This Is 'American Idol': The Top 24 Revealed!

Back in December, before a single episode of American Idol Season 14 had aired, the top 48 convened at Hollywood’s House of Blues. There, in front of a live audience, each contestant performed for a spot in the semifinals. Each contestant sang a full song. All 48 of them. A couple of them, for technical reasons, even had to perform twice, or start over.

I was there. It took hours. I actually had to leave about halfway through. (Full disclosure: I had to leave to attend The Voice's top five party. Yes, life is rough when you cover both shows.) The HoB showcase ran long, but it was entertaining. I witnessed many strong performances that afternoon, and I was excited for the rest of the TV-viewing public to see those performances, too.

But this week, as those 48 contestants were whittled down on-air to a top 24, that afternoon flew by in a ruthlessly edited blur. Sure, I know Fox doesn’t have weeks to dedicate to this in-betweener stage of the Idol competition, especially when the series’ episodes have been slimmed down to one hour to make room for Empire and Backstrom. But couldn’t the powers-that-be show all 48 full performances in some sort of Simpsons-style marathon on FXX?

It was especially sad that many of the top 48’s House of Blues performances, mostly by eliminated contestants, weren’t shown at all, not even online. As a result, we will probably never satisfyingly find out why previously promising singers like Josh Sanders, Jaq Mackenzie, or Hunter Larsen didn’t make the grade this Thursday. (Actually, I recall that Jaq, who performed Suzanne Vega’s “Luka” that day, had some issues at the HoB; she had to restart her song, twice, although that seemed due to technical difficulties, not her fault. But maybe that’s why Jaq ended up on the cutting-room floor.)

Also, I wouldn’t be doing my job as an Idol critic if I didn’t point out this: Returning contestants Casey Thrasher (who made it to the top 30 last year, only to be told backstage he wouldn’t get to sing) and David Oliver Willis (who was wrongfully passed over after performing in Season 12’s live Vegas round) both made it to this year’s top 48. However, not only weren’t they shown during the House of Blues episodes, but they received maybe 48 seconds of screentime between the two of them all season. Maybe those guys should just go try out for the aforementioned Voice next time.

Anyway, my one last gripe is, many of the contestants who actually made it through to the semifinals on Thursday’s House of Blues-themed Idol show also barely got any screentime, as their performances — the very performances that actually clinched them spots in the top 24 — were brutally spliced, diced, and julienned into snippets that made the montages on The Voice look generous. I don’t really see how this builds up anticipation for these contestants as they go into the live voting rounds. On the plus side, real Idol diehards CAN see the top 24’s full performances (though, sadly, NOT the rest of the top 48’s) on Vevo; I’ve included those extended clips below, as well as in Wednesday’s recap. But more casual viewers — which, let’s face it, make up the majority of the Idol audience these days — aren’t likely to go digging for those videos. Frankly, they’d be more likely to tune in to FXX.

Moving on. Along with the cuts mentioned above, other singers sent packing on Thursday included Hollywood Anderson, Maddy Hudson, Emily Brooke, and Jelly Joseph, all of whom had seemed like frontrunners at the time of their auditions. Hollywood’s dismissal was not a shock; while his audition was literally one of the best in Idol history, he had faltered ever since, and it was clear that he’d be much better off pursuing his own music than singing somebody else’s. Jennifer Lopez had once predicted that Maddy could win Season 14, but poor Maddy also struggled in Hollywood Week. I just hope that girl comes back in Season 15, and that she brings her Caboodles case of awesomely Lorde-ish Goth lipsticks with her.

As for Emily and Jelly, those cuts were more surprising; they both delivered solid performances at the House of Blues, and 15-year-old Emily in particular came off as such a pro. She even took her elimination in stride. Emily is definitely another contestant I’d like to see return. Hopefully the hatchet edit job that Casey Thrasher and David Oliver Willis received this season won’t discourage either her or Maddy from giving it another go.

As for the dozen that did make it through this Thursday (joining the 12 contestants that got through on Wednesday), I’m looking forward to seeing full, glorious, unedited performances from them in the very near future. Until then, let’s see how they fared at the House of Blues:

Joey Cook – After a few rough patches and lyrical memory lapses in Hollywood, this season’s token pink-haired lady thankfully charmed the HoB crowd with her jaunty Pete Doherty hat and old-timey ukulele-strumming and quirky Amos Lee cover. I would just caution her to use that uke sparingly. Remember what happened to Lilly Scott, Joey! Never forget.

Katherine Winston – Katherine has been one of my favorite ladies all season, but I will admit that her cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhiannon” disappointed me. She brought the fire at the end, but seemed to hold back too much during the rest of the song. Still, I am delighted that she made the top 24, and I hope she can bring the fire when it counts (i.e., when the voting lines are about to open). Side note: Does anyone else think this girl is a dead ringer for Alicia Silverstone? Perhaps she can cover something off the Clueless soundtrack eventually… maybe that Velocity Girl track?

Alexis Gomez – Now, this is a girl who knows how to bring the fire, every single time. And it was so smart for this self-described “Mexican hillbilly” to do a Spanglish version of a Band Perry tune. J.Lo had suggested that Alexis tap into her heritage more, and it was the savviest advice J.Lo has doled out in a long time. Alexis’s potential to cross genre and demographic boundaries is huge. Just as long as she doesn’t cover Season 8’s “No Boundaries,” of course.

