Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The Top 5 performed on the American Idol Season 18 finale Sunday night. (ABC Photo)

The final five will compete in the American Idol “finale” tonight.

Finale is in quote marks because, let’s be clear, this has been far from a typical season of American Idol.

Besides the fact that the contestants are performing from their homes, there’s the condensed schedule of shows.

Essentially, Idol fans have been asked to select five finalists based on four glorified YouTube covers.

And they’ll be asked to pick a winner based on two more, one of which will be a performance of a song we’ve already heard from those contestants.

If there was ever a season when Idol became little more than a popularity contest based on the way singers came across on the pre-taped episodes, this is it.

The first order of business tonight will be created the Top 5 with seven singers still officially in the running, including Just Sam and Julia Gargano among an incredibly talented initial pool of Idol ladies and Louis Knight Jr., Dillion James, Jonny West, Francisco Martin and Athur Gunn among the guys.

Six of those seven could be described as singer-songwriter types, better suited to the at-home format than … oh, let’s say, pop performers. That’s another indication of how different Season 18 has been and how no one should put much stock in tonight’s outcome / results.

Advancing to the Top 5 are Arthur Gunn, Just Sam, Dillon James, Francisco Martin and Jonny West.

I would have advanced Julia Gargano and cut Just Sam based on last week’s performances.

ROUND ONE

Dillon James, “Change the World” — Wow, that was a great vocal from Dillon, and he delivered a very nice ending too. Perhaps his best performance since the at-home episodes began. Katy calls it his best performance all season. Luke said it felt natural for him. Lionel says Dillon delivered a stellar vocal. Grade: A–

Francisco Martin, “Adore You” — Franciso is doing a nice job of trying to connect with fans during this performance, but keeping his eyes open, seeming natural, etc. But the less said about that vocal, the better. Wow, he went sharp several times. Not a finals quality performance. Grade: C–

Just Sam, “Stronger” — Wow, Just Sam has a much more vibrant set than Francisco did. After a slow start she’s delivering a big vocal too. But I really think Just Sam’s magic works best on a big stage, and I have no doubt that wouldn’t performance would have come across much better on one. She just seems to “dig in” more with an audience present. Grade: B

Arthur Gunn, “I Don’t Want To Be” — Arthur is definitely the most improve at this at-home format. I remember being totally unimpressed with his Top 20 performance. Look at him moving around tonight, rocking in his home. That was a very solid performance, if not quite vocally perfect. Lionel called it “unbelievable and so magical.” Grade: A–

Jonny West, “You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down” — Jonny was my favorite performer last week. And I was hoping maybe we’d hear a Jonny original tonight. Instead, we get this … a rather sleepy, forgettable song choice and performance. Jonny was vocally okay, but he needs magic to vault since someone like Arthur for the title. Grade: B–

ROUND TWO

Dillon James, “The Times They Are Changing” — Hey, Dillon might not win — I get the feeling Francisco and Arthur — are more popular, but he’s having a very solid Idol finale. That was another excellent vocal. Katy said she felt that rendition came across as more confident than when he performed it in the Hawaii round. Grade: A–

Francisco Martin, “Alaska” — Okay, that vocal was marginally better than round one, but given some of the mega talented singers who were cut along the way, neither of Francisco’s performances tonight were really finals worthy from my perspective. He did deliver that with a bit more urgency and having his family cheer him on from the balcony was a nice touch. Grade: C+

Just Sam, “Rise Up” — Now this is the joyous, uplifting Just Sam we met on the early rounds, before the at-home shows kicked in. That’s a great reminder of why Idol embraced Just Sam as one of Season 18’s best. Katy says Just Sam “rose.” Indeed. Excellent performance. Grade: A–

Arthur Gunn, “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” — This is mark the third time Arthur has performed this song on the show. You’ll recall he wanted to perform a new arrangement in Hollywood, but the band couldn’t quite pull it off in time. Wonder if this is it, because it’s certainly a different arrangement. Give Arthur huge credit for taking the risk. Lionel proclaims him an “absolute star.” Grade: A

Jonny West, “Makin’ Love (an original) — A year after Alejandro Aranda performed four originals in the finals, Jonny becomes the first contestant to perform one of his own sings since the at-home episodes began. And it’s a fine original, complete with a rap breakdown midway through. That performance gives Jonny a leg up in my mind, because he just showed us what he’d do as an original artist, something no one else has. Grade: A+

If I could place the Top 5 in any order I wanted, based on everything we’ve seen and heard in this shortened season, I’d rank them this way …

1. Jonny West
2. Arthur Gunn
3. Just Sam
4. Dillon James
5. Francisco Martin

Well, that won’t happen. Ryan just named a Top 2 of Just Sam and Arthur Gunn. He didn’t provide an order of finish for Dillon James, Francisco Martin of Jonny West.

Disclaimer:
Producers, coaches, judges and hosts on American Idol and The Voice will pretend they are hosting a legitimate singing competition when their seasons come to a close this week. Having blogged about singing shows for more than a decade, I can assure you they are not.

You cannot go from a Top 20 to a winner in four weeks (American Idol) or a Top 17 to a winner in three weeks (The Voice) and call it a fair and legitimate singing competition.

So have fun watching. Vote if you want. Put very little stock in the results because they will mean virtually nothing.

Most of all, support the singers when their time on the show ends. They deserved a better showcase for their talent.