Idol Chatter & Voice Views

American Idol’s Top 3 of Grace Kinstler, Willie Spence and Chayce Beckham. (ABC Photo)

In addition to a celebrity duet, each member of the American Idol Top 3 will take the stage for up to three solo performances Sunday night.

That will give Chayce Beckham, Willie Spence and Grace Kinstler multiple opportunities to show why they deserve the show’s Season 19 crown.

In recent seasons, the contestant in third place in early voting has been eliminated part way through the season finale, leaving two singers to vie for the crown.

No word on whether that will happen again Sunday in a special three-hour episode set to run from 8 to 11 p.m. eastern time with live voting.

Here are the solo songs the Top 3 will sing, according to Billboard.

Check back at 8 p.m. for a live blog with song by song grades for the Top 3!

Judges’ Picks

Grace Kinstler, “All By Myself” by Celine Dion — Given tonight’s song choices, Grace is going to have plenty of opportunities to show off what she can do vocally. And she soars as soon as she hits the chorus here. Dang, Grace. Glory note after glory note. Wasn’t thrilled with the ending, and could have used a bit more emotion. But otherwise superb. And a great way to start the night. Grade: B+

Willie Spence, ” Georgia on My Mind” by Ray Charles — This is an interesting song choice for Willie. But, hey, he’s from Georgia. Nope, don’t like this song for Willie. I like the song, just not this rendition. Willie dialed up the vocal drama over the final 30 seconds or so, reminding us of the big voice he has thought. But, no, Lionel, that wasn’t a religious experience for me. Grade: B–

Chayce Beckham, “Blackbird” by The Beatles — Hey, like the fact that Chayce changed up the opening to this classic. And there’s that signature rasp that makes Chayce instantly recognizable. Solid performance by Chayce, but it didn’t offer the same opportunities vocally as those given to Grace and Willie. Luke says that performance earned Chayce a chance to go bass fishing with him. Grade: B

Hometown Songs Round

Grace Kinstler, “I Have Nothing” by Whitney Houston —
Really nice a cappella opening by Grace. Tonight is convincing me all over again that she’s the best singer still in the competition. Last week, she sounded shouty in spots. Not tonight. She’s nailing it vocally. Lionel calls it an amazing performance. Katy urges fans to vote for Grace. Grade: A–

Willie Spence, “A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke — I’ll have to catch up on this one. My internet connection was interrupted. UGH!

Chayce Beckham, “Fire Away” by Chris Stapleton — This song is more up Chayce’s alley. You know, that has to be tough: watching those emotional hometown clips, then jumping on stage to perform. My only complaint about this performance is the use of background singers who occassionally drown out Chayce. But he seems so connected to this song. And he sounds so great. That was excellent. Grade: A–

And the Top 2 on American Idol Season 19 are …

Willie Spence

Chayce Beckham

That means Grace winds up in third place. Exactly what I expected.

Duets

Willie Spence with Leona Lewis, “You Are the Reason” — Willie sounded absolutely brilliant on this. And the arrangement gave him, not the celebrity, the opportunity to open the song. Though I’m rooting for Chayce, it’s performances like this one from Willie that prove he’d be a worthy Season 19 champ too. Grade: A–

Chayce Beckham with Luke Combs, “Forever After All” — I don’t see Chayce as a country singer — more of a singer-songwriter type. But this song was a natural fit for him. He sounded good on it. Luke sounded fabulous. Grade: B

Favorite Moments (a reprise song)

Chayce Beckham, “Afterglow” by Ed Sheeran — This is Chayce at his finest, connected to what he’s singing, sounding great and sounding like a voice we’d hear on the radio now. Okay, that might not have been his finest, because it wasn’t one of his originals. But it was pretty darn good. Grade: A–

Willie Spence, “Stand Up” by Cynthia Erivo — Sometimes Willie has a tendency to mumble, and he did it again here on the voice. But when it came time to sing the chorus and for his voice to soar, he was crystal clear. And very powerful. He had a pretty impressive group of background singers backing him up too. Grade: A–

And the winner of American Idol is …

Chayce Beckham!