ScarletDevilCCX

It was a fire truck, wasn't it? I mean, an ambulance would make more sense, but that definitely looked like it was a fire truck. Then again paramedics are attached to the fire department.

Mom had a Zoom meeting with friends last night so she gave me her blessing to continue watching March Madness and we'd catch it off the DVR. Normally I'd take advantage of actually being able to watch an episode without her talking over it, but I'm from NJ so I decided to watch the Rutgers game. (It didn't go well; they blew a double-digit second half lead. Then the women's team did the same thing this afternoon.) Tonight's drink is Cherry Dr. Pepper with Malibu Rum. We've got the Genre Challenge, which is a good returning thing, and Bobby Bones, which isn't. Up first is Pop, and we're starting with the Olayan siblings. Liahona looks nervous, and then suddenly she doesn't. I'm still not a fan, though that might have to do with the bare-bones arrangement. Ammon is up next, and he's just turned 18, and he's better, doing "Can't Get You Off My Mind". He's off-key, though. Liv Grace Blue is up. Oh, they actually put the genre on the screen. Wait, that's "Ain't No Sunshine"? I didn't even recognize it! She's incredible. We've got young contestants bonding. Oh, I remember her! Laila Mach. She's another quality contestant, and should be going through. She says she was nervous going through, but it didn't show. Ava August is up next, and she sounds better than she did in her audition. The three girls go through and Ammon goes home. Montage of American Idol contestants forming lifelong favorites. It's country time. Drake McCain is back; they didn't show his audition this time around but he was returning from Season 17. Caleb Kennedy is here and continuing the tradition of young country guys who sound older than they look. Mignon is...a contestant they pulled from somewhere? Same for Mason Picks. I like the latter, and maybe the former, but I don't remember their auditions so they're probably fodder. And we've got our first romance! Cameron McGhar and Alex Miller. They're both good and I'd advance them both. Alex definitely has the same stage presence as Caleb Lee Hutchinson. Cecil Ray is up next...oh, yes, he's the one with a newborn daughter. I guess Hollywood Week wasn't that long after auditions? His little girl's still only 2 months old. Oh, no, he missed his cue! And commercial. He doesn't miss the cue this time, but it's just "not bad". Not good enough to pass on to the next round after that mistake imo. And the only one sent home was Cameron? I'm surprised. Even the ones whose auditions weren't shown made it, but one of my favorites from this group went home. Soul time. Up first is Re'h, a 27-year-old National Guardswoman. She's also friends with another one, Celeste Butler. Katy called her "cruise ship" in her audition, and still seems unimpressed. I liked it enough. Xavier Washington, who I seem to remember...he's got a textbook. He's studying for his level one Chinese exam...at Yale. An Ivy Leaguer! And he can sing, too--really well. It's funny, soul seems to be the genre I'm least fond of the female singers in, but I often love the male soul singers even though overall I tend to favor the ladies. Up next are Grace Kinstler and DJ Johnson. I remember Grace being pretty amazing...oh, yeah, she was the one who made Luke cry just with her singing! She mentions some issues with body image, but I think she wears it well. DJ...oh. Oh, right, she was the one whose mother abandoned the family! She's singing Andra Day's "Rise Up" and I think she messed up the lyrics but she sounds nice so I'll give her a pass. DJ and Celeste step forward, and...back row goes through. Understandable. Indie genre up next. A bunch of people with various day jobs. Christina Daugherty is a high school teacher, and her students basically told her that they wouldn't do their summer homework if she didn't audition. Hunter Metts was a software coder, but he quit to portray this dream. I seem to remember liking him but this is just kind of meh. Oh, this guy! Graham DeFranco. He's a pilot. I definitely liked him in auditions and I still do. Oh, and now we get a flashback to auditions even before seeing the performance. They're hyping Cassandra Coleman up big-time. Her voice justifies it, though. The judges love to declare people "Top Ten", and I would support that but we don't hear critiques in this stage. Lionel says that they shouldn't get psyched out if they don't go through. The four people they showed all do go through, though. Back to pop. Anthony Guzman was the one who came into auditions dressed as a Viking, and now he's in a kilt, singing "Fever". Montage of "colorful" contestants, like "She Nova" and Yurisbel. Yurisbel still isn't that good; She Nova is interesting. Andrea Valles, 23, is from Houston, TX, and I don't remember her audition but she's amazing. Oh, I remember this one! She was a piece of work and I hated her before she even started singing but Katy managed to bring out the best in