Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Rayvon Owen poses for a photo on his trip home to Richmond, Va., last week. Will his luck run out on American Idol tonight? (FOX Photo)

But tonight should make for a faster-paced show than last week’s snooze fest. For one thing, each contestant is supposed to perform three times.

Meanwhile, Idol is slowing revealing some of what we can expect from the season finale, set for just one week from now.

Special guests for that show will include Chris Brown, Echosmith, Fall Out Boy, Jamie Foxx, The Jacksons, Vance Joy, Ricky Martin, Michael McDonald, Janelle Monáe, New Kids On The Block, Pitbull, Nile Rodgers, Prince Royce and Steven Tyler.

We already know Steven will be performing with Jax. No word on what the other pairings will be.

Oh, and all three Idol judges will also perform at some point during the two-hour finale.

Meanwhile, there’s a new set of songs to grade.

And here we go …

Scott Borchetta’s picks:

1. Rayvon Owen: He’ll kick off the night with “Want to Want Me” by Jason Derulo. Not sure that song pick does Rayvon any huge favor, since his forte is emotional ballads and his weaker performances have come when he’s gone up-tempo. It’s certainly giving him a chance to show off his range. That was okay. Keith says it was a good song for him to show off his falsetto. Harry says it’s his best performance on an up-tempo song. Grade: C+

2. Clark Beckham: Scott has given him “Beautiful Day” by U2, calling it a “big song for a big voice.” What the heck happened to Clark? It’s like the stylists got a hold of him and dressed him like a star and squeezed all the good vocals out. The opening lacked energy, and then he strayed off pitch again and again and again during the performance, though he did step up the energy level. Jennifer says she did a good job with it. Harry calls it “pretty good.” Keith though he should have risen up more to meet the energy level of the band. Grade: C

3. Nick Fradiani: Scott has served up “Because the Night” by Bruce Springsteen for Nick, saying he’s looking for an epic performance. And Nick sounds very, very good on this. This is easily the best performance of the night so far. I mean, that was perfectly suited for him. He didn’t do anything imaginative with it, but he delivered a really solid cover with lots of energy. Harry calls it “fantastic.” Keith calls the song a good match for Nick’s voice. Jennifer wants him to connect better with the lyric. Grade: B+

4. Jax: Scott will have Jax sing “My Generation” by The Who. Jax has been sick based on her Tweets, so it’ll be interesting to see how she performs tonight. Her voice sounds in fine form. There are cover singers on American Idol. And there’s one ready-for-prime-time performer. And that would be Jax, who did a whole lot more than show up on stage and deliver a straight cover of a popular song. Excellent. Keith calls it “freaking awesome” and says it’s her best performance to date. Jennifer calls it perfect and says she killed it. Harry also calls it her best performance. Grade: A.

Ryan Seacrest interacts with the crowd during Wednesday’s episode of American Idol. (FOX Photo)

1. Nick Fradiani: For round two, he’ll sing “Back Home” by Andy Grammer. No doubt, Nick has progressed over the course of the competition. He looks so much more comfortable on stage now. And he delivers another solid performance on that song. Nice, upbeat, fun-loving tune. Jennifer calls it “really great.” Harry calls it “very strong, again.” Grade: B

2. Clark Beckham: He’s back behind piano for Otis Redding’s “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay.” Come on, Clark. Rediscover the magic. Clark has delivered some of his best performances at the piano, and this might be one of his best in the past three weeks. A strong vocal like we were getting from him consistently early in the show. And a really nice ending. Harry calls it a “nice performance.” Keith wants to see a little more struggle, a little more angst in the performance. Jennifer says he “sounded beautiful.” Grade: B–

3. Rayvon Owen: He’ll perform Stevie Wonder’s “As.” He says it’s a song he’s been singing for years. That opening was a little sleepy. Let’s see what Rayvon delivers when it kicks into the up-tempo part. Well, he delivered a nice glory note. He had fun on stage. He tried a little crowd participation. But was it me? Or did it seem a little disjointed at the end? Jennifer likes his “silky vocals.” Harry likes the joy in his performance. Grade: C+

4. Jax: And Jax will close out round two by singing “My Immortal” by Evanescence from behind her piano, where she’s delivered some of her best performances. Really nice, distinctive vocal. That was one of Jax’s more subdued performances over the past month. Jennifer likes the humility that performance displayed. Harry calls it fantastic. Grade: A–

Judges’ choice:

1. Clark Beckham: Jennifer is asking him to perform “Earned It” by The Weeknd from the “Fifty Shades of Grey” soundtrack. Nice song for Clark to show off his range. He sounded particularly good on the chorus. And he goes a little crazy with the vocals near the end. Where has that been the past three or four weeks, Clark? It’s about time we got some attitude from you. Harry calls it “really really strong,” but wanted to see more intensity early in the performance. Keith calls it “very good.” Jennifer likes “the electric” feel and says the ending gave her goosies. Grade: A–

2. Rayvon Owen: Excellent choice for Rayvon. The judges have selected Joe Cocker’s “You Are So Beautiful.” Not sure Rayvon is delivering this quite as well as I expected. It might be a case of a few too many vocal flourishes. The crowd seemed to appreciate it though. Jennifer says she wanted more emotion, more connection. And I’d agree. Harry says he thought Rayvon was delivering emotion and gives him credit for helping rearrange the song. Grade: B–

3. Jax: The judges are asking to sing “Misery Business” by Paramore. Ah, I really wish she had listened to Charlotte Sometimes version of this from The Voice if she wanted to switch the song up. I’m not sure that acoustic jam worked. Keith says she sang beautifully, but questions the arrangement. Jennifer wanted to see her dig into the song. Harry thinks she missed an opportunity to command the stage. Grade: C

4. Nick Fradiani: The judges have Nick singing “I’ll Be” by Edwin McCain. Nick gets the opportunity to close out the show, and based on how well he’s been doing lately, I won’t be surprised to see him in the Top 2 next week. I just hope it’s Jax competing by his side. That was another solid performance, wrapping up a very strong night for Nick. Harry liked the performance and says he “nailed” the song. Keith thinks he could have a hit with that song. Jennifer calls it “amazing.” Grade: B+

And now it’s time to say goodbye to one of the Top 4.

Nick advances. Clark Beckham advances. Jax advances.

The singer going home on American Idol is: Rayvon Owen.