Idol Chatter & Voice Views

American Idol’s Top 5 includes (from left) Laine Hardy, Alejandro Aranda, Wade Cota, Madison VanDenburg and Laci Kaye Booth. (ABC Photo)

Laine Hardy, Madison VanDenburg and Alejandro Aranda will compete for the Season 17 American Idol title next week.

They were the finalists selected by fans Sunday night.

That meant the elimination of Laci Kaye Booth and Wade Cota.

Each of the finalists will head home this week for a hero’s welcome in their hometowns to prepare for next week’s three-hour season finale.

Here are song by song grades for American Idol’s Top 5.

See also …
Pre-show music by the Top 5 on American Idol

Bobby Bones’ picks

Wade Cota, “You are the Best Thing,” Ray Lamontagne — A solid opening performance from Wade, showing off his typically gruff vocals and sporting a bit of facial hair. Again, he has a group of background singers to assist. Wade looks quite comfortable on stage, but that performance didn’t scream: “I must be in the finals.” Grade: B

Laci Kaye Booth, “The House That Built Me” by Miranda Lambert — Just love those smoky vocals. And I wonder why Laci hasn’t been singing more country songs on the show, and what might have happened if she had. As it is, she’s a longshot to advance. Also like the toned-downed look this week. She earned a standing ovation from the judges. Grade: B+

Alejandro Aranda, “No Woman No Cry” by Bob Marley — Alejandro serves up Bob Marley Alejandro style and does a very nice job with it Alejandro gets praise from the judges for his cover of the Bob Marley tune and for making it his own. Luke Bryan said it’s one of the most “present” vocals he’s heard from Alejandro. Grade: B

Laine Hardy, “Can’t You See” by the Marshall Tucker Band — Nice song choice for Laine, and he’s doing it justice, showing off his comfort on stage once again and serving up his swampy form of rock. The judges still want to see more fight from Laine, the show’s perceived front-runner. Grade: B+

Madison VanDenburg, “What About Us” by Pink — Wow, Madison looks like a rock star tonight. And she’s showing lots of charisma on stage. I’m wondering if the wear of the show is weighing on her voice. She’s sounded a little shouty over the last couple of performances and did on that performance too, though she also served up a big ending. Grade: B–

Elton John round

Wade Cota: “Rocket Man” — Wade dons ELotn John glasses for this performance. A disguise might have been a good idea as rough as this vocal started out. He takes off the glasses and pulls the vocal together much better when he hits the chorus. But that wasn’t a finals worthy performance. Grade: C+

Laci Kaye Booth: “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” — Loved seeing Laci go upbeat. Loved seeing her be more carefree on stage. I’m just not sure that was the right song for those smoky vocals of hers. There were a couple of points where Laci’s vocals dropped out pretty badly. The judges gave Laci another standing ovation. I’m not sure I would have. Grade: C+

Alejandro Aranda: “Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word”– Okay, I haven’t been the biggest Alejandro fan during Season 17. But that was a very nice match of singer and song and perhaps Alejandro’s best cover of the competition. Extremely well done. Grade: A

Madison VanDenburg: “Your Song” — Liked the intro, in which Madison strolled on stage interacting with the fans. Loved the vocal, which might have been the best we’ve heard from Madison in a couple of weeks. She handled the soft opening expertly, soared effortlessly when she needed to soar and delivered a masterful ending. And that’s how you say: “I belong in the Top 3.” Grade: A–

Laine Hardy: “Something About the Way You Look Tonight” — Laine is being forced out of his comfort zone and he’s singing this ballad. This isn’t Laine’s forte. Not at all. He’s doing okay, but he’s losing ground to Alejandro in this round. I did like his ending to that number. Grade: B–

The dedications

Wade Cota, “Hard Luck Woman,” by Kiss — Oh, no. This just flat out was not a good performance. Wade fans might have liked it, but those gruff vocals did not work on that song. He gets praise from the judges, but he has not earned a spot in the finals tonight. Grade: D+

Laci Kaye Booth, “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac — Again, the sytle and vibe Laci is showing tonight is what I think she should have been doing all season. She brings the judges to their feet for a second time tonight. Stevie Nicks is Laci’s idol, but I liked the fact that she still put a bit of her own spin on that performance. Very well done. Grade: B+

Madison VanDenburg, “Make You Feel My Love” by Adele — A bit of a shaky start for Madison. But she recovered nicely. Liked that little rasp that showed up in her voice in the middle of the song. She turned in a very emotional performance too. Grade: B

Laine Hardy, “Hey Jude” by The Beatles — Laine is bouncing back nicely in this round. Not sure this is the high energy Laine the judges were looking for when he first took the stage tonight, but he seemed more comfortable on that song than his Elton John number. Grade: B

Alejandro Aranda, “Blesser” (original) — Kudos to Alejandro for doing another original — and to Idol for letting him do so. But the work on the piano here is more impressive than the vocal, which disappeared under the music for much of that performance. But Alejandro delivers a tender ending and has likely earned a spot in the finals tonight. Grade: B–