her. Erika Perry, 26. Not great to start, and then she forgets a line and lets it get to her, cursing and asking for a restart. I think she needs to go...wait, hold on, I didn't even recognize that; she's singing Phil Collins' "In the Air". Andrea and Anthony are the only two going forward, and Katy explicitly says "you two" so we know there aren't any fodders that they edited over. They show the "you two" clip again after the commercial. Oh, no, we're about to get a meltdown... She's intentionally channeling the "Karen"...At least she's self-aware about it. James Perdue starts our second batch of country singers, and Luke seems to think he's not ready. Oh, Christian McGuckian, I remember her! She's the one who doesn't look old enough to audition but she's actually in her early twenties. She's singing Miranda Lambert's "Gunpowder and Lead" and it's clear she's nervous. They slow her down and provide a beat for her, and she still slips up...remembering the audition too, it feels like the judges are really pulling for her. And next is Chayce Beckham, who lost loved ones...yes, right, they contrasted him with a country singer who sounded good but wasn't "authentic" enough. He makes a perfect song choice and absolutely nails it. Chayce moves on and James and Christian go home. Christian's in tears, but she says she's not going to quit so maybe we'll see her again next year. Mary Jo Young, 19, from Cleveland, was the one who had never performed for anyone live before but she was amazing. She still is. Also we're back in Pop. I'm calling "potential winner". Colin Jamieson, yeah, I remember he was in a boy band with another auditioner who didn't go through? He's good, and gets an ovation from the audience. And...oh, right, I almost forgot about Claudia Conway! She's dyed her hair brown. And now we've got stage mom problems, except the mom in question is already infamous for her connection with the 45th President. Well, putting aside all the noise, she deserves her spot in the next round. No one steps forward because everyone's going through. Embarrassing mother shenanigans. R&B time. Vahhley, the homeless woman with a young son and her father is also homeless. I loved her in auditions and I still do. She sings "Love on the Brain" by Rihanna. She feels she was nervous. We go right to her going home, and we also say goodbye to Tristan Grubbs and Brianna Collechio. I seem to remember liking both of them in auditions so the fact that they go home without even getting shown is disappointing. Briana says she's not giving up, though, and she's 15 so plenty of time for her. Wyatt Pike is in the "Indie" genre even though I thought he was country. He's doing his own take on "Stay". Emisunshine is doing Hozier's "Take Me To Church" (I hate the performance but I love that she's already using a stage name), and Trinity Rose is doing "Wouldn't It Be Nice" (also not great, but I love the flower crown and bright pink hair). Lizzy O'Very comes out on the stage with an accordion and does a...very bad rendition of Elle Goulding's "Lights". Disappointing; I love that song. Murphy is up next, and I remember him; he was a very memorable person, from his appearance to the way he speaks. I also remember that my mother decided she hated him before he even started singing...oh, right, he's half-blind, and since she's been blind in one eye for most of her life too, she felt he was using that as an excuse for why his life was so tough when I didn't get that from him at all (also, hate the producers for story exploitation, not the contestants.) He sings well and deserves to move on. The judges seem unimpressed. Wyatt and Murphy both step forward, but so do Emisunshine and Lizzy. They remain in the competition. Rock time, finally. They saved it for the end because apparently there are only 9 rockers in Hollywood this year. Beane from Beantown is doing "Bennie and the Jets" and I like his performance. And now we've got our token "singing into a hairbrush in the mirror" teenager, 15-year-old Casey Bishop. Oh, right, the one whose influences were 90s bands and made us all feel old when we realized those were probably her parents' music. She goes older still and does "House of the Rising Sun" and it was amazing. Christian...something or another sings, and then Althea Grace, whose infant daughter had to be hospitalized last year. Her performance wasn't the best but it was good enough. Christian is the only one going home. We get another montage of people going through. They don't mention names but the one who's dating Catie Turner is one of them. Then we get a name on screen, 18-year-old Amanda Mena, who gets through and deservedly so, and we get to our last contestant, Willie Spence, but first, it's panic time because the clock on our TV box says 8:01 and so does the one on my computer, but the DVR hasn't started up yet and when I press the guide, it still says 7:58. The light starts up though, so hopefully we'll still be able to catch it from the start. He's doing John Legend's "All of Me", and he sounds