ScarletDevilCCX

Goddamnit, there's no way he's going to leave after this, is there?

That exact song has literally been done on this show before. Season 13. And Hunter, no, don't do this! That's Kris's song, and also Lee and Krystal's duet!

Another of my brother-in-law's homebrews tonight. Before we get to the contestants, we've got Lionel doing "Say You Say Me". As Ryan walks out after the theme, "Flashdance (What A Feeling)" is playing...ah, yes, because in honor of the Oscars, we have Movie Night! First one in the ABC era since Disney Night is basically a more restrictive Movie Night. Ah, more specifically, it's Oscar nominees/winners. Well that sucks; that means IDWMAT is on the menu, but the far superior "Iris" isn't because the Academy snubbed it. Oh, we've got live eliminations again, which means I have to vote early. Shit. Grace is up first and she's doing Pharrell Williams' "Happy", from "Despicable Me 2" (wait, really? I knew it was an animated movie, but DM2?). Good song, but interesting choice for Grace. And yeah, this is exactly what I expected--a perfectly decent but somewhat soulless performance. I give it a 55. Katy also seems to think that she's having trouble finding her identity as an artist. Luke says he's "happy" to be back here. Ryan mentions that Grace's choir teacher back at her high school did a spirit week for her and served her favorite foods--sushi and tacos. Ava August is up next, singing "City of Stars" from La La Land. We see her session with Bobby Bones, where he teaches her how to drive. Again she's going with the "prom dress and Doc Martens" combo. Well, despite wearing more practical footwear than would be expected to go with that dress, she doesn't move around on the stage at all. She's a very good singer but she isn't much of a performer. 71. Katy comments on the Docs and on the lack of movement on stage, and Ryan makes a joke about months. Caleb Kennedy is doing "On the Road Again" by Willie Nelson, from the movie "Honeysuckle Rose". Bobby talks to him about his overreliance on wearing hats. He mentions that he has a weird eye that he's self-conscious about. Why do we have him around? This is a perfectly decent performance, but I've still yet to be wowed tonight. 58 for charisma--from a purely vocal standpoint it's inferior to Grace's performance, but I think overall it was just slightly better. Lionel points out that at age 16, Caleb has never been on the road. Katy says that she, too, has a "wonk eye". Luke says it was his best performance top-to-bottom and asks if he caught any fish with Bobby, and "like a true fisherman" (Luke's words), Caleb says that they rigged it up so they couldn't catch anything with the bait. Coming up after the break, Hunter Metts is wearing a bolo tie and performing a hit song from...Once. Damnit, Hunter, no! That song's off-limits on Idol now, because it's been done too well in the past! We get to see some actual music during the Bobby Bones segment, or something loosely resembling music. Last week during wild card night I was almost willing to give him a pass because there were other more egregious contestants that needed pruning, but you're working your way back up my shit list! 24 seems about right for this, though I'm tempted to dock him further for the audible teenybopper-swoons from the audience. Actually, I missed this, but Mom says "he blew it and he let it show". And he's crying. Ryan's already consoling him, and Katy's trying to tell him that it was his best performance. So 14--Lionel at least manages to critique fairly instead of just fawning over him, though he's still positive. Except, yes, I'm confirming that it was a lyrics flub (I missed it, because apparently it was really close to the end, I was probably already busy excoriating him), so as per recent precedent, that's gotta be a 7. Madison Watkins is up fifth, singing "Run to You" by Whitney Houston (from "The Bodyguard", of course). She acknowledges that it's risky to cover Whitney. We see what might be a childhood picture of Madison, except she's a redhead in it so she looks completely white. (She's mixed race, right? I honestly can't tell.) She sings well, though it's a bit short. 78. Okay, I'm seeing Madison's family on Zoom and they do all look white. She must just tan a lot. Chayce is up sixth, singing Bryan Adams' "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You", from "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves". Oh, Chayce had a drunk driving accident a year ago--one where he was the drunk driver. Unfortunately, despite this lowering my opinion of him as a person, I have no choice but to vote for him, because this is our first 5-star performance of the night! 87. Lionel seems to think it started slow but he found himself. Katy says a lot of girls are going to be voting with hearts in their eyes saying "that song was for me". Also, in the shot of his family, their dog is wearing a t-shirt that says "Proud Dog Brother". Cute. Beane is going to be doing "Dirty Dancing". Bobby Bones asks him if he needs him to run in at the end so Beane can lift him, and Beane says that no, he has to be Baby, because he's got the curls. Also, Bobby comments on Beane's one earring, and he says that it's so people know which ear to talk into because he's deaf in one ear. Wait, so it's not just because he's gay? Anyway, this is...a performance. I love the performance, kind of lukewarm on the actual singing though. 50. Katy says "Another side of Beane; I love it!" You told Grace she wasn't focused enough. Alyssa Wray is up next, doing "This Is Me" from "The Greatest Showman". Back in her lane, finally! Lionel calls her a "subtle force", which...no. Well, whatever, 88. DeShawn Goncalves is not destined to be bussed by the anti-pimp spot of live voting, but is up next singing the titular song of "The Way We Were", originally by Barbra Streisand. Bobby tries to get him to smile more by putting him on a carousel with a "rainbow chicken". He cracks a little at one note, but he's just so silky smooth. 92. Speaking of rainbows...I completely forgot that Casey has already shown that she's more than just rock. After the break, she's going with the Wizard of Oz classic, and damn, that's a high bar to clear. She's lucky the format had me vote for her before her performance. Ryan reminds us that Judy Garland was only 16, Casey's current age, when she was cast as Dorothy Gale. Casey has an emotional connection to this movie, and we see a little Casey dressed as the Wicked Witch of the West for Halloween. Lionel calls it a Disney song (nope) and says she "Caserized" it (okay?), but that pales in comparison to Katy saying that Luke was wrong and that Casey is the frontrunner. I...think it was pretty good! 84. For a moment, when Ryan announced that Cassandra Coleman was doing a James Bond song I thought that yes, Grace's inability to get "Skyfall" was because she'd lost a hat pick, but nope, she's doing Sam Smith's "Writing's On The Wall" from Spectre. 100. That's all I have to say. This could be an actual Bond performance. Willie Spence is doing "Stand Up" by Cynthia Erivo from "Harriet". It is a very Willie Spence performance, which means it scores about a 90 because he's apparently incapable of giving a bad performance. "One word: Amen. Two words: Religious experience. Third word: You delivered the goods." Lionel, your age is showing. Luke says that he's not supposed to use the word "frontrunner" anymore, but... The first person through was Grace, and then Casey. Third is Willie, and fourth is Alyssa. Fifth is Caleb, and sixth is DeShawn, who seems shocked. Seventh is Cassandra, and eighth is Chayce. Finally, we have Hunter. Well, maybe the order actually was accurate? I'd like to think that Hunter's teetering. My top six all made it through, and the one person I voted for that didn't make it through was a wild card and therefore their departure was a foregone conclusion.

