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ScarletDevilCCX

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  1. Paddy's Irish Whiskey, of course. Our first contestant is Deidy Jeudy, age 16. She has three younger brothers who all have a condition that leaves them visually impaired. She's singing "River" by Leon Bridges, and she's got a huge voice. She deserves to go, and does. I wasn't totally paying attention as we don't go straight to break. Our next one isn't quite the sure thing that Deidy was, but she's still pretty good. Big voice, but I'm not fully sure she can control it. Athena Jett is 20 years old from Las Vegas, NV, and her whole family made the trip from Vegas to Santa Barbara in an RV; her 12-year-old sister is her biggest fan and also crocheted a gift for Katy and her daughter. I am a fan of Athena. As we went to break, Athena's sister barged in, and it turns out, she had a suggestion. Athena sang "Never Enough" from The Greatest Showman for her recital. And she sings it here, and it's what she needed to get the judges on her side. Quintavious Johnson, 21, is a worship leader in Franklin, TN, and he sings "Alabaster Box" by CeCe Winans. It's...good. Not quite the "strength" I normally expect out of a gospel singer, but then again, I'm Jewish so this is outside the area of my expertise. I think he goes through. He does, with three yeses. My only critique is that I think his voice is more suited towards soul than gospel, which I know is not a huge distinction, but that's what I say. Lillian Hackett sings an original called "Tennessee", and she goes through. I'm okay with this. Payton Riley from Montgomery, TX, just turned 15, which explains why she sounds like a little kid. She's singing an original called "Fireflies" which she wrote about her break-up with a friend that she'd had since first grade (their older sisters were best friends). She misses having him as a friend. ...Oh, correction, it's "fireflies". Billie Eilish started a trend, and if she stylized it that way as a tribute to Billie I'm okay with it but given that she's only 15 it's probably because of Olivia Rodrigo. Katy's reminiscing about getting dumped by her first boyfriend at age 16. Katy gives her a no "based on timing", because she's in the growing phase, and suggests she come back in three years, at age 18. Lionel agrees, and Luke gives her a yes because "she don't deserve three noes", which Katy agrees with. Katy being weird. And somehow it actually results in Katy and Luke having a moo-off. Which, thanks to Katy winning, results in Anna Grace actually making it through (she deserved it). Our next contestant is Dave Fio and he records himself preparing to come to Idol. He's singing "Save Me" by Jelly Roll, and wow. Katy says yes, Lionel says no, but Luke puts him through. Julia Davo, 20, wants to be the next female rock star, this generation's Blondie. And she's friends and roommates with Season 16/17's Alyssa Raghu, who recommended that she try out. Lionel is reminded of Gaga, and weirdly, I kind of see what he's getting at. Lionel's a yes, but Katy's a no. Lionel's pushing Luke to say yes, but...it's a no. They bring Alyssa in, and she said she's singing "just for giggles" but I am remembering that anything short of a winner could come back...oh my God, Alyssa's coming back! Katy says that she could make it, but she couldn't win, and if she comes back, she should be able to win. Lionel says yes. And Luke says he likes having her around. She's in! ...CSAB is going to have a field day with this. Amari, 28, from Richmond, IN, sings a soulful reimagining of Britney Spears's "Toxic". I like it. Even the scatting. ...Oh, she's trans. She sings another song, Sara Bareilles's "She Used to Be Mine". Not as good as "Toxic"--she's practically speaking the lyrics. Judges being judges. Luke and Lionel get creamed at pickleball by Katy and her mom. Conall Gorman sings an original song. I think he deserves to go through, but I'm still busy dealing with "boomers being unintentionally offensive due to genuine lack of understanding" over the previous contestant and I'm too drunk to deal with that. Conall goes through. Michael Rice, 26, from Hartlepool, England is our last contestant of the night. His mother was only 17 when he was born, and his dad was a drug addict. They rekindled their relationship when Michael was 17, but then he suddenly passed away from a heart attack related to his drug use. Michael sings Kelly Clarkson's "Because of You", and it's not bad. I think he deserves to go through, but contestants really need to stop singing Kelly Clarkson songs. He goes through, very nearly getting the "You're going to Hollywood!" before Luke even said a word.
  2. I really may need to rename this damn thing. Once again, no drink tonight. I've got work tomorrow again, and on top of that, I've felt disgusting all day as a result of a poor night's sleep last night, as a result of attempting to clean out the fan in my bedroom because one of the two fans stopped turning and ending up just getting a faceful of dust that irritated my eyes. We've got contestants saying that it's every kid's dream, and I'm reminded that when I started watching this show I would've been too young to audition and now I'm way too old. (I never would have, though; I often struggle to make my voice do what I want, and because I'm aware of it, I wouldn't even make a good Cowell-era reject). One of them is Max Dasher, 18 from Black Mountain, NC, singing "Rock Salt and Nails" by Utah Phillips. He's just okay, but the judges seem to think he's got major star potential and try to get him to adopt the star attitude. He goes through. And then he comes back in to play guitar for his older sister Laela's audition. She's singing "Angel from Montgomery" by John Prine, and now I see. She's got potential. Luke asks if they do anything together, and Max volunteers "Rivers and Roads" by The Head and the Heart. And they're better together than either of them were alone. Lionel says yes, but Katy's gut is telling her no. Luke makes it a little tense, but he does put her through. Scarlett Lee, 26 is from London, England. She sings "Clown" by Emile Sandé. She does well. It's not my style of music so I personally probably wouldn't vote for her if she makes it to the voting rounds, but I can recognize that she's good. She hits some big notes. And of course she goes through. Donahue Diaries, 23, is full of energy. He's doing "I Want You To Want Me" by Cheap Trick. But he's not Idol material. The next guy is, but ADHD, I completely missed the name. Jennifer Jeffries, 17, is the youngest of nine children, and she's been a songwriter since she was 9. Unsurprisingly, she's singing an original, "Change My Ways". ...Her stage presence needs work; she scrunches her face up too much when she sings. She's...not bad, but that might not cut it; singer-songwriters get a little more leeway, but will she be able to handle the weeks where she can't do an original? Well, the judges seem to think so. They love her. Ryan Seacrest appreciation montage. Kimi, 25, from Brooklyn, NY, is originally Albanian from Kosovo, People who've known his family say that his voice is beautiful just like his mother's, but he's never heard that singing voice. When he was just 2 years old, she was diagnosed with MS, as well as PTSD from the war in Kosovo. He alone has moved to America, and he hasn't seen his family for six years. He's singing "Heal" by Tom Odell. They think it wasn't a good enough show and make him sing something else. They're still not sure. They want to know what his parents would think, and they have him call them up (after making sure the time difference wouldn't be a problem.) They have him sing to them in Albanian. He's crying...well, he sounds like he's crying, at least at first, but he pulls it together. Well, it's a sad song, he relates the lyrics. The judges like it, they feel he needed to start singing from his heart and not from his head, and he did that. Aniston Pate, 20, from Dalhart, TX, drives a tractor, a John Deere. Luke asks if it's an 8400, and she says "bigger". She's been singing in bars since she was 14, and when the judges question this, she simply answers "Texas". She's singing an original called "Hummingbird", that she wrote about her mother. I love it. Luke's giving her advice on the lyrics. This is amazing. Lionel says that halfway through the first verse, he was "is that you, Dolly?", mostly in the way Dolly tells a story. Yeah, I kind of get it. She's raw, but she does have that Dolly Parton songwriting quality. Madai Chakell is singing "I Kissed a Girl". It's way too much, just like the montage that preceded her. But Lionel and Katy put her through. CJ Rislove, 22, is a real free spirit, living on a bus by choice--he says he's from "Everywhere and Nowhere, USA". He sings an original that he wrote just yesterday, and he has to look up the lyrics. He goes through. Another yes but we're nearing the end of the show and I've completely tuned out. She deserved to go through. Another ex-football player, a lineman. He's had 3 concussions, and he said sometimes it just doesn't feel right. So he left football and took up the guitar. Will Moseley,23, from Hazlehurst, GA, playing an original. And he barely gets started before he gets a yes from Lionel, who apparently has somewhere to be. He goes through.
  3. Well this season is not getting off to a start within the gimmick. No drink tonight because I never drink when I have work the next day--I'm too hangover-prone, especially since I already have a headache (commonly happens when a zit develops on my forehead...yes, I'm somehow simultaneously both a teenager and a fifty-something while actually being halfway between those ages). We start off in Santa Barbara, Katy's hometown, and our first contestant of the night is singing a Katy Perry song, "Rise". Hailey Mia, 16, from Clifton, NJ. She's amazing and the judges agree; Katy gets chills "even in the places [she's had] Botoxed." It's three yeses. Next, we go to Tuskegee, where 17-year-old farm hand Dawson Slade is already a father. He's singing "I Hope You Dance" by Lee Ann Womack. I think he's one of those "using a middle name as a last name" types because he's got the initials "DSM" on his hat. He's pretty good, but the judges feel that he's not quite there yet--too calm and safe. I agree. Lionel says no. Katy makes Luke go next, and...we go to commercial. Luke says he's hearing tons of songwriter vibes, but he's not hearing screaming artist vibes--or was that "streaming" artist vibes. He wants Dawson to sing another song. "Somebody Else Will" by Justin Moore. I don't think it was good, but Katy seems impressed and gives him a yes, and Luke puts him through. Dawson's mom comes in with his baby, and the judges are stunned at how much she looks like Katy. Next is Nya, originally Kenyan, lives in Florida, but now a Broadway performer. She's singing "Wait a Minute!" by Willow Smith. It's good. Luke compliments her on being a Broadway performer that actually sounds like a singer instead of a Broadway actress. Katy, of course, has to do Katy things. And then says there's "no de-Nya-ing" her talent. It's three yeses. Our next contestant is ColeScott Rubin, 27, from Portland, OR, a circus musician. He comes in on a unicycle, carrying a standing bass (or is it a cello?), and sings an original song about his girl and also peanut butter. He's...a character. Katy says "It's a no for Idol but a yes for life!" Well said, Katy. He's not a bad singer, but he's a schtick, not a serious artist. He's good at what he does though. Speaking of peanuts, we're heading to Leesburg again and Luke's giving a tour. Roman Collins, 24, from Long Beach, CA, is up next. He's a worship leader, he cleans cars, he basically does everything. He's singing "Livin' for the City" by Stevie Wonder. He's trying too hard. The judges like him, though, and he gets three yeses. I think we've got montage. "Johnny Majestic", obviously a stage name, straight out of the eighties. Derrick Gobourne Jr., 24, from Sarasota, FL, who can dance but can't sing. Shriya Jaya, 16, is a double black belt in karate, but she's not quite there in singing. And now we've got our next actual contestant. Noah Peters, 24, "The Singing Barber", the only barber in Benton, TN. Went viral on TikTok covering Luke's "Country Girl". I missed what he's singing for his audition, but he's good. He also says he's been a barber for 10 years...he started at 14? And they ask him if he'd be more comfortable singing while cutting hair. In comes last year's third-place finisher, Colin Stough, and together they sing "Broken Halos" by Chris Stapleton. Noah's going to Hollywood. ...You know, I'm realizing that the last few seasons have barely stuck with me the way previous seasons did. I think it's because I'm a numbers guy and WNTS stopped covering this show after the pandemic season. Emmy Russell, 24, is a singer-songwriter from Nashville, TN. The judges tell her she's too quiet. Before we see her, we see her mother telling her that "your meemaw would be proud of you", and in the audition room, she mentions that she hasn't sung out much recently, but she used to sing a bunch on the road with her meemaw who was a country singer. Katy asks her who her grandma was, and...talk about burying the lede. Her meemaw is Loretta Lynn. Emmy's singing an original, "Skinny", about eating disorders. Katy continues to try to get Emmy to be more confident. She says Emmy's an A+ songwriter, just like her grandma. Lionel says that everyone's got their issues, and hers is big shoes, and she should put those shoes back in the closet because they're not your size. They put her through. Okay, changed my mind. NoCa Boozy Iced Tea (I'm going to have to bring a bottled water up to bed, I'm sure.) Ziggy is from the Netherlands, though he's too flamboyant to just be European. He's 22 and he finished 7th on Dutch Idol. He says people back home call him "a cotton candy who can't do anything". He sings "Million Reasons" by Lady Gaga, and he's damn good. Though he apparently hits a note he didn't mean to and breathlessly apologizes mid-song without actually stopping. And apparently he had a rough life; he didn't even really know his mom, a drug addict, and his father passed away last year. He raised himself. And now the judges will raise him up. Three yeses. He's going through. Full name "Ziggy Krassenberg". I'm not even going to try to write down his hometown. Back to Tuskegee. Justice Murphy, 21, from Four City, AR, a student at Alabama State. She's singing "Summertime" which she attributes to Fantasia...granted, she's only 21 so Fantasia singing that song on Idol probably happened when Justice was an infant. She's got power and she moves her hands a lot while singing...wasn't that also something Fantasia did? ...Nope, I checked the Season 3 CSAB, no mention of "bird mating dances". Must've been a different contestant they mocked. Well, Justice goes through. ...Wait, there's been some changes to WNTS since I last went there a few years ago! In addition to the "reprise" indicator, there's a "coronation" indicator for OWS. ...Yeah, last May they said they'd try to scrape up everything from seasons 19-21. Kaibrienne "KB" Jenkins (?), 20, from Hennefer, UT, has Hashimoto's, a painful disease that can cause violent mood swings. Singing was an outlet. Her father filmed her singing on their long drives, and son they had over 1M followers. She's got power in her voice. She goes through. ...Sorry, seeing that WNTS is catching up has me distracted. Jon Lindsey, 29, has his brother playing guitar, and he's singing "Shout" by the Isley Brothers. It's a no from me. The judges are having fun but I don't think they'll put him through. Which is the start of a stretch of "support group", people coming in in twos. Abby Blake, 25, is originally from MN but she lives in Nashville. She's got her friend Sam playing piano for her, and she's singing Pink's "What About Us". Too tough a song; she doesn't have it. The judges disagree with me, and say it was so perfect...no, wait, Katy gives the same critique that my mom did, that she's cutting the lines too short. It's a no from Katy but both the guys say yes so she's through. And then they pressure Sam into singing as well; he sings in a band called Kayko. Sam Kelly-Cohen, singing a song by his band called "Time of Your Life". Whoa. Now he belongs in Hollywood. And they put him through. He's amazed. Luke says "we Sam-bushed him". Meanwhile, Mom's in schadenfreude, having just learned via Facebook that the store where she last worked in retail--and got fired by a manager with a grudge--has burned to the ground. Abi Carter, 21, from Indio, CA, is singing "What Was I Made For?" by Billie Eilish. She's got an amazing voice. So amazing that she managed to get the ending spot with, I think, no sob story? We don't have enough time for a sob story, I don't think. ...Yeah, no sob story, just a Platinum Ticket. Well deserved.