wonderful. Technically he blew the lyrics but he didn't pause so he's good. He moves on. Duets are up next, but the contestants who made it through are brought back into the theater for some "game-changing news", according to Ryan. But it really is game-changing: the contestants don't get to choose their partner! The judges are pairing the contestants up. DVR came through! We hit "play next episode" and go right to the "Time and Temperature by TD Bank", just before the start. We get a "Previously on". Katy's apparently in a wig, and we get a shot of a fire truck with sirens and flashing lights so as per usual, something's going to happen. They've got cards on a board, and the face of their partner is on the other side. Laila Mach and Liahona Olayan are working together, and they play up the "Liahona came to Hollywood with her brother but he's been eliminated" angle again. Oh, and the judges are able to come in on the contestants' rehearsals and give advice. The girls are doing "Stay", and they sound good but they're a bit unenthusiastic. Katy tries to cheer her up. We cut to the actual performance and it's good. The judges still feel like Liahona's sadness is dragging her down. Katy asks if she really wants to be here, and her responses are "yeah" and "uh-huh". Katy's not buying it. She says Liahona's dragging the whole ship down and that she's sabotaging herself. Laila's going through, and so's Liahona but with a "don't ever do that again." She's still insistent that she does want to be here. Cameron Allen and Graham DeFranco are doing "Watermelon Sugar", and they're only briefly on screen. Luke says to beware song choice. Graham's still alive but Cameron goes home. Beane and Kari Erickson are also doing "Watermelon Sugar" but they make it more of a jazzy piece and it's really good. The judges don't like what they did with it but they put Beane through. Then Luke bans any further performances of that song. Anthony Guzman and Adriel Carrera are practicing an interesting rendition of Tears for Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and they get some advice from Lionel. Bobby says their version is boring and he initially mistook it for their warm-up. I don't remember Adriel but Anthony is the interesting Viking man...oh, no, it's more Watermelon Sugar. This is...interesting. Adriel's dancing is bad but the singing is good and the judges seem pleased. Both go through to the next round. Madison Watkins and Deshawn Goncalves, who we saw in auditions but not last night, are a pair. I definitely remembered loving Deshawn; don't remember what I thought of Madison. "Stay" again; I feel like there was a limited list of songs for this round which means that the jokey ban of "Watermelon Sugar" definitely can't hold up. But this is an amazing performance. They both go forward, unsurprisingly. Oh, my, this is going to be a trip. Hannah Everhart is paired up with Claudia Conway, and this is our "missing partner" for the year. ...Oh, it wasn't even that it was Claudia in particular that freaked Hannah out. Should've figured that out when she said "Claudia's TikTok famous but I didn't know that", but apparently Hannah was hoping to be paired up with an older contestant because she's an old soul and doesn't relate well to people her own age. As usual, Claudia's fashion choices are on point. It takes a while before there's anything for me to even tell if "one" of them is good, because they're singing together all the way too. The judges agree that they did too much harmony and neither was able to shine, and they said they'd seen Hannah do better. Hannah moves on, but Claudia goes home. Well, at least we don't have to deal with all the media circus. And Hannah seems to have come to appreciate Claudia. Also she's going to FedEx her a chicken. Alex Miller is paired up with Emisunshine this time, and they initially choose Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line" but Luke seems to kill that idea. Except not; they're still doing "I Walk the Line" but it's a very different arrangement. Emisunshine is yodeling. Luke said they got pushback on that because American Idol needs to push them to become good. He thinks that was too safe a choice for Alex and he needs to try to make a pop song his own instead of just doing the country songs he grew up on, and that Emisunshine carried it and that she could've gotten overshadowed but she didn't. They both go through, and since I'm finally live, I'll be able to flip into March Madness on commercials if need be. Murphy gets paired up with Lizzy O'Very. Oh, Lizzy also does the whole "barefoot" thing. Murphy goes barefoot with her. They do "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac, and it's interesting; they both sing very high. I like it. They both go through. Cassandra Coleman is paired with Wyatt Pike, and they're still focusing on Cassandra's nerves. She thinks that having Wyatt beside her will help for this round. They absolutely nail Alex Clare's "Too Close". The judges loved how the two of them worked together and