‘American Idol XIV’ rankings: Clark Beckham, Jax, Nick Fradiani lead going into top 9

The era with the Save on “American Idol” is over, and that means one thing for the rest of the season: We’re going to get to see America completely in control again of who to save and who to go. That to us is a relief; we’re not sure that we always trust the judges, and there is also something good that comes at times from having a shocking elimination. It gets people talking, and it helps fans to realize that there is a buttload of value in their votes. Nothing else at this point will save a contestant from an early exit.

Doing the rankings for this week is once again interesting, given that some favorites have fallen, and it feels like we have a very clear top four and then bottom five. Could this change? Sure, given that inconsistency is the worst enemy of a couple of singers who are near the bottom of our rankings. Vocal performance is a factor here in where we place people (how could it not?), though we’re also considering perceived fan following, voting history from past seasons, and this week especially, the edit of the pre-performance package. We’ll get to that in a minute.

9. Daniel Seavey – Maybe Daniel was a little better this past episode? We think that he does, but there was a moat the size of the Mississippi between him and the other contestants. Now, it’s a slightly smaller river, but still much wider than a creek. The kid has to go home eventually, and performing in the forgotten parts of the (i.e. the start) cannot help.

8. Qaasim Middleton – For all the work that he put in to get the save, the weird song choice during eighties week did him zero favors. His vocals are wild, and unless he is performing hard and working the stage, you don’t get the full extent of his personality.

7. Rayvon Owen – A good singer is getting muddied here by boring song choices and what may have been a surprisingly poor / defiant edit during this past episode. We would love to see Rayvon stick around so that he can recover, but we wouldn’t be shocked to see him go tonight.

6. Joey Cook – We really hope that Joey that does make it past the “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” disaster. The ideas that she put into that performance were good ones, but the vocal were off and it just felt like she was never able to recover from a bad start. She is very talented, and one of the most creative people on the season.

5. Quentin Alexander – We loved “In the Air Tonight” just as we love Quentin’s ghostly New Orleans vibe. Yet, at the same time we’re haunted in our own way by him being a wild-card choice for the top 12 in the first place. We’re not sure who are his diehard fans out there casting votes for him.

4. Tyanna Jones – We know that Tyanna can really sing, and her last performance may be one of our favorite Whitney Houston covers on the show in ages. She moves about the stage really well! Yet, in spite of our effusive praise, nobody is really talking about her as much as they should be.

3. Nick Fradiani – There’s no way Nick is going home anytime soon. He’s been consistently very good week after week, even though we cannot necessarily say that he’s blown the ceiling off yet. He does need one of those performances at this point to really get himself into runaway favorite status. He has all the tools to be there.

2. Jax – After the last two performances, is Jax back in the winners’ circle? It definitely feels like she’s found her style and her groove again, which is so distinct and different from the other contestants that it feels like she is the winner that the show needs at this point. Whether or not that will actually happen, though, is still to be seen.

1. Clark Beckham – Clark killed it, and we don’t exactly say that much when you’re talking about the creepy “Every Breath You Take” by The Police. After the past few performances he’s given us, ranking him anywhere but the top would be disrespectful. There’s still more that he can give, but the soft-spoken guy is on his way.

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