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Jayna's a tricky one for sure. First off, I totally agree that she wins the style award for this season. From a talent standpoint, I thought she was a really good pop singer, but I wasn't feeling the attempts to channel her inner diva. I'm not really sure what else she could have done, though? Her voice lacks character and distinction imo, so as talented as Jayna is, her ceiling was never really high for American Idol. She's a good singer, though. Definitely could have lasted an extra week or two.   I also liken Roman to a second-rate Joshua Ledet, and considering that I'm far from Joshua's #1 fan... lol oy. Roman's tone was too rough and his singing was too over-the-top for me. He could've been left behind in the wildcard round for all I care. I've heard good things about his finale duet though, so maybe I'll look it up sometime soon.

JAYNA ELISE POSITIVE: Strong voice, great stage presence   NEGATIVE: Struggled with song choices at the end   LEAST FAVORITE PERFORMANCE: I HAVE NOTHING I will start off by saying Jayna never gave a bad performance, IMO. Nonetheless, this ranks at the bottom not because of the hackneyed and overdone song choice, but because it was her least interesting albeit well done vocal. With that said, this may be unpopular, but I don’t think “Best Of You” was a great choice either. Songs like “Everlong”, “Learn To Fly”, or “The Pretender” would have been better choices if she wanted to sing something from the Foo Fighters. As for this one, there isn’t much to say.   FAVORITE PERFORMANCE: ALL I WANTED This one was hard because I wrestled between two performances for this spot. They were “My All” and “All I Wanted”. While the former was the better performance, the latter was the stronger vocal. In this case, the vocal won out although I was tempted to cop out and declare a tie.  To be honest, I wasn’t much of a fan of this at first; however, it grew one me the more I rewatched it. The way her voice simmered before it boiled over and splashed all over the room was a sight to behold. She left nothing to chance and sang knowing her survival depended on it, and her effort was rewarded with a coveted WC spot.   OVERALL: So, Jayna was someone who auditioned in the previous season but fell short of the voting rounds. Clearly, her luck was better this time around. Also, it was cute to learn she was a part of Kidz Bop.  She was a dynamic vocalist who had this incredible magnetism while on stage. The first thing that came to mind while watching “Confident” was she reminded me of a vocally stronger Katyrah Love. Also, an argument can be made for her being the most stylish contestant regarding looks and outfits. Unfortunately, she at times came across as an old school contestant, though not as much as others (including one who will come up soon). In addition, her song choices weren’t the most inspiring, especially after the WC round (though I loved the sentiment and reason behind “Diamonds”). Having said that, she was an interesting contestant who had her moments, and someone who I wouldn’t have minded seeing more of.   -----   ROMAN COLLINS POSITIVE: Strong voice, clear musical identity   NEGATIVE: Overdid it on stage a lot   LEAST FAVORITE PERFORMANCE: ROAR It was between this and “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” for my least favorite Roman performance. In the end, “Roar” won, or in this case, lost out. It didn’t start off too poorly; the parts when he was at the piano were nice. However, the performance nosedived once he left the piano. The runs and the improvising at the end didn’t work. In addition, the gospel-like arrangement did him no favors. It’s a shame because the performance had potential to be better than it was. With that said, one of the highlights was Quintavious bouncing up and down and cheering him (Roman) on from the audience.   FAVORITE PERFORMANCE: NEVER WOULD HAVE MADE IT What is there to say other than this was Roman doing what he does best. It was a passionate rendition of a beloved gospel number. Seeing that it’s normal in gospel music to oversing and bounce around on stage for a lack of a better term, it wasn’t as bothersome as some of the other performances. Heck, it was one of his least chaotic performances in addition to being his best overall vocal. Lastly, him giving this performance after his pre-performance video of his father preaching about him overcoming a diabetic coma at three years old made a strong connection when it’s all said and done.   OVERALL: Roman was my least favorite of the three gospel singers. He was Joshua Ledet 2.0 except not as strong vocally and even more dramatic on stage. There were numerous times where I rolled my eyes and wished he just sang a song straight. Having said that, he was unapologetic about who he was and heeded Jelly Roll’s advice of being himself, and that’s something I can respect. He also appeared to be supportive of his fellow contestants; one of my favorite moments was him vibing and singing along during Triston’s performance after the latter was voted into the Top 10. Lastly, his duet with CeCe Winans during the finale was one of my favorite performances that evening. Although I wasn’t all that high on him, he is immensely talented and has the potential to have a bright future.

Pretty much echo the sentiments about Ajii.   Not much disagreement about Jennifer. Her tone grew on me some after not being much of a fan of it.   Can't say I disagree about Mackenzie.   I can see Jordan picking songs that were too big for him. He may have been better off with different songs.   Fair enough about Nya. She seems to be polarizing, though not as much as others (some who are coming up soon).   Fair enough about Odell. He had one of the best voices but maybe lacked other qualities. Still would've liked to see more from him.

1   Jana Wosnitza & Vadim Garbuzov - “I Want You to Want Me” (Quickstep): 93 Lulu Lewe & Massimo Sinató - “Crazy” (Contemporary): 7   + Jana & Vadim

4   Blu Hydrangea & Simone Arena - “I Go to Rio” (Samba): 84 Blu Hydrangea & Simone Arena - “Witch Doctor” (Charleston): 0 David Whelan & Salome Chachua - “All That Really Matters” (Showdance): 9 David Whelan & Salome Chachua - “You Never Can Tell”/“Misirlou” (Jive) [Reprise]: 157   + Blu & Simone Samba - Blu & Simone Charleston