Idol Chatter & Voice Views

We Ani, formerly We McDonald, performs during the Top 26 round on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

The second set of 13 contestants among American Idol’s Top 26 take the stage tonight.

And, quite frankly, this is a more talented pool of contestants, based on what we’ve seen on Idol so far in Season 21.

Tonight’s performers include all five former contestants from The Voice — We Ani, Marybeth Byrd, Megan Danielle, Michael Williams and Malik Heard. The ladies have been especially impressive to date.

Nevertheless, three among this group of 13 will head home as American Idol whittles its cast to 20 on next Sunday’s show.

Who advances from this group of 13 will be based on fan voting. You can vote through 6 a.m. eastern time Tuesday at AmericanIdol.com, on the Idol app or by following the texting instructions given during the show.

I’ll be live blogging again tonight and providing song by song grades after each performance.

For the song by song grades from Sunday’s show, head here.

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Song by song grades from Sunday’s show

Colin Stough, 18, Armory, Mississippi, “Midnight Train to Memphis” by The Steeldrivers — Colin decides to go upbeat on this round too. Smart decision? Well, he’s delivering a fun performance, seems to be dealing quite well with the nerves he says he experiences. He turned in a fine vocal. But he’s also got a really nice country voice and that song didn’t show it off very well. Not sure the shout out to his mom at the end worked at the end of such a rocking performance. Grade: B–

Dawson Wayne, 21, San Antonio, Texas, “Copycat” by Billie Eilish — Dawson hasn’t gotten nearly as much screen time as many of the contestants in tonight’s lineup, so he needs a moment. He showed off nice range here, but I’m not sure he succeeded in channeling Billie Eilish or coming across as haunting as he wanted. Grade: C

Elijah McCormick, 21, Raeford, N.C., “Good Vibes” by Chris Janson — Interesting song choice by Elijah, who opens the evening with a feel good song. Thing is, I’m not sure it was a good fit for his voice. And it didn’t seem to jell nearly as well as it should have for a platinum ticket winner. The frills at the end were a reminder of what he’s capable of. Grade: C+

Hannah Nicolaisen, 24, Houston, Texas, “Glitter in the Air” by Pink — Really nice song choice for a singer-songwriter trying to stand out on a night filled with big-voiced contestants. Hannah delivers a heartfelt performance. She was apparently sick and her voice suffered as a result, so I think she’s still going to be on the bumble in terms of making the Top 20. Grade: C+

Malik Heard, 26, Dallas, Texas, “Ain’t It Fun?” by Paramore — Malik’s in the same position as Dawson. He made the Top 26 without a ton of screen time. He does a nice job of trying to get the crowd involved in this performance. Noah Cyrus asked him to dial back the vocal acrobatics, but it was those acrobatics that made that performance. Until then, I was thinking he’s going home for sure. Then he wound up being the most impressive male performer we’ve heard so far tonight. Grade: B+

Marybeth Byrd, 21, Armorel, Ark., “Heart Like A Truck” by Lainey Wilson — This young lady has been flat-out great on American Idol. She did well on The Voice, but I don’t remember her being this good. She might have overdone it a bit toward the end of the song, but she also delivered a heck of a glory note. Luke said the performance gave him chills and called Marybeth “a really big country star in the making.” Grade: B

Megan Danielle, 21, Douglasville, Ga., “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac — Okay, I love this song. But I’m not sure it was the best song at this point for Megan because it didn’t show off the really special tone on her voice. She did belt impressively and clearly impressed the judges. Katy in particular said Megan compares favorably to the other big-voiced singers on the show. Grade: B–

Michael Williams, 21, Mason, Ohio, “Tuesdays” by Jake Scott — Michael draws a tough task, following another former Voice contestant We to the stage with a ballad. He’s dedicating the song to his parents, who are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. And Michael delivered a very solid vocal. He gave Katy chills. Grade: B

Nutsa, 26, Tbilisi, Georgia, “Paris (Ooh La La)” by Grace Potter & The Nocturnals — This young lady is a firecracker. And she’s prepared for Idol by performing in a number of competitions around the world. So much for not moving much, huh? Nutsa tears up the Idol stage. I mean, she tore it up. She delivered a huge vocal too. What a fun personality! That was a blast! She must advance! Grade: A

Olivia Soli, 21, Los Angeles, Calif., “Emotions” by Mariah Carey — Really impressive opening by Olivia. Once she grabbed the mic from the stand and started working the stage it got a little shouty. She did hit a couple of impressive glory notes, and we got to hear just a hint of growl in her voice. Lionel called her “crazy talented.” Grade: B–

Paige Anne, 16, Idaho Falls, Idaho, “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus — This teen has a lovely tone and she’s showing it off nicely here. And that was before her voice exploded when it came time to belt the chorus. Where are the nerves? And she set up that huge ending perfectly. Very nice job, Paige Anne. Way to show that you never should have been cut. Grade: A–

Tyson Venegas, 17, Vancouver, Canada, “It Will Rain” by Bruno Mars — Okay, Tyson opens the song by reminding us of the pitch perfect vocals that earned him a platinum ticket. He’s showing off nice stage presence, engaging with members of the audience, all the while delivering a great vocal. And he brings it home with a nice ending. That, folks, was the best vocal we’ve heard from a male singer tonight. Katy calls him a “tremendous” singer. Grade: A–

We Ani, 24, Harlem, NY, “Edge Of Midnight” by Stevie Nicks and Miley Cyrus: We is a pro. I’d argue she’s been the best performer on Season 21 to date. She’s a vocal powerhouse, and the versatility she’s shown is nothing short of amazing. That was pure fire. Better than anything we saw Sunday night on American Idol. She brought all three judges to their feet. Lionel says he’s “in love” with what We does. Grade: A

Colin Stough performs during the Top 26 round on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Dawson Wayne performs during the Top 26 round on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Elijah McCormick performs during the Top 26 round on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Hannah Nicolaisen performs during the Top 26 round on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Malik Heard performs during the Top 26 round on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Marybeth Byrd performs during the Top 26 round on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Megan Danielle performs during the Top 26 round on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Michael Williams performs during the Top 26 round on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Nutsa performs during the Top 26 round on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Olivia Soli performs during the Top 26 round on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Paige Anne performs during the Top 26 round on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Tyson Vengas performs during the Top 26 round on American Idol. (ABC Photo)