American Idol Rounds Out Top 24 by Again Sending Home One of the Season's Brightest Stars

After two grueling and heartbreaking nights of competition and cutthroat eliminations, “American Idol” has emerged with its Top 24 -- and a few worthy contenders that didn’t make the cut.

Just like Sunday night saw the elimination of Murphy, one of the most compelling artists to enter the competition ever, the judges continued to make blunders in fleshing out the rest of the artists who will hit the stage for celebrity duets next week live, as well as fighting for your votes.

Sunday night, it was Murphy that left us fuming and Monday night saw two worthy contenders get their torches snuffed. And this season, when it was down to just two artists battling it out for that last spot -- let’s just say we’re feeling pretty confident they got that one absolutely wrong!

Some of our early favorites flew too high, took on more than they can handle and flamed out in a fiery inferno of disappointment. Others rose to the occasion in a huge way, delivering their best performances by a pop, R&B, rock, folk, indie, or country mile!

Tonight, the remaining 12 singers powered through the final judgment, along with a whole lot more familiar faces from throughout the competition that we got to watch as that gleam of hope went out and their dreams were crushed live on camera.

It’s never easy, but as with Drake McCain, we can always hope that no fuels them enough to bring them back better and stronger.

Oh, and as for those last-minute shenanigans Sunday night, it was just about as lame a fake-out as they could have tried. Everything was pointing to a non-shocker with both Casey Bishop and Alanis Sophia carrying on and into the Top 24 -- and that’s exactly what happened.

You’re gonna have to try harder to make us sweat!

Fair warning, since I'm safe at home, I'm probably going to be a little harsher than my colleagues Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan. But I might be nicer, too. Maybe.

Just for fun, I'm going to rank the performances from worst to first for overall duet performance to see who my favorites are.

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(“Orange Colored Sky,” Natalie Cole - 28, Baltimore, MD) We didn’t hear a lot of Funke’s performance, but what we did hear had a few raw notes in it, and definitely didn’t quite rise up to the occasion of a Natlie Cole vocal. She’s a solid performer, but she’s not yet proven in the glimpses we’ve seen that she’s got it for this.

Result: Going Home

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(“Feel Like Makin’ Love,” Bad Company - 22, Pass Christian, MS) There was a little bit of a goat bleat in her vibrato, and she sang with an almost bored tone for such an energetic song. Where was the grit, the raw sensuality? She had it in her body movement and her costuming, but it wasn’t there in the vocal delivery. She didn’t even have as much volume or strength coming out of her diaphragm as you’d expect on a song that rocks to this degree. If she had rearranged it to mellow it out, that would be one thing, but she just undersang the original arrangement,

Result: Going Home

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(“All in Love Is Fair,” Stevie Wonder - 19, Milwaukee, WI) Ronda took on a song just a little bit too big for her. She didn’t quite rise up to all of the runs, missing a few notes here and there. She’s got a big voice and a lot of potential, but she needs to hone her craft and put in some more of the work to get there.

Result: Going Home

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(“If I Ain’t Got You,” Alicia Keys - 15, New Paltz, NY) Laila bit off a little more than she could chew on this song. It demands so much emotional passion and grit, and she only made it about halfway there. There were moments, but it all felt a little cutesy when it should have felt painful. This was a “look what I can do” performance rather than a “hear how I feel” vocal, and that’s not gonna cut it when you pick a song like this.

Result: Going Home

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(“Piece of My Heart,” Janis Joplin - 16, Madisonville, TN) With just a snippet of her performance, Emisunshine didn’t quite seem to live up to the energy and attack that the song demands. She was into it physically, but vocally she wasn’t quite up to all of the bold choices she made. She sounded like she was straining a bit, as if the song was just a little bigger than she is right now. But she has a great stage presence and it’s almost there, so hopefully she comes back.

