Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Tyanna Jones performs Wednesday night on American Idol. (FOX Photo)

First, only five singers will go on tour this year. That’s half the number Idol has typically taken on tour.

Where will they be stopping?

Stay tuned. Tour dates will apparently be announced next week, with tickets going on sale April 17.

Second, American Idol viewers are wiser about using their saves than the American Idol judges.

In just the second week of the finals, you’ll recall, the judges save Qaasim Middleton.

Wednesday night, the vocally-challenged Qaasim finished eighth in the competition when viewers opted to save Rayvon Owen for the second straight week.

On to the recap …

Best of the night: Jennifer Lopez was correct when she said young Tyanna Jones had “lost her way” over the past couple of weeks, slipping from front-runner to a middle-of-the-pack contestant. She re-emerged Wednesday, delivering a fine vocal and the night’s most emotional performance while covering Rihanna’s “Stay.”

Runners-up: Clark Beckham is always solid, and Top 8 night was no exception. I rated his performance of “Make It Rain” as the night’s second best. And that might only be because we’ve come to expect so much from Clark. Joey Cook also bounced back strong. To her credit, she didn’t re-arrange “Wrecking Ball,” using her unique vocal to make her version sound distinct from Miley’s.

Worst of the night: Qaasim Middleton’s tortured performance of “Hey, Ya” would land here, but he’s already been eliminated. So I’d go with Rayvon. Yes, he packed a ton of passion into that big ending. But before he got to that big ending, I was wondering why in the world he decided to sing Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain.” It just didn’t seem like a good fit.

Please keep her: Jax should be a Season 14 finalist. Jax won’t be if she keeps turning in performances like her cover of “Poker Face.” Jennifer was right (did I just type that twice in the same blog!): She took a pop hit and re-arranged it in such a way that it would never be a hit. Not a wise move for an aspiring pop-rock star.

Baffled by Idol: There’s not a single country singer on the show. Yet this week’s guest mentors included Florida-Georgia Line. Hmm.

Prediction for next week: Rayvon’s time on Idol is over. No way he escapes the bottom two. And no way he gets saved three straight weeks. What will be very interesting is watching who lands in the bottom two with him.

For this week’s song by song grades, head here.