Idol Chatter & Voice Views

We got a guest appearance by Grumpy Cat

We got two Idol themes for the price of one.

Except someone forget to tell Caleb Johnson that half of the show was supposed to be country music, because he decided to rock all night.

Meanwhile, Jess Meuse, on the brink of elimination a week ago, redeemed herself with two solid performances.

The night’s weak links: C.J. Harris and Sam Woolf, though you’d never know it based on the judges’ critiques of the latter’s performances.

Here are the song by song grades.

ROCK

1. Jena Irene: She kicks things off with Heart’s “Barricuda.” Jena kicks things off in rocking fashion with a pitch-perfect, but pretty straight-forward cover of the Heart hit. She showed off strong vocals throughout, but clearly was building to that big ending, that punctuated the night’s first performance. Keith calls it a “great way to start the show, calling it a “killer performance.” Harry compliments her on having “such a strong voice.” Harry and Keith do suggest she open up a bit more on stage; Jena admits to being a bit nervous about leading off the show. Grade: A–

2. Sam Woolf: He’ll perform “It’s Time.” Rocking isn’t exactly Sam’s forte, so this is a key performance for him. Well, I think we’ve seen that there’s a pretty big gap between Jena and Sam, right? And that might have been a song by a rock band (Imagine Dragons), but it’s not exactly what I consider a rock performance. I did enjoy the hand-clap breakdown midway through the song and Sam delivered a pretty nice ending. Now, let’s see if the judges are honest with the teacher’s pet. Oh, my, Jennifer says that performance gave her “goosies.” Really? Harry says Sam’s “blossoming.” Keith also gives him solid reviews as the young girls on set scream their lungs out at the news that Sam just celebrated his 18th birthday. Grade: B–

3. C.J. Harris: Well, this is more like rock. C.J. is going to jam out to “American Woman,” a rock classic. The first part of the song left me wondering where the grit was in C.J.’s voice. Ah, and yeah, there were a few pitch problems. The second half of the performance was better, as C.J. seemed to start showing a connection to the song. Somehow, though, the whole thing lacked the energy with which that song needs to be delivered. Better believe we would have seen a different performance if Caleb was on stage. Harry calls it pretty good, but reminds C.J. about pitch problems again. Jennifer says she likes C.J.’s look and thinks he pulled it off. Keith says the fact that C.J.’s such a nice guy probably made it difficult to connect the way he could have. Grade: C

4. Alex Preston: He’ll tackle Neon Trees’ “Animal.” Wow, Alex’s left foot is working overtime, going up and down as he performs this number. But you know what, he’s rocking more than I thought Alex could rock. And he’s delivering a performance that will probably have this song among the top Idol iTunes songs tomorrow. There was a spot where he seemed to run out of breath a bit in the middle of the song. Otherwise, I was impressed. Keith says he wanted a little more energy from Alex during the song and that the band seemed on top of him. Jennifer also thought he needed to perform with a bit more reckless abandon. Harry says it wasn’t his best, but he appreciated getting to see Alex perform an upbeat tune. Wow, I actually enjoyed that much, much better than the performance from Sam that the judges seemed to love. Playing favorites, much, Idol judges? Grade: B

5. Caleb Johnson: He’s going to sing “Sting Me.” And if Caleb ever excelled, you’d expect it to be now, on rock week. Dang, this guy reminds me more and more of Meatloaf. And there’s no problem getting Caleb to cut loose on stage, is there? He’s strutting all over it. Randy predicted a bright spot, and Caleb turned in a fun performance, full of the big vocals we’d expect from him, complete with a heck of a high glory note at the end, following which he fell at the feet of his two female background singers. And the crowd went wild. Jennifer calls it some “real rock and roll.” And on top of all that, the camera apparently missed when Caleb lost control of the mic and had to track it down, mid-performance. Jennifer says he created “a moment.” Harry calls it a perfect song choice coupled with an incredible performance. Grade: A

6. Jess Meuse: The gal who was a whisker from elimination will take on Jefferson Airplane’s “Somebody to Love.” Jess looks fabulous in all black. And she’s delivering this with a bit more fire than she usually shows. The vocals: Oh, my, they’re spot on. In fact, this is turning out to be one of Jess’ best vocal performances. Really nice song choice for her. Harry, a frequent critic, has nothing but compliments for that performance. Keith still wants to see more release. Oh, boy, and now Jess is getting nitpicked to death again. Bottom line: She’s one of the top three singers on this show, folks. And that was a really strong performance, better than all the guys except Caleb. Grade: A–