Result: Going Home

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(“We Can Work It Out,” The Beatles - 21, Chicago, IL) We got just a few glimpses of this final performance, but it appeared underwhelming compared to previous appearances. In fact, it seems that the excitement level of her performances has been going in the opposite direction of what you want. This felt very polished and technically sound, and it even had slight deviations from the original, but it also felt very empty. As in, we felt nothing watching her perform it, and she was an artist who used to have us feeling something every time she sang. Her emotional journey on the show has been gut-wrenching to watch, but in the end, she showed us a solid garage band singer rather than someone we’d buy a record of.

Result: Going Home

(“Ain’t Nobody,” Rufus & Chaka Khan - 20, Los Angeles, CA) We’d have liked a little more heart in the actual lines of the song, but she definitely delivered in the whoas and yeahs and oohs and aahs. But, you know, it helps if you deliver equally and consistently with the lyrics, too. She knows how to perform, but we weren’t completely sold she lived up to the legacy of this song or that iconic vocalist.

Result: Top 24

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(“Bust Your Windows,” Jazmine Sullivan - 22, Lakewood Ranch, FL) Alana didn’t quite bring as much punch and smash to an anthem about anger and strength, but she was almost there. The problem was that while her body language sold the story, her voice didn’t quite pull it off. She appears to have the tools to get all the way there, but she was holding back something. This is a song about reckless abandon, so that’s what she should have brought to the stage. She’s compelling and definitely fun to watch, we just need her to really let loose and believe that.

Result: Top 24

(“Ghost of You,”Ava August - 15, Laguna Niguel, CA) The lyrics of this could use a slight touch-up to strengthen them, but the message was clear and there were some nice lines and moments throughout. Most importantly, Ava punctuated the message with her vocal choices perfectly, flying into a high note, a haunting and gentle wail after the word “ghost” (we see what you did there). This was a folk/singer-songwriter vocal that always amazes us it’s coming from a 15 year old. And it serves as further proof that she’s a storyteller worth following.

Result: Top 24

(“Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down,” Fall Out Boy - 22, Boxford, MA) Former boy band member Colin took Fall Out Boy through its stripped-back version and into the more traditional version and proved he has the versatility to pull off both of them. From the breathiness of the opening lines to the rapid-fire delivery of that chorus, Colin was almost flawless in each of them. He suffered a bit with the timing in said chorus (because it’s hard to pace your breathing on this track), and he wasn’t quite as strong in voice as the moment called for, but he was only barely coming up short. All in all, it was a very exciting and different performance, and at this stage of any competition, different can be very good as it means you’ll be remembered.

Result: Top 24

(“Us,” James Bay - 19, Cleveland, OH) Mary Jo came back very strong with that indie pop vibe after an extremely shaky Duet round. This was the redemption she needed, and that interesting crack in her voice is just the thing to have her stand out. It’s a little break for heartbreak that feels authentic. She’s dangerously close to overbending how she enunciates words like “us,” but manages to keep it just on this side of what’s become acceptable. She’s got that kind of compelling tone that you want to go on a journey with her, which is a huge thing to carry into a competition like this.

Result: Top 24

(“Beyond,” Leon Bridges - 20, Cameron, TX) Given the dreaded paired-up final spot with Drake McCain, we knew going in that only one would advance. He definitely took a risk tackling Leon Bridges with a country-esque vocal, but a lot of it worked better than we expected. He has such a pure tone and the rhythms and notes were effortless for him. Probably the only real thing was that it wasn’t completely believable that he understood this story. But it had an innocent charm to it that was still compelling. We’re not sure he yet knows who he is as an artist, but apparently the judges want to find out with him.

Result: Top 24

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(“Sign of the Times,” Harry Styles - 20, Ephraim UT) Lizzy had a very sultry, confident vocal on this song. It suited her natural tone quite well and she had a very folksy sound on the track, which worked nicely. There was an almost ethereal quality to her voice even before we saw the bare feet. We thought she had something very compelling and interesting in her delivery, but perhaps the judges thought she and Cassandra Coleman (who went through Sunday) were too much in the same lane.

