The ‘American Idol’ Solo Rounds Bring The Fire
ABC/Eric McCandless Reading Time: 5 minutes
So, now is the point in American Idol where the artists get to shine on their own. They can’t hide behind others like in the group rounds or think that a smile and charm will get them in like in the auditions. This is where the vocal rubber meets the road. I was truly surprised by a lot of these performances, for good and bad.
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Gabby Barrett
Talented rocker chick extraordinaire Gabby tore up Aretha Franklin’s Ain’t No Way in her performance. If this were purely a rock show, she might definitely be in the top. As it is she’s still pretty great.
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Marcio Donaldson
Marcio sang Aretha Franklin’s Natural Woman but changed it to man, which is weird because it’s not enough syllables. Still, the guy can sing but you have to wonder why they chose this song for him to change the lyrics.
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Effie Passero
Now we’re talking. Effie is one of my favorite singers on the show and a real contender for the win. She sang Alone and it was breathtaking. She’s definitely the one to watch out for.
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Amelia Hammer Harris
There is such a thing as altering a song too much, like Amelia did with Feel It Still. It was kind of unrecognizable, but not in a good way. In a “What am I listening to?” way.
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Cade Foehner
Cade is like a 1960’s rocker, like Jeff Buckley or something. He’s definitely got style and a nice growly voice. He also did Feel It Still but I enjoyed it much more than Amelia’s version.
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Harper Grace
The girl who once bombed while singing the national anthem is proving she deserves to be there with her original song Rest in Peace. After all, if you get the record contract at the end you can’t just go on singing covers.
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Noah Davis
Oh, Noah. We all love Noah and he did a fine version of Kelly Clarkson’s Piece By Piece. The issue isn’t with he, )and many other singer’s), vocal ability. It’s that they are so young and inexperienced in life that the emotion can sometimes get lost.
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Catie Turner
Another favorite returns and this time she was wearing a beret. I think I’m going to have Mel write about her outfit choices for Fashion Friday. She was great and sang an original which was OK, but she definitely brought it performance wise.
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Dennis Lorenzo and Brandon Elder
They both sang Chris Daughtry’s Home and were both kind of ‘meh’ if you ask me. Not bad, not bad at all. Just kind of ‘meh’.
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Maddie Poppe
Maddie brought a dark, brooding original song that was pretty bleak but in a good way. She showed that not only can she sing really well, but she’s also got a terrific skill as a songwriter. Who knew the girl who sang a Muppets song in her audition had it in her.
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Michelle Sussett
Look, Michelle is fun and she certainly knows how to get people going but…I don’t know. Her antics are a bit much and I feel like she isn’t being taken seriously.
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Ron Bultongez
I hate to say it, but I was not taken by this performance of Home at all. Ron is good, no doubt, but I have a feeling he’s not going further.
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Jonny Brenns
Jonny is a talented singer but you need to make sure before you attempt a falsetto that you can pull off a falsetto. In his case, I think it fell kind of flat.
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Crystal Alicea
Listen, Crystal is out of her depth. She admitted herself that she’s mainly a karaoke singer and not an aspiring pro like the others. Maybe being the best karaoke singer in her town should be enough for her.
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Deonte Baker
Deonte is an odd guy with a wacky performance style. He kind of reminds me of Joe Cocker with his weird movements. Still, he’s definitely a good singer.
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Trevor Holmes
Katy’s mancrush Trevor hit the stage and he’s still as handsome as ever. Like all his other performances, they were good…not great…but good. I wonder if the show is just keeping him around because of the sexual tension with Katy.
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Maddie Zahm
After plowing through last week after forgetting the words, Maddie is back and this time she delivered. Katy feels like she’s still holding back from her true potential. she needs to let it out if she’s going to move forward.
Shannon O’Hara
Shannon is a savvy singer. What I mean by that is that she has precise control over her vocals and really only gives the judges what they need and want but she’s still saving some good stuff for later. Smart.
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Genevieve Linkowski
Genevieve has the same problem as Noah. Sure, she can sing but I don’t feel the emotion because she’s so young and inexperienced that she hasn’t gone through anything to give her the understanding to convey the emotions.
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Garrett Jacobs
Garrett sang Chris Issac’s Wicked Game, which if you are around my age, you think of as the ultimate makeout song. He was certainly sexy in his rendition. I wonder how he’d feel making out with a model in a hammock in black and white. Look it up, young ones.
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Britney Holmes
Britney has a stellar voice and real confidence but I wonder still who she is as an artist. She’s still too “in her head” and it may coast her.
Gabbii Jones
Gabbii did Lady Gaga’s Million Reasons and definitely gave it some emotion. But it felt a little…forced. Like she was trying too hard. Still, that outfit.
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Thaddeus Johnson
NOW we’re talking. Thaddeus sang Katy Perry’s Rise and murdered it, absolutely annihilated. This was perhaps the best performance of the night and he is also one to watch.
Kay Kay
Kay Kay can sing, that’s for sure. If you come to take on Adele, you had better bring it and she most definitely did.
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Laine Hardy
Laine is one of my favorites from this season. Maybe it’s because I’m from the Gulf Coast too or maybe it’s because this fool can sing. He did Chris Stapleton proud.
Caleb Lee Hutchinson
Caleb is another very talented country singer and he’s very pleasing to the eye and ear. But is he thrilling? I don’t know but he may still surprise us.
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Michael J. Woodard
They saved the best for last with Michael’s spirited performance of Maybe This Time. This guy is going to be one of the top people, mark my words.
So, who got through? Watch it below. It’s pretty much who you figure.
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