Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The American Idol judges will be plenty busy tonight.

Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez and Harry Connick Jr. will have 14 performances to grade as each of the remaining Season 14 contestants take the stage twice to sing American classics.

Barring a minor miracle, Rayvon Owen will be singing for a save again this week.

The night’s big question? Who will join him in the bottom two.

If Jax does, she surely not going home. Check out the social media stats for the Top 7.

And if you missed by most recent rankings of the remaining Idols, head here.

Round One:

1. Tyanna Jones: She’s the first contestant who’s safe and she’s going to sing “Why Do Fools Fall in Love.” Like the mood of this song for Tyanna, but I’m not sure it’s a great fit for her voice. Or a song that’s going to prompt a performance people will remember two hours from now. My reaction: Decent. Not great. Keith says he was looking for a little more edge to the performance. Jennifer liked the taste of the fun Tyanna. Harry wants Tyanna to watch the video of the original of the song. Grade: C+

2. Clark Beckham: He’s going to deliver a version of “Superstition” that includes a unique opening. Unfortunately, Clark’s got a full horn section, and they’re making it almost impossible to hear what Clark is singing. The parts I could hear were fine, but I wish there weren’t so many background musicians. Jennifer likes the fact that he looks more like a star. She says it’s all coming together for Clark. Harry says that was about as good as he could have done the song. Keith liked the scatting at the beginning. Grade: B

3. Jax: Interesting. Jax is going to tackle Janice Joplin’s “Pieces of My Heart.” And you can tell from the first note, that this is going to be one of the better Jax performances. She threw her own little wrinkles in there, sang the song with passion and turned in a very solid performance. Harry thought the performance was strong. Keith says she sings really well with the band. You certainly had no problem hearing her. Jennifer says it was a tough song and she did a great job with it. Grade: B+

4. Nick Fradiani: Nick says he sees himself as being in the middle of the pack and wants to peak at the right time. His first song tonight is “American Girl” by Tom Petty. I’m not liking this song for Nick. Not at all. He’s delivered a possessed version of an easy-going Tom Petty hit and it just isn’t working for me. The vocal was OK. The performance left lots to be desired. Keith says it was a good song for him. Jennifer says he has a radio ready voice. Harry says that performance is what he needs to do. Wow. That will likely be my “baffled by the judges” pick of the night. Grade: C

5. Quentin Alexander: Quentin says he has to rock out the next five weeks. He’s been mellow he says. Now it’s time to open Pandora’s box. He’s going to sing “Are You Gonna Go My Way” by Lenny Kravitz. Well, he’s back to the outlandish costumes. That’s not the problem. The problem is this rocked-out version of Quentin isn’t showing off the best of his voice. That said, it was certainly a full-energy and crowd-pleasing performance. Jennifer calls it a good job, but says the pitch was all over the place. Harry says he loves his artistry. He wanted Quentin to do something different with the song. Keith thought he held his own. Grade: B–

Whew, and then we have a little sparing match between Quentin and Harry. Quentin calls the situation “whack” because two of his friends — Joey Cook and Rayvon Owen — are on the verge of elimination. Harry calls him out for disrespecting the process. Quentin returns to the stage to say he wasn’t disrespecting anything, just expressing his frustration about the plight of his friends. Hmm. Me thinks Quentin wasn’t thrilled at what he was hearing from Harry during the critiques.

Now it’s time for the instant save battle to begin.

6. Joey Cook: Joey admits everyone considered her quirky with a capital Q when the Top 12 began. Her goal has to be to prove she’s a musician. She’s singing “My Funny Valentine.” OK, this is an odd save-me performance. Very laid-back. No quirk at all. Not very Joey. Nice vocal though. Harry says she did a “damn good job” with an iconic song. Keith likes the fact that she goes outside her comfort zone. Jennifer thought this song would be a perfect fit for her, but says she didn’t feel moved by the performance. Grade: C

7. Rayvon Owen: He’s going for a third straight save with “Long Train Running.” He he seems out of key from the first note. Rayvon is showing off some nice dance moves, but this vocal isn’t matching what he delivered the last two times his Idol fate was on the line. He does deliver a strong ending, complete with a climatic jump off the stage. Keith liked the performance, but wanted to feel more. Jennifer thinks he’s improving. Harry doesn’t think he’s found the perfect song yet. Grade: C.

Round Two:

1. Clark Beckham: In round two, he’s going to sing “Moon River.” And he’s slipped behind the piano for this oldie. He’s looked very handsome and stylish, but you’d better be a Clark fan. Otherwise, you might fall asleep during this performance. It was a fine vocal. It was a sincere vocal. And he’ll advance again. Jennifer calls it “really nice.” Harry wants him to vary the song up a little more. Keith called it “warm and fuzzy.” Grade: B

2. Tyanna Jones: My, my, Tyanna is going to tackle “Proud Mary.” This is going to require grit we haven’t seen from Tyanna to this point. And the beginning is sweeter than I’d expect. OK, the music swells and Tyanna gets into her groove. The second half of that was very strong performance wise, capped by a really big note at the end. Still thought the performance needed more grit. Harry calls it “close to perfect.” Keith and Jennifer both really liked it as well. One of the night’s best. Grade: B+

3. Nick Fradiani: Nick’s second song will be “Only the Good Die Young.” I wasn’t a big fan of Nick’s first song, but he’s doing a very, very good job with this Billy Joel classic. In fact, I’d say he’s pretty much nailing it while delivering the best vocal I’ve heard tonight. That’s easily my favorite from Nick to this point in the competition. Keith calls it a “10 out of 10.” Jennifer loved it the whole way through. Harry says the arrangement threw him off. Grade: A–

4. Quentin Alexander: Love this song choice. Love this concept, again. Love the atmosphere and Quentin’s approach to the song. His ending was really strong, too. Unfortunately, his vocal let him down too often over the course of that performance. Jennifer calls it a nice performance. Harry gives him another lecture about pitch. And it’s well deserved in the case of this song. Keith echoes those sentiments. Grade: B–

5. Jax: Oh, my Jax is going to tackle Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” And she’s going to sing a rocked out version of the song. Well, that was fun. And imaginative. And a great vocal for someone who was dashing all over every part of the stage. That was quite the performance. Harry says he’s been waiting for Jax to rock out like that. Keith called it contagious in its energy. Jennifer liked it too. Jax has enjoyed a very solid night. On to the Top 5 tour, I’d say. Grade: B+

6. Rayvon Owen: He’s sing “Always On My Mind.” Hey, Rayvon picked a winner of a song this time. He’s delivering a very nice, heartfelt vocal on this. Really tender ending too. One of Rayvon’s best vocals. Keith calls it the right song and says he sang beautifully. Jennifer says that gave her the “goosies.” Harry says he thinks Rayvon excels when he’s singing ballads. Grade: B+

7. Joey Cook: OK, she has her ukulele with her on the stage. This is going to be more Joey than that first performance. She’ll tackle “Somebody to Love.” She’s taken the classic rock hit and turned it into something of a bluegrass jam. And she’s delivering one of the best performance of the night. That was quirky with a capital Q in all the right ways. Jennifer says that “was so good for you. Pretty Joey Cook.” Harry liked the inventiveness she showed on that performance. Keith also liked it. Grade: A

And the contestant saved this week on American Idol is:

Rayvon Owen.

That means Joey Cook goes home.

Wow. A little shocked at that outcome.

I thought Joey Cook just delivered the performance of the night.