Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The Top 12 girls on American Idol will become a Top 8 tonight. The Top 12 include, from left, Maddie Walker, Jax, Tyanna Jones, Alexis Gomez, Sarina-Joi Crowe, Shannon Berthiaume , Loren Lott, Lovey James, Shi Scott, Joey Cook, Adanna Duru and Katherine Winston. (FOX Photo)

So now we know how the format will work tonight.

We won’t find out the names of the four female singers already eliminated from Season 14 of American Idol until the very end of tonight’s show, when they aren’t among the eight summoned to perform.

But here’s a hunch, based on last week’s performances. That bottom four is likely to include Shannon Berthiaume, Katherine Winston, Maddie Walker and Lovey James.

No way it should include Jax or Sarina-Joi Crowe, who were fabulous a week ago. And I’m hoping it doesn’t include Joey Cook, who’s an intriguing combination of talent and quirkiness.

The guys said goodbye to Trevor Douglas, Savion Wright, Michael Simeon and Riley Bria. Let’s just say not all of them would have been among my picks for contestants who should have been eliminated.

Next week, we’ll learn which six of the remaining eight will make the Season 14 finals. Voters should eliminate Daniel Seavey and Adam Ezegelian, but I wouldn’t bet on that happening. If you missed them, here are last night’s song by song grades.

And now it’s time to grade the ladies …

1. Tyanna Jones: First up is the young lady who got to close last week’s show. Given that and her impressive performance, I’m not surprised she advanced. Tonight, she’s singing Bobby Day’s “Rockin’ Robin.” She’s turning in a nice, steady, fun performance, looking wonderfully comfortable on stage at age 16. And she ends with a flourish. Keith calls it a great way to start the night. Jennifer calls her performance “awesome.” Harry calls it subtle and strong and says he wonders “what can’t you sing?” Grade: B

2. Loren Lott: Idol’s actress is up next. She sure looks like a star. She’ll tackle Michael Jackson’s “I Wanna Be Where You Are.” Is the sound mix working on this? Loren’s vocals seemed awfully soft at the beginning. Loren had lots of fun with the performance, but that wasn’t a magnificent vocal. OK, Jennifer thinks it was a “strong vocal.” Harry thought she turned in a very good performance too. And Keith calls it very good. I wasn’t nearly as thrilled with that as the judges were. Grade: C

3. Maddie Walker: A little surprised the 17-year-old made it because her performance wasn’t that special last week. She’ll sing The Jackson 5’s “I’ll Be There.” This Motown theme isn’t exactly in Maddie’s wheelhouse; she prefers country music. Given that, Maddie’s doing a decent job, though this performance is coming off as a tad bland. Harry wanted to see her add more dynamics to the number. Keith says she looked a bit nervous, but he liked the song choice. Jennifer thought she did a really good job. Grade: C+

4. Joey Cook: OK, as I noted in the opening, I’m thrilled to see her make the Top 8 ladies. No squeeze box or ukulele this time. The 23-year-old is going to sing The Miracles’ “Shop Around.” And she’s certainly making the song her own. Joey seems to be freaking out just a bit as she performs. But she’s hanging in there vocally and delivers the patented Idol big closing. Keith’s excited to see what she does as the competition continues. Harry calls her very, very unique. Jennifer liked the performance, too. Solid, but not one of Joey’s best. Grade: B–

5. Sarina-Joi Crowe: She’s making her fourth stab at Idol and was very, very good last week. She’ll sing The Miracles’ “You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me.” She’s changed up the arrangement a good deal. Not sure I’m thrilled with that, but Sarina is turning in a strong vocal. Lots of nice little frills in that performance. Jennifer says she believes in Sarina. Harry compliments her on a world-class smile. Harry thought the vocal was flat, though. Keith called it really good. Grade: B+

6. Adanna Duru: That means both of the former contestants from The Voice are still alive in the competition. Adanna is going to sing Lionel Ritchie’s “Hello.” Hey, Adanna is delivering a very, very nice vocal, full of emotion. Love the way she simply spoke a couple of words there, then repeated those same words over and over with more drama each time. That’s the vocal of the night so far. Excellent job, Adanna. Harry thought it was out of tune. Keith loved the emotion at the end of the song. Jennifer said song choice is going to be critical for Adanna, implying, I suppose, that wasn’t the best pick. Grade: A–

7. Jax: She was superb on “Bang, Bang” last week, so let’s see what she has in store for us tonight. She’s going to sing Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” And she’s doing a wonderful job again. This young lady is in a zone, adding her own special touches to her performances, and looking fully in command of the stage. Keith likes the grit in her voice and her artistry on stage. Jennifer calls her one of the favorites in the competition, but she says she thought she changed the song too much. Harry says she has an incredible voice and wonderful charisma, but didn’t think the arrangement was was the best. Grade: A–

8. Alexis Gomez: She’s another country singer who’s about to be forced to sing Motown. She’ll tackle The Four Tops’ “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch).” Well, she isn’t trying to disguise her country twang. She’s having fun with the performance, but I can’t say this is going to be my favorite vocal of the night. Jennifer said she was out of key, and she was. Harry said she seemed out of control vocally. Keith likes the bare feet, but didn’t like the song choice. Well, gee Keith, you gave a country singer a Motown theme. Grade: C–

Well, that means I predicted three of the four eliminations correctly. Maddie Walker made it; Shi did not. Shame. I would have like to see Shi take on Motown.