America – Your Top 14

Moments that made me angry – that’s the Idol I know and love. Actually, it’s frustrating and exhausting. And, yet, I persist.

The mission of Monday night was to cut the field of 20 Idolists down to 14. The ten Idolists with the most votes went into The Victory Zone. The ten Idolists who were not went into The Danger Zone. The judges would save four from The Danger Zone.

Victory Zone (Top Ten)

McKenna Nowhere Man and a Whiskey Girl Tumbleweed. I like her voice. But this was sleepy compared to last night’s Joni Mitchell performance. C+

Jack Blocker Post Malone Feeling Whitney. Typical Idol White Guy with Guitar vibe. Competent but not worth commending. If America is voting for him, there are better Idolists they aren’t voting for. B-

Mia Matthews Cam Burning House. Good song choice. Well-done if it were a beauty pageant performance. B

Kayko (original song) WHAT IF? He’s a talented songwriter. He’s also a talented performer. And he has a quirky voice that many will (and many did) find appealing. He’s not my cup of tea, but he’s good. A-

Will Mosely (original song) Gone For Good. I’m gonna go ahead and say that I’m fine if he wins. A

Abi Yebba My Mind. Shrieky. Screechy. The song had too much vocal and dynamic range for her. C-

Kaibrienne The Cranberries Zombie. Terrible song choice. And she was a pitchy, screechy mess. D

Emmy Russell (original song) skinny. I’m repeating what I wrote last night: “The weakness of her voice and performance – nerves? – it left me unsure how good her original song was. I didn’t feel it because I didn’t feel her.” C-

Julia Jelly Roll I Need a Favor.Wow. What a powerhouse voice. I see the Platinum Ticket talent. But . . . she oversings. Part of the charm of this song is how Jelly’s enunciation of the lyrics drives the melody. She just powered through as if the words didn’t matter. C+

Triston Cody Johnson Til You Can’t. Another solid performance. He’s good. B+

Danger Zone (Not Top Ten)

Quintavious Mariah Make It Happen Don’t sing Mariah when you’re singing for your Idol life. Lots of energy. Fantastic whistle-note at the end. But the vocals were all over the place. C+

Jordan Anthony Charlie Puth Attention. He seems like a lovely guy. But he’s just not a very good singer. C+

Kennedy Reid Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood Somethin’ Bad. A confident, energetic performance. But like Jordan and Quintavious, she’s not close to top-ten material. B-

Jennifer Jeffries Kodaline All I Want. She has a unique voice but hasn’t learned how to use it or connect to a song. D

Ajii The Weeknd Call Out My Name. Unlike last night’s Audioslave disaster, this was a great song choice for him. I cannot stress enough how vital song choice is. I loved this. He was soulful, melodic, expressive, and really sold the song. He deserves a spot in the Top 14. A

Naya Tyla Water. This current worldwide hit has such a cool dance vibe, which I did not feel from Naya at all. C

Odell Elevation Worship and Maverick City Music Wait On You. He is the most talented singer in the competition. I am angry that gospel-ish singers never get any run with Idol voters. A full-on gospel singer like Odell never had a chance. And it angers me when I hear Luke say, “Maybe you guys are splitting votes.” No, Luke. Certain guys just never get votes on Idol.  A+

MacKenzie Sol Lawrence with Jon Bellion False Alarms. If he were voted into the Top Ten instead of Quintavious or Odell, I would have harmed somebody. He’s simply not a good singer. D

Jayna Elise Paramore All I Wanted. She sure knows how to take a song from one to eleven. How the [insert very bad word here; insert many bad words.] was she not voted into the Top Ten? I’m with Lionel on his use of “elegant” and “command performance.” A-

Roman James Brown This Is a Man’s Man’s Man’s World. He has a killer voice. But he made a mess out of this. Just because you can sing all the notes doesn’t mean you have to. Just because you can tear the roof off the sucker doesn’t mean you always have to. D

Saved by the Judges (“Tom, dim the lights!”)

Jayna Elise, Jordan, Naya, Roman

Missing Mean Judge Would Have Saved

Jayna Elise, Odell, Ajii, Roman (on talent, but he would get a stern lecture from me)

See you next week.