I like your optimism! Casey's definitely my pick for who I want to win, and perhaps the voters will key on the fact that she's actual undiscovered talent instead of a struggling artist looking for a big break or a TikTok star looking to go mainstream and therefore embodies what this competition allegedly was supposed to be about (even though it never really was). I agree that Willie and Grace, despite being the apparent early favorites by social media following, aren't likely to win, though I'm a bit of a cynic so my reasoning is...not exactly the same as yours.

That’s Life - Lee DeWyze, Graham DeFranco Elastic Heart - La’Porsha Renae, Grace Kintsler The Story - Lacey Brown, Alanis Sophia - Didn't watch S9 so I won't rate this Set Fore to the Rain - Eben Franckewitz, Rayvon Owen, Willie Spence Feeling Good - AJ Tabaldo, Leslie Hunt, Adam Lambert, Katie Stevens, Hallie Day, Lazaro Arbos, Ada Vox, Deshawn Goncalves Use Somebody - Lee Jean, Eddie Island, Wyatt Pike Wicked Game - Siobhan Magnus, Cassandra Coleman - Didn't watch S9 so I won't rate this Midnight Train to Memphis - Caleb Lee Hutchinson, Caleb Kennedy Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Rayvon Owen, Dalton Rapattoni, Franklin Boone, Colin Jamieson Gravity - Jeremy Rosado, Madison Watkins Skinny Love - Lee Jean, Hunter Metts

Same. We had a very similar order of song rankings.

