The American Idol 2018 Top 50 became the Top 24 Monday night as the judges delivered good and bad news to the season’s standouts.
Below I’ll be grading what performances we saw and pulling out the results. Keep in mind we didn’t get to see every performance. That would have taken all night.
Layla Spring, “Proud Mary.” She had a lot of energy and seemed pretty at ease on the stage and in front of the large crowd. I think she’s cute and spunky. I liked this a lot. Grade: A
Final Judgment: She’s in the Top 24
Michael Woodard, “You Oughta Know.” This was definitely a weird song choice for Michael. And his stage presence was very weird. But there’s something crazy unique about him. He’s not like anyone else. Grade: A-
Final Judgment: He’s in the Top 24
Trevor Holmes, “Slow Hands.” We didn’t get to see much of the performance, but it was smooth and sexy and had Katy Perry swooning as always. Grade: B+
Final Judgment: He didn’t make it
Gabby Barett, “Church Bells.” This was an awful song choice and very boring. Oh, and her outfit looked terrible and her stage presence was off-putting. Grade: C-
Final Judgment: She’s in the Top 24
Thaddeus Johnson, “Hate On Me.” He looked great. I loved his fashion choice and how he worked the crowd. He looked like a natural. I don’t think the vocals were perfect, but it really felt like his concert. That was solid. Grade: A
Final Judgment: He didn’t make it
Michelle Sussett, “24K Magic” This was a weird edit, but from what we saw she seemed like a natural on stage. I didn’t like her voice during the performance, but this is what she was meant to do. Grade: B
Final Judgment: She’s in the Top 24
Dominque, Trevor McBane, Maddie Poppe, Alyssa Raghu, Ron Bultongez. We didn’t get to see them sing, but they all made it through.
Katie Turner, “Bad Romance.” Well, I never expected this song from her. And It was as weird and wrong as I expected. I understand why people like Catie or want to like her, but I’m not subscribing to it. Grade: D+
Final Judgment: She’s in the Top 24
And we get a mass elimination. Going home are Milo Sposato, Les Green, Britney Holmes and William Casanova.
Jurnee, “Never Enough” This wasn’t an exciting performance, but the vocals were great. It was emotional and powerful and controlled. Grade: A
Final Judgment: She’s Top 24
Shannon O’Hara, “Unconditionally.” I haven’t really gotten anything from Shannon until this performance. I felt like she finally was able to connect. To me, this was the best we have heard her sing. And it was a Katy Perry song, so there was some pressure. Grade: A+
Final Judgment: She’s in the Top 24
More people making it to the top 24: Kay Kay, Amelia Hammer Harris and Brandon Diaz.
Noah Davis, “You And I.” I thought this performance got off to a rough start. And then kind of a rough middle. Ok, it was all rough. It was flat the whole time. That was so bad and this grade is going to hurt because I really like him. Grade: F
Final Judgment: He didn’t make it
Harper Grace, Carly Moffa, Samothias, Lee Vasi, Victoria McQueen were all cut.
Adam Sanders a.k.a. Ada Vox, “Creep.” This was fantastic. This was one of those Idol moments we have a few times a season. It wasn’t perfect vocally, but it was surprising and bold and memorable. Grade: A
Final Judgment: He’s in the Top 24
Jonny Brenns, “Lay Me Down.” This was smooth and confident and, to be honest, surprising. I didn’t expect him to be that comfortable on the stage. And it was great to see his dad finally show up. Grade: A
Final Judgment: He’s in the Top 24
Mara Justine, “Something’s Got A Hold On Me.” Well this was a thing. I mean it was an energetic performance. And the vocals were good. But it didn’t seem natural. She’s going to take some getting used to for me. Grade: B-
Final Judgment: She’s in the Top 24
Caleb Lee Hutchinson, “I Was Wrong” He doesn’t have the best stage presence, but I think it’s something he will definitely develop. This was just an OK performance for me. Grade: B-
Final Judgment: He’s in the Top 24
Laine Hardy and Garrett Jacobs get the one or the other treatment.
Garrett Jacobs, “Knock on Wood.” We didn’t get to see much, but he had great stage presence and his vocals were decent. Grade: B+
Laine Hardy, “The Ballad of Curtis Lowe.” I liked the song choice and I love his voice. But if it has to be Laine or Garrett, then I think Garrett gets the edge. Grade: B
Final Judgment: Garrett is Top 24, Laine goes home.
Cade Foehner, “No Good.” I thought this was a lot better for Cade. I wasn’t too into his Hollywood Week solo round, but I get it with this performance. He’s going to appeal to a lot of people. Grade: A
Final Judgment: He’s in the Top 24
Maddie Zahm and Effie Passero also get the one or the other treatment.
Maddie Zahn, “What About Us.” This wasn’t her best effort and I’m not sure about what she chose to wear. I really, really like her, but this wasn’t great to me. Grade: C+
Effie Passero, “The Dance.” This was a weird song choice for her. It turned out lovely, but just weird. She’s got a great voice and I really like seeing her on stage. Grade: B+
Final Judgment: Essie made it to Top 24 and Maddie didn’t.
Marcio Donaldson and Dennis Lorenzo are the final two. They have a similar story and similar singing styles. So they’re pitting them against each other.
Marcio Donaldson, “If You Really Love Me.” Marcio can do no wrong. This was as great as always. It wasn’t his best, but it’s always good regardless. Grade: A
Dennis Lorenzo, “A Song For You.” Dennis’ performance was also really good. It wasn’t as exciting as Marcio’s, but the vocals were perfect. Grade: A
Final Judgment: They both make it to the Top 24. There was no way they could cut one of these guys.
Next week we will find out which of them make it to the Top 14 to sing for your votes. If you don’t want to wait, check out our American Idol 2018 Top 14 spoilers.
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