Result: Going Home

(“July,” Noah Cyrus - 22, Franklin, TN) Hunter delivered the most hauntingly beautiful vocal of his entire “American Idol” journey. It was nearly in falsetto the whole time, pushing the upper limits of his register, but done in such a mesmerizing way, we couldn’t take our eyes off of him. Perhaps more importantly, we felt that he believed every word of what he was singing. Now, knowing his story, we suspect he did. But it proves he can project that connection and have us tearing up -- and that’s an exciting artist to watch.

Result: Top 24

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(“A Change Is Gonna Come,” Sam Cooke - 17, Little Rock, AR) Nia did everything she was supposed to do in a showstopper performance. She chose a challenging song with a message and she delivered that message with all the heart and passion she could muster. Her vocal runs were sublime, she had the strength to pull this off, and she had the believability. We didn’t get to see the whole performance, but we didn’t see enough go wrong to justify sending her home, by any means. We’re not sure we saw anything go wrong, as a matter of fact.

Result: Going Home

(“Me Too,” Meghan Trainor - 16, Wahiawa, HI) She didn’t even need the splits at the end, but it was a cute exclamation point on an exciting and unexpected performance. This was the Liahona we fell in love with and saw a glimpse of in the first round. It’s hard to shine as a vocalist on a song like this, but Liahona managed to prove she had the chops and prove something else. She’s a true entertainer, filled with enough sass to pull off Meghan Trainor! That makes her unlike anyone else in this competition.

Result: Top 24

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(“(Shake It for Me) Country Girl,” Luke Bryan - 19, Spring City, TN) Given the dreaded paired-up final spot with Cecil Ray, we knew going in that only one would advance. Making it even more stressful for Drake, he’s been on this journey before (at 17 years old), only to get cut before the live shows. Then, he went and sang Luke’s song in front of Luke. He didn’t want to make this easy on himself!

He was a bona fide country music star up there, singing that song with confidence, perfect breath control -- not easy on those verses -- and a rock-solid delivery through most of it. We’d have liked a little more punch on the first chorus, but he brought it home on the second one. The attitude was there, everything was exactly what it needed to be. That’s how you make a statement that says, I dare you to send me home this time!

And then they did.

Result: Going Home

(“Over the Rainbow,” Judy Garland - 19, Cleveland, OH) Deshawn took this well-known classic to new heights -- figuratively and literally -- with a very interesting and compelling arrangement. He was able to inject some of his vocal personality and push the song to his strengths, without losing what made it such a classic in the first place. Perhaps most importantly, his performance didn’t feel dated at all, which is always the goal when tackling a song as old as this one.

Result: Top 24

(“It’s a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World,” James Brown - 25, Fayetteville, AR) This is one of the biggest songs you could ever hope to take on, but Madison came at it with the right amount of attack and a clear plan how she was going to navigate its big moments and its tender lines. Every bit of this was performed effortlessly and beautifully and, most importantly, powerfully. She took on an enormous beast in the world of music and she slayed it.

Result: Top 24

(“I Was Here,” Beyoncé - 21, Douglas, GA) Just a stunningly gorgeous performance. Willie can seemingly do no wrong. Through the gentle opening lines, he caressed each note tenderly and it was magic. When it was time to soar, he took us along with him and it was magic. When he brought us back down to earth with a melancholy croon, it was -- yes, magic. Willie is pure magic, so connected to each song, to his own voice, to each choice he makes with it. It’s just mastery and we are all lucky to be able to share it with him. This wasn’t his most dynamic or exciting performance, but it was one of his most touching, which is sometimes just as important.

Result: Top 24

(“Father,” Demi Lovato - 20, Chicago, IL) What an incredibly powerful, heartbreaking performance. Grace took us on a journey through her life and we felt every bit of it. Demi has a rare gift of speaking such truth to her pain in her music, and Grace performed this song with that same power and grace that Demi would have, connecting to the message as if she’d written it herself. Her voice is vulnerable, moving at times and massive at times, and at all times it is a thing of rare beauty. She’s easily one of the most exciting artists of the season. We disagree entirely with Katy that she needs to sing a big song every time. This was perfect for her.

Result: Top 24

”American Idol” continues Sundays and Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.