Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Tristan McIntosh scored one of fans’ favorite performances last week when she sang “Go Rest High on That Mountain.” (FOX Photo)

There’s lots on tap tonight on American Idol.

We’ll learn the identity of the Top 5 — the contestants who will definitely hang around another week.

We’ll get duets from the Top 8. Reportedly, La’Porsha Renae will share the stage with Trent Harmon. Sonika Vaid will sign with Avalon Young. Dalton Rapattoni and MacKenzie Bourg will enjoy a guy moment together. And the 15s will pair up, meaning Lee Jean will sing with Tristan McIntosh.

This week’s songs will come from the American Idol songbook. Translation: Songs we’ve heard previously on the show. In some cases on many occasions.

And Nick Fradiani will return to sing his new single. The song is called “Get You Home.” Still no word on when Nick’s debut album is out, and we’re just five weeks away from crowning a new American Idol. Not sure what it means, but it’s the first time an Idol has released a debut album after his or her successor is already crown.

Oh, and the bottom three will be revealed again, with the judges determining which of the three stay for another week. Here’s a look at who might be in danger. The list of most popular performances from last week will likely surprise you.

Apparently, we’re going to kick off the night with the duets.

Trent Harmon and La’Porsha Renae They’ll sing “See You Again” by Charlie Puth. Congrats to Trent for having the bravery to duet with La’Porsha. In fact, this is a really nice way to start the night. Not sure it’s a great showcase for La’Porsha’s huge voice, but Trent is certainly getting a chance to flash his vocal range. Keith calls it “the perfect song” and played to both of their strengths. Jennifer thinks it was “magical.” Harry says “you couldn’t ask for a better way to start the show.” Grade: B

Sonika Vaid and Avalon Young: They’re roommates, so this pairing works well they say. They’ll sing “Rise Up” by Andra Day, one of my favorite song choices of the night. I really wish this was Sonika’s solo song. Not sure that worked very well as a duet. It fell a little flat and I’m not sure it was a good fit for Avalon. Jennifer says they were pushing each other to be better, but she wanted more inspiration. Actually, good point. Grade: C+

Dalton Rapattoni and MacKenzie Bourg: They’ll perform “I Want it That Way” by The Backstreet Boys. Dalton says he enjoys boy band music; MacKenzie says it’s not really his thing. MacKenzie opens the song singer-songwriter style on his guitar. Not sure the sound mix is working right on this song. Under the definition of falling flat, you could watch back that performance. Dalton sounded horrible. Harry hated the song choice, saying the lyrics are terrible. Keith said that performance didn’t help either of them. Jennifer figured they’d flip it, but said it was too much like the original. Grade: D+

Tristan McIntosh and Lee Jean: Yikes, they’re going to tackle an Aerosmith song, “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing.” And their biggest worry is that it’s a love song and Lee is shorter than Tristan? Really? Okay, Tristan sounded great on her opening line. Okay, Lee did not. It’s so time for him to go home. And Lee’s vocals never really find the groove, and Tristan’s vocals come off as far less than special as a result. The judges take: Keith says he loves the song and that they did as good as they could, but thought it was hard to find a song that fit both of them. Jennifer thinks Tristan did a good job on the song, but thought the performance could be a little bit stronger. Harry didn’t like the arrangement. He said it was very boring and bland and didn’t have to be. Grade: C–

Okay, Idol, so maybe the duets weren’t such a great idea, huh? We’re half an hour into the show and have seen one Idol-worthy performance.