  4. Oh hey, we're back. I completely forgot that it was coming back today, so I've already had my drink for the night; 19 Crimes Cab Sauv. The auditions are in the judges' hometowns: Santa Barbara, CA; Leesburg, GA; and Tuskegee, AL. A bit odd having two so close to each other, but okay. First up is footage from the Santa Barbara auditions. Mackenzie Sol, 23, is from Las Vegas, but was originally from Newcastle, England. He's a TikTok content creator, more comedy but he wants to let people know he's a singer too. He's singing "Bring it on Home to Me" by Sam Cook. He's good--not outstanding, but I wouldn't disagree with the judges if they sent him to Hollywood. The judges are a bit more hyperbolic, though, saying he "could be top ten." They surprise him with his mum coming, and he starts crying. Tuskegee now. First person there is Triston Harper from McIntosh, AL, age 15. Luke says he's been out-countried by a 15-year-old. Oh, he's Choctaw! I put him on light-skinned black. By age 11, he and his mom had to leave McIntosh and became homeless because his stepfather was abusive. Yeah, he's got the story to be a country artist alright. And the voice. He's doing "Cover Me Up" by Jason Isbell. He goes through. Montage, and then we're in Los Angeles. Kennedy Reid is 23 but she looks much older--too much make-up, IMO, though the fact that her "bestie" is clearly old enough to be her grandmother doesn't help. She's a mortician from New Albany, IN. Ah, she was going to be a cosmotologist. She's singing "River Deep, Mountain High". I'm not a fan. The judges are. She goes through. They're out on the Flint River, Luke taking the other two judges fishing. Katy doesn't see the appeal. Luke mentions that he's not the only connection Leesburg has to American Idol, as it's also the hometown of Season 11 winner Phillip Phillips. Meggie Iyer, 18, is from Carmel, IN, and she's singing "I Can't Make You Love Me" by Bonnie Raitt. She seems a bit nervous but she has a good voice and good energy. Yeah, she's got an amazing voice. Then a table falls apart or something? Luke's iced tea spilled all over the floor, and possibly on Meggie's golden ticket. Another commercial; that's how it usually is. They stretched out the audition episodes beyond what they had on FOX despite almost completely doing away with showing people who get rejected. We get our first no, but it goes by quickly. Next up is Ajii ??? (It sounded like he said "Ajia Fish", but they went the mononymic route on-screen) from Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY, the nighttime front desk/security man for a nursing home. He's singing "Lose Control" by Teddy Swims. He's got power. The judges love him, and with good reason. He goes through. Blake Proehl, 24, is the son of a 17-year NFL veteran, and he himself played wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings for three years two years he was on the practice squad but never got into a single game, but he suffered a career-ending injury that left him unable to walk for a long time. It was while he was rehabbing from this injury that he turned to music. He's singing "In Case You Didn't Know" by Brett Young. His voice is beautiful, and he goes to Hollywood. Katy talks about her childhood singing on the streets and getting paid in dollar bills and avocados. Luke laughs at this, but Katy points out that California avocados are expensive. Micaela McCall, 28, is a singing teacher and busker from Santa Barbara, singing "Signed, Sealed, Delivered". It's a different rendition than I'm used to. The judges love her, and she goes to Hollywood. Odell Bunton, Jr. is from Austin, TX originally but now considers Dallas home, and he's a security guard at the Dallas International Airport. He's 28 and he's a father of five, ages 11, 5, 4, 3, and 2. He says he knew he wanted to be a musician since he was six. He works the overnight shift at the airport. He and his family live in a hotel. He's singing "Bring it On Home to Me". He deserves a trip to Hollywood. And he does! He initially got a golden ticket, but they later upgraded him to Platinum. Jack Blocker, 25, is from Dallas, TX, and he's singing an original called "I Was Wrong". Luke compares him to Paul Simon and gives him a yes, but Katy says he's not right for Idol and gives him a no. Lionel wastes a bunch of time, gets called out by Luke, and...eventually gives him a no. I'm surprised. Luke is disappointed in the other two. He calls for the crew to vote and they agree with Luke, and they bring Jack back in. He's going to Hollywood; Lionel's been won over. In the teaser for what's coming next, likely soon since it's 9:46, an adopted contestant will meet their birth mother for the first time. Or not. McKenna Breinholt's birth mother was a musician, but she's dead. Amy Ross-Lopez. Oh, but she's come in contact with the rest of her birth family, all singers as well. They've met on FaceTime but never in person, and that'll change--she thought it would be in three weeks, but her adopted family is surprising her by bringing them in now. McKenna's singing "There Was Jesus" by Zach Williams and Dolly Parton. Katy looks up McKenna's birth mom. Her group name was "Nowhere Man and a Whiskey Girl". Oh, there's a documentary! ...Oh. The day after Amy Ross-Lopez succumbed to lupus, her husband, Derrick Ross, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. McKenna's father committed suicide in grief from losing his wife. ...Well, on a happier note, McKenna's going to Hollywood.
  5. Finale time! Pitbull and Lil' Jon are out there, didn't catch the name of their song because I seem to be missing my glasses. Pitbull then continues on to "Give Me Everything", backed by the Top 12. Oh, wait, my glasses were literally in their case. And now the judges' entrance. Keith Urban was the mentor for tonight. Megan's up first and singing "God Whispered Your Name". It's...a performance. 76. I had to quickly run to the bathroom, not expecting to still get more performance, so I missed what song Iam's singing but I still made it for the whole performance. It's a typical strong Iam performance, 93. I also learn during the judges' reviews that the theme for this round is Keith's songs. I pull out an Angry Orchard Crisp Apple before the next segment starts. Colin's singing "Stupid Boy". It's solid. 84. Megan's hometown visit is shown, and then her second song is Journey's "Faithfully", because of course it is. Another just okay performance. 78. Next up is Iam's trip back to Kahuku, HI. He's performing "Cool Down" by...I missed the name. It is, of course, quintessentially Iam. 88. Colin Stough is back in Amory, MS. Man, imagine if Zachariah and Colin had managed to both get through last week. He says that one of the songs he's most excited to perform is Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man", and he gets surprised by the band's Rickey Medlocke. Damn, I regret voting before performances. 97. The first guest performance is TLC performing "No Scrubs", and tonight, the L stands for "Lucy Love". They then transition into "Creep", and then "Waterfalls". Next is Zachariah Smith and REO Speedwagon's Kevin Cronin performing "Take It On The Run". And now it's time for the elimination. The first person to make the Top 2 is Iam Tongi. The second is Megan Danielle! I'm shocked. I figured Colin was a lock for the Top 2 because country guy. Jelly Roll is performing now, joined by Lanie Wilson. Then he goes into another song where he's joined by Oliver Steele. We get the Top 12 making fun of Megan (Colin got his turn earlier), and then Kylie Minogue performs her new song "Padam Padam" before being joined by Nutsa for "Can't Get You out of My Head". ...They have similar fashion senses. Lionel Time. He's at the Piano singing the Commodores' "Sail On". Keith time now, singing "Wild Hearts". Iam then comes out to perform "Monsters" with James Blunt, the song he dedicated to his father at his audition. Elle Goulding with her song "Miracle" with Calvin Harris, then she's joined by Tyson Venegas for "Burn". Then it's Lauren Daigle's turn with "These Are the Days", and of course she's then joined by Megan Danielle for "Thank God I Do". Luke's turn, singing "But I Got A Beer In My Hand". He's then joined by Colin Stough for Conway Twitty's "Slow Hand". Iam's turn to be roasted. Wé Ani is next up, joined by Jazmin Sullivan for her song "Bust Ya Windows". Lanie Wilson's back, joined by Marybeth Byrd. And Warren Peay. And then it's Haven Madison with her original "Still Need You", along with Katy Perry and her new song "By The Grace of God". Season 2 Top 2 Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken are here to sing "The Impossible Dream". And now, despite 20 minutes remaining in the show, it's time to crown a champion. Both of the top 2 will be receiving a trip for four on the Disney Cruise Lines. Oh, wait, it's not time yet; we still have another commercial break and then the third performances! The Top 3 got to record their winner singles, and the top 2 will get to sing theirs on stage. Megan's up first and hers is called "Dream Girl". Okay, I know they have frequent costume changes on this show but why did we need one just for the previous segment of them getting their prize? 98. Iam's up next and his is called "I'll Be Seeing You". 86. Unsurprisingly, Iam Tongi is the winner. He may have felt like the producers' choice at times, but it's clear that he struck a chord with America, too. He sings us out with "Don't Let Go" by Soundbreezie, accompanied by the rest of the Top 12.
  6. Sam Adams Cold Snap was a given since I'm checking in on the Sox game on commercials. In addition to being Mother's Day, it's Disney Night, so we start with an incredibly stupid judge skit in which Luke and Mickey are fishing together and hook a magic lamp, out of which comes Ryan Seacrest in pajamas, eating a churro, and revealing he can't actually grant any wishes, so the judges wish for him to wear those pajamas on the show. We then open with Sara Bareilles singing "When You Wish Upon A Star", eventually being revealed to have the Top 5 as her backup. This year's Katy cosplay is Elastigirl, who as Katy notes is also a mother. Tonight's celebrity mentor is Sofia Carson. Wé Ani leads off the competition portion with "Into The Unknown" from Frozen 2, joking with Sophia that it's not like Idina Menzel is big shoes to fill. Of course, for Wé, it isn't. Didn't I give her a 115 earlier this season? Because this might be her best yet. 120. Ryan says that after the break, Zachariah Smith takes us to the Pridelands with, I believe he said "the first song choice from the Lion King", which is patently untrue unless it means that more than one contestant is singing a song from The Lion King tonight. It wouldn't be the first time. He's singing "I Just Can't Wait To Be King", so maybe what Ryan meant was a song from The Lion King that has never been sung on the show before? It's a bit kitschy but it's well sung. 84. I love the shirt though. Katy gives the "if Zachariah is your favorite you have to vote for him", which...haven't they had enough white country males? Unless this is a repeat of Season 11's Top 7 when they tried to push the issue on Colton vs. Phillip and ended up allegedly needing to save Jessica because Hollie legitimately outperformed her, and they're pushing Zachariah because they'd rather have him than Colin. Which, granted, Colin's the one that more directly fits the Scotty/Trent/Laine/Chayce/Noah mold. After the break, we've got Megan singing a song from Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, followed by Colin with...I forget. Tomorrow will be a retrospective on the season and also a chance to catch up with "some of your favorite past finalists". From the whole first 20 seasons, or just from Seasons 16-20? Anyway, Colin's actually up before Megan, singing "Real Gone" from Cars. Hopefully that song title's prophetic. 37. Luke disagrees, saying that it's amazing how this was what he needed to finally get comfortable, and Lionel agrees and gives the "if you love this man you have to vote", so now I'm lost. They do remember that vote splitting doesn't work when they keep the voting open after the third-place finisher is eliminated, right? Megan's time with her mom is especially poignant as her father walked out on the family. Megan's singing "You Can't Stop the Girl". ...I have to say, this is both entirely in character and entirely out of character for Megan. It's in-character because the actual message of the song fits right in with her usual gospel, but out-of-character because she is dressing the part for a song from a movie that focuses on a villain, dressed in all black with lightning bolt earrings. 89. We come back from commercial with Ryan talking to an ABC reality show contestant. Iam is singing "Lava" from the short film of the same name, because of course he's going to represent Hawai'i--the irony being that if I'm not mistaken this is the first time in the ABC era that we've gone through an entire Disney Night without a song from Moana. 100. Katy starts quoting her character, "your identity is your most important possession." Oh, right, hometown visits are coming up! ...Oh, wait, it really is a full Disney Night; the second set is also Disney songs. After the break, Wé will be singing a song from Hannah Montana. About time that Disney Channel Originals get representation! It's not just past contestants coming back; former judge Keith Urban is going to be performing next week! We see Wé's time with her mother at Disney, which is very noticeably New Yawk. Oh, Wé's singing "The Climb"! I forgot that that was from the Hannah Montana Movie and not one of Miley's post-Hannah hits. 98. How the hell did she manage to wrest this song away from Megan anyway? Luke also comments on Wé's mother's accent. And yes, I specifically went back and started trying to get the accent over the e again because of the second sentence in this paragraph; glad I was able. Before Zachariah's second performance, Halle Bailey, who plays Ariel in the new live-action The Little Mermaid, performs "Part of Your World". They do a good job making a mermaid out of her as I honestly can't tell where her dress ends and the floor starts; I'm actually convinced that she's standing inside a platform with the dress going over it. In addition to being a father himself, Zachariah has a severely autistic younger brother. Zachariah's singing "Life Is A Highway", also from Cars, except not really because Cars came out in 2006 and Tom Cochrane hit #1 in his native Canada with this song in 1991. 90. Do I vote for him? Last week I wanted him gone above any other, but there's no way both country males leave tonight and overall I'd rather have Zachariah than Colin. Idol Across America advertisement. I think I won't, because in theory, there still being two country males here means Megan's probably in trouble. Colin's singing "Nobody Knows" from Pete's Dragon. He's doing a stripped-down arrangement, "like ramen noodles without the seasoning packet", but I'm not sure that's what he needs right now. 58. Megan Danielle's second song is "Carried Me With You" from Onward. Back in her normal lane. 91. Iam closes us out with a song from...Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2? Well, okay, sure. "Father and Son" by Cat Stevens. ...Oh. 83. After an amazingly long commercial break, even given that they need to close the votes, they come back and immediately shit the bed by announcing that Colin Stough is in the Top 3. They follow that up with Megan Danielle, and finally, Iam Tongi.