they both go through. Monica Leah and Miguela are doing "Titanium" and I think they're good but I don't remember seeing either of them before so they're probably gone. They are, because Lionel says they were "dueling" in their duet. Ronda (looked away when they showed the names) and Funke Lagoke are up next, and I don't remember either of them. Ronda seems to be the one getting the edit, but apparently they've both had some struggles? I think this is a very good performance. Not the type of performance I like, personally, but I recognize that it's a quality performance in a genre I just don't care for. Judges are in disagreement; Katy wants to send someone home but Luke wants to keep her, so it's on Lionel to break the tie. He critiques Ronda and says she crashed and burned, but before we can get Funke's criticism, she just faints on stage, goes down hard. They say she busted her chin. Wow, didn't see that one coming. As Funke is carried off, the judges deliver the verdict to Ronda--both girls were, in fact, good enough to go through. Funke receives some stitches and is treated for dehydration. Kya Monee and Willie Spence are also doing "Stay", and I think they're editing through it because it just skipped ahead in the song absolutely seamlessly. Well, I guess they have to edit through because we saw the opening notes and the closing notes. The judges feel like they made a good choice pairing those two up and say they're both going through "with flying colors". Apparently they're not the only "perfect pairings", according to the next edit. Ben Dobson and Henry...I got hung up with a missed keystroke and forgot Henry's last name. Jazzy Rose and Re'h are also a pair, and both of these pairs are going through. Zach D'Onofrio is a bit nervous about being paired with cheerleader Sloane, because he's a timid person and it's too much of a contrast with her peppiness. Sloane's happy to be paired with Zach, though, because he's talented. They sing "You Make My Dreams Come True". Both go home. Zach's thinking of maybe coming back again, and Katy seems optimistic that he'll show them next time that the underdog always wins. And to think, this was actually prerecorded. The underdogs have been doing plenty of winning in the tournament these past four days! Christina Daugherty and Chayce Beckham are trying to find a negative headspace to get into for their duet, because the song they're singing is a breakup song. I love this performance; they've both got a lot of power in their voices, rasp and strength. Chayce is moving onwards, but they feel the song didn't give Christina the proper chance and send her home. As they leave, Luke asks if they're in love, and Katy says they're in love and don't even know it. Sadie Leigh and ...oh crap they're doing this to me. It wasn't even a long name, but they're showing me more names already and my attention span is just that short. If I was watching alone I'd rewind, but I'm not. Well, what little we saw of them, they both should be going home. Samantha Sharpe and Alana are a pair and one of them, I think it's Alana, is crashing and asks for a restart. Althea Grace is paired with Camille Lamb, who I don't think is someone we've seen before. But just as they start clicking, Althea gets a call from her father; Lennon's feeding tube came out and they had to take her to the ER. We go to commercial...I get the feeling that Althea's going to go through with this performance so as not to let Camille down, but if she gets through, she'll withdraw. Coming out of break, I think maybe I'm wrong. They're doing Lesley Gore's "You Don't Own Me" and they're both deserving of moving on. I think. Althea's the better of the two. Katy says that Camille is pepper and Althea is salt, and they're two different things and need to come together to reap the benefits of being "seasoned". They both go through, and as they leave the stage, Katy tells them that's what queens do and wonders what would happen if she and Taylor teamed up. Hunter Metts and Ava August are teamed up. Someone tells Hunter that he looks like Ryan Phillipe, and he's never heard of him. He's a little put-off when he realizes that the actor he was just compared to is in his forties, but Ava sees the resemblance. They do Calum Scott's "Dancing On My Own", and I think it's good. The judges think they played it safe, and this is the last round they can do that in, but they'll both have more rounds to not play safe. Our last featured duet of the night is Alyssa Wray and Grace Kinstler. Alyssa talks again about how she felt like an outcast because she was one of the only black kids in her school and she's super tall. Grace also had some self-confidence issues; she's 100 lbs. lighter than she was in high school. They sing "Grenade" by Bruno Mars and it's fire. Wow. They build to some huge notes. This is incredible and they'd better both be going through. Okay, yeah, they definitely are; the judges say that they stopped the show. Katy takes off her gloves and wig, and as we leave, Luke's now wearing the wig.

