Idol Chatter & Voice Views

We’re in for a big night on American Idol.

An hour from now, we’ll be a heck of a lot closer to knowing who we might be voting on in a couple of weeks when the live semifinals are held.

That’s right, the top 40 — 20 guys and 20 gals — will be revealed tonight.

They’ll head off to Vegas where they’ll be whittled down to a top 20. And then the voting begins. Ah, but first we have the finals solos for the ladies in Hollywood.

Wow, and I bet lots of them are happy to be performing solo.

Like the other members of the Dramatics after having to deal with the vocally-challenged and over-the-top drama queen known as Zoanette Johnson.

And like the members of the Misfits after dealing with the strange and hyperactive character known as Kez Ban.

Forty-seven gals remain for 20 spots.

* Angela Miller: She’ll sing an original song, “You Set Me Free.” Hey, folks, this was the young lady who last night proclaimed this is a girl’s year on Idol. She might have known something. That was an absolutely wonderful way to open the show. She gets a standing ovation for an original. Punch her ticket for Vegas. Grade: A

Candice Glover: She’s taking on “This Girl Is on Fire,” she turns in another powerhouse vocal. It’s tough to outshine an original like we just heard, and Candice didn’t. But she’s been solid in three straight Hollywood performances. She’s a judge favorite. And she’s going to be going to Vegas. Grade: B.

Janelle Wheeler: She’s taking on the Randy Travis/Carrie Underwood hit “I Told You So.” Janelle just makes a splendid country vocal seem so effortless. And, after three years on the Idol stage, she seems completely confident on that stage. I know some Idol watchers hate comparisons, but she strikes me as better prepared to handle this show than Lauren Alaina was two years ago when she finished second. Grade: B+

Zoanette Johnson: Oh, great, more drama from Zoanette. Yeah, she plays drums. I posted a video of her playing drums in church, behind a glass cage of some sort. She’s going to sing a song she made up yesterday. She’s singing about the judges. She’s banging on the drums. She lost one of her drum sticks. She played the drums more than she sang. But the judges loved it. Hmm. All I’ll say is it was an improvement over her audition. Grade: C

And all four of those ladies advance, as does Jett Hermano. Wish we would have gotten to hear Jett. She’s a talented young pop singer, judging from the videos I’ve seen.

Shuba Vedula: She takes on “Holding Out for a Hero.” There was a brilliant note in that short snippet we heard. Grade: B

Juliana Chahayed: She turns in a very nice version of “Landslide.” Not super flashy, but solid throughout. Grade: B-

Kez Ban: She’s going to sing an original, too. OK, that was it? Really? Certainly original, but it was a little lacking, wouldn’t you say. She calls herself a square peg in a round hole on Idol, but says her mother loved the show, so she wanted to give it a shot.Grade: D

Ashlee Feliciano: She’ll tackle “A Thousand Years.” Not a very good opening, and she hit a bit of bum note there, but did a decent job with the ending. So-so. Grade: C

Melinda Ademi: After a series of slow songs, Melinda takes the stage and has lots of fun with “We Just Want to Make the World Dance.” Melinda looks like she’s seriously improved since we met her on the show as a war refugee from Kosovo two years ago. Grade: B

Kree Harrison: She’s going to sing “Stars” and she certainly delivered. I don’t recall hearing Kree before outside last night’s group number, but this young lady has a really, really nice voice. The judges were impressed. So was I. Where has Idol been hiding her? Grade: B+

OK, so 24 girls remain and only 20 can advance. The judges just cut Lauren Mink, Holly Miller and Ariel Sprague. Shame to see Ariel and Lauren leave. Both are talented singers. I don’t know as much about Holly.

Stephanie Schimel: She’s going to sing “Home.” Really sweet tone to her voice on that very short snippet we heard. Grade: B

Rachel Hale: she’ll sing “Undone.” And for me, that was just a wee bit overdone. But Rachel was excellent in the opening round in Hollywood. And Stephanie blew her lyrics on group night in Hollywood. Grade: B-

And Idol has its top 20 gals.

Come on Idol, no names.

OK, here’s who I saw: Rachel Hale, Aubrey Cleland, Breanna Steer, Zoanette Johnson (boo!), Kree Harrison, Isabelle, Jenny Beth Willis, Candice Glover, Angela Miller, Amber Holcombe, Brandy Hotard, Melinda Ademi, Tenna Torres, Shuba Vedula, Janelle Wheeler, Jett Hermano. That’s 16 of 20. Not sure who the other four are.

Hopefully, Idol will fill us in, right?

And now it’s the guys’ turn:

Adam Sanders: We haven’t seen much of Adam since his fine audition round performance. He’s belting out “What Do You Say.” I say don’t let him advance. That wasn’t very good. Grade: C-

Josh Holiday: He’ll sing “Georgia On My Mind.” Not exactly an original song choice, but he shows no fear on the stage. Heck, he even ripped his pants, that last glory note was so big. Grade B-

Peter Garrett, Devan Jones, Marvin Calderson, Will White, Tony Foster, David Leathers, Adam Sanders, Kenny Harrison are all cut.

That means those who advance include Johnny Keyser, Mathenee Treco, Lazaro Arbos, Chris Watson, Charlie Askew, Jimmy Smith, Josh “Jada” Davila, Curtis Finch, Gurpreet Singh Sarin, Cortez Shaw, Josh Holidy, Devin Velez, Kevin Harris, Vincent Powell. I spotted those 14.

If the spoiler sites are correct, the other Idol guys to advance are Nick Boddington, Bryant Tadeo, Burnell Taylor, David Willis, Elijah Liu and Paul Jolley.

And if the spoiler sites are correct, the four gals I missed are: Cristabel Clack, Juliana Chahayed, Kamaria Ousley and Adriana Latonio.

I’ve already posted profiles of the Vegas-bound guys, if that list is correct.

Starting tomorrow, I’ll post profiles and videos of the Vegas-bound gals.