  7. I had margaritas at dinner so no further drinking during the show. As noted last week, Luke's the only regular judge in the studio, joined by Alanis Morissette and Ed Sheeran, and the Top 8 will each be singing one of Alanis's songs...wait, top 8? Weren't we still at ten? ...Oh, no we weren't. The wild cards getting booted right back out was the first of last week's two shows. Warren's up first and he'll be singing "All I Really Want". As expected, it's a bit of a mismatch. 58. Zachariah Smith is up second and he's singing "Ironic", and in his meeting with her, it actually started raining when he hit the chorus. And he performs it well. 69. Oh, we get duets too. Oliver Steele and Iam Tongi are doing Ed Sheeran's "Photograph". 86. Beautiful harmonization. They're apparently very close friends now. And now it's Haven's turn for her solo, singing "You Learn". Of course, it's a natural fit, earning a 91. Warren and We are the second duet, covering Ed Sheeran's "Perfect". It's pretty damn close to that. 96. This is followed by Colin Stough's country rendition of "Hand In My Pocket", and...that's actually an Alanis song that works as a country song. Go figure. 84. Alanis herself will be singing after the break. Alanis is singing "Thank U". And we don't get any contestant performances before another break. Haven and Zachariah have the third duet, covering "Thinking Out Loud". It's another fine performance for Haven, while Zachariah cements himself as the contestant most in need of being sent home. 74. Megan Danielle's up fifth for solos, doing "Head Over Feet". It's...not there. 44. Ed's turn to sing, with an acoustic version of "Eyes Closed". Another commercial. Iam is up sixth, singing "Guardian". I'm not familiar with that one. It's good. 78. We Ani is up seventh, singing "Uninvited". Alanis wants We to be a little less perfect on this song, but that's not within her capabilities; 104. Colin Stough and Megan Danielle are our last duet, doing "Dive". 100. I think I have to vote for Colin. Had to go back to look for his number since even after liking his solo, I couldn't see myself voting for him because he's the epitome of the white country male that keeps winning this thing especially in the ABC era. Is it unfair to Colin that Laine, Chayce, and Noah are getting in the way of me voting for him? Of course it's unfair. Katy had never heard of "Guardian" either. Oliver Steele is closing out the show...I forgot he was the one saved! And he's singing "You Oughta Know". This could be big. And it is. 102. The first member of the Top 5 is Zachariah Smith. Already this is a travesty, and the bar was pretty low. Megan Danielle is the second, and up third is Iam Tongi. We're not doing well. But it takes a turn for the better with the addition of We Ani. And finally, we have Colin Stough. While he did deserve it for tonight, it's still disappointing.
  8. Okay, for real this time, no alcohol tonight. Managed to get the nosebleeds under control for long enough to take an at-home COVID test and it did come out negative, though only a couple hours later I was wondering if it was a false negative because I was feeling like I did when I had COVID...except perhaps not quite as severely. Then Mom reminded me that I didn't actually get a flu shot this year, and, yeah, "like COVID but not as bad" could very well be influenza. Zachariah Smith leads off the performances for the night, and his song choices were Crocodile Rock, Wanted Dead or Alive, and Ain't Too Proud to Beg. The Bon Jovi song easily gets the nod. You know, I never did finish my drink last night...nah. I think alcohol would just take me even further out of the vibe. 46. Zachariah guesses that it was Luke's pick, but nope, it was Lionel's. Katy says "I haven't heard this crowd scream that loud for anyone else except Iam". Yes, we get it, Iam is the producers' choice this year. Haven's up next, after the break. I didn't look back to see her other choices but Haven's singing "The Only Exception" by Paramore. Just like last night, it's right up her alley. 85. At what point do I have to start voting on body of work instead of night to night? Haven correctly guesses that Katy chose that song. We's up third, but not before Chayce...who, in turn, is not before a commercial break. We's song choices are "Don't Watch Me Cry" by Jorja...something, "I Have Nothing" by Whitney Houston, and "I Try" by Macy Gray. She goes with the Whitney song; can't help but wonder what the good folks at WNTS would have to say about that. But of course, it's a powerful song, perfect for her to show off on. 90. And it's a three-way tie on the judges' challenge as Luke picked that one. Oliver gets "Heartbreak Warfare" and "Bigger Than My Body", both by John Mayer, and "High and Dry" by Radiohead. He's done his research and remembers Noah getting those same two John Mayer songs last year, so he's fairly certain that his pick of "High and Dry" will give Katy the lead. ...Whoa. 97. The judges are impressed by him correctly picking who picked which song, obviously forgetting that both Lionel and Luke picked those songs for a contestant last year. I accidentally send a 4 instead of a 5, but that's a dead number anyway so I'm unpunished. Warren Peay is up fifth tonight, and both Lionel and Katy will be performing at the king's coronation, so next week Luke will be joined at the judges' table by Alanis Morrissette (who will also be the mentor, and the theme) and Ed Sheeran. Warren's choices are Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Colder Weather by Zac Brown Band, and Blue Side of the Mountain by the Steeldrivers. He picks "Colder Weather". It's good as expected; 91. Warren thinks it was Luke's pick, but Luke says that he will not be tying up Katy right now, then realizes what Ryan just led him into saying. It's actually Lionel's pick. Iam's up sixth, and his choices are What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong, Consider Me by Allen Stone, and More Than Words by Extreme. He's initially leaning towards More Than Words and afraid to do What A Wonderful World because of how legendary Israel's version was, being from Hawaii, but he ultimately does go with What A Wonderful World. And it's another strong performance; 88. Iam initially guesses that Lionel picked the song, but nope, it was Luke's (as I expected), which means we're again in a three-way tie. Marybeth Byrd's choices are "Wasted On You" by Morgan Wallen, "Here I Go Again" by Dolly Parton, and "Don't it Make My Brown Eyes Blue" by Crystal Gayle. She says she doesn't know any of them, but ends up choosing the Morgan Wallen song, so combined with her being the last one declared safe last night (they say it's not in any particular order but they want it to be suspenseful so the last one to be called safe is probably not a sure thing), she should be packing her bags; the South won't forgive her for not knowing Dolly and the North won't forgive her for covering a MAGA icon like Wallen. It's not bad at all, a 78, but yeah, she's gone. Marybeth guesses that Luke chose it, but nope, it was Lionel. Katy's comments also seem to suggest that Marybeth's not long for the competition. Tyson Venegas's choices are "When I Was Your Man" by Bruno Mars, "Someone Like You" by Adele, and "Someone You Loved" by Lewis Capaldi; he picks the last one, and I'm again unpunished for accidentally sending a 1 through instead of a 2 because Tyson's getting my vote; 96. He's not sure who picked that song, but guesses Katy and is correct. Megan Danielle is up ninth. Without knowing it, one of the judges chose a song that Megan sang at her grandfather's funeral, "Go Rest High on that Mountain" by Vince Gill. She's worried about getting choked up on stage singing it, but doesn't shy away. She doesn't waver, either, giving her a 100. Then when it's over, the tears come. She eventually picks Lionel, as he reminds her of her Papaw, but nope, it's Luke, once again tying the competition at 3 apiece and bringing it all down to whose song Colin picks. His choices are "Til You Can't", "Starting Over", and "It's Been Awhile". He picks the last of them. Huh. Remembering how quickly the voting closed last night, I locked it in before the final commercial break, but Colin's surprised me tonight. ...Well, the song choice surprised me, anyway; this actually isn't a great performance. 54. He correctly identifies Katy as the winner of tonight's competition. Megan Danielle is the first one into the top seven. Up second is Haven Madison. Third is Warren Peay. Fourth is We Ani--we're doing good so far! Fifth is Colin Stough. Oof, we were doing so well. Iam makes it through, though, so we're pretty good. But, no, Zachariah was the last one through. But of course, Katy still has to save one of them. She'll obviously pick Tyson though, right? She wants to confer with the other judges though. She picked Oliver! Meaning that the one who lost America's vote-off for the fourth Platinum Ticket has now outlasted all four of the Platinum Ticket winners.
  9. No alcohol tonight; I'm woozy enough as it is. I just can't seem to stay healthy in 2023. I flip over to the channel with not even two minutes left and get confused by the Time 100 being there instead of AFHV, but sure enough Idol is still on. The numbers have been reset, and I naturally notice that the number 12, and therefore presumably tonight's pimp spot, went to Iam Tongi. Tonight's guest mentor is Adam Lambert, though, so we should be in for a good show. Tyson Venegas leads us off. Adam recommends he cover Stevie Wonder, and Tyson is a fan but doesn't know what song to sing. He settles on "For Once In My Life", and I'm actually feeling less woozy so maybe at the first commercial I'll go grab a drink after all. The performance feels...very 1970s. Which is to say, it's not bad, but it just doesn't land in 2023. 67. Warren Peay is up next, doing The Animals' "House of the Rising Sun", and we're reminded that the show's theme means we're probably not going to get much modern music. Luckily, HotRS is timeless. 94. Ryan mentions that a friend of Warren's back home on the phone has created a goat's milk soap to honor Warren called "Peay You". When we return, Haven will be covering Bon Jovi. Sam Adams' Cold Snap again. ...the problem is that today's main symptom is sore throat, so my choice of drink isn't as important as the fact that swallowing down liquid at all is painful. Haven's doing "Livin' On A Prayer". Adam's suggestion is to let go a little for the big notes. As usual, Adam's advice is spot on as Haven delivers her best performance in weeks. 75. ...Oh, right, we're getting results at the end of the show. ...No, wait, there was voting opening at the end of the show last time...wasn't there? No, there wasn't. Lucy Love is up fourth singing Lionel's "All Night Long". It's pretty good though she messed up some lyrics. 72. Oliver Steele is up fifth singing Ray Charles' "Georgia On My Mind". He sings beautifully and his stage presence is through the roof. 84. Tomorrow is the Judges' Song Challenge, along with Chayce Beckham returning to perform. Up sixth is Colin Stough singing The Allman Brothers' "Midnight Rider". I guess I'll give it a 65. Marybeth Byrd is up seventh singing ABBA's "Dancing Queen". Well, she certainly looks like she stepped right out of the 1980s. That said, I found this performance insufferable. 32. Adam Lambert performance now, singing his new song "I Can't Stand the Rain". Then it's We's turn, singing Etta James' "Something's Got A Hold On Me", Adam's advice is on what to wear, and she takes his advice; she looks and sounds amazing. 100. If the next person is coming up before the commercial break, I'll miss it because a brownout forced my Xfinity to reboot. It seems there was a commercial break because I thought Nutsa was up ninth. She's singing Queen's "The Show Must Go On". She's departing from her usual style, wearing a loose, flowy red dress, As usual, she's amazing. 99. Megan Danielle is up tenth. I didn't catch what she was singing but it's a 98. Zachariah Smith is singing ELO's "Don't Bring Me Down". It's pretty good. 85. Iam closes it out with Sam Cooke's "Bring It On Home To Me". 90. Warren is the first person through to the Top 10, followed by We. Iam's up third--three for three on people I voted for! Fourth is Megan Danielle--could we get all seven that I voted for in the first seven? Well, we're at five with Zachariah! Haven's up sixth, and Colin seventh, ending the streak, but Oliver's the eighth one through. Tyson is ninth...should we be surprised that the two wild cards are still waiting? And sure enough, Marybeth is the last one through. Why did we even have the wild cards?
  10. Demo went well today, so of course I'm going with my favorite of the three, the Simply Mixology Peach Sour, paired with bourbon of course. We Ani closed last night's show, but tonight she's leading it off and she's safe. She's singing "This Is Me" from The Greatest Showman. Her always interesting fashion sense has scored a miss in my book, with what appears to be Big Bird's feathers on her coat sleeves. The song, on the other hand, is another 94-rated masterpiece. Up second is Michael Williams, and he is not safe. He's singing "golden hour" by JVKE. It is perfectly inoffensive, and actually builds to being decent. 71, and that's about ten points higher than it was going to get a good two-thirds of the way through. The judges are behaving better than Season 8's ever could when forced to squeeze a lot of performances into a shorter show. Hannah Nicolaisen is up third and she, too, is not safe. She's singing Lorde's "Royals", and it's a good fit with her voice. 74. Up fourth is Warren Peay, and he's safe. He's singing "It's Not My Time" by 3 Doors Down. 82. My computer freaked out so I might post early and edit. Mariah Faith is up fifth and she's not in the Top 12. So far we're pretty good. She's singing "If It Hadn't Been For Love" by the Steeldrivers, and she's pretty good; better than ever before! Luke says song choice might've got her last night and she did better tonight. 89. Haven Madison is up sixth, performing her original song "15". She's safe. Well there was never any chance that America would go 20 for 20 on matching my ratings. Making it to the sixth singer before someone I wanted out made it or vice versa was pretty good compared to what I'm used to. And I don't think she's going to move out of my doghouse, because that was a 30. Nailyah Serenity is up seventh and she's not safe. I didn't catch what she was singing, but it gets an 88. The Top 12 will get an exclusive trip to Stagecoach. Paige Ann is up eighth, and she's not safe. She sings "I Am Here" by P!nk. Another winner; I think I set the baseline too high. 81. Matt Wilson is the ninth to get his results, and he's in the danger zone too. Huh, that's now six in the danger zone to only three safe ones. He puts up another good-but-not-overwhelming performance, 75. He's good, but he's just outclassed at this stage of the competition. But now I'm sure it's time for someone to be called safe...oh, no, wait, it's time for a commercial! Tyson Venegas is safe and he's singing "Don't Let The Sun Go Down on Me" by Elton John. It's good. 84. Colin Stough is also safe. He's singing "Dancing On My Own" by Robyn. 77. Marybeth Byrd is up twelfth and she is safe. She's singing "Cover Me Up" by Jason Isbell. It's only a 66, but she's safe so that's irrelevant. Kaeyra is up thirteenth singing "If I Were Your Woman", and she's not safe. It's a complete rearrangement, and normally I require someone to land on 100 exactly and then get topped to break the rating scale but this is just a flat 110--except, I didn't even notice, but a fly landed on her during her performance and she was so locked in that she didn't even flinch, so 113. Katy goes straight to the "America, vote for her!" before remembering that there's no guarantee she'll even get another performance. She's going to get a wild card, right? Oliver Steele is up 14th, and he's safe. He's singing Shania Twain's "You're Still the One". I like his reinterpretation. 95. See, there really are almost no bad choices (and yet somehow they put Haven through). Olivia Soli is up fifteenth and Ryan accidentally makes her think she's safe when she isn't. She's singing Ariana Grande's "God is a woman", and it takes a little to get going but it's still a 92. Also, her style is on point; that dress is beautiful! Iam Tongi is up sixteenth and he's singing Lionel Richie's "Stuck On You", and also, he's safe. And should stay safe for a bit longer since this is a 98. Zachariah Smith is the last male contestant to receive his results, and he is safe. This is...problematic, because we've still got two very strong contestants among the remaining three. 60. Lucy Love is the unlucky one who gets the nonsuspenseful third-to-last spot and unsurprisingly she's not safe. She's singing Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive", and I have no idea how to rate it. Neither does Lionel, apparently. I feel like she missed the notes. 70 though from sheer power. Megan Danielle and Nutsa are the last two to receive their verdict, and I'm not at all surprised that Megan's the one who made it through. Unfortunately, she's singing another Lauren Daigle song, "Thank God I Do". Fortunately, she's so amazing that I can ignore the religious aspect. 97. And now it's Nutsa's turn, singing "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from Dreamgirls. Another awesome performance, 96. The first person to be added to the top 12, as announced by Lionel Richie, is...Lucy Love. Not who I would've picked even if I did vote for her last night. But the other one is Nutsa! A good pick.
