Idol Chat with M&M – The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly of The Top 24

Mac & MJ are here to break down the Top 24, including thoughts on each contestant ahead of Idol’s first elimination show. We also predict who is going home this week. Leave YOUR thoughts in comments!

THE GOOD:

MAC:
Quentin Alexander: He was definitely the buzziest performance of the night, and he made a huge case for remaining in the competition. I hope he doesn’t flame out too quickly. However, if there was a “straight through to the top 12” ticket given out to one boy and girl, I think Quentin would have earned it. His performance was the closest to being on another level, though I don’t think any of the boys really delivered their best performances.
Clark Beckham: It was a rather safe song selection for him, and I hope he doesn’t get points taken off for playing it safe this week, but his vocals are always crazy awesome. I could listen to him sing Happy Birthday and be happy.
Rayvon Owen– Another singer who can just sing the songbook. I liked his performance of Jealous, but I didn’t love it. Rayvon’s true qualities shine through in ballads, apparently, which makes me worry a bit more about him doing up-tempos in the future. I hope he can prove me wrong.
Nick Fradiani– It didn’t blow me away like it did some of the people on the interwebz. But, one thing that does show is Nick’s comfort level on stage. I’m not sure he’ll be going super far though, right now. I think he’s a midpack performer at best.
Qaasim Middleton– He’s a performer. He might be the best performer in the competition. I think his vocals suffer because of it, but maybe that doesn’t matter. Maybe he knows he can’t compete with the better singers, so he’ll just put on a great show instead and pull votes that way. We haven’t had a showman like him since Adam Lambert, so it’ll be interesting to see just how far Qaasim can go on that train.

MJ:
Quentin Alexander:  He’ll have no problem making it to the Top 16. He was the surprise of the night, turning in a strong and compelling performance.  I do wonder if theme nights will exploit his vocal weaknesses. He’s a contestant who could make it to the Top 12, but then flame out quickly.
Clark Beckham:  “When A Man Loves a Woman” is a bland song choice, but he delivered a solid, if somewhat hyper performance. I agree that the boys have all had better performances in the past, with maybe Quentin being the exception.
Rayvon Owen – Singers who just stand and sing can be at a disadvantage to true performers, but a great vocalist can overcome all, and I think Rayvon IS a great vocalist. Certainly better than Quentin. Again, “Jealous” was a bit of a misfire for Rayvon, but I loved his falsettos and runs.
Nick Fradiani – Nick is a pro–he’s not a flashy performer, but he is very comfortable on stage and in front of a camera.  He’s been consistently good throughout the competition.  But he may be too consistent and too pro. He may need to shake things up if he wants to go really deep into the competition.
Qaasim Middleton – He’s just pure joy to watch. I’d love to see a performer who both sings and dances, go deep on Idol. But it is a singing competition in the end, and I agree that his weak vocals could catch up with him. I hope not.
Mark Andrew – I’d put Mark in the  “good” category.  I like his voice a lot, and like Nick, he’s a very consistent performer.  But he’s understated, and maybe too subtle for a singing competition. Also, he’s got to drop the Dylan and Band songs and go for some crowd pleasers.

MAC:
Jax– Jax was amazing this week. She showed that she can make great song choices, and that she could be on the radio right now. I hope there’s a record exec watching Jax, and just bouncing in his chair waiting to sign her and actually promote her properly.
Sarina-Joi Crowe– She sang her face off. I think Jax and Sarina Joi both outperformed ALL of the boys. For Sarina, it’s all about the redemption arc, which worked for Candice and Caleb (just not with their record sales). Sarina is arguably more marketable than those two, so if she manages to win the whole thing, hopefully someone will realize that she might actually sell some records if promoted correctly.
Tyanna Jones– It’s hard to stand in the shadows of Jax and Sarina, but Tyanna really did a great job also. All three ladies deserve to sail through to next week, and the top 12.
Katherine Winston– I liked it. The song doesn’t require much performance anyway, so I didn’t mind that she didn’t work the stage or anything like that. She just stood there and sang. It’s not the kind of song you choose to pull in votes though, so even though I enjoyed it (I didn’t love it, but I liked it), I would still tell her it was the wrong song for this week.

