Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Maddie Walker performs on American Idol. (FOX Photo)

I mean, 11 singers will perform, but only 10 will perform knowing they’ll advance to next week.

The 11th singer will be performing for a save which, let’s face it, the judges aren’t likely to use this early in the process.

So is this Top 11 night or Top 10 night? I’ll call it Top 10, for now.

If you missed my ranking of the Top 11 … because, hey, I have no idea who’s on the chopping block tonight, head here.

Why does Idol have to make it all so confusing?

Anyway, here we go with song by song grades for tonight’s show …

Adanna Duru: She needed a save to make it this far. She’ll sing “Love You I Do” by Jennifer Hudson from Dreamgirls. Adanna takes the stage looking the part of a star. The first verse seemed a wee bit tentative, but she unleashes that big voice of hers when she hits the chorus. Of all the movie songs out there, is this really one of the most memorable? Well, Adanna wound up delivering another solid vocal and threw in a bit of attitude at the end. Keith says she sounds great and looks amazing. Jennifer is looking for more real emotion from Adanna. Harry says “everything was strong.” But he wants her to sing more to the audience. Grade: B–

Daniel Seavey: Really? Well, that means someone more deserving is going home tonight instead of Daniel, who was flat-out bad both nights last week. He’s going to sing “Lost Stars” by Adam Levine from “Begin Again.” He’s playing guitar. Well, if I want to compile a list of the worst Idol performances at the end of the year, all I’m going to have to do is review Daniel’s. That was another dismal effort. He sounded nervous from the word go and the vocal never clicked in. Jennifer says he did an “OK job,” but says it wasn’t his best performance. Harry said it sounded like he was in a practice room and says it wasn’t strong. Keith compliments him on a clever arrangement, but he wants him to dig in a little more. Grade: D

Rayvon Owen: This guy had to perform first last week, and I thought he might be in danger tonight. The 23-year-old has opted to perform “Staying Alive.” He says he wants to keep it dance-able, but change it up at the same time. He starts off by showing off his falsetto. Unfortunately, this arrangement is also sucking most of the energy out of the song. Rayvon has great range, but that really isn’t a version of the song I’d want to hear a second time. Harry admires the arrangement, but he wonders how Rayvon can remain interesting. He wants more substance from Rayvon. Keith wants to see “oh-my-goodness” from Rayvon. Jennifer is looking for more excitement from Rayvon, too. Hmm, he got worst critiques than Daniel Seavey. Grade: C–

Nick Fradiani: The show’s “pop hunk” will tackle “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins from the film “Top Gun.” He’s decided not to play guitar in hopes of stepping up his performance level. Well, that was the best opening we’ve heard yet. He’s tinkered with the arrangement, too, but not quite so drastically. And Nick is being much more animated on stage. And he finishes with a big glory note. That was the best performance we’ve heard so far tonight. And the crowd certainly loved it. Keith liked the fact that he seemed more comfortable on stage. Jennifer thought the tone and song choice were perfect for Nick. Harry thought it was the wrong song. He wants Nick to sing a song he can be “sexy” on. Grade: B

Joey Cook: Hooray, the unique one made it through another week. Joey is adorably quirky. She’s going to perform “Mad World” by Tears for Fears from “Johnny Darko.” Brilliant opening. Don’t know about you, Jennifer, but I’m getting goosies. The was a very nice, haunting performance. Jennifer says the performance “felt really beautiful.” Harry called it a great song and a great choice. He calls it a tremendous job. Keith loves the depth of her artistry. And that just became my favorite performance of the night. Grade: A–

Tyanna Jones: She was certainly one of the most impressive last week, so I’m glad to see she’s safe. She’s singing “Circle of Life” by Elton John from “The Lion King.” That opening seemed a bit timid. But Tyanna’s voice soars with the chorus. Unfortunately, it’s also soaring to the point where it’s a bit sharp and wandered a bit off key. But, once again, she brought a 100 percent effort to the stage and got a great reaction from the crowd. Harry says he thinks she overshot the mark a little bit and was yelling a bit. He’s correct. Keith thinks she might be one of the best singers, but had some serious pitch issues. Jennifer thinks she’ll bounce back next week. Grade: C

Wow, a Jennifer performance and dozens of commercials. I could have taken a nap.

Now the action is back …

Quentin Alexander: He’s going to sing “You’re the One That I Want” by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John from “Grease,” and we’re warned that he’s going to flip the song. This is a unique interpretation of the song. That first verse was simply splendid. He does waver some with pitch, however. OK, make that a good deal on the second. But he delivers a very intense, powerful ending. Keith calls it an interesting performance. Jennifer calls it haunting and beautiful, but she doesn’t know if it “translated as much as you felt it.” Harry says he has to think about the pitch and focus as much on singing as the performance. Grade: B–

Maddie Walker: She’s been struggling with health issues, which means she missed some rehearsal time. She’s going to perform “Let’s Hear It for the Boy” by Deniece Williams from “Footloose.” Interesting choice for a country singer. This was not a smart song choice. I suppose she could have gone with a country version of the song, but she opted not to, and this is coming off as lightweight as Jennifer feared it might. Yikes! Jennifer calls it “cute and sweet.” She liked Maddie’s “twang” on it. Harry says he didn’t care for the performance. Keith says the song choice didn’t play to her strength. Grade: C–

Cut out all the filler, and they could have easily made this a one hour show. Now we have Kenny Loggins performing. Why? Who knows?

Clark Beckham: Well, I was pretty certain he wouldn’t need a save. I mean, my two top-ranked contestants were still sitting in red-ringed chairs a moment ago. Jax is the other. Clark will perform “Sunday Morning” by Maroon 5 from “Cheaper by the Dozen 2.” Clark immediately shows off his range, and the girls in the crowd are screaming just a couple of words into the song. Hey, Clark, worked his way through lots of vocal gymnastics and a very, very solid version of that song, and clearly pleased the crowd in the process. Harry says he “knocked it out of the park.” Keith calls him “such a good singer.” Keith just wanted him to smile a little more. Jennifer says she really loved the performance. Grade: A–

Jax: Yeah, I didn’t think there was any chance she’d be in danger either. She’s going to sing “Grow Old With You” by Adam Sandler from “The Wedding Singer.” Not sure about this song choice. It’s more cute than anything. And I like Jax when she shows off more of an edge. She’s trying to deliver a quirky performance, but Joey is better at that. But it turned out to be a cute performance, and the crowd apparently loved it. Keith loved the song choice and thought it was “beautiful.” Jennifer thought it played well into the “quirkiness” of her voice. Harry says it was lovely, sweet and personal. He thought it was one of her better performances. Grade: B

And that means Qaasim Middleton will have to sing for the save. Can’t imagine they will use it. He’s going to sing “Come Together” by The Beatles. Qaasim is a brilliant showman, as evidenced by the playing card he just plucked from behind his head. But he isn’t a brilliant singer, and I imagine the judges will keep that in mind when they vote on the save. Have no doubt about this, Qaasim poured all his energy into that performance. Harry called it the best performance of the night. Grade: B

And, wow, what a surprise. The judges decided to use their one and only save on Qaasim. No sure that was a wise move.