Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Tongi advanced to the Top 26 on American Idol (ABC Photo)

American Idol introduced us to the rest of its Top 26 Monday night.

That was supposed to be a Top 24, but the Idol judges just couldn’t say goodbye to so much talent.

Ladies advancing included Megan Danielle, Marybeth Byrd, Emma Busse, Olivia Soli, Elise Kristine, Mariah Faith, Hannah Nicolaisen, Nailyah Serenity.

Guys advancing included Elijah McCormick, Oliver Steele, Dawson Wayne, Matt Wilson, Colin Stough and Iam Tongi.

And, of course, some singers viewers had been introduced to headed home, including Preston Duffee, Cam Amen, Caroline Kole, Kya Monee, Mikenley Brown and school shooting survivor Trey Louis.

And we didn’t see what happened to several standouts in Hollywood Week, including Summer Joy, Jayna Elise (aka Brown) and Isaac Brown.

I was especially interested in Jayna’s fate because she’d been such a good sport during Hollywood Week, accepting Adin Boyer into her duet when he was struggling to find a partner, then stepping up to perform with Fire when she lost hers.

Oh, and Idol’s Top 26 will include five former Voice contestants — Marybeth Byrd, Megan Danielle, We Ani, Michael Williams and Malik Heard.

Rebecca Brunner and Samuel Harness made the Top 55 too, but they wound up on Idol’s cutting room floor.

Monday’s Showstoppers episode of American Idol ended with the conclusion of a Sunday night cliffhanger.

Megan Danielle, formerly of The Voice, and Paige Anne were asked to sing off for a spot in the Top 24.

Megan delivered a performance full of emotion and showing off her unique tone, the second great vocal we’ve heard from her in two nights.

Megan wound up winning that sing-off.

Monday’s new performances

Marybeth Byrd, 21, Amorel, Ark., “Flat on the Floor” by Carrie Underwood: And another former The Voice standout finds herself rocking out on the American Idol stage. She’s turning in another fine performance, perhaps not as vocally impressive as one of her Hollywood Week outings, but certainly showing off her stage presence. She advances to the Top 26 too. Grade: B+

Oliver Steele, 25, Mount Juliet, Tenn., “Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tears for Fear: He scores points for putting his own spin on the song. But it’s a somewhat sleepy version of the song and his vocals wavered here and there. He does deliver a very nice ending. He makes the Top 26. Grade: B–

Emma Busse, 20, Vancouver, Canada, “Chasing Pavements” by Adele: This is the young woman Katy was urging to cut back on the dramatics early in the competition. She shows off a nice voice, but the coaches seemed a little more impressed with that performance than I was. That said, Emma joins the Top 26 too. And to say she’s gleeful over the news is an understatement. Grade: B

Preston Duffee, “Crazy Town” by Jason Aldean: Preston showed off lots of stage presence on this performance. But the vocal was flat compared to everything else we’ve heard tonight. Luke complimented his on a performance full of energy, but said he’s not altogether ready vocally. He did not advance. Grade: C

Elijah McCormick, 21, Raeford, N.C., “Believe for It” by CeCe Winans: He was the winner of America’s platinum ticket. He performed with confidence, but this is another vocal from a male contestant that left me sorta iffy on whether he should advance. The emotion he delivered near the end of the performance might have tilted the scale in his favor. Grade C+

Elise Kristine, 18, Wash., “Feeling Good”: This young woman has one of the most amazing voices on the show. She hasn’t gotten enough screen time to date. Head to her TikTok if you don’t believe me. For as young as she is, she showed off really nice confidence and stage presence there too. Ooh, my God, that final note. Amazing. She advanced. Grade: A

Olivia Soli, 20, Los Angeles, “All By Myself”: Wow, the ladies are singing rings around the guys on American Idol. Olivia just slayed that oft-done song. Again, she displayed wonderful confidence on stage. And she belted out that big, soulful ending. She advanced too. Grade: A–

Dawson Wayne, “Flying” by Cody Fry: C’mon, Idol. They’re cutting his performance up with interview clips so it’s hard to judge. He’s performing with lots of emotion. And he’s delivering one of the better vocals we’ve heard from a male performer so far tonight. Really liked that ending. He advanced as well. Grade: B

Cam Amen, 27, Omaha, Neb., “The Impossible Dream”: Just before Showstoppers, he learned his girlfriend is pregnant. So he said he’s feeling extra pressure. Cam’s delivering this with lots of emotion and heart. But I’m not hearing a platinum ticket level vocal. He did not advance. Grade: B–

Mariah Faith, 21, Conway, S.C., “I Ain’t Living Long Like This” by Waylon Jennings: Mariah went up tempo for her Showstoppers performance and delivered a fun performance. What might swing the momentum in her favor is her unique vocals and soulful sound. She made the Top 24. Grade: B

Hannah Nicolaisen 25, “I Don’t Want to Be” by Gavin DeGraw: She’s the former volleyball player turned singer-songwriter. I’m shocked at how confident all these young singers sound. That said, that wasn’t Hannah’s best vocal. But she made the Top 24. Grade: C+

Nailyah Serenity, 22, “Superstar” by The Carpenters: Nailyah delivers a heartfelt performance, and plenty of impressive frills near the end. She showed off great range. In between, she lost control of the vocal here and there. She made the Top 24. Grade: B–

Trey Louis, 21, Sante Fe, Texas, “”Waiting for the Thunder” by Blackberry Smoke: He showed up on stage wearing dark sunglasses. And he belted out a rock song. The fun performance wasn’t matched by a top-notch vocal, however. He did not advance. Grade: C–

Matt Wilson, 21, Buffalo, N.Y., “Forever” by Chris Brown: Love the tone he’s showing off here. He’s not as flashy as a stage performer as some of the other singers, but this is one of the better male vocals we’ve heard tonight. He’s advancing too. Grade: B+

Colin Stough, 18, Armory, Mississippi, “Cold” by Chris Stapleton: Colin said his goal was to show off his stage presence with the Showstopper performance. Unfortunately, that song choice disguised his unique vocals. It was my least favorite of his vocals to date. He advancing. Grade: C+

Iam Tongi, Hawaii, “Sound of Silence” by Simon and Garfunkel: Tongi called this song choice a risk. Hardly. It shows off how unique his vocals are. And he’s back to playing the guitar his dad gave him. It’s easily the best vocal performance we’ve heard from a male singer tonight. Excellent ending too. He’s advancing. Grade: A

Note, Idol didn’t show enough of the performances from Mikenley Brown, Caroline Kole and Kya Monee for me to grade them.

Dawson Wayne advanced to the Top 26 on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Elijah McCormick advanced to the Top 26 on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Colin Stough was among the guys advancing to the Top 26 on American Idol (ABC Photo)

Olivia Soli advanced to the Top 26 on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Oliver Steele advances to the Top 26 on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Nailyah Serenity advanced to the Top 24 on American Idol (ABC Photo)

Matt Wilson advanced to the Top 26 on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Marybeth Byrd, formerly of The Voice, made the Top 26 on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Mariah Faith advanced to the Top 26 on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Hannah Nicolaisen made it into the Top 26 on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Former The Voice standout Megan Danielle advanced to the Top 26 on American Idol Season 21 (ABC Photo)

Emma Busse advanced to the Top 26 on American Idol Season 21. (ABC Photo)

Elise Kristine advanced to the Top 26 on American Idol (ABC Photo)