  11. In the closest this topic has ever been to actually being sponsored, my mother bought the new Simply Mixology Strawberry Guava Mojito a mere day before I'm scheduled to be promoting it (yes, even though the shoutouts I give in this topic are unpaid, I actually do promote food and beverages for a living)--it's a mixer, not an alcoholic drink; Malibu Rum is the alcohol. The first person to earn a spot in the Top 20 is Zachariah Smith--and he's got his own sad story now. While he himself was safely in Hollywood when it struck, his hometown of Amory, MS was recently devastated by a tornado. He's singing "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner. ...I'll probably have to make more snap decisions on whether to vote for someone since the numbers are still all shuffled up by performance order last week. I...don't think Zachariah will be getting my votes. He's a perfectly decent 74, but I'm a generous enough grader that a 4-star performance usually isn't enough. But I'll keep the number 6 in mind in case there are a few 1-star stinkers that force me to start voting for anyone above par. Second into the Top 20 is Matt Wilson. They show the kids at the daycare where he works, because in the absence of tragedy, heartwarming will do. He's singing "Say You Won't Let Go" by James Arthur, and it's...better than Zachariah. 78. His number is 3. Nailyah Serenity is the third to be safe, and this is definitely a good thing. She's an astrologer. Yes, it's a pseudoscience, but this is a singing competition; there's no shortage of quirky people in the music industry, Katy Perry among them. She's singing "Baby Love" by Mother's Finest. Never heard of them, but we've got our first 5-star rating of the night: 84. The judges highlight her star quality--everyone here can sing. Her number is 10, and I have to take note of that, too, because voting doesn't open until the end of the show! Warren Peay is the fourth to be safe. He was an alcoholic, but he started singing in the church. He's singing "Up There Down Here" by Zach Williams. It's a quintessential country performance. 88. His number is 9. I'm sure they'll show all the numbers again at the end of the show, but they might not show them for long and I have ADHD so I'm going to continue writing down the numbers for everyone I want to vote for, or might want to vote for. Ryan comes out with a fake beard. Kaeyra is the fifth to be safe--Polish-American; born in the latter to two immigrant parents. She's singing Lewis Capaldi's "Bruises", sitting at the piano. And wow, those pipes! Her number is 4, and her performance number is 97. There were a few moments that were a bit off, but it was so impressive regardless. Only one contestant before another commercial this time. ...Yeah, sounds about right; we've had five performances and we'll probably be about 45 minutes into the 180-minute show by the time we get back from commercial. Mariah Faith is up sixth. She lives in a house in her parents' backyard, with her grandparents just two minutes away. I missed the song title. It's a good country performance, 66. I'll keep the number 7 up there just in case but I doubt I'll be voting for her. We've got a guest performer, and he's got both a new single and a very old one: with "I Second That Emotion", it's Smokey Robinson! He follows it up with "If We Don't Have Each Other", the new song. Then we continue on to the next contestant, Iam Tongi. I think it's good for me that this is a three-hour show, because there's no time for me to go down a rabbit hole afterwards before I just go to bed. Iam's singing "The Winner Takes It All" by ABBA. It's good, raw. 82. His number is 13, right? I wasn't actually looking but I thought I remembered him ending the show last week. ...He was also the 24th person into the Top 26--they told him he was in, then told the other two "yeah you're in too". So he's basically been the finale twice already--if not three times, since I think he was also the final contestant of an audition show. Yeah, he's number 13. Well, if he is getting extra-favorable treatment, they at least picked a good one. Ryan fails at math, saying we've only had 6 finalists named though he correctly says we've got three more from this group to reveal. ...I'll need to actually vote after the show. It's fine, it's fine... I'm so tired... Oh, the Top 12 is 10 of our picks and 2 of the judges'. I was guessing 12 of ours and then the judges would choose 3-4 more. Haven Madison is up eighth, singing "Mean Girls" by Leanne Crawford. 55, and the first contestant that I unambiguously don't want to vote for. Her range is impressive but it's just falling flat for me. Though for all I know that's just the alcohol which might make it really tough for anyone after this. Oliver Steele is up ninth. Yeah, unsurprising. He's singing an original called "Too Soon". I give it a 68--again, it's not bad, but it's not impressing me. ...Uh-oh. I just looked at my notes for last week's show. Emma's definitely gone, and hopefully Elise is too...but Pjae and Lucy Love are the other two in danger! A major loss either way. I actually somehow forgot to give Emma a rating at all, but my comments suggest I wasn't a fan. Zachariah was actually the other one that was definitely in my bottom three, with Oliver the one who would be bottom three if Emma isn't. ...Actually I just remembered, I normally like Elise, I just didn't think she did well last week. Ugh. ..And Lucy Love is the one who makes it through! She's singing an original song called "Boulders". Reminder that she comes from poverty. Her songwriting needs work, but her voice is beautiful as ever; her number is 12 for voting and 76 for performance, but it's being held down by the poor lyricsmithing; she gets my vote ahead of Matt and probably even Iam. Hannah Nicolaisen is the first member of group two to make it in. She's singing Queen's "Somebody to Love". ...Interesting dress. Nice performance. 83. She's getting my vote. Her number's 20. Next in is Olivia Soli. I don't think I'm happy about that? Eh, I gave her a decent enough rating last week. Better than Hannah, actually, who I've liked for a while. She's singing "I Surrender" by Celine Dion. High degree of difficulty. She passes with flying colors. 100. Her number is 23. The judges also comment on how she's challenging herself and how she definitely doesn't need a confidence boost. Marybeth Byrd is the next to be safe, right after her outfit caught my eye on the couch. She's singing an original called "People Pleaser". Her number is 16, which I think is relevant because this being an original is very important. This is something I'd listen to. 92. Understated, but beautiful. Michael Williams is up next, and his parents documented his music from when he was little, and he's been keeping it going the whole way. He's very photogenic, too, so he could be a contender. He's singing "Lose You to Love Me" by Selena Gomez, and it is indeed our first weak performance of the night. Guess last week was a fluke. 34. Noah Thompson and Huntergirl are releasing a single together, "One Day Tonight", and they perform it now. It is very country and very good. Paige Ann is the next safe one...That was a misstep, right? ...She was in my bottom three, but she wasn't bad, and besides one of my other bottom three was one I've liked for a while. She's singing "Say Something" by A Great Big World, but she's completely rearranged it. Her number's 15; her being here, despite being the result of one of the original Top 26 bowing out, is no mistake. 95. ...I just got light-headed. The judges admit that they were wrong to cut her, calling her their best vocalist in this age category. Nutsa is the next one to be safe. She's singing "Unbreak My Heart", and it's not the power performance she gave last week, but it's still damn good. ...Nevermind it is another power performance. 99. Her number is 24. Tyson Venegas is the next one safe. Home movies of a very young Tyson singing. He used to use the coffee table as a stage and his mother was always afraid he'd fall. He struggled to speak, using music to communicate. He's singing an original called "180". 103. We hear an "I love it" from Lionel mid-performance. This is a great job. His number is 25. Tyson is a winner in my book. Megan Danielle is safe. Her dad left their family--the segment is backed by Kelly Clarkson's "Piece By Piece". She's singing "Holy Water" by We The Kingdom. I considered both of those names a sign that I probably wouldn't like it, but nope, this is good. Less gospel and more Christian rock. ...Damnit I thought I was doing good avoiding the superlatives but I've got a new best of the night so it's a 105! Luke says it's the best performance he's heard from her this season and says that there's no one out there that sounds like her. Oh come on Luke we literally had a Cyrus on the show last week! Colin Stough is also safe. He's singing "Pretty Heart" by...nope, already forgot. It's good though it doesn't wow me. 58. I've been looking over both the Showstopper and Top 26 topics and I realize that I'd conflated Dawson Wayne's missionary work with Michael Williams' pretty-boy looks since I didn't like either, which I bring up because it's down to Dawson, We Ani, Malik Heard, and Elijah McCormick for the last spot, and if We makes it through, I am perfectly fine with the three people leaving although Malik was good. If We leaves, even if it's Malik who stays, it's a travesty. It is We. She tells a story about a little girl in the audience in Hawai'i who was signing everything the judges said to her mother, and when she saw that, she had to go up and talk to her, in ASL--her brother lost his hearing for a couple of years so she learned ASL to talk to him, and she stresses that music isn't just for those who can hear. She sings "Skyfall" by Adele and it's absolutely the perfect closer for the show, I give it 108. Her number is 17. Let's go.
  12. Cold Snap again, this time with pizza because dinner's late tonight. The sun has returned, or maybe this really is a different day since it's a different mentor? Noah Cyrus is the celebrity mentor tonight. The numbers for tonight's contestants are 14-26. Elijah McCormick leads it off, singing "Good Vibes" by Chris Janson, whoever that is. He says that he used to command the stage a lot better before the accident. It's very dull. 44. Paige Anne apparently was initially cut, but was invited back. She's singing Miley Cyrus's "Wrecking Ball". I don't think she quite has enough power in her voice for the song, but she still does decently enough. 62. Marybeth Byrd is up third and she's got her idol right in front of her. She's singing Lainey Wilson's "Heart Like a Truck". She'll fulfill the "blonde female country singer" requirement quite nicely; we haven't had a season in the ABC era without one yet. Or have we? Honestly Season 19's kind of a blur to me outside the top four. We must have, right? 76. Another Miley Cyrus song, this time from Wé Ani. Oh, it's Miley's Stevie Nicks cover/collab, "Edge of Midnight (Midnight Sky Remix)"! Promising start. And wow, that is quite the interesting fashion sense. And while I think I gave out a 90+ rating last night, this was our first true showstopper. 94! Lionel says that stage presence can't be taught and she has a star quality. Katy, as always, is in a completely different world--this time I think she became a JRPG heroine. I dunno, Katy's just like that. Michael Williams is also here for some reason; his face bothers me, it screams smugness which is odd because IIRC he's a missionary. He's singing "Tuesdays" by Jake Scott, dedicated to his parents who are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary on the Aulani trip. Well, as much as I dislike him, I can't really find much bad to say about his performance. It wasn't a stunner, but it was quite solid. I give it a 74. Dawson Wayne is from San Antonio, TX, so naturally he's covering a Billie Eilish song. Oh, wait, maybe this guy isn't who I was thinking about when I heard the name? This quy's not country. He's singing "COPYCAT", because apparently Billie found her Caps Lock key. Well, it's pretty good, though I think I'd have liked it a lot more two decades ago when I was an emo teen. 82. Hannah Nicolaisen is up seventh, newly engaged, and she's singing Pink's "Glitter in the Air". ...Wait, it's over already? I completely zoned out. 50 I guess since it's utterly forgettable. Megan Danielle is celebrating her birthday at Aulani. She's singing "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac. It's good. 72. Malik Heard is up ninth, singing Paramore's "Ain't It Fun". It's pretty good! 84. He's a bit too overdramatic though. Olivia Soli is up next, singing "Emotions" by Mariah Carey. I dunno I'm completely checked out apparently. 64. Then Noah sings. Colin Stough is up eleventh, doing the Steeldrivers' "Midnight Train to Memphis". 87! A good performance. Katy is giving out a recipe for chicken. Tyson Venegas is up twelfth, doing "There Will Be Rain" by Bruno Mars. They put the best performances in the back end of the show again! 97. Rounding out the night with Grace Potter's "Paris (Ooh La La)" is Nutsa. Last time she showed up, I said she was probably one of the weaker singers remaining. She, uh, found her groove. 100.
