Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Garrett Jacobs and Colbie Caillat perform on American Idol Monday night. (ABC Photo)

Last week, I was underwhelmed by how much we learned about — and heard from — this year’s American Idol cast on duets night.

I mean, the first 12 Idols to compete just didn’t have that many moments to show off their vocal talent during the course of a two-minute, 30-second performance.

About the only thing we could tell is how comfortable a contestant seemed on stage alongside a celebrity.

Know what? I’m not concerned if they’re not. I’d much rather they sound great when they perform solo in the American Idol finals.

All of which leads me to this. I’m already prepared to proclaim six of the singers who should advance tonight.

And they are: Alyssa Raghu, Mara Justine, Jurnee, Caleb Lee Hutchinson, Marcio Donaldson and Ada Vox.

And I’d give the final spot spot to Maddie Poppe or Effie Passero based on how well they perform tonight. Heading into the show, Maddie has a substantial edge based on last night’s solo round.

With that out of the way, here are the pairings we’ll hear during duets night. Either by love blog or after the show, I’ll be back with song by song grades tonight.

1. Caleb Hutchinson and Bebe Rexha, “Meant to Be” by Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line: This song was actually a better match for Caleb’s deep country vocals than last night’s. Liked the fact that he got to open the song, and he delivered a nice ending. Ah, look, Bebe made Caleb blush. Grade: B.

2. Ada Vox and Lea Michele, “Defying Gravity” from Wicked: Lea says she’s honored to duet with someone as talented as Ada. Lionel proclaims that “a star has been born.” The judges are on their feet. I’d said Ada (aka Adam Sanders) is a lock to make the finals. I wasn’t crazy about the song choice. The vocals, there’s no arguing they were spot on. Grade: B+

3. Maddie Poppe and Colbie Caillat, “Bubbly” by Colbie: Wow, Colbie auditioned for Idol with this song and didn’t make it. Now she’s doing it as a celebrity duet. Bravo, Colbie. During rehearsals, it looks like Maddie was having a bad case of the nerves. As for the performance, the ending was a high note. I’m not sure that duet offered Maddie the freedom to show off her distinctive vocals. Grade: B–

4. Ron Bultongez and Banners, “Someone to You”: Ron says he feels like a gladiator going into battle without a shield. Like the upbeat song choice. But Banner is dominating the vocals and I’m not sure Ron is holding up his end. And he doesn’t seem real sure of himself on the solo parts. I know Idol loves his backstory, so I’m going to be very interested in seeing what the judges do in regards to him advancing on the show. Grade: C+

5. Amelia Hammer Harris and Bebe Rexha, “Me, Myself & I” by Bebe Rexha with G-Eazy: Amelia is more experienced than most of the female singers on Idol and I think it showed on that performance. She seemed at home on stage beside Bebe and delivered a better vocal than we heard from her last night. That said, I’m going to be a bit surprised if the judges advance Amelia over some of the young female vocal powerhouses on the show. Grade: B

6. Shannon O’Hara and Cam, “Burning House” by Cam: There’s a certain ache in Cam’s voice when she sings that song that Shannon was having trouble emulating in the song’s opening. Once she hit the chorus, however, her voice soared on the chorus. Katy likes the fact that Shannon shed a bit of her shyness during that performance. Grade: B–

7. Alyssa Raghu and Banners, “Yellow” by Coldplay: Yikes. Alyssa sounded good when she sang alone. Banners sounded good when he sang alone. Together, those voices did not work well together. I was so hopeful for that performance, remembering Brooke White’s wonderful performance of that song back in Season 7. Hopefully, Alyssa will still move forward. She has one of my favorite voices on the show. Grade: C

8. Marcio Donaldson and Allen Stone, “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye: Marcio again delivers a very very nice vocal — one of the best so far tonight — despite difficult circumstances since his original duet partner was unable to participate. He gets a standing ovation. And he doesn’t shed a single tear. Way to go, Marcio. Finals bound, I would hope. Grade: A–

9. Jurnee and Lea Michele, “Run to You”: Jurnee wanted to sing this song in the solo round, but couldn’t because “Lea was coming.” Now that was a duet. Jurnee sounded great, holding her own note for note with Lea. And her voice soared when she sang alone. So far, that was my favorite duet of the night. Grade: A–

10. Garrett Jacobs and Colbie Caillat, “Lucky” by Colbie Caillat and Jason Mraz: We got to hear very little of Garrett singing alone. And on the harmonies, Colbie’s voice cut through, not Garrett. That said, he seemed committed to the performance and sounded a bit better than last night. Look at that. Garrett’s girlfriend was in the audience and he didn’t even know it. Grade: B–

11. Mara Justine and Rachel Platten, “Fight Song” by Rachel: Another fabulous duet. No hair-flipping by Mara. Just another great vocal. Did you hear her voice soar near the end of that performance. What I like best about this 15-year-old is that she seems fearless on stage. That was great. If Mara doesn’t advance … Grade: A

12. Effie Passero and Cam, “Diane” by Cam: Effie was nervous about singing country, but I actually thought she sounded better tonight than she did last night singing “Barracuda.” Really nice closing. I just wish we could have heard Effie sing that soaring chorus at least once on her own. She and Cam sounded very good harmonizing, however. Grade: B.

I’m not sure anything that happened tonight changed what I think should happen next.

I’d still advance Mara, Alyssa and Jurnee among the ladies; Caleb, Marcio and Ada among the guys. And based on the last two nights, I think I’d award the seventh spot to Maddie.

Advancing on American Idol: Mara Justine, Jurnee, Maddie Poppe, Marcio Donaldson, Ada Vox, Garrett Jacobs, Caleb Lee Hutchinson

Eliminated from American Idol: Ron Bultongez, Effie Passero, Amelia Hammer Harris, Shannon O’Hara and (somehow, huh? how in the world?) Alyssa Raghu.