It does look that way yeah. Blake did a lot for his contestants between getting them gigs at his various bars and even taking some of them on your with him. I'm not sure Reba is going to do much for her team so it really is a huge downgrade for the contestants.

Thank you @Steven_ for your hard work! I had a fun time!

I'm actually glad John is taking a break, he's not the worst but I was getting to the point of saying that: "At least he's not Chance or Nick"   Gwen sis please redeem yourself, get some Alt-Rock or a good teen singer if you actually want them. S12, S17, S22 teams plzzzzz.   Michael Buble coming for minivan votes lol, I don't know about him, wanted someone else known already but TPTB likes new coaches. Let's hope he gets good jazz contestants if he wants them.   Reba is Reba.

Last night, the Top Five sang two songs that were in Disney films or Disney media films, and two contestants fell short of the finale.  One of them was Triston Harper.  A lot of people thought that he would win early on, but I wasn’t so sure, thinking that because he was only 15, he would fall short at the end.  So why did my assessment prove to be correct?  A glance at the rules that American idol contestants need to follow will explain what Triston did right, what he did wrong and why Triston lost.   The first rule states that contestants must show singing and performing talent.  At first, Triston was successful in showing his talent, being seen as good on IDF on his first two songs, but after the Top 14 reveal, he began to enter a downward spiral and quickly fell to the back of the pack.  I believe that this is because the live shows began to expose his inexperience with performing on stage.  By the time of his final two performances, IDF had him at the back of the pack, as did I.   So how did his final two performances go?  I actually gave Triston a 7 for “Almost There”, saying that this was his best performance in some time.  Sadly, his second song, “Life Is a Highway”, was pretty much panned by everyone on IDF, including me. I gave him a 5.5 and thought that he was mediocre at best.  Others thought that he was a train wreck on that song.  Thus it’s clear that Triston struck out on this rule.   He didn’t do a lot better with the second rule, which states that song choice is key.  His choice of “Almost There” was so unusual that I thought he’d have a train wreck and was pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn’t a train wreck after all.  And “Life Is a Highway” is just too predictable for country singers.  Thus Triston fouled up this rule as well.   Triston also had problems with the third rule, which states that contestants must be either consistently great or consistently improving.  Triston was only good at the beginning and then he went into that downward spiral, thus not improving and in fact going backwards.  Meanwhile, Abi was great,Jack was consistently improving and even Will was consistently good.  Thus Triston screwed up this rule as well.   At least Triston did okay with the fourth rule, which states that contestants must be confident.  Triston didn’t fall apart like Blake or even Mia did, even if he spiraled downward as the show went on, so I’ll move on.   Triston also did well with the fifth rule, which states that contestants must have a strong, current and marketable artistic identity.  Triston is a country singer, and country music is current and marketable enough that Triston will be fine in the future, but his inexperience means that he needs time to grow.  Still, Triston followed this rule for the most part, so I’ll move on as well.   Triston’s biggest success was with the sixth rule, which states that contestants must remember that they are a package.  Not only was Triston a country singer, he had a tragic backstory that tugged at hearts and probably got him farther than he should have.  While the package gradually unraveled enough for people to see he was too inexperienced, at least he followed this rule.   Triston also followed the seventh rule, which states that contestants must take advice offered to them and follow it — within reason.  While it didn’t save him from elimination, at least he had no problem with this rule.   The final rule states that contestants must gather and sustain a fan base.  Triston’s country identity and tragic backstory helped him get a lot of fans early on, but he gradually lost the more casual fans with his declining performances.  Meanwhile Will, his closest competitor in the country genre, was consistently good and thus was able to keep more fans and gain more country fans.  Also, Jack was improving and Abi was killing her performances, and both were also gaining more fans.  Thus Triston struggled with this rule in the end.   Triston began well.  He had a strong, current and marketable artistic identity that many people in the main voting demographic loved, and a tragic backstory that could gain a lot of fans.  But he was only 15, and few singers that young can keep up with the grind of the show long enough to win.  And after “Heartbreak Hotel”, whether it was because he was trying to gyrate more during his performances and began being seen as a novelty act, or whether it was just the pressure of having to do live performances every week, he began to falter, losing many of his more casual fans to Will, while Jack kept improving and Abi killed most of her performances.  Triston was just too inexperienced to win at this stage of his career, and that is why Triston lost.

according to someone at atrl Interscope retweeted this tracklist . if true BOAT is with Selena Gomez.