Now it’s time to find out who fans voted into the Top 6 …

1. La’Porsha Renae Like this song choice for La’Porsha as she strays more into the rock vein as opposed to an R&B/pop classic we’d expect. She’s singing “Come Together” by the Beatles. Her outfit? Fire the wardrobe department. As for the performance, La’Porsha proves she can rock and delivers one heck of an ending. Jennifer says La’Porsha is delivering “full diva” every time she performs. Harry says she’s “incredible.” Keith calls it a terrific song for her. Grade: A–

2. MacKenzie Bourg: He’ll sing “You Are So Beautiful” by Joe Cocker. MacKenzie’s known for putting his own stamp on songs, but he’s performing a pretty straight-up cover this time around. He turned in a sensitive performance, but it certainly fell short of an Idol moment. Harry says he couldn’t have picked a better song. Keith says MacKenzie made the song sound brand new. Jennifer likes his mix of old and new. The judges like that more than I did. It was fine, just nothing special. Grade: B–

Now, a break in the Season 15 performances as Nick Fradiani takes the stage to perform his new single.

3. Trent Harmon: He’ll sing “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King. He opens the song a cappella, which was interesting. That said, I didn’t love his voice on the opening. He’s doing better now. Okay, but perhaps he added in a few too many wrinkles, but the crowd seemed to love it. Keith thinks Trent is improving as a performer during Idol. Jennifer “loves” what Trent does with his voice and doesn’t know if the audience appreciates how good he is. Harry thought it was a great performance. Grade: B.

4. Tristan McIntosh: She’ll perform “A Broken Wing” by Martina McBride. Tristan’s much, much better with sensitive ballads than she is with the up-tempo songs she was trying to accomplish a couple of weeks back. That said, her voice tends to fade from time to time. Okay, that’s two straight pretty strong performances by Tristan. Jennifer likes her “perfectly suited” country voice. Harry calls it a “nice job.” Keith calls it “beautiful” and says that’s the perfect kind of song for her. Grade: B–

If you’re keeping track, this means either Dalton or Sonika will land in the bottom three this week.

Dalton gets it, which means Avalon, Sonika and Lee will perform for the judges’ save tonight.

5. Dalton Rapattoni: He’s going to sing “Eleanor Rigby” by the Beatles. Dalton is seated on stage, surrounded by instrumentalists. The staging of this performance is going to score him lots of votes. The vocal is once again so-so. OK, so that was a little strange. Dalton delivered one of the most intense, interesting performances of the night. And the ending was very solid vocally. Keith likes the “theatrical” aspects of Dalton’s performances. Jennifer says that’s exactly what the judges want from him. She also liked the big ending. Grade: B+

Save performances …

6. Avalon Young: She’ll sing “PYT (Pretty Young Thing)” by Michael Jackson. Not surprised to see her in the bottom three again, in spite of last week’s great performance. Not loving this “pop” song choice on her, though she’s trying her best, changing up the song to try to get the crowd involved. Keith says he’s confused about why Avalon isn’t connecting with people at home. Jennifer calls her a natural performer and thinks Avalon might need to change it up if she survives this week. Jennifer pushes for a little more captivating versus laid back. Grade: B–

7. Lee Jean: He’s going to sing “Let It Be” by The Beatles. There have been some incredible performances of this song on Idol. Unfortunately, struggling with illness as he is, I doubt this will be one of them. Lee’s delivering the feeling, but the vocal is falling way, way short of save-worthy. Hope the judges are hearing that, too. Jennifer liked the performance for Lee, but was looking for a little more composure. Harry thought it was a very emotional performance, but thought he was sharp throughout. Keith sensed his nerves. Grade: C–

8. Sonika Vaid: Is someone allowing Sonika to commit Idol suicide? After her breakout performance a couple of weeks back with “Bring Me to Life,” her song choices have been questionable at best. Tonight, she’ll sing “I Have Nothing,” by Whitney Houston, a song done often and superbly on Idol. Let’s see if she’s up to it in a pressure-packed situation. Well, Sonika sounds absolutely wonderful at the opening and closing of that performance. There was spot in the middle where her nerves showed a bit. Harry says he loved Sonika’s version. Keith calls her voice “amazing.” Jennifer says she did a “good” job with it. Grade: B–

And the Idol judges decide to save: Sonika Vaid.

Well done, judges.