birth certificate, saying he’s doing very grown-up things on the Idol stage. Katy loved the way he sold the song. Grade: B+

Abi Carter, 21, Indio, Calif., “Hello”: After rocking out for two straight performance, Abi is back at the piano. Okay, this is going to be special. She has a lovely voice, and her vocals are absolutely soaring on this. She just held a glory note forever. Over the past three weeks, Abi has done an excellent job of convincing me she needs to be in the Season 22 finals. Lionel said that’s the best he’s ever heard her. He called it amazing. Katy called it angelic frequency. Luke called it magic. Grade: A