1. Casey Bishop 2. Willie Spence 3. Grace Kinstler 4. Brennan "Beane" Helper 5. Chayce Beckham 6. Cassandra Coleman 7. Deshawn Goncalves 8. Ava August 9. Madison Watkins 10. Hunter Metts 11. Alyssa Wray 12. Caleb Kennedy

House of the Rising Sun - Siobhan Magnus, Haley Reinhart, Casey Bishop Higher Ground - Chris Daughtry, Deshawn Goncalves Greatest Love of All - Tenia Taylor, Fantasia Barrino, Alyssa Wray Heart Attack - Jena Irene, Alanis Sophia Diamonds - Angie Miller, La’Porsha Renae, Uché, Willie Spence I Can’t Make You Love Me - Kimberley Locke, Constantine Maroulis, Amy Krebs, Allison Iraheta, Hollie Cavanagh, Hunter Metts Loved Casey and Willie's performances tonight, but those are just tough opponents to go against.

1. Alanis Sophia - “Heart Attack” (Demi Lovato) 2. Willie Spence - “Diamonds” (Rihanna) 3. Grace Kinstler - “Dangerous Woman” (Ariana Grande) 4. Chayce Beckham - “What Brings Life Also Kills” (Kolton Moore & The Clever Few) 5. Beane - “Grow As We Go” (Ben Platt) 6. Casey Bishop - “House of the Rising Sun” (The Animals) 7. Ava August - “Love of My Life” (Queen) 8. Caleb Kennedy - “Nowhere” (Caleb Kennedy) 9. Cassandra Coleman - “Light On” (Maggie Rogers) 10. Graham DeFranco - “Cover Me Up” (Jason Isbell) 11. Colin Jamison - “Waves” (Dean Lewis) 12. Madison Watkins - “Hotline Bling” (Drake) 13. Deshawn Goncalves - “Higher Ground” (Stevie Wonder) 14. Hunter Metts - “I Can’t Make You Love Me” (Bonnie Raitt) 15. Alyssa Wray - “Greatest Love of All” (Whitney Houston)

They don't have that foresight. Foolishly, they honestly think that a Top 12 of six and six will lead to a Top 10 of five and five, when it'll at best be six and four, and possibly even 7-3 (but probably 6-4; wild cards have yet to outlast non-wild cards in the ABC era so it'll probably be Beane, Madison, and one of the other girls leaving and then Arthur will join to make it 6-4.)

Not surprised they went one guy and one girl to make it 6 and 6. Don't believe them for a moment when they say it's judged solely on tonight's performances; Madison's probably been stronger overall but Alanis slayed all the competition tonight. Literally anyone could've been in the bottom five and if it was solely on tonight's performances, Alanis would've been robbed.

Oh yeah I forgot about Wysandra! Good catch.

Judges sounding like they could give Graham a save...

You and me both.

She's pop rock. Casey is more hard rock.

Yeah, normally we'd be lucky to get one female rocker in a season, and somehow we get two in the same year.

Same, always has been. You a fellow Haley Reinhart/Hollie Cavanagh fan? I was full bore for Haley in S10; S11 was just so deep that I actually let my real favorite go because I perceived that Hollie "needed" my votes more, albeit only by one week (yes, that's why I was one of the few people on Hannah's bandwagon; she reminded me of Skylar, though not quite as talented.)

I'm still waiting for our first Avril performance on Idol. A lot of the most popular songs probably don't work well for a singing competition but I could see someone having a moment with "I'm With You".

ALANIS! WELCOME BACK GIRL! Pity it had to come in the Danger Zone. Also, what an interesting outfit...

We can only hope. (Well, for Chayce knocking out Hunter, anyway. I'm still hoping Alanis can reclaim some of her old swagger, though not at Casey's expense.

Two best performances so far tonight.

Agree. Also, I think having Beane as one of the possible choices all but ensures that Colin is leaving, since those two are most likely to be splitting and Beane's the superior singer.

Ouch. First real shocker.