MJ:
Jax – I like that Jax is willing to go out on a limb with her performances. She is never boring. She is also a very good vocalist. The juxtaposition of styles in her rendition of “Bang Bang” was odd, but in the end, I appreciated her theatricality and flair. As long as she remembers to stay focused on delivering good performances rather than shocking people, or being odd just for the sake of it, she may even win this thing.
Sarina-Joi Crowe – She  continues to blow me away.  She commands the stage every time she’s on it, and that voice. THAT VOICE. Her pitch is amazing, and her runs are perfect. I need a pile of shoes next to me to throw at my TV.
Tyanna Jones – I hate the song “Lips Are Moving,” yet, I still found Tyanna an absolute delight last week.  I think she’s a great candidate for the “Idol growth arc.”  She’s going to be fun to watch get even better every week.

In short: I thought the boys did better overall last week, but there were more standouts from the girls.

THE BAD:
Michael Simeon – For a returning contestant to think that choosing a Michael Bolton song is how to advance in the competition… I’m not OK with that. He should be sent home on principle. It was boring. It was unnecessary. It was like he was giving up. He’s saying “Actually, all I wanted was Top 24, please don’t advance me.” OK. I won’t.
Adam Ezagalian – When you’re trying to prove you’re a rocker, don’t sing about rocking. Just rock. Pick a better song, like when Caleb did Skyfall, and just show us that you’re a rocker. Instead, it was cheesy and pointless.
Trevor Douglas– Vocally, it was awful. But what Trevor has going for him is that he isn’t boring, and he has stage presence. If it came down to Riley vs Trevor, I’d pick Trevor simply because he’s more interesting.
Mark Andrew– It was the wrong song, and it was boring. I don’t think he gave me one reason to “save” him except for the fact that he seems like a nice person and had a good tone. But, Clark and Rayvon also have good tones, and they seem to want this a whole lot more than Mark does. There’s no urgency to his performance. It seems a little lazy.
Riley Bria – Wrong song, and he lacked energy, and honestly his vocals were weak as well. The whole thing just missed the mark for me.
Savion Wright – I actually only am mentioning him here because of song choice. His vocals were good, his energy was good, but that song tends to put any contestant immediately into the danger zone. I don’t know why Savion didn’t do his research and choose something else?
Daniel Seavey– Points for playing a mandolin, and I didn’t really hate Daniel’s performance, but I also can’t say it was good. Daniel and Savion really are in some grey area between good and bad.

MJ:
Michael Simeon – Making a Michael Bolton song even cheesier than the original is not a way to advance in this competition.
Adam Ezagalian – “Rock Lite” and also super cheesy.  If he wanted to show off his rock chops, how about choosing a serious rock song. Or, like you mentioned, rocking out a song the way Caleb did with “Skyfall.”
Savion Wright – It’s really a testament to Savion’s talent that he could perform “Hey Soul Sister” with such charm and originality that I did not hate it. Because, I REALLY hate that song. Not his best performance, a little unfocused, but still entertaining.
Trevor Douglas – Vocally, “Best I Ever Had” was a big ole mess.  I agree he brought energy to the stage, but it was too much. I do like his Buddy Holly-esque song arrangements, though. But those poor vocals are going to kill him.
Riley Bria – He blew it on song choice last week. That Eric Church song, “Homeboy” is beautiful, but not for a competition. I think he can sing, but that song didn’t showcase his vocals at all.
Daniel Seavey – His vocals remain inconsistent. I’m not sure his obvious musicality will make up for that. Although his cuteness might.

