The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame week is back at American Idol this coming Sunday! The singers will be mentored by James Taylor and each will be performing a song from an inductee. The inductees range from being very rock to not rock at all, allowing for the singers to choose their path. For each contestant, I chose three songs that may be good options. Some of them are a bit out there and some are more obvious.

What songs would you choose for the Top 14 to sing?

American Idol Rock & Roll Hall of Fame episode airs Coast to Coast LIVE on ABC Sunday April 27 at 8 pm ET/5 PM PT. Streams on HULU next day.

Amanda Barise

“Baby It’s You” by The Shirelles
“Hot Stuff” by Donna Summer
“I Got You” by James Brown

Amanda has brought elements of funk to some of her performances, so “I Got You” could be a fun choice, and she could blend the original and Jessie J’s version to update the classic. Disco is another genre in which she could thrive, and Amanda could have a fun yet soaring performance with Kygo’s remix of “Hot Stuff.” Finally, if Amanda wanted to keep it a bit more simple and focus on the vocals, “Baby It’s You” would be a great option especially since alum Haley Reinhart has a stellar cover, and Amanda has the growl that suits the song.

Breanna Nix

“Angel From Montgomery” by John Prine
“Blue Bayou” by Linda Ronstadt
“What About Love?” by Heart

Breanna described herself as a country Christian artist on Instagram, so this may be an opportunity for her to cross over with a song that has somewhat of a country vibe. “Angel From Montgomery” is almost always a singing show standout and for some reason, it doesn’t feel so overdone that I wouldn’t mind Breanna doing a stripped back performance of the classic. “Blue Bayou” has been performed great on that other show (The Voice) and Breanna could also have a moment with it. If she does want to truly rock out, Heart has a few overdone numbers but “What About Love” hasn’t been sung recently and would allow Breanna to show off her power.

Canaan James Hill

“How I Got Over” by Mahalia Jackson
“Lonely Avenue” by Ray Charles
“That’s How Strong My Love Is” by Otis Redding

Canaan was a bit trickier to choose songs for as he has only sang Gospel songs on the show to date, but he could tackle gospel legend Mahalia Jackson. Otherwise, he could showcase his growls with a soul track like “Lonely Avenue” which Idol vocal coach and The Voice alum India Carney has a really cool cover of. Otherwise, Otis Redding’s “That’s How Strong My Love Is” could be another song that fits Canaan’s style.

CHÉ Chesterman

“I Look To You” by Whitney Houston
“One More Try” by George Michael
“Tracks of My Tears” by Smokey Robinson

CHÉ has great vocal ability, and one ballad that I’ve wanted someone to tackle on the show for a while is Whitney Houston’s “I Look To You,” one of her more underrated songs. CHÉ also could do the Brits proud, and a big vocal like “One More Try” would be a great choice. Another option could be to showcase his falsetto which he has done less of on Idol than he did on the X Factor UK. “Tracks of My Tears” would be perfect for that.

Desmond Roberts

“Don’t Stop ‘Till You Get Enough” by Michael Jackson
“Tears in Heaven” by Eric Clapton
“Lights” by Journey

Desmond could keep being himself by being unpredictable and entertaining, or he could take Lionel Richie and the other judges advice to showcase simplicity. Option one is to go out with a bang and have a blast on a Michael Jackson dance track which he possesses the falsetto to hit the heavy chorus. Otherwise, he could opt for a piano track that allowed his voice to shine on Titanium with a beautiful ballad like “Tears in Heaven.” Somewhere in between is “Lights” by Journey which would push him vocally, but still deliver a like a ballad.

Gabby Samone

“One” by U2 ft. Mary J Blige
“Through The Fire” by Chaka Khan
“Sweet Dreams” by Eurythmics

Gabby could tackle not one but two inductees with the soulful ballad “One.” The song feels timeless, but would show a side of Gabby we haven’t seen yet as it does have a bit of a rock sound to it. She could play safe and go with “Through The Fire” which she has covers of online and has nailed. Otherwise, she could go uptempo with “Sweet Dreams.” She would have to rework this one somewhat, but I can envision the Eurythmics version but arranged similarly to how Beyoncé sampled it for a hit song. The Beyoncé version doesn’t qualify as she isn’t in the Hall.