Yes, that's correct; no alcohol tonight; I've got a bit of an upset stomach right now and I had a brief dizzy spell at around 1 PM so I'm just going to have some lemon ginger tea...oh, wow. Luke tested positive for COVID so he's resting at home and instead we have a guest judge...Season 1-8 judge Paula Abdul?! Wow, that was unexpected. Paula and Ryan catch up, and she takes a shot at Simon's age. They put up a photo of Paula and Ryan in Season 1. Mom says that the judges don't have anything to decide, and I tell her yes they do, tonight's wild card night. The first person to take center stage is Casey Bishop, and after pausing so long that I half expect him to send it to a commercial break with her standing there, Ryan informs her that she is in the Top Ten. She's singing "House of the Rising Sun" by the Animals. Well, she's no Haley Reinhart, but this is good, if a little shouty. 84 seems right. ...Wait, Ryan, the five that will sing for their lives? Did, uh, did someone drop out? Colin Jamieson is up second and he's already hyping up the crowd, and he's not in America's top ten. He's singing "Waves" by Dean Lewis, and it's actually good. Best performance I've seen out of him; I give it a score of 69. I also get confirmation that Wyatt Pike has dropped out, for reasons still unknown. DeShawn's up third, snazzy as ever. He's in the Top 10. He's going uptempo with Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground" and wearing a suit reminiscent of fifties groups--my mother name-checks The Platters. This is...just okay. 60. Up fourth is Cassandra Coleman. She's singing "Light On" by Maggie Rogers--oh, this song! I know this song. Again, not blowing me away, but very good, 73. Caleb's up fifth; Ryan jokes that he doesn't recognize him without the hat. He'll be doing an original that he'd been working on when he first auditioned. Ryan's squinting at the card. But Caleb is advancing. The song is called "Nowhere", and of course, he's better on an original than he is on a cover. 74. We need another person for the Danger Zone, but instead, we get another commercial break. The reunion tour continue with Randy Jackson joining via FaceTime. He's hardly recognizable with how much weight he's lost. Paula makes a weird joke about STDs and then makes the letters stand for something else. Madison Watkins is up sixth...oh no, she's in the Danger Zone. And double oh no, she's singing Drake's "Hotline Bling". Of course, it's a huge reimagining, so it becomes acceptable. 67. Ava August is up next, looking ready for prom. She's in the Top Ten, singing "Love of My Life" by Queen. Ugh, a slow ballad. 78, because I can tell it was good, but I'm never going to be a fan. We get an anecdote about the mailman in Ava's neighborhood hearing her singing from her bedroom as he delivered the mail when she was a little kid. We get some of Luke's comments from home messaged to Ryan. Beane's up eighth and has not been put through. He's singing "Grow as We Go". 88! Beane was robbed! Chayce Beckham's up sixth, and he'll go through...yes, he does. He's singing "What Brings Life Also Kills" by Kolton More and the Clever Few. Even better than Beane, I think, so we'll go with 89 to top it. Ryan finally announces the twist that we here at IDF have known about for over a week. Then he announces that Alyssa Wray is safe, and singing "Greatest Love of All" by Whitney Houston. Please no. 26 even with the impressive big notes. Ryan quickly makes with the pimpage, mentioning that Jennifer Hudson was DM-ing Alyssa. My mom said she liked Alyssa's version better than Whitney's...really? That's one of "the songs", the ones that I'll always critique harshly because my mother sang them to me when I was a kid. ...What the hell are you wearing, Alanis? She is not in the Top Ten. She's doing Demi Lovato's "Heart Attack". And despite the ridiculous outfit, that's a 96. Amazing. Sadly, my commentary for the next few singers got eaten by improperly saving data when I got a PM. I loved Willie and Grace, a 94 for the former and a 92 for the latter. Hunter was not bad, but not great and it was a weird song choice, I gave him a 54. Graham is the last one in the Danger Zone, and he gives another old-fashioned performance, very pretty. 70 seems right. The judges seem to love him, though. The judges made their choices over the commercial break. I quickly count up the gender breakdown of the Top 10, it's 5 and 5. So probably one guy and one girl. Lionel says that they're judging them only on tonight's performances, and on that note, their first pick is...Madison Watkins?! Holy crap that's a bad take. Katy says that the three judges all chose the same two contestants, and the other one was...Beane.

Loving Ava's prom dress. But even when they're sung well, as Ava's doing, I will rarely be a fan of these types of slow ballads.