Idol Chatter & Voice Views

American Idol will take us back to the 1980s tonight.

And Boy George will have a chance to help mentor a talented Top 11.

My question: Will we actually get to see 11 performances?

I mean, tonight is a double elimination night. Which would be bad news for Maddie Walker and Daniel Seavey if fan voting follows my Idol rankings.

And with the save off the table, is there really a need for the eliminated contestants to perform?

Or will they simply perform a goodbye song? I guess we’ll find out in two hours.

Meanwhile, there will be at least nine song-by-song grades to dole out.

But first, we have to endure a medley from David Hasselhoff. It’s likely to be the first in lots of foolishness because Idol has a ton of airtime to kill tonight.

Next: The Idols join Boy George for a group performance of “Karma Chameleon.”

And now, some music that counts …

1. Daniel Seavey: Oh, no, he survived again. Really? How? He’s going to sing “You Make My Dreams Come True” by Hall & Oats. Boy George says it’s a cute song for a cute guy. Daniel’s trying to play it loose on the stage, reaching out to greet folks in the front row. But here’s the simple truth: It’s another tortured vocal. This would not be good karaoke. The only part that was interesting was the last 10 seconds or so when Daniel tinkered with the ending. Keith thinks he has to get more comfortable quicker. Jennifer liked this song for Daniel and says he sang better. Harry thought the vocal was pretty good, but says his stage movements seemed too choreographed. Grade: D

2. Quentin Alexander: I keep worrying American Idol voters won’t support him, especially after he needed a wild card to make the finals. Keep surprising me, Idol voters, because Quentin is one of the real artists on Season 14. He’s going to sing “In The Air Tonight” by Phil Collins, calling it one of his favorite songs. Quentin sounded woefully out of tune during rehearsals. He’s doing much better during the live performance. And Quentin turned in a very solid performance, easily good enough to merit a spot in the Top 8. Jennifer says his “cool factor” was on 1,000 during that performance. Harry likes his interpretation of the lyrics, but wants Quentin to try something uptempo. Keith likes his artistry and loved the song choice. Grade: B+ (and I reserve the right to upgrade)

3. Joey Cook: One of the show’s other real artists. She describes her outfit as “Madonna in space.” She calls meeting Boy George the craziest thing she’s ever done. She’s going to sing “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper. Hmm, not loving the song choice. But check out the dance moves at the start of this. Joey has learned to loosen up on stage. Unfortunately, in acting like she’s having fun on stage, Joey’s vocal is slipping. Not sure she should be jumping around while she’s dancing. Joey hit some real clunkers in terms of her singing. Harry says it was good, but not up to Joey standards. Keith says it was tons of fun but had moments of inconsistency. Jennifer says in theory, it was a good song choice for here. In practice, it didn’t quite match her vocals. Grade: C

4. Tyanna Jones: She has to be relieved, because she stumbled badly last week. Tonight, she’ll be singing “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” by Whitney Houston. Scott Borchetta thinks Tyanna will show she can handle a Whitney Houston song. Not a great start, though. When she hits the chorus, where her voice should soar, a whole chorus jumps in, so I’m not sure how well Tyanna is doing. Tyanna hit one really big note, but she got a huge assist on that from three background singers. I would have loved to hear Tyanna sing it without the backing vocalists. Keith says she sings well, but he could tell she was worried. Jennifer tells her not to doubt herself. Harry liked the arrangement and wants Tyanna to “fight for it every time.” Grade: B–

5. Jax: Scott Borchetta says the ’80s is a great theme for Jax. She’s going to head back to the piano for a version of “You Give Love a Bad Name” by Bon Jovi. Wow, love the opening. Hey, love the twist she’s put on the song. Well, I don’t know if the execution was 100 percent, but that was a great performance and a great arrangement. Jennifer says she ended it really really strong. Harry liked the beginning and liked the end, but thought she was getting dwarfed in the middle of the song. Keith liked it in parts. Personally, I loved the risk. And I’m betting fans will love the dramatics, too. Welcome back, Jax. Grade: A–

6. Nick Fradiani: Scott Borchetta is trying to get Nick to connect with his audience more. He’s going to sing “Man in the Mirror” by Michael Jackson. Nick says he needs the judges to proclaim him the best of the night, and that’s what he’s going for. Not a great start for Nick, though. Look at the confused look on Harry’s face. Honestly, I’m just not loving this song choice for Nick. He picked up the energy level midway through the performance and it improved as a result. Harry liked the song choice and called it a “fantastic” vocal. Keith wants him to smile through the entire song. Keith says sometimes he looks like he’s meeting his girlfriend’s dad for the first time when he’s on stage. Jennifer liked the ending. Grade: B

7. Clark Beckham: Clark will tackle “Every Breath You Take” by The Police. Boy George says he has a beautiful voice, but wants him to try a different key. Clark tries it, then switches back. So far, so good. Clark sounds great. And he turned in a really solid performance. Keith calls it beautiful and loved the emotion in the performance. Jennifer got the goosies. She says everything he did was absolutely beautiful. Harry loved the performance too. I think it was the best vocal of the night. There was one minor problem spot when the tempo picked up, but every other bit of that was splendid. Grade: A

8. Qaasim Middleton: You knew the momentum of the save would carry Qaasim into the Top 8. He’s singing Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love.” Scott Borchetta thinks he has a chance to shine on this song. Qaasim says he’s going to contain the energy and focus on his vocals tonight. Isn’t that what got him into trouble the last time? This vocal is better than his performance from two weeks ago. But he gets a little too carried away at the end. Jennifer says she loved it and calls Qaasim a great story-teller. Harry says it was great. Keith says Qaasim needs to have more faith in his vocals. Grade: B–

That leaves Maddie Walker, Adanna Duru and Rayvon Owen sitting in red seats. Two of the three are going home.

Going home are: Maddie Walker and Adanna Duru.

9. Rayvon Owen: Rayvon is performing “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears. Scott Borchetta wants him to break out of his shell. Perhaps the pressure of being on the verge of elimination affected Rayvon because that opening was almost Daniel Seavey like. Unfortunately, the performance isn’t getting much better either. He tries to pour lots of emotion into the ending, but I’m not sure he was in pitch. Harry thought it was a pretty solid performance. Keith thought is was a nice song choice for him, but also thought his nerves showed. Jennifer tells him not to be afraid to step outside his comfort zone. Grade: C–