Filo

Everybody Hurts by R.E.M.
Oh! Darling by The Beatles
The Winner Takes It All by ABBA

Filo is versatile and has great power, but “Everybody Hurts” would allow him to deliver a tender and emotive performance. “Oh Darling” on the other hand would be a bit of the same of what he has covered already which is performances with big, booming vocals. I could also see him bring some theatrics to the stage with a song like “The Winner Takes It All.”

Jamal Roberts

“How Deep Is Your Love” by The Bee Gees
“Like a Prayer” by Madonna
“Whole Lotta Love” by Lee Zeppelin

Jamal is a beast of a vocalist, so this week could be a round for him to take a risk. He could stay safe with a song choice like “How Deep Is Your Love.” Or, he could be bold and tackle something like “Like A Prayer” giving it a soulful or gospel spin as the song has been performed with choirs in the background. Finally, I’m going to suggest a song that only Elise Testone and Adam Lambert have slayed on the Idol stage and that’s “Whole Lotta Love.” Jamal isn’t a rocker, but he could nail the adlibs and the raspy parts of the song.

John Foster

‘Carolina In My Mind” by James Taylor
“Say You, Say Me” by Lionel Richie
“Weatherman” by Hank Williams

John could do a nice job on “Carolina In My Mind,” an acoustic folk number by this week’s mentor. Another option is “Say You, Say Me” of which Lionel recorded a country version for his album Tuskegee. If he can get it cleared, “Weatherman” is a likely option as John has released his own version to streaming, and it suits his classic sound and adds a bit of rock edge.

Josh King

“Beggin’” by The Four Seasons
“She’s Always a Woman” by Billy Joel
“You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” by The Righteous Brothers

Josh’s last performance was pure cheese which could fit right in with this round. He could continue to go uptempo and perform “Beggin’” in the original’s style which is much less rock than what people have come to know. Otherwise, his tone seems like a perfect fit on “She’s Always a Woman” or “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling.” For the former I could totally see him pull out the harmonica.

Kolbi Jordan

“A Sunday Kind of Love by Etta James
“Midnight Train To Georgia” by Gladys Knight
“Walk On By” by Dionne Warwick

It’s the ballads that have created moments for Kolbi. With “A Sunday Kind of Love,” she could tackle a song that has been trending the past few years, and also show some vocal power with a little bit of jazziness and soul. “Midnight Train to Georgia” or really most of Gladys Knight’s songs seem like a perfect fit for Kolbi’s tone. Another option is “Walk On By,” from a new inductee. I don’t think the classic has been done since Kelly Clarkson in Season 1. It is fitting since Doja Cat recently sampled it for a hit single.

Mattie Pruitt

“Bad” by Michael Jackson
“The Thrill Is Gone” by B.B. King
“The First Cut Is The Deepest” by Sheryl Crow

Most of Mattie’s success was early in the competition, when she showcased her raspy voice on soulful songs, so I hope she returns to that after a few rounds of pop ballads. Billie Eilish’s acoustic version of “Bad” could be a good option to do just that. Otherwise, she could go way back and wow with “The Thrill Is Gone” which she could nail with just her and a backing guitar. Another good fit could be going after that pop, rock, country crossover sound by covering Sheryl Crow’s version of “The First Cut Is The Deepest” (yes, I know it’s a cover and not the original) as her voice would be a great fit with Sheryl’s raspy sound.

Slater Nalley

“For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield
“Run To You” by Bryan Adams
“Something to Talk About” by Bonnie Raitt

For this round, Slater could take many routes. He could put a spin on a song, he could sing something that’s country adjacent, or he could rock out with his unique raspy tone. “For What It’s Worth” is a folksy track that is right up his alley. “Run To You” would be a risk as it’s uptempo and a total rock track But his voice could work with Bryan Adams’ sound. Another option is “Something to Talk About” which is a bit bluesy and could easily work with Slater’s style.

Thunderstorm Artis

Crash Into Me by Dave Matthews
Free Fallin’ by Tom Petty
In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel

Season 11 Winner Phillip Phillips is the only one to cover Dave Matthews Band on American Idol, and I think that is likely because his songs require a unique sound which Thunderstorm possesses. “Crash Into Me” would be a great song to showcase his artistry. A more mainstream choice is “Free Fallin’” which I can envision Thunderstorm’s gravelly voice taking on, and would be especially magical on John Mayer’s version. Finally, “In Your Eyes” could be put into an acoustic arrangement and suit Thunderstorm perfectly.