Song by song grades for the Top 26 on American Idol, Night 1

American Idol

Song by song grades for the Top 26 on American Idol, Night 1

April 16, 2023 By Mark Franklin 0

Iam Tongi performs on Top 26 night on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Thirteen of American Idol’s Top 26 will perform tonight.

And for the first time in Season 21, fan voting will help determine who advances.

You can cast your votes at americanidol.com. You’ll need an ABC account to do so, but signing up is easy.

Ten of the singers below will advance to next Sunday’s Top 20 show. That means three will be eliminated.

Follow along throughout tonight’s show for song by song grades.

Elise Kristine, 19, Issaquah, Wash., “Holding Out For A Hero” by Bonnie Tyler — Interesting song choice for Elise, who is blessed with one of the biggest voices among the Idol girls. But I don’t necessarily see her as a female rocker. Oh, well, it’s Elise, so she made it work, showing off her vocal firepower and her knack for reaching the stratosphere with her amazing range. Katy loved the way she showed off her fangs. Grade: B+

Emma Busse, 20, Vancouver, Canada, “Lay Me Down” by Sam Smith — Emma says she sang this song previously and wasn’t satisified with how it turned out. She’s doing it again as a sign of personal growth. Well, she delivered an impressive array of vocal acrobatics, especially at the end of that performance. Katy called her a pro. Grade: B

Haven Madison, 17, Clarkesville, Tenn., “The Middle” by Zedd, Maren Morris, & Grey — Like the stage presence Haven showed off here. But she picked the wrong song. She’s most impressive in singer-songwriter mode — especially doing her own songs — not when she’s doing a pop tune. The nice tone at the end is a reminder of what we could have heard. Grade: C

Iam Tongi, 18, Kahuku, Hawaii, “Don’t Let Go” by SpawnBreezie — Idol closes another show with Tongi. Are they playing favorites? Probably. But it marks his return to Hawaii, he’s a likeable guy and he’s delivering another fine performance. Was it the best of the night? Not from my viewpoint; I would have liked something with more emotion. But it will certainly get him into the Top 20. Grade: B

Kaeyra, 21, Algonquin, Illinois, “Don’t Let Go (Love)” by En Vogue — Now it’s time to hear from Season 21’s lady rocker. She was determined to show off her stage presence hre and is doing pretty well on that count. And she impressed with a big ending glory note. In between, that vocal seemed to stray out of control on a couple of occasions. Grade: C+

Lucy Love, 28, Holly Grove, Ark., “What’s Love Got To Do With It?” by Tina Turner — Loved her opening. She has such a rich tone. And then she kicks into high gear, like you knew she would. She has a bit of growl in her voice too. She’s dancing all around the stage too. The vocal might have strayed a bit because of that. But she delivers a great, joyful ending. Grade: B+

Mariah Faith, 22, Conway, S.C., “You Should Probably Leave” by Chris Stapleton — Love the rasp in Mariah’s voice. That said, this was the first performance where I sensed a touch of nerves. The strong, more dynamic ending helped pull out what to that point had been a so-so performance. Not sure that was the best song choice for her. Grade: C+

Matt Wilson, 21, Buffalo, NY, “Speechless” by Dan + Shay: Matt’s dedicating this performance to his wife, saying the song reminds him of his wedding day. And Matt delivers a nice heartfelt vocal, grasping his wife’s hand as he delivers the final note. Very nice performance, featuring Matt’s silky smooth vocals. But, hey, Idol, could we have a few fewer shots of Allen Stone’s reactions. Grade: B

Nailyah Serenity, 23, Charlotte, NC, “Lovin’ You” by Minnie Riperton — Nailyah comes out looking like a star. She delivers a fine performance and apparently nailed the whistle note she was worried about. Luke said that she has star dust all over her. Lionel and Katy delivered high praise as well. Grade: B

Oliver Steele, 25, Mount Juliet, Tenn., “Better Together” by Jack Johnson — This is sorta a laid-back song choice for the first night of fan voting. Oliver is delivering a pleasing vocal, but I’m not sure it’s one fans will remember at the end of the night. It wasn’t packed with emotion and there weren’t any big vocal moments. The judges liked the way he stuck to his vocal identity. Grade: C+

PJAE, 24, Lawton, Okla., “Golden” by Jill Scott — Gotta say, I’m impressed by the apparent lack of nerves from the Idol contestants on the first voting show. Nice opening and ending by PJAE. In between, he was obviously connected to the song. But that performance really didn’t work for me. Grade: C

Warren Peay, 24, Bamberg, SC, “Set Fire To The Rain” by Adele — Love the idea of the country rocker putting his spin on an Adele song. But the lyrics were unintelligle early on. He did much better once he hit the chorus and was able to cut loose with his powerful country-rock vocals. Oh, and he never did toss the hat, as Allen Stone suggested. Grade: B–

Zachariah Smith. 20, Armory, Mississippi, “Lucille” by Little Richard — Okay, I haven’t been a big fan of Zachariah to this point, but he turned in a fun, energetic performance here. All the jumping around might have affected the vocal a bit, but it was still the most fun performance we’ve seen so far tonight. Katy dubbed him “crazy talented.” Grade: B