MAC:
Lovey James– Lovey is really going to need her 75K twitter followers to work overtime to keep her in the competition. That performance was vocally awful. I appreciate her energy, and her ability to use the whole stage. She’s confident, and not afraid, and I can’t say that about the other girls. I hope she gets one more week to course correct, as there are other girls who I feel like giving another week to them would be pointless.
Adanna Duru– I’ve had to rewatch her performance to remind myself of why I didn’t like it in the first place, and I think that highlights her problem. She’s so damn forgettable, and there wasn’t anything memorable about that performance. It actually isn’t an awful vocal, or an awful performance. It’s just dull enough (or average enough) to make everyone completely forget it even happened. In this game, it’s better to be painfully awful than forgettable, because at least awful will rally your fans to save you.
Alexis Gomez – I think she lacks the charisma needed to be a solo artist. She comes off as stand-off ish a bit. There’s something odd about her performance this week, as if she’s trying really hard to be an upbeat bubbly personality and a stronger performer then she actually is. I have a feeling she’s a lot more like Jess Meuse and less like Skylar Laine. There’s a voting base for both, but until Alexis picks a path and goes for it, there may not be a spot for her at all. You’re not a bubbly girl, so just do the strong serious stuff and pick better songs.
Shannon Berthiaume– That was karaoke, and oddly void of any personality or performance. She looked a little like a girl who had been given a microphone and shoved out onto the stage. Shannon screams a lot, and I’ve never really understood the appeal in that.
Shi Scott– I normally hate Shi, but I wouldn’t classify this as the worst of the night. Honestly, I was at least interested in what was happening. She tried to do something different with the song, and make it her own. It wasn’t boring. That being said, I would still send her home because it was one of the weakest four performances, as well as Shi never deserving her spot in the Top 24 to begin with. I would rather be writing about Hunter Larsen right now, or Jelly, but instead I’m writing about Shi. Hopefully this is the last we’ll hear of Shi Scott.
Joey Cook– Props for trying something different, but singing is a little like flying a plane. If your pilot has a rough landing in clear weather, and the cabin is bouncing around, and for a moment you are scared for your life… you’re not going to high-five him for a rough landing when it should have been a smooth one. I’m not going to put Joey in the top spot, because I’m not sure it was actually a good performance. I think we all just enjoyed that she did something different on a night when so many girls seemed destined to disappoint us.
Maddie Walker– It wasn’t good or bad. It was so-so. I’m a bit worried that so-so might send her home, but I do think she’ll get one more week to try and redeem herself.
Loren Lott– Not a good song for her, but there were parts of the song where the vocal was actually really good. I think she deserves one more week, but I’m not sure I’d put her in the Top 12 just yet.

MJ:
Katherine Winston – Sadly, I have to put her performance of “Safe & Sound” in this category. To me, she seemed oddly disconnected from the lyrics. She seemed nervous up there. Very different than her assured take on Rhiannon at the HOB.
Lovey James – Lovey is a performer, and I do appreciate that. “Love Runs Out” was a better stage than vocal performance, though. I’m not convinced her social media followers are going to help her get far in the competition. Pop girls like Lovey usually don’t last long on Idol.
Joey Cook – Her performance of “Somebody Like You” was really fun and entertaining. I hope she lasts at least a little longer in the competition. She’s musical, she CAN sing, and she’s not boring. She needs to mix it up a little so that her quirks don’t turn into shtick.
Loren Lott – She picks terrible songs (“Note to God?”), but she’s actually displays some vocal talent, when she’s not too shouty.
Adanna Duru – I thought the song choice was interesting. She just didn’t deliver it consistently. The quieter moments in the song showed some potential, but not enough to prevail against the competition.
Alexis Gomez – Her straight up karaoke performance of “Gunpowder and Lead” didn’t win her any hearts and minds, I’m afraid. She really needed to take some risks at this point, and she played it super safe instead.
Maddie Walker – Ouch. “Love Gets me Every time” was the wrong song for her, especially at this time when she needed to showcase her vocals.
Shannon Berthiaume  – Her performance of “Who Knew” proved what many of us suspected. She’s in over her head.
Shi Scott – If “making a song your own” involves murdering it, I can’t get on board.

MAC: Also, in its own category, is the judges feedback and the general rushed format. I understand why we had a rushed format, but the judges were often over praising mediocre performances. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard these kids sing, and we know that many of them are not at their best, so don’t tell us that this is their best.

MJ: I think it’s hard to delve into any kind of meaningful critique when there’s so little time for comments. They could have dialed back some of the hyperbole, though.

THE UGLY (AKA WHO IS GOING HOME):
MAC: For the boys, my bet is on Michael Simeon, Adam Ezagalian, Mark Andrew, and Riley Bria. Riley is the one I’m least sure about, as I think Trevor Douglas has almost equal chance of going home. I just think Trevor is slightly more likeable, and might have a few more fans. Daniel might also go home, but America might also think he’s adorable… and he did play the mandolin.

MAC:For the girls, Adanna Duru, Alexis Gomez, Shannon Bertheleme, and Shi Scott. I think Lovey James has enough pre-Idol fans to save her. I could see Katherine Winston going home though, but I don’t think any of the four girls did enough to earn votes. Katherine might have skated by with a handful more votes.

MJ: I agree with both these lists. I don’t think Daniel is in any danger this week and actually has a decent shot at the Top 12. It’s a toss up between Riley and Trevor, and I can’t decide. Katherine has had so little screen time, I think could go home instead of say, Shannon, who has had lots of attention and praise from the judges.

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Contributor to mjsbigblog.com. EIC of macthemovieguy.com, Contributor at houseofgeekery.com. Holds a BA in Film from the University of Central Florida.