  13. Sam Adams Cold Snap again. I honestly don't know if there's a point in doing numerical values. WNTS is over, right? At the very least, I would absolutely love to see them handle Season 19's CSAB what with the real-life runner-up being, you know...dead. Allen Stone is the celebrity mentor again. Elise Kristine kicks us off with Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out For A Hero". It's...not good. 28 to start us off, because given my usual penchant for generous rankings, it's much easier to adjust upwards if there are some truly Sanjayan train wrecks than to shove everything into an increasingly narrow band when I inevitably want to put two contestants close to each other only for others to land between them. Oliver Steele is up second, singing "Better Together" by Jack Johnson. Katy says "way to pick a cool song", because we didn't have enough bad takes from the judges on Elise's performance; his performance itself was decent enough but the song was so milquetoast that I feel like it would've been impossible to even get to 4 stars...and it might've been tough to get it all the way down to 1 star, either, though I'm sure an Eddie Island would've found a way. 46. Matt Wilson is up third with Dan + Shay's "Speechless", saying it reminds him of his wedding day. A good sign; he should be able to really connect with the song. And he does. 78. Up fourth is Kaeyra, doing En Vogue's "Don't Let Go (Love)". Allen says it was his favorite song choice of all the contestants. It's now dark, because of course they can't be bothered to put the performances in chronological order even when it's impossible to hide it. She commands the stage though the vocals were a little lacking. 66. Luke says that America "always gets it right", which, no. Pjae's up fifth, doing Jill Scott's "Golden". I've never heard of Jill Scott but this song sounds like it could've been out of Genesis-era Sonic the Hedgehog so you've already won me over. Luckily, Pjae is every bit as good as the song is if not better. 91. Allen Stone's up next, covering his own Idol, Bob Marley, giving Pjae the realization that he technically just opened for Allen Stone. After Allen Stone's performance, which is of course amazing, Zachariah Smith sings "Lucille" by Little Richard, because his Mamaw's name is Lucille. It is...good, I think? I mean props for the shout-out to Granny, but that's way too old a style of music to be singing on this show! 44. Seventh is Mariah Faith, covering Chris Stapleton's "You Should Probably Leave". I love her outfit in her meeting with Allen Stone; her on-stage outfit, less so. But she nailed the most important part, which is singing well. 80. Emma Busse is up eighth, singing Sam Smith's "Lay Me Down". She says that the first time she sang this song, she was just a kid and it wasn't any good, so this is a personal growth song for her. Also, she's been to Aulani before. ...She's never going to have a subtle performance, is she? She's just standing in front of the microphone, which would normally be the sign of a lack of stage presence, but because she's Broadway, it instead comes off as the emotional solo number. Katy is hearing colors or something, she's talking about Emma singing the notes between the colors of the rainbow. Yeah, we're definitely at the "America Votes" stage, where the judges are incapable of seeing any flaws in any contestant's performance. Warren Peay is up ninth, singing...Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain"? Love the song, but that's not the contestant I would've expected to be singing it. Katy seems just as surprised by the song choice as I am. While he isn't able to go through with Allen Stone's choreography suggestion, he's incredible. 85. Katy unwittingly references the lyrics to the song about the new side to Warren, and he reveals that the hat's not just a good luck charm; it's got a picture of him and his girlfriend at the audition. Nailyah Serenity is singing "Loving You" by Minnie Riperton, taking the "singing the classics" crown away from Zachariah, except it's the type of classic that works. 97. Katy mispronounces Lionel's name and starts referencing her own songs' lyrics, and Nailyah reveals that her mother discovered her voice when she was singing while cleaning the cat's litter box. Okay, now I have even more respect for her; I can barely avoid holding my nose when cleaning the litter box. Haven Madison grew up on a tour bus with her musician father. She's torn between Olivia Rodrigo's "traitor" and Zedd and Maren Morris's "The Middle", so she's pretty much already guaranteed herself a bad rating from me before even taking the stage--more so when Allen pushes her towards the latter. I love her outfit, though, especially the earrings. And she's actually made this song almost tolerable! 75, which is enough to get my vote because that translates to about a 95 on a song that I don't hate with the passion of a thousand burning suns. Lucy Love is up twelfth, doing Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do with It?" Not exactly the best song to sing on Idol, historically speaking, but she does well. 87. Hawaii's own Iam Tongi is singing "Don't Let Go" by Spawnbreezie, which he calls the quintessential island song. He's living his dream being on stage at Aulani. 82.
  14. Going to be a light night since the bottle of Kamoti Green Tea Whiskey was practically empty, but I was actually considering not drinking tonight anyway so it's just as well. Recap of what we heard at the end of last night's show with Paige Ann's half of the sing-off. Megan Danielle is up now, and I don't think it's as good as Paige...or at least, not as right for this competition. But Paige is the one going home; Megan is in the Top 24. Marybeth Byrd has stage presence out the wazoo, but I suppose a radio host would at least know how to hype up a crowd. She did "Flat on the Floor" by Carrie Underwood. Luke makes it sound like she's going home, and we cut away to the waiting room, where Marybeth tells Ryan that she didn't make it...but it's a double fakeout, she's in! Oliver Steele is putting his own spin on Tears For Fears' "Everybody Wants To Rule the World". It's pretty good, which puts it miles ahead of the last couple of performances of this song on this show. He's into the Top 24. The judges tell him he needs to be his own hero now. Emma Busse is up next, and Ryan introduces her as a "theater performer", which isn't a promising sign, but she avoids theatrics. She sings Adele's "Chasing Pavements". It's amazing. She belongs in the Top 24. And she is there. Preston Duffee did Jason Aldean's "Crazy Town", continuing to be "young Luke Bryan". I thought it was good, but they said he's not ready yet. Well, they do have to cut down from 55 to 24. Elijah McCormick, the fourth Platinum Ticket winner, survived a brutal car accident. He sang "Believe For It" by CeCe Williams. I assume he made it through, but ADHD. Elise Kristine and Olivia Soli are both coming up. They're heading in together. Elise sang Nina Simone's "Feeling Good", and Katy was very impressed with some of the notes she hit. And wow, I see why! Olivia did "All By Myself", credited to Celine Dion. It started out seeming like she gave a good performance, but it fell apart...oh. She, too, hit some amazing notes. That's why they came into the judgment room together. But Olivia hasn't been one of my favorites, and she's outmatched here. ...But it's no sing-off; they're both in! Okay, fair enough, as long as Elise isn't going home. Dawson Wayne is up next, singing "Flying" by Cody Fry. He prefaces it by saying this is a story about his faith and to know you're all loved, I have n memory of seeing him before, I don't like his faces on stage and I don't like his singing. Oh, his preface is because he just got off of missionary work. Well, if he truly was unseen until now, that means he's there to be Top 24 fodder, and I'm all for foddering him off because as far as I can tell he had no business being in Hollywood in the first place. Cam Amen had to raise his younger siblings, and now his girlfriend is expecting their first child. He sang "The Impossible Dream" from Man of La Mancha. I think it's good. They feel like he's been in his own head too much...and he's not in the Top 24. Mikenley Brown and Caroline Kole are both being called in...but nope, now it's Kaya Cole, singing "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus. Caroline sang "Iris" by the Go Goo Dolls, and Mikenley sang "The Joke" by Brandi Carlile. All three are going home. This is the second time Kaya went home at this point. Mariah Faith is going through to the Top 24. ...Eh, again, we need fodder. Hannah Nicolaisen is singing Gavin DeGraw's "I Don't Want To Be". This was considered an "oversung song" in the early days of the competition, and now it's a surprising "classic" pick. Damn I feel old. She goes through, rightfully. Nailyah Serenity sings Luther Vandross's "Superstar". It's...meh. She goes through. Trey Lewis and his mullet are up for judgment, and he feels like he's going home based on some of the people who got sent home. Oh, right, he was the one who survived a school shooting! He's got the flag of Texas on the back of his shirt and oversized sunglasses. He sang "Waiting for the Thunder" by Blackberry Smoke. Luke says he's "very very close", but he's not in the Top 24; I wonder if he was the one who got booted by Pjae and Malik both making it. They encourage him to come back. Final spot: Iam Tongi, Matt Wilson, and Colin Stough are our final three contestants. I like Iam, but Matt is also very good--so is Colin but he's nothing we haven't seen year after year. Matt did Chris Brown's "Forever". It's good, but not what he needed in this crucial moment. Colin did Chris Stapleton's "Cold". I'm not feeling this, either, but I have to remember, it's about how he stacks up with the current season's contestants. And Iam took a risk and didn't go upbeat...but we're headed to commercial! Oh. He's doing "The Sound of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel. That's quite the song choice. I approve. Iam does indeed get the last spot. Wait, plot twist? All three are through! They'll be heading to Aulani again, and the judges ask Iam to sing them out; he obliges with the Israel Kamakawiwo'ole version of "Over the Rainbow".
  15. Showstopper time; we're cutting down to the Top 24 or however many we're voting on. Clips of the judges calling this "their best season yet", which I have my doubts about. Kaeyra is up first, and she sang "River" by Bishop Briggs and brought a bass on stage and rocked out hard. She's in the Top 24, and she's definitely one to watch out for. They continue showing her performance after showing the verdict. Up second is Warren Peay, out there without his guitar. He's doing The Allman Brothers Band's "Whipping Post". Luke asks him about his song choice, and he says that's one of his favorite songs of all time so he hopes he did it justice, based on the crowd's reaction he thinks he did. It's not bad. I don't think I'd be disappointed either way. But of course, he is through, because even with two nights, I suspect we'll see a lot more of the yeses than the noes. Wait, how many hours do we have here? Four, right? We're about a quarter hour in already, so yeah, we're only on pace for 32 performances. Also, we see in the previews that there will be a sing-off. Nutsa, the Georgian (the country, not the state), is up next, and she's been thinking hard about Katy's criticism. She sang "Proud Mary". Her outfit is...interesting. She's in the Top 24--and Katy says she's excited for the next outfit. I have a feeling she's not long for this competition, though, because there are too many xenophobes (and also she's probably one of the weaker contestants anyway). Adin Boyer is out there with an electronic keyboard, singing Coldplay's "Viva La Vida". I love it. It's not the most technically perfect, but as a neuroatypical myself, he's a role model. He's not in the Top 24, but Lionel tells him he can "start his songwriting tomorrow". Michael Williams is singing Miley Cyrus's "Angels Like You"...I honestly don't remember this guy at all. He says that the judges called him "Top 10 material" in his first audition, but they do that a lot. Maybe it's just the generic name, but this guy feels like a piece of fodder whose showstopper is only being shown because he's in the Top 24--which I don't feel is deserved. Katy fakes him out, but he is indeed in the Top 24. Pjae and Malik Heard are coming in together. I like Pjae a lot; have at every stage; I missed what song he was singing. Malik's doing Tevin Campbell's "Can We Talk"...I like this performance too! And I'm assuming only one will stay. Oh, are they going to be a singoff? Yep, there they are, but there's a twist: they'll be doing the same song! Katy gave them two options, and they have to agree on which on to sing, and they get an hour of rehearsal. Both of them are sad that the other is the one they have to sing against because they've made friends. They'll be singing "everything i wanted" by Billie Eilish, and we go to commercial. The judges are torn. Either one is fine by me. Malik has more control, but Pjae has more gravitas. And Pjae is going through. But so is Malik, and someone else that they were initially planning to keep is out! Also it's Pjae's birthday, he's 24 in the Top 24. Yep, we're exactly one hour in and have 6 of the Top 24. Wé Ani is up next, and acknowledges that it's hard to be taken seriously "sounding like a 12-year-old at 23". She sang Aretha Franklin's "Ain't No Way". She's through. Zacharias Smith is the next to receive his judgment. He sang Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now". They initially made it sound as if he wasn't going through, but I can't imagine him not being in the Top 24. Katy again does a fakeout; he's through. Kaylin Hedges was one of the Platinum Ticket winners at the age of 15. She sang Seal's "Kiss From A Rose". She's got the pipes, and I think she's got potential to win it all. But she's not even into the Top 24?! I'm surprised; last year all of the Platinum Ticket Winners were given entirely too many chances. Tyson Venegas was also a Platinum Ticket winner, and he got some serious nerves during his Showstopper performance...oh no, he completely forgot the lyrics and is just scatting! But he recovers and sings well, and the professionalism to just keep going full speed with no words could be a positive. I can read Katy so well, immediately predicted her follow-up to "we don't think you're destined for the Top 24"--namely, "we think it's more like the Top 10". Haven Madison is up next. Katy breaks the fourth wall, saying "wait till they put music behind it" as the editing puts dramatic music in. She sings Sia's "Bird Set Free". She's in the Top 24, and the puns don't stop; Luke tells her not to be idle on Idol, and Katy says "you're safe, Haven." Fire is up next. A montage of all she went through, from her needing a second chance to Kaya Stewart quitting on her in Duets. She's doing Duffy's "Mercy". It's...a bit shaky. And it is indeed the end of the line for her. Lucy Love is up next, singing "Flying Without Wings". Luke is reminded of last year's Lady K. And she's still in the competition. Paige Ann is performing from her hotel room out of an abundance of caution, singing The Mamas and The Papas' "California Dreamin'". But she's not entering the room alone; Megan Danielle is also heading in with her. She sang "Always Remember Us This Way" by Lady Gaga. I don't think it's that good. But it's sing-off time. They're tasked with singing an Adele song. They don't have similar tastes in Adele songs, but eventually they agree on "Easy On Me". We hear Paige's performance, and it's wonderful, but the show's over!
  16. Cold Snap again. The Platinum Ticket winners get first pick of partners. Elijah McCormick picks Lucy Love. Oh, right, Elijah was the one who had the bad car accident and was basically dead. They're also starting off the duets themselves, and they're the "Dunamis Duo", and they're singing the Temptations' "My Girl". They make a good team! Our next duo is Nutsa and Carina Deangelo, but Nutsa was ready for bed and Carina is still out there wanting to practice. Nutsa and Carina still aren't quite meshing. Nutsa wants to be all dressed up while Carina wants to be comfortable. Katy's trying to drum up the drama, pushing for it all to come out...I'm liking her less as a judge this year. They're doing "I Put A Spell On You" and it's a very strange rendition. I'm not sure if it worked. Carina is going home, and...Nutsa is still alive, though she seems to be on thin ice. Montage of how partners got together. Matt Wilson and Elise...damn, the names weren't on screen long enough. They're singing "You Are the Reason" and they're both amazing. They both move forward. Warren Peay and Hannah Nicolaisen are singing...I'm not sure what, but Ryan's narration says it's an intimate song despite them having just met. They're making it work, which is good because they're both contestants I liked previously. Zachariah Smith and Isaac are "The Body Roll Boys", because they've got the choreography. They're singing "I'm Still Standing". They both go through despite lyrical mess-ups. Tyson Venegas and Kaylin Hedges are teaming up on Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now", slowing it down. It's amazing. They both go through. "The Camo Cousins" are Preston Duffee and Jon Wayne Hatfield. They're doing "Buy Dirt" by Jordan Davis and Luke Bryan, and they recognize the risk of doing a judge's song. Jon Wayne goes home but Preston goes through. Up next are Iam and...I wasn't paying attention. Iam's guitar broke just before the performance, and he doesn't want to change it out because it's a memento from his late father. He's using a substitute but it's shook his confidence. And we're going to commercial before the performance. Once he starts singing, Iam's fine. Luke catches him reading a lyric sheet off his guitar though. Both go through. Adin Boyer has autism, and the resulting social anxiety makes it hard for him to find a duet partner. Oh, they have an odd number. Summer Joy and Jayna Elise adopt him into their group. They're also doing Elton John's "I'm Still Standing". They make it their own. They all go through. Montage of people struggling with naming their dups. PJae and Wé Ani and are The Cryptics singing "Hit 'Em Up Style" and they've brought it even further uptempo than it already was. I love it. So do the judges. Both go through. Cam Amen is our last Platinum Ticket winner, and he chose J Valerione, because he feels like he can relate with their struggles--Cam went through foster care, and J, well..."they". It's always tough for LGBTQIA+ people because society largely still doesn't accept them. But it seems J is withdrawing from the competition, so Cam may have to go on as a solo. J is back, and they convince Cam to accept them back as a duet partner. They're doing "Listen to the Music", but the lack of practice together is showing. ...The height difference is astonishing. Yes, J is wearing high-heeled, platform boots, but I'm sure even in flats they'd be a good deal taller than Cam. They both go through. Kaya Stewart and Fire are singing "What Do You Want From Me" by Adam Lambert, but Kaya is this year's annual "person who gets sick during duets/groups day". She's getting a fever and it's making her forget the words. But it seems she's going to tough it out...no, wait. She's announcing her withdrawal from the competition. She's just too ill. And Katy asks for a volunteer from the audience. Jayna Elise--ironically, one of the members of the lone trio--is the first to volunteer. I admire her as a person, she's clearly very caring. The performance is scuffed but that's to be expected. Fire is through.