COUNTRY

7. Sam Woolf: He’s going to sing “You’re Still the One.” Yep, a Shania Twain tune. Wow, if the original started off like that, it never would have been a hit. Talk about sucking all the energy out of a song. Now Sam is going to approach the crowd and touch hands with some adoring young girls. He pulls it together and delivers a solid final two lines. By that time, the performance has long before slipped into forgettable land. Keith calls it a good song choice that drove the girls crazy. He says the song “sings itself.” Hmm, not with Sam holding the mic. Jennifer is focused on “cuteness.” Harry says “he’s found the people” and now has to work on more dynamics in his performance. Wow. He got off much better with those critiques than he had any right to. Grade: C–

8. Caleb Johnson: He’s going to sing Carrie Underwood’s “Undo It.” Yep, you read right — Carrie Underwood. Actually, nice song choice as Caleb rocks during the country portion of the show as well. Best part: He sounded really good on the first part of that lyric, before he started to crank up the volume. You know what, Caleb is having lots of fun tonight. That was another really solid performance. And not the first time Caleb has tried to surprise people by singing a song recorded by a female. Hey, Caleb is celebrating a birthday, too — his 23rd. Jennifer calls this a “great performance, too.” Harry says this performance seemed a little more forced, but still called it “extremely” good. Keith calls it great, but says he’s looking forward to what country song he sings later — clearly a reference to the fact that Caleb turned it into a full-on rocker. Grade: A–

9. Alex Preston: Interesting. Alex has decided to sing “Always on My Mind,” the Willie Nelson classic. You know what, this should not work, because folks are so used to Willie’s version, and Alex’s voice is nothing like his. But Alex, once again, is pulling it off. There was one spot in the middle where the arrangement wavered in a way I wish it wouldn’t have. And I would have appreciated a little more emotion rather than the vocal wrinkle at the end. But, all in all, a really nice performance by Alex. Harry calls him an “artist” and says he did a “terrific job.” Keith, like me, would have liked a bit more heartbreak in the performance. Jennifer calls it “really beautiful.” Grade: B+

10. Jena Irene: Another Idol takes on Carrie Underwood. Jena is going to sing “So Small.” Country clearly isn’t Jena’s forte, but she certainly showed off her vocal power during that performance. I didn’t love the arrangement of the Carrie hit, but it’s hard not to be impressed with Jena’s vocals. I mean, if Sam can get praised for his voice … well, gee, Jena’s on another planet. Keith just says “you are such a good singer. For me, watching Idol over the years, you’re everything Idol has always been about.” Jennifer tells us she got the goosies again and calls it “very, very beautiful.” Harry wasn’t as enamored with the arrangement. Gotta say, this time I agree with Harry. Grade: B

11. C.J. Harris: He’ll tackle Zac Brown Band’s “Whatever It Is.” Oh, no. Opening line and the pitch is all over the place and the diction is so muddled, I’m not sure what C.J. sang. Folks, it’s time for C.J.’s Idol run to end. I’m not familiar with this song. But I’m pretty sure this version would not be a hit. This is a theme C.J. should nail. Instead, I think we just heard one of the weakest performances of the night. Jennifer says she expected “a tiny bit more.” Harry says it wasn’t his best performance and he wasn’t thrilled with the song choice. Keith didn’t like the song choice either, and suggests C.J. was sharp during a large part of it. Here’s the bottom line: Idol served up a theme that should have been in C.J.’s wheelhouse this week, and he pretty much whiffed. Grade: C–

12. Jess Meuse: She’s going to tackle the oft-done “Jolene.” But, hey, this is a song Jess should do well with. And, yep, she did very well with it. I was particularly impressed with the way she slowed the song down in the middle to deliver two very soft lines and with the vocal twist she provided at the end when she hit high notes on the last two Jolene’s. Harry calls it “nice work.” Keith hated the arrangement, but says Jess sounded great. Jennifer says her vocal was really strong and calls her voice “magnificent.” Folks, if she winds up in the bottom two this week, Idol viewers are deaf. Grade: B+