Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Jurnee will be one of the contestants performing Sunday on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

The second half of the American Idol Season 16 semifinals kicked off Sunday night.

The remaining 12 semifinalists performed solos. On Monday, more celebrity duets are on tap, featuring Lea Michele, Allan Stone, Bebe Rexha, Banners, Cam, Colbie Caillat and Rachel Platten.

Then, at the end of Monday’s show, we’ll find out which seven contestants advance and which five go home.

No fan voting again. American Idol producers have decided the judges alone are qualified to determine who should make the first American Idol live shows on ABC.

Here are the song by song grades from Sunday’s show.

1. Amelia Hammer Harris, “Believer” by Imagine Dragons: Amelia delivers an upbeat start to tonight’s show with those rapid-fire verses. She showed nice power in her voice on the chorus and not a bit of shyness on stage. But if the judges where looking for something heartfelt and introspective from Amelia — as the lead-in led us to believe — that wasn’t it. Grade: B–

2. Garrett Jacobs, “Treat You Better” by Shawn Mendes: I know Idol sees Garrett as a potential heartthrob — look at the teens swooning in the front row. But that was not a finals worthy vocal. Yep, Garrett sounded good when he sang softly. But he went for one high note and missed badly. Grade: C

3. Maddie Poppe, “Brand New Key” by Melanie: Maddie’s the quirky singer-songwriter type among the Season 16 cast and picked a good song to show what she does best. That won’t be a performance that everyone talks about tomorrow morning, but it was certainly a solid performance. And absent of the anxiety she discussed during the intro package. Grade: B

4. Ada Vox (Adam Sanders), “Feeling Good” by Nina Simone: Any doubt about whether we would get Adam Sanders (who showed up for the final judgment) or drag queen persona Ada Vox (who we’ve seen every performance so far) is over. Not a very imaginative song choice. But we’ll see what happens. Okay, Adam, Ada — whatever he wants to call himself — tore up the stage with easily the best vocal we’ve heard so far tonight. And it kept getting more intense. Very well done. Grade: A–

5. Caleb Hutchinson, “Die a Happy Man” by Thomas Rhett: Look, I’ll be surprised if Caleb doesn’t make it to the finals. As Luke Bryan pointed out, he’s the last country male on the show. I’d also agree with his assessment that the song choice was just a bit out of wheelhouse. That said, Caleb’s been solid every time we’ve seen him. And I’d put him in the finals too. Grade: B

6. Effie Passero, “Barracuda” by Heart I really like some of Effie’s original. But this performance just did not work for me. She was pitchy for much of the performance. And I kept feeling like she wanted to cut loose and didn’t quite cut loose the way Adam/Ada did. That said, the judges applauded the performance. I’ll be eager to hear Effie tomorrow night, when she says she’ll be singing a country song. Grade: C

7. Alyssa Raghu, “Stay” by Rihanna: This young lady has perhaps my favorite voice in the competition — and she’s only 15 — oops, she just turned 16. Anyway, she didn’t disappoint with that vocal. Not sure it was flawless, but if this gal doesn’t make the finals, the American Idol judges officially cannot hear. Wow, that tone! Grade: B+

8. Marcio Donaldson, “Inseparable” by Natalie Cole: Marcio won me over with that vocal. That was my favorite performance of his so far. Those low notes were a nice changeup too. He brought the judges to their feet and it was a well-deserved standing ovation. I would like to see Marcio end a performance without breaking down into tears, but perhaps that’s a sign of how deeply he feels what he’s singing. Grade: A–

9. Mara Justine, “Run to You” by Whitney Houston: Another standing ovation from the judges as Mara proves she can impress without hair flips. Not that the hair flipping has bothered me. Gotta say, between Mara and Alyssa, Idol uncovered a pair of very young and incredibly talented female singers. Mara started that off nearly a cappella, then showed off the power in that voice of hers. And that ending was wonderful. Luke’s reaction: “We’re spellbound.” Grade: A–

10. Jurnee, “Flashlight” by Jessie J: How are the judges going to decide which of these young ladies to advance? That was a top-notch pop vocal. That said, Katy hit the nail on the head: With that vocal talent, Jurnee could blow the roof off the place and blow the judges away in the process. I’m not sure that song choice offered the opportunity to do that. Compare the dynamics in that song with those in Mara’s. Grade: B+

11. Shannon O’Hara, “All I Ask” by Adele: Yet another solid female vocal, marked by a nice ending. That said, I wasn’t quite as impressed with that performance as when Shannon performed “Unconditionally” during the Top 50 solos. And this is the time you want to deliver your best performance to date: Grade: B

12. Ron Bultongez, “Dancing on My Own” by Robyn: Another standing “O” from the judges. Not so sure about it this time. The judges are praising Ron for delivering a heartfelt performance. With that, I agree. But he wowed me with his performance of “Home” by Phillip Phillips, and the vocal we just heard didn’t match that. He still needs to prove to me that his music is going to be as good as his back story. Grade: B–