  17. Sam Adams Cold Snap. The usual superlatives, both from the voiceover leading in and from Ryan. This year's first round is the "category challenge", where contestants choose where they want to see improvement--Confidence, Songwriting, and Stage Presence. But first, we're going to have a fourth Platinum Ticket winner, voted on by America from among three contestants during the AMAs. Elijah McCormick wins it. I think I like that? I have no time to check my notes, and frankly, there were so few people who truly stood out. Actually, it felt like there were also so few that didn't; it felt like every audition show only had like 10 contestants, which with five-and-a-half episodes means we theoretically should know almost all of the Top 48 and almost no one else. The alumni mentors are determined by which category you picked. Confidence is Clay and David, Songwriting is Catie and Phil, and Stage Presence is Jordin and Justin. Up first is Nutsa, singing "I Surrender". She's got power. Colin Stough picked confidence. He's singing "Stoned" by Whiskey Meyers. He still doesn't stand out. Also needing confidence is Sara Beth, 25, mother of three. Mom asks if she was the one that Katy made those controversial comments to, which frankly I don't even remember happening and only heard about later even though I've watched every episode. She's singing "Roxanne", and I don't think she's good enough...not that it matters because being away from her children, she realizes that this isn't what she wants. She misses them too much, so she's withdrawing from the competition. Again I have to hear about freaking Katy...I DON'T CARE! As much as the producers try to make this show about the judges, it shouldn't be about the judges. The judges are trying to keep her from withdrawing. I don't think that's worthwhile. All three contestants we saw go through to the next round. Katy's still trying to encourage Sara Beth not to give up. She wishes her kids were a bit older, and says she's probably going to regret it when she gets home. She's leaving. We get a quick montage of people who are choosing categories. Marybeth Byrd is choosing Stage Presence. Well, I don't think confidence needed help; she's outstanding. I think I liked her in auditions too but names don't stick with me. Zachariah Smith, the burger cook from Amory, MS, is up next. He has three stepchildren, the oldest of which is only 9 years his junior. He's singing "Cold as Ice". He's got stage presence! He's one to watch for. Hannah Nicolaisen is sitting down with Catie Turner. I like this performance; it may not be the most technically stunning but it's got soul, which is what a singer-songwriter needs. All three of them go through. Wé Ani is also singing an original song, and she's getting the audience involved on the chorus. She's working on Stage Presence. Now here is a memorable contestant--the dissonance between her singing and speaking voice Katy wonders if they're psyching out the Platinum Ticket winners. As Olivia Soli performs, Tyson Venegas was one of our Platinum Ticket winners, as was Cam Amen; Malik Heard is working on confidence. Kaeyra is working stage presence and singing "Black Hole Sun". Our last Platinum Ticket winner other than Elijah was Kaylin Hedges. I seem to remember liking Tyson and Kaylin; Cam was okay. Lyric Medeiros needed more grit. But she's gone too far towards "stage presence"; this is too Broadway. Olivia, Malik, and Kaeyra are all going through (and apparently so is Wé); Lyric is heading home. "Youngest hopefuls". Paige Anne, 16, and Maddie Grace, 17, are both working on their confidence. Paige was a big fan of David since she was a little girl. David thinks it's ironic that he's mentoring contestants on confidence since that's what he lacked during his own run. Mckayla Stacy, 16, is up next, and her connection to Idol goes back to before her birth; her father finished 6th in Season Six. She's being mentored by that season's winner, Jordin Sparks, who babysat for her. Haven Madison, 16, chose songwriting to work on; she was one of the ones who was up for the last Platinum Ticket. She's being mentored by Phil Phillips, who says that he wrote songs while he was on the show--I believe the first time an original was done on an official performance night was Season 12, one year after Phil's win. Haven is singing another original, "I Needed You", that she wrote about her brother who was dealing with depression (he's recovering). She has the audience in tears. She'd better go through. Maddie and Mckayla are going home, but Paige Anne and Haven are moving on. 21-year-old day care worker Matt Williams is up next. He's working on stage presence; I'm not sure that was necessary? I liked his audition and I like him now. He worked with Jordin. Oliver Steele is singing Chris Stapleton's "Broken Halos". Both go through along with some other people. Fire is up next. She's working with Clay on confidence. We don't see her performance before break. She's singing "You Say" by Lauren Daigle. Next up is Lucy Love, who is also a mother. She's working on stage presence with Jordin. She's singing "To Make You Feel My Love". It was incredible and Katy declares the show over. Both Lucy and Fire are through to the next round. "Pressure" by David Bowie and Queen is playing as we come back, and we get Brayden Phillips forgetting what he was working on (confidence). Mariah Faith was the one who got an opportunity to open for Noah Thompson and Huntergirl, and she's working on stage presence. She slays it. Also working on stage presence is Trey...something or other, I was busy dealing with my sudden inability to actually type anything on the forum; I'm literally typing this up in another program and copy-pasting to the topic. He's the one who survived a school shooting. We won't be seeing his performance until after the break, hence my inability to catch the last name in this paragraph. ...And it's working again. So just everything from the H in Brayden's last name up until the word "paragraph". Trey Louis is singing "Vienna" by Billy Joel. Interesting choice. Mariah and Trey are both going through. Emma Busse is working on confidence and she's changing up her singing style. I don't know what I think about this. Well, the audience loves it. So does Katy, and we don't even get a cut to a line before hearing she's going forward. Montage of people who aren't quite making the improvement. Ashley Tankard, Kamron Lawson. We're getting a bit more focus on Megan Danielle, who is working on confidence. She's the one that Lauren Daigle surprised at her audition. Luke says they might need to find another Platinum Ticket. Megan is advancing; Ashley and Kamron aren't. Others going home are Ophrah Kablon, Danny Epp, Owen Eckhart, and Keelin. Dawson Wayne, 21, from San Antonio, TX, is doing an original called "Sour Skies". Kaya Monet, who made it to Hollywood two years ago and dueted with Willie Spence, is working on confidence and is doing "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going". I'm sure she won't be going just yet; she was amazing. Up last is Iam Tongi, who says he's going to try to keep his eyes open while he sings. Ryan asks what he sees when he closes his eyes, and he says his dad--who died a couple months before his audition. He's going to be performing "I Can't Make You Love Me" by Bonnie Raitt. Mom is convinced that Lionel let out a laugh right as Iam started. Everyone seems to love him, though. All three are moving forward. End show; Duets are up next...and we're back to giving the contestants their choice!
  18. Montage of contestants from the previous episodes. Kaeyra, 21, from Algonquin, IL, is singing Chris Stapleton's "Cold". Luke says she doesn't sound like anyone else, which is categorically untrue because she sounds very much like Miley Cyrus. That's a good thing. They put her through. Lionel's tripping over his words trying to agree with Katy. Montage of "too much talent", so we already know the next few contestants will all get yeses. Elise Christine, 18, from Issaquah, WA is singing "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman"; Mom is disappointed that it's being attributed to Aretha instead of to Carole King. Sarah Macaroni, 24 from Carrollton, GA, is singing Demi Lovato's "Stone Cold"...kind of oversinging it. Jayna Elise, 22, from Washington, DC, is singing Queen's "Who Wants to Live Forever". Tough song, and she nails it. All three go through. Angry Orchard Crisp Apple. We learn that they have a guitarist on hand who has been in both Katy's backing band and Lionel's backing band. Nate Peck, 21, is a fan of eighties' music; he names his three favorite bands and I've never heard of any of them. He's got a mullet and he fronts a band called "Wanted". He's singing "Lightning Strikes Again" by one of those bands I'd never heard of. It's...not great. Luke wants to sing Whitesnake with him, and Nate's better on "Here I Go Again" than he was on the first song. Katy's gotten up on the piano, and she's not sure how she's going to get back out of that position. They ask him what type of singer he'd cover if he were to do some new stuff, and he admits he doesn't listen to much current rock. He's getting his shot. Montage of what to expect as we go into the break. Mikenley Brown from New Castle, IN, is 17 and she's here with her father. She says she's "been through a lot" and breaks into tears. She was a victim of bullying in middle school because she was too "different" and ended up developing anorexia. She's singing Rihanna's "Love On the Brain", and of course it's beautiful because we got an extended story. She goes through. Isaac Brown busks on Hollywood Boulevard. He's singing "golden hour" by...it sounded like he said "Jake", so maybe it's Drake? He follows it up with "Essence " by Wizkid ft. Tems. I like him. He knows what he's doing as an artist. He goes through, of course. Montage of people inspired by contestants from the previous five seasons. Cam Amen was originally from Indianapolis, IN, but he moved to Omaha, NE, with his girlfriend. He's 27 and he grew up in foster care. He and his siblings were taken away from their mother; Cam left the program at age 18 and took care of his siblings (now ages 21 and 20). He's singing Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". He's nervous; his breath control is poor and he's actually pronouncing the word "you" properly even though it ruins the rhyming scheme because it has to rhyme with Hallelujah. They have him bring his girlfriend Erica in, which means they're definitely going to say yes. ...Oh. He's our final Platinum Ticket winner! Didn't see that coming. Eccentrics montage. They all seem entertaining, but rightly all fail to go through. Sierra Harris, 20, from Lexington, MA, has a microphone shaped like a cooking spoon and is singing Heart's "Barracuda". Katy says that's a song to be sung "after six shots" and asks Sierra to sing "Firework". Yes, Katy's own song. She was trying to challenge Sierra. The judges think she's being too karaoke and she needs to take this seriously. Katy says "those songs are great, by great artists" and Luke interrupts her to call her out on praising herself. She says that it "was a big old cheesy no, but now it's a yes", and the other two judges also give her a yes. Montage of people who need to find themselves. Phil Kane, 18, from Oklahoma is studying songwriting at Belmont University. He says he didn't know Ryan Seacrest was a real person because he only ever saw him on TV. He's singing one of his originals, "Osage County". He's definitely got something. Luke calls him a "country Jackson Brown". Katy loved his choices on the piano and the storytelling, and his authenticity. He wrote that song at age 16. Katy says that if he goes to that shiny place called Hollywood, he shouldn't try to compete with everyone else, he should just showcase himself. Up allegedly next, or possibly in half an hour when it's time for the finale unless that ends up being last week's finale part two, Oliver Steele, 25, from Mount Juliet, TN, the son of a professional guitarist. Brooklyn from Brooklyn is in the audition when we come back, singing "I'm Still Standing" by Elton John. They love her piano playing, but the singing needs work. And now Fire's back, confirming that we're still about 20 minutes away from Oliver. Katy says she hardly even recognizes Fire. She's singing Adele's "Love in the Dark". Her voice is cracking a little, but it's still good. Lionel says he's still not sure, but he likes what she did, coming back stronger. Luke says she has to go through to become stronger. Lionel sees promise too, and gives her the yes. Luke does too, and of course, Katy was the lone yes last time so she makes it three. Kaya Stewart, 22, is here, accompanied by her father Dave on guitar. Yes, Dave Stewart of the Eurhythmics. She's singing an original called "This Tattoo" that she and her father wrote together. Dave says that this is much more difficult than being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame--the Eurhythmics went into the Hall the same year Lionel did. Kaya's going through. And now it's time for Oliver Steele. I wrote that even before the commercial ended, because I can read a clock and more importantly I can read the producers. Yep, we're coming down to the end. Luke asks if there's only two more, and an off-screen production assistant says there's only one more. Oliver mentions that Mount Juliet was the home of Charlie Daniels, and said that he wanted to play violin (or more accurately, fiddle) because of Charlie. Oliver's father Toby had a stroke that affected the left side of his body. Oliver's singing the Beatles' "In My Life", and of course it's beautiful and soulful, though I feel it was a waste of the pimp slot. Well, I guess the only other option in this episode was Cam Amen, but he was the Platinum Ticket recipient so they couldn't stick him at the end. Oliver wishes his dad could be the one playing for him. Katy asks what one of Toby's favorite songs was. Unfortunately given the natural inclination to compare contestants to those from previous seasons, the answer was Eric Clapton's "Change the World" and Oliver can't measure up to Dillon James. Normally I'd say that it's unfair to compare an audition to a rated performance, but Season 18 was a unique season, one where the contestants were singing not on the Hollywood soundstage with professional accompaniment, but in their own households. It's absolutely fair to compare an audition to a Season 18 performance. Oliver gets the ticket, as expected, and the announcement is given that next week we've got Sunday and Monday shows. Also, our alumni mentors are Clay Aiken, Justin Guarini, Jordin Sparks, Catie Turner, Phil Phillips, and David Archuleta.