Quentin Alexander – Yes. Yassss. Quentin deserves a spot on Project Runway, if Idol does not work out for him, just for showing up to his Green Mile announcement wearing that amazingly superfly coat seemingly fashioned out of the pelts of THIS MUPPET. (Has someone made a fake Twitter account for Quentin’s coat yet? I feel like @quentin​coat and @pharrellhat need to follow each other and be friends.)

Anyway, Quentin is not just a man of style. Oh, no. He has substance, too. And in case you didn’t think he could get any cooler, his HoB showcase song was “Youth” by Foxes. I just hope America gets him, you know? But if Quentin is cut from the top 24 too soon, then Idol should keep him on staff as a stylist for the top 12. Muppet coats for everyone!

Savion Wright – Unlike with Casey and David, Savion’s past unjust treatment (he was cut right before the Season 13 live shows, and he totally shouldn’t have been) was avenged this week. His cover of John Mayer’s “I Don’t Trust Myself” made it to air, and he made the top 24! Savion should have made the top 24 last year. This year, he deserves to go a whole lot farther than that.

Mark Andrew – Mark has been a fan favorite all season (maybe even before that, since he was on The Voice a couple years ago). But this week at the House of Blues, his “Take Me to Church” didn’t really take me there. I don’t know if it’s because after hearing Annie Lennox sing it at the Grammys, I don’t need to hear anyone other than Annie (or Hozier, of course) sing it ever again, or if Mark just hadn’t gotten over the exhaustion that plagued him throughout Hollywood Week. All I know is, his performance lacked oomph. I like his vocal tone, though, and it’s nice to see someone in the top 24 who’s an actual adult. He kind of looks like Casey Abrams’s older bro, too, which is a plus.

Trevor Douglas – Yes, Trevor looked more like Buddy Holly than Elvis Presley, and his “Burning Love” cover was so unrecognizable, he may as well have performed an original song. But gosh darn it, Trevor is a born performer, and he’s just so freakin’ adorable. He sure does know how to “make a crowd happy,” as he put it. Trevor oozes the kind of likability that could bring about world peace. Heck, if he’d competed on Season 12, Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey may have even gotten along.

Nick Fradiani – Nick lost some points with me for covering Train’s overdone “Drops of Jupiter,” but it could have been worse. At least he didn’t do “Hey Soul Sister.” Nick has a certain something, and a killer set of pipes, and he just might edge out Mark Andrew in the older-dude demo… if the nation’s block-voting cougars only rally behind one token older dude this season, that is.

Sarina-Joi Crowe – It took Sarina four long years to get to this point. Maybe her Idol moment has finally arrived. Her ambitious cover of Jessie J’s “Big White Room” was impressive — how does such a big voice come out of such a little girl? — and it proved she’s truly ready for prime time.

Qassim Middleton – The former Naked Brothers Band member’s swaggerocious, suave cover of Allen Stone’s “Satisfaction” made it clear that his Nickelodeon days are far behind him. This was the performance of a man, not a kid. What a showman! I hope his confidence doesn’t crumble on the live shows, but given his previous TV experience, that’s highly unlikely.

Riley Bria – Keith Urban’s mini-me was always the shooiest shoo-in that ever shooed. I knew it back at the House of Blues, when I glanced over at Keith and saw his wide-as-Australia grin during Riley’s guitar solo. I personally think Riley is a better guitarist than singer. But I also think he’s a star.

Shi Scott – Shi was shaky from day one. She was nervous at her audition, and she never quite found her footing in Hollywood. Her “Higher Ground” House of Blues performance this Thursday was more vivacious than her previous efforts, which was a good thing, but it almost bordered on being manic, so maybe she was just more nervous than ever. Her full House of Blues number, as I recall it, had this long, wacky outro that almost made me wonder if she was drunk. I don’t actually think she was drunk. I just think she went into some adrenaline-flooded altered state. Of course, none of that loopiness made it to air Thursday night, although you can check out the Shi-nanigans in the extended Vevo clip below. Let’s see how Shi holds up on the live shows, when unpredictable antics like these, while fun in a nightclub setting, might scare off some viewers.

So now we know our full top 24 for the season. Even after all my complaining over the past few weeks about unfair edits and shocking eliminations, I must admit, this is an extremely strong group. With the right voting outcome, we could have an AWESOME top 12 this year. Fingers crossed! In the meantime, here’s my personal ranking of the top 24, from my favorite to least:

Quentin Alexander
Jax
Savion Wright
Trevor Douglas
Tyanna Jones
Joey Cook
Rayvon Owen
Katherine Winston
Qaasim Middleton
Clark Beckham
Alexis Gomez
Riley Bria
Shannon Berthiaume
Sarina-Joi Crowe
Mark Andrew
Nick Fradiani
Shi Scott
Adam Ezegalien
Adanna Duru
Maddie Walker
Loren Lott
Michael Simeon
Lovey James
Daniel Seavey

Until next week, Parker out.

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