  19. At least, it had better be episode 5; I heard one of the radio personalities I listen to on my morning commute mention this season not on Monday, but on Tuesday. The Melick's Hard Cider again. The voiceover over the AFHV credits mentions "more favorites return". Was Las Vegas the first audition? They're acting like this is the start of auditions. Mariah Faith, 21, is from Conway, SC, which she describes as a small town...ah, well, compared to Baltimore, where she used to be, I guess it is. Her stepfather moved the family down there to foster her musical talent when she was 8. Then in 2019 he died of a heart attack. She's singing "Whenever You Come Around" by Vince Gill. Katy feels she's playing it too safe. She suggests another song, but Katy has a suggestion of her own, Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me". It's decent, but off-key. Katy seems to just be looking for a reason to say yes. Mariah eventually gives it to her, and she gets three yeses. ...And they're so confident in her, despite not giving her the Golden Ticket, that they've pulled strings to let her open for Season 20's Noah Thompson and Huntergirl at their Las Vegas show the next day. We come back to see the performance in question...and damn, she sounds better than she did in the audition! Next up is Nailyah Serenity, of Charlotte, NC, who is incredibly...flamboyant? I think that's a good word. She's singing "Oh My Man" by Barbra Streisand--"from Funny Girl," my mom adds, because she'd know. Well, I'm a fan. She gets through. We get some "coming up", including puppies. Kayleigh Clark, 17, is from Sumrall, MS, and she loves glitter and pink, but doesn't mind getting dirty either as she's the daughter of a chicken farmer. Luke asks her if she hunts and she says she killed her first buck with a crossbow last year. Katy is stunned. Kayleigh's singing "The Dance" by Garth Brooks...it's not good. Luke and Lionel politely clap, and Katy says it was a bit quiet. Her second song is "I Surrender" by Hillsong Worship...it's still not good. Lionel likes her potential and says they can coach her on it. Luke says that she could be Top 10 material. Katy says that for some reason, it's not filling the room. Luke says yes, and Lionel says yes, and Katy does look a bit shocked and says that it's a no from her because she just doesn't think Kayleigh has that next gear, but it doesn't matter because she's going to Hollywood. ...How are these commercials always synchronized? Tori Green, 20, from Corona, CA, is singing Carrie Underwood's "Cry Pretty". I thought it was good, but Luke doesn't think it was good enough. But the other two overrule him...and apparently that's the montage--Luke's been the tough judge to impress this year. Pjae from Lawton, OK, is flamboyant and it got him bullied in school, and he used to overeat to cope and had been 400 lbs. at one point. He's singing "Mirror" by Madison Ryann Ward. Have they given out the Platinum Ticket for this audition site yet? Because I'd give him a Platinum. Oh, wait, they show him at a camera angle that prominently shows the Platinum Ticket still on the wall. Is that foreshadowing? I think Lionel seems towards it. Luke said he's been having trouble saying yes because he's looking for someone like Pjae...I think. Maybe not? He seems to be getting on Katy's case for "sympathy votes". Well, all three judges say yes. He's taking a regular gold, though. We are 4 for 4 on switching to TruTV at the start of the commercial and seeing a commercial there, too. Warren Peay, 23, from Vanburg, SC, is an appliance technician. He's also a worship leader at Colston Branch Baptist Church. He has a long beard and longer hair. He's singing Zach Williams' "To The Table", with guitar. He'll get through I'm sure. Lionel calls him Top Ten material. Carina Deangelo, 25, is from Kailua, HI, and she and her mother own a meatball company called "My Balls"; her mother claims to be 29 and to have had Carina when she was 4, and tbh she does look more like an older sister than a mother. Johnny Knox, 26, is from Huntsville, AL. Both of them make it through; I don't feel Johnny deserved it. Paige Anne, 16, from Idaho Falls, ID, brings the judges snowcones. She's singing "What About Us" by P!nk, and she's got Top Ten potential--my words, not the judges'. And she gets to meet her Idol idol, Season 7's David Archuleta. Katy said it took a bit for her to get good, and they're not sending 50-50s through. Lionel correctly diagnoses it as nerves. He says yes, Katy says no, and Luke puts her through. Montage of noes. One guy puts a trombone solo in his audition. Ophrah Kablon, 20, of Clio, SC, is singing "Baby, I Love You" by Aretha Franklin and she's got it. And she is going through. "Diamonds in the rough" montage. Kamron Lawson, 21, is from Beckley, WV, and this is his first time out of state. He's singing a-ha's "Take On Me", and wow, he hits the low notes and he hits the falsetto! Despite Katy marveling at his range, Luke calls it "safe", and he's going to be doing "Truly" by Lionel Richie, but before we can hear it, it's already time for another commercial. Wait, last time I flipped over it was halftime, how are we this deep into the second half and how did FDU actually come back to take the lead?! Oh, they conveniently show a graphic that tells me exactly how it happened. Go Knights! I'm not sure about this performance, but I'll defer to my mother, since as soon as the song was announced she said that this was her first dance with my father at their wedding. ...Unfortunately, she seems preoccupied. Oh, wait, there we go: "you blew the words, but whatever". Lionel says it's a tough song, but the fact that he tried, no one's done that in front of him on TV before. Katy feels that the three of them are intimidating Kamron and takes a chance. Lionel thinks he needs experience...but it's a yes, and Luke agrees! Owen Eckhardt, 19, from Broken Arrow, OK, but currently living in Stillwater as a veterinary student at Oklahoma State University. He's singing "Something in the Orange" by Zach Bryan, accompanying himself not only on guitar but also harmonica. ...Where did Katy get a puppy? Oh, wow, Katy and Lionel brought their dogs to the auditions! And we've got the preview for our finale. Single mother, 18 when she got pregnant. Fire, 22, from Lawton, OK, has a four-year-old daughter named Majah. Katy asks if her name is really Fire, and she says it's her stage name. She says she's a dancer, and when Katy asks her to elaborate, she admits she's a stripper. Her mother was in and out of drugs, so at a young age, she was put into state custody. She uses the word "Indian" but I'm guessing she means "Native American"? She's singing "Talking to the Moon" by Bruno Mars. She deserves a golden ticket. Katy tries to push more out of her and ends up pushing out a voice crack. Luke gives her a no. Lionel does the same. Majah seems ready to grab her mommy a golden ticket...yeah, she does. Katy says Fire doesn't deserve three noes...oh wow. Katy tells Fire that they're going to be in Nashville in a month and that she wants to give Fire a second chance. I thought it strange that the show-ender wasn't getting through. She'll get through, right? Because we don't have enough time to find out tonight. Next Sunday is the final audition episode of the season, and we're reminded that there's still a Platinum Ticket left.
  20. Absolutely nothing "buzzy" about this edition, since it's both delayed by almost a day because I wasn't going to stay up late enough to watch the after-Oscars edition live and alcohol-free because I'm stuffed from dinner. Has it really only been eight days since the last edition? It feels longer. Well, the upside of watching off the DVR is no commercial breaks. The downside is also no commercial breaks because I'm too verbose for my typing speed. We start with a montage of things from the previous three episodes, but soon we have new contestants. Dany Epp, 23, originally from Suffern, NY but moved to Oklahoma to be with their girlfriend, is singing Katy Perry's "The One That Got Away". ...Tough song. Not a bad performance. I'd like to hear something else. Katy's singing harmony for Dany, though, so I feel like the judges don't need to hear more. And the judges send her through--I wasn't going to commit to a gendered pronoun until the judges did. Next up is Amara Valerio from Yonkers, NY, who got "Kanye'd" at a high school graduation--she was only a junior at the time and was tapped to sing the national anthem, and a member of the senior class took offense that she hadn't been chosen, and then Amara's senior year was 2020 so she couldn't sing at that. She's singing "Bust Your Windows" by Jazmine Sullivan. The judges keep trying to guess the name of the girl who interrupted her. They finally get a reaction out of Amara once she's finished with "Sara", and then they send her through. Savanna Christian is auditioning via "Metaverse Idol", an app that her friend created. She doesn't go through, but the publicity for her friend's VR app will be great. We're in New Orleans. Hannah Nicolaisen, 23, former college volleyball player from Houston, TX, is singing Bob Dylan's "To Make You Feel My Love". The singing is beautiful; they'll have to work on stage presence once she gets to Hollywood. Katy says she feels Hannah hasn't even sung enough to know what she has. They send her through. Okay, enough time since dinner now. Angry Orchard Cinnful Apple. Reette Thorns, 20, from Madison, WI, has had a rough life, having a single mom who's struggled with addiction. She's basically cared for her younger siblings since she was 11, not wanting to let anyone know how neglectful her mother was being because they'd rather be with a useless mother than not with their mother at all. She's singing "I Believe" by Fantasia, and she sings it beautifully, and she's nearly in tears afterwards and Lionel gets up and gives her a hug. It's a yes from Lionel, and a yes from Katy. Luke says that two yeses gets her through to Hollywood, but he'll give her a no to push her. Tripp Taylor, 18, is from Florence, SC, and he takes Ryan remarking that he has a deep voice as a complement. He says that the South isn't the easiest place for "racially ambiguous" people. He's a fan of old soul, so he's most excited about meeting Lionel. He's singing Ray Charles' "I Believe to My Soul" and playing the piano. He takes Katy saying that Tripp looks like he could be Lionel's son as a complement, too. It's pretty good. Katy asks again if Lionel's sure that Tripp isn't his son, and I suddenly remember that Lionel's daughter doesn't look remotely black so I guess the "racially ambiguous" bit qualify. Now we've got the "interesting" ones montage. A rocker with a stage name, I didn't see her first name but I doubt her last name at birth was "Karma". Lionel reveals he's friends with Rob Zombie, surprising the other two judges. Or maybe it's not a montage; up next is Colt Glover, 21, from Magnolia, TX, singing "Rock Salt and Nails" by Flatt & Scruggs, and he seems to be a likely golden ticket recipient. This song is weird. "If the women were squirrels with soft bushy tails?" ...No comment. Katy feels like "Colt Glover" is the perfect name for a country singer if she was picking a character in a video game to be a country singer, and he lives up to the name. It's a big yes. Katy's saying good night to her little girl over the phone, and our next contestant is Cay Aliese, 24, from TN. She's also a mother of two, ages 2 and 1, and her father was a failed musician who died just two months earlier of a drug overdose. She said that for the longest time, seeing her dad in the music industry made her not want to go into the music industry, but ever since he passed, it makes her feel closer to him. She's singing an original she wrote about her father, Nolan Neil, who was a contestant on The Voice and America's Got Talent, called "City of Nashville". ...It's tough to tell because of the weird start time, but I think this might be our episode finale? Katy says she wasn't feeling the emotion, and Lionel agrees...what the freak? Katy does give a yes, but she says she's on the fence. Lionel also seemed unsure but says yes. And it's three yeses but none of them seem confident. I really thought this was our "final contestant of the episode special"...oh, wait, it is. Preview of next episode.
  21. They're advertising a "life-changing miracle", I assume we'll have to wait until 9:55 to see that one. Yards Philadelphia Pale Ale tonight, at least to start, though I started it at dinner so I may move on before the show ends. Sara Beth is a 25-year-old mother of three from California, who the judges insist is only 16. She was originally going to sing "Bennie and the Jets" but her voice is...something, so she's singing "You Know I'm No Good" by Amy Winehouse. They don't think it's enough and ask her to go back to her original choice. It's better, and she goes through, barely. She's clearly nervous. Judges talking about their 21st birthdays for the Season 21. Tanner Charles, 20, from Broken Arrow, OK, is a singer-songwriter (though his day job is a valet), and he's brought his girlfriend Delaney along. He confides to Ryan that he's singing an original song that he wrote for her and it's a surprise for her birthday which is a week after the audition. It's called "Golden Eyes", and I love the song before the singing even starts. And love it more once it does. He's a good singer and a good songwriter. Katy is nearly in tears; Delaney's faring a little better. Katy asks Luke how it lasts after 15 years, to which he says "liquor". My mom says that if it's good, it can last forever...I'm sad. Both because I'm in my mid-thirties and haven't even really dated, and because it's been almost four years since my dad died and my mom's still like a fresh widow. Mikey Burson, 22, from Nashville, TN, does gigs with his mother under the name "Mo & His Mom", He's doing "Cold as Ice" by Foreigner, with mom on the piano. It's considered "too karaoke" and he doesn't go through. Next we have...sorry, I'm multi-tasking. We have a young man who has perfect pitch, and also autism, and he's really good. We Ani, 23, from Harlem, has a squeaky speaking voice, but she belts out Demi Lovato's "Anyone" and it's incredible. There's supposed to be an accent over the e in her name, by the way, but for some reason my computer's failing. She says her name means "diligence" in Swahili. She goes through. Marybeth Byrd, 21, is a radio host from Armorel, AR, which is "country with a K". She's doing "If It Hadn't Been For Love" by the Steeldrivers. She's going through. Bre is a "dueling pianist", so she and Lionel go back and forth on "All Night Long". Then we've got a contestant dressed as a fairy. Then we've got Lionel advising a contestant to "sing from their colon", and finally we get a contestant with a full name. Olivia Soli, 20, from Los Angeles, is singing Lionel's "Hello" and playing piano. And holy hell, she's amazing. She goes through of course. I lost focus again so I don't know who I'm listening to but he's really good, a country singer. Preston something-or-other. He wrote the song he was singing, too! He's going to Hollywood. Montage of contestants with musical theater backgrounds being too over-the-top. Emma Busse, 20, from Vancouver, BC, is a performer, and she's singing "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John. It's...not great, though her range is impressive. They tell her she needs to get rid of that "slow-ow-ow-ow vibrato-o-o-o". They make her do "Happy Birthday to You" just as an exercise on singing without vibrato. It takes some work. I do feel like Randy, Paula, and Simon would never have tried so hard to wring something yes-worthy out of a contestant, but then again half the yeses didn't even get shown in the Cowell era so that we had more room for deluded losers, so maybe they did. Keelin, 24, is from Ireland (which explains why her name is spelled like that when it's pronounced "Kaylin") but lives in New York, and she's our designated quirky girl for the year. She's singing an original called "Don't Call Me". She's...very bubblegum. ...What is this? This feels more like one of the novelty auditions. Well, they like it. She's memorable. Luke says no. Katy gives a stare and says she thinks she sees something in there, "it's a little weird but so am I". And Lionel gives her the second yes she needs. Luke says he's not mad she's going through, that it's going to be interesting. Luke's making duck calls as Elijah McCormick, 21, walks in. He's from Raeford, North Carolina...oh, he's the one who had a miracle. He was in a really bad car accident a few years ago. He flatlined a couple of times. Was in the hospital for 79 days, had ten surgeries. Open-heart surgeries. He's singing Rascall Flatts' "Bless the Broken Road". It's beautiful and of course he's going through.
  22. This might not be the best write-up since I'm still recovering from COVID-19 and it's messing with my head. (Don't worry, the worst has passed. Tuesday and Wednesday were miserable.) Alanna something-or-another is leading us off, and she sings Katy Perry's "Firework". It's not great, but the judges see potential in her and put her through with some reviews containing actual constructive criticism. John Wayne Hatfield is singing an original song called "Tell Me Ray", written about his grandfather who is accompanying him to the audition. Lucky for him, this isn't a songwriting competition; the lyrics are extremely basic but his voice is pure country. The judges seem to like his songwriting as well as his singing. Ashley Tankard, 22, is from Durham, NC, and she's been trying out every year since she was 15. She's not bad, but she seems to be...oversinging? She's singing "You Broke Me First". The judges correctly identify her as having stage fright. We get a commercial before her verdict. Katy seems to be fighting for her. Lionel says he's come to a conclusion, and that if she's fought this hard so far, she needs to fight like hell. She's going to Hollywood. Cody Winkler, 25, is from Marion, TX, and he's "finer than frog hair". Katy protests that frogs don't have hair, because she doesn't "get" Southernisms. He sings a capella, and it's not bad, but they want to hear it with some music. Luke gets up and starts playing his guitar. Katy says he's as authentic as it gets, though he should practice with a metronome. Lionel compares him to Willie Nelson, who he says "doesn't 'hit notes', he just sings what he wants". It's a yes from Lionel, a no from Katy, and he walks out of the room...with no golden ticket in his hand? I'm surprised! He takes it well though. Matt Wilson, 21, is from Buffalo, NY, and he's a teacher's aide at a day care. He's married, and he credits his wife Melisa with rekindling his dreams. He's singing "For Tonight" by Giveon. Of course, he's soulful and smooth. He deserves to go through and does. Kaylin Hedges, 15, is singing "I'm Already There" and dedicating it to her father who's stationed overseas. Is this the moment they previewed last week? Well, either way, she's killing it. Luke is impressed at how she navigated her falsettos, saying that at first he was worried that she was doing falsettos, that she wouldn't be able to go big, and then she went big. And then the judges have a surprise--a video message from her father. Except then they tell her to "take a look around", and there he is! And she says that that must've been what her mother was whispering about, but no, she has no idea! They have Kaylin bring her mom into the room, and pull the surprise all over again! And then Kaylin gets the Platinum Ticket, because of course they aren't going to have a soldier on active duty overseas come home for just anyone. Am I cynical for thinking that this could be patriotized? Aiden Adair is 19 from Clover, SC.. He's nervous. He sings "Break My Heart Again" by Finneas, and yeah, he's way nervous. It's a no for me. But they let him sing another song, James Blunt's "Let It Go". It's much better, and will probably get him through, but I still don't think he's got it. He does go through. We've got a contestant who makes diapers, which leads to Katy asking Lionel how many diapers he's ever changed, and eventually has both male judges learning how to change a diaper using a doll. Oh, and now we get a flashback to October 5, 2006, when eventual sixth-place finisher Phil Stacey got a call in the audition room that his wife was going into labor, and then he did his audition anyway. I'll give you one guess who our next contestant is. McKayla Stacey, 16, is singing "She Used to be Mine" by Sara Bareilles, with her father Phil accompanying her on piano. Of course, she's got a hell of a voice. Lionel thinks she wasn't doing a good enough job telling a story, like she was more focused on hitting the notes than "staying in character". The inexperience is showing. Luke says no, because she's a little young. Lionel says she's worth rolling the dice on. And Katy says...that she feels like McKayla was born for a moment like this. GDI Katy. McKayla goes through. So yeah, being an "American" is no longer really a requirement to be an American Idol. We've got a Peruvian, a South African, a Grenadan, and all going through. And up next is Nutsa, from Tbilisi, Georgia. Luke makes a joke about also being from Georgia. She says she now lives in Dubai, which isn't exactly any closer to the USA than Georgia is. She's singing "Lady Marmalade", and it's pretty amazing (even if I think she started the word "real" in the chorus with a k). For her second song, she's doing Whitney Houston's "Greatest Love of All", and guess what--she's just as good on ballads as she is on up-tempo songs. My mother says she has what it takes to go all the way; I point out that while she's got the talent, this is still a competition voted on by the American public and she's not an American. She gets three yeses. Lionel refers to her as "J-Lo from Georgia". Madison Neisus, 26, is jamming out on an electric guitar singing "Kids in America", and Katy rocks too hard and loses her extensions. Luke puts them on, and Katy asks Madison to let Luke borrow the guitar to sing "Achey Breaky Heart". Then Katy puts the extension on Lionel. We don't see Madison's verdict but it was probably a no; this was a prelude to the mullet being back. Our next mulleted contestant, 21-year-old Texan Trey Lewis, is a mattress salesman, and apparently customers ask him how well you can perform on a given bed...is that why there was a content warning coming out of the break? He's singing "Stone" by Whiskey Meyers. It's not bad--not an absolute home run, but good enough to go through. ...Oh. Nope, he's a school shooting survivor. Right, this is the last segment of the show. Katy lets out a profane outburst about how this country has *bleep* failed us, and how he should be here because he loves music, not because he went through this *bleep*, how he shouldn't have had to lose 8 friends. He goes through. So about my worries earlier about the right wing being able to parade the military out there? I had nothing to worry about. This is still a liberal network, and hearing that type of anti-gun message coming from such a strong Texan accent, this is still the left's show.
  23. The theme of the open is "Idol's 21st birthday", so it's only appropriate that I always have a drink. Today is King St. Hops hard cider from Melick's Town Farm. Yes, you read that right--Melick's is a local farm, not a brewery, and up until my sister and brother-in-law gave us a six-pack of this last week I only knew them for their non-alcholic cider. Haven Madison is up first. Her dad's the lead singer of a Christian band and he's going to be her accompaniment on guitar. Remember when contestants couldn't even play instruments themselves? She's 16, which is one more than the name of the original song she's performing. She's got an amazing voice and it's clear that she's getting a golden ticket from the judges' reaction--though from a meta standpoint, her being the first audition of the first episode kind of already guaranteed that. Also, that was a New Orleans audition, and now we're at Vegas auditions. Yeah, I'm surprised that we didn't go to commercial after the first auditioner of the first episode. Lucy Love from Holly Grove, AR is 28, and she's singing "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", and not only is she good, but before we officially get the yes, we cut to her in her hometown, where we learn she grew up without a father. So she's probably going to make it to the voting stages. We get a second song, "A Song For You" by Donny Hathaway--no, wait, now we get the first commercial break. So we've gotten a pimp piece, a second song, and a commercial break in the middle. I don't want to look up spoilers, but I'd be very surprised if she isn't in the Top 24 or however many we get to vote on this year. She certainly deserves a golden ticket. I'll be up front, she's not the type of artist I'd be likely to vote for, but that's just musical preferences. She's clearly a very good artist in a genre that I don't really care about. Luke admits that he'd written her off, and he has more respect for his fellow judges for seeing her potential; Lionel actually thanks him after he gives his yes verdict. We've got a montage...of people who share a name with the judges. Lionel's namesake is a rapper who goes by "L-Rich", and Katy's is actually "Katey Parry", but Luke's is an exact match in spelling. None of them go through, though Luke gives other-Luke a yes. Then he jokes that he's quitting if a Ryan Seacrest walks through the door...and we cut to outside where Ryan does indeed meet a Ryan Secrest, who even shows her driver's license to him to prove it (middle name Elizabeth). Colin Stough, 18, is from Amory, MS, and we see Amory long before we actually see the audition site. But that isn't surprising, because even without hearing his singing voice, I've got a good feeling just from his speaking voice that he's got a chance at being this year's potential country star as long as he avoids the pitfalls that befell a few last year. Actually, he's from Gattman, but apparently that's too small a town to even register on a map; they again just say "Amory" when showing his info. He's singing "Simple Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Given how obscure Amory is, how tiny must Gattman be? Of course, he goes through. His mother Nara was the one who signed him up, and they have him bring her in; she's a big fan of Luke's. He's so stunned, he's in tears. We go back to commercial. Our next contestant, 21-year-old Lyric Medeiros, is from Honolulu, and her father was a singer, best known for "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You". She's singing "Love Me Like You Mean It" by Kelsi Ballerini. She sounds good, but Katy gets on her case for flying 10 hours to be "cute and safe" and says that right now she's going to be flying 10 hours back. She tries "Before He Cheats", and I don't think it's good. They're trying to bring out a "rough" side of her, and I don't think it's there. Lionel says it's a yes, but Luke says she's not ready. Katy says she wants Lyric to come up there and slap her across the face, but then says she's joking. Katy said she'd been a no the whole time, but something's just telling her to give her a shot. She goes through. And we're back in Amory, MS, where Colin is eating at a local burger joint, Bill's Hamburger's, and he shows off his Golden Ticket. Zachariah Smith, 19, is the grill cook and he mentions that he's going to Nashville to audition. It's a family-owned joint, apparently what Amory is best known for. He's singing John Mellencamp's "Hurts So Good", and Luke says he can burn his apron because he doesn't have to flip burgers any more; he's going to Hollywood! ...Wait, even if that incident in the burger joint happened, how do they have footage of it? Was Idol's camera crew just following Colin around at that point, or did they have them recreate it for the cameras? Because I find it hard to believe that someone would just happen to be recording him at that point. ...Does Idol send a camera crew to follow everyone who gets a Golden Ticket and only show us the footage corresponding to the ones who actually go deep, or do they already know who they're sending deep from auditions? ...I doubt it; it'd be too spoilery if they only sent camera crews after the Top 24, not to mention it'd destroy any illusion of fairness. So I guess they do prepare "pimp pieces" for everyone, even the ones they have no intention of ever showing, just to preserve the illusion of fairness. Iam Tongi, 18, from Kahuku, HI, is singing "Monsters" by James Blunt. I think he's good, but it doesn't look like the judges agree. I could be misreading them though. ...I am. They're just caught up in the emotion of the song, which Iam dedicated to his recently deceased father. Luke's in tears, Lionel nearly was too. Back in Las Vegas, where Katy enters the room dressed as a showgirl and accompanied by four real ones. Luke saw the shenanigan coming. These judges know each other by now. Michael Williams, 21, is from Mason, OH, and he's singing "Talking to the Moon" by Bruno Mars. Well, he's got the look to be the next American Idol; I have my doubts about his vocal prowess but it should get him through to Hollywood so hopefully he'll get cut before Top 24. He does go through, and Katy feels the need to reaffirm her love for her husband after Michael leaves the room--though I suppose he does look a bit like Katy's husband. We're in Douglasville, GA, where Megan Danielle, 20, works as a waitress along with her mother. Her grandpa died last year and he was the most important person to her and was the one who convinced her to switch to Christian music. She's singing Lauren Daigle's "You Say", and it turns out Lauren was doing a show in Las Vegas the previous day and is going to surprise Megan after her audition. We're reminded once again that Lauren was on Idol in 2012. Ryan gets her to go in earlier and join Megan in singing. The judges were just as surprised as Megan was. Katy says that Grandpa Chuck would be proud, and Lauren's surprised because that was her grandpa's name too, and she says they're enjoying it up there together leading to Katy making a bad pun. We go to break...wait, what? ...We're going to be seeing an auditioner who was close friends with Season 19 runner-up Willie Spence, and he was supposed to be there to support her at her audition. Based on what she's told, to sing like Willie's still here...is Willie dead? ...Yeah, he is. October 11, 2022, in a car accident. Tyson Venegas, 17, from Vancouver, BC, has a learning disability; he didn't even speak until he was 3. He's singing "New York State of Mind" by Billy Joel. My mom says she might like him more than Billy Joel on this song, which is high praise. It goes on longer than I'm used to us getting for an audition, but I'm not complaining; he is indeed good. ...Make that incredible. Lionel asks for validation that he's really only 17, because he's singing like a 45-year-old. His mother says that one of his first concerts was Lionel Richie and that he inspired him, and Lionel says that he's flipped the script and he's inspired them. My mother asks if he's getting the Platinum Ticket, and I tell her that I'm pretty sure that was specific to Season 20...but I was wrong, because he is indeed receiving a Platinum Ticket! Our next contestant is Jack Nicora, 19, from Pittsburgh, and he's here with his parakeet Mango. They're both fans of doo-wop; Mango dances to doo-wop, his favorite song being "Rockin' Robin". He's singing "In The Still of the Night (I'll Remember)" by The Five Satins. And for some reason there's another bird in the audition room? And Jack's not going through. Katy's chasing the bird around the room. Ah, here we go. Kaya Monee' made it to Hollywood in Season 19 and was paired with Willie in the Duets Round. Three days before he passed, he told her that she needed to go back and that he'd go with her to the auditions. She'll be singing "I'm Here" from The Color Purple, which was the song they sang together in Season 19. Of course she returns to Hollywood...oh, and that's the end of the episode.
  24. Yeah, I didn't notice her at first, either, but I just ran my "own personal CSAB" using the ratings I gave, and much to my surprise, she won it despite having to use projected ratings through three multi-song weeks and being forced to actually use her Wild Card night performance as a Wild Card performance instead of as her first projected rating. But she was just that consistent (and also had the good fortune to have her weakest performance come in Top 20, where everyone was guaranteed at least a shot at a Wild Card). She came on strong, too--since CSAB rules state that a contestant's unused wild card performances stay unused if they're eliminated before they'd need them, she ended up leaving with the highest average of anyone who made the Top 11 IRL and among members of the Top 14, was only exceeded by someone who needed a Wild Card to get there, which Emyrson didn't. So yeah, I definitely feel I overlooked her. I think I went into the voting rounds with a negative opinion of her because during the Hollywood Rounds, they did a "one stays one goes" where she was the one who stayed and I thought at the time that they'd made the wrong choice. So that was forever going to paint her as "doesn't belong there". But the thing about the youngest contestants is that they have the potential for the greatest growth arcs. And Emyrson left after her two best performances. She's one to watch out for.
  25. I think I have to agree. Really the only issue in the elimination order, aside from us not getting a female winner, was probably Jay sticking around too long. If only the judges hadn't given him the wild card off of an absolutely dreadful wild card performance, we might've been able to challenge Season 11! (Though I'll concede that Top 20 night might've been his best performance; he very well might have deserved to get in directly on America's vote.)
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