I know, right? In fairness, we saw that one just in the time they were together in Hollywood. And yeah, I hate when the show uses tragic stories to manipulate us but I'm a huge Brianna fan right now.

Had a Sauvignon Blanc at dinner tonight, but just one so there might still be a drink later. Final auditions. Madison Watkins, 25, from Fayetteville, AR, but now living in Los Angeles. She's singing an original that she wrote for her father, who is her biggest supporter. Her listed profession is "hair model". As expected of the first contestant of an audition episode, she's good. Montage of Katy fans. One of them says they've been a fan since Katy's first song, and I'm like, these are teenagers, they were like not even in kindergarten when Katy's first song came out. Liv Grace Blue, 17, is doing a very interesting take on "I Kissed a Girl". Ava August, 15, of Laguna Angel, CA, is doing...I don't recognize it right away but I'm assuming it's another Katy Perry song. Both are...okay. Both go through, and I have no problem with that but they're not overwhelming. Then Liv's mom comes in and embarrasses her with bad dancing. Deshawn Goncalves, 19, of Cleveland, OH, is a student at Jackson State University (and a tuba player in their marching band--shout-out to HBCU marching bands!). His father ended up in prison; his parents were very young when he was born, in particular his mother was 13. He came in very sharply dressed and sure enough, he's a soul singer. Also, amazing. Lionel says "Consider yourself hugged", because of course he can't physically hug Deshawn because of the pandemic. He goes through. Athlete montage. Alana, 22, is from Florida. Cameron Allen, 20, is a college student from Oklahoma. Both go through; I'm not sure I agree with Cameron going through. Tryzdin Grubbs, 15, is from Columbus, OH, and he's the only singer in a family of athletes; he says he "grew up on a football field". And he got bullied for daring to be different. He's a bit mumbly but I like the sound of his voice. Give him some more confidence and he'll be good. The judges say the same thing. He'll do another song, "Nobody" by James Arthur. ...And now it's maybe a little overenunciated. A little bit of mumbliness isn't necessarily a bad thing. But it gets stronger as he hits the chorus. A bit of a rock style? Yeah, I can see it. He could be our next glam rocker. Thought we were heading to commercial but instead we get a quick montage. Andrea Valles, 23, is doing "Landslide". She's a bit over-affected but I like her. Katy isn't sure what to make of her. Luke is far more positive. Andrea is trying for this, and yeah, she's earned this. Luke gives an instant yes. Katy pouts a bit but it sounds like it was a yes, and we come out of the room with a ticket. Kiko, 25, is a registered nurse from Las Vegas. I like what he's got, but Luke wants 30 seconds of something else, so he calls in his guitarist...Season 18 Top 5 Francisco Martin! And they'll be doing "Ten Years" by Season 17 runner-up Alejandro Aranda (is he still using the last name? I'm not sure). Okay, they are brothers. I thought we already had two noes when Lionel said yes, but apparently Luke hadn't voted yet. But it's another no. He feels his nerves got the best of him, and Francisco says he's confident Kiko will get it next time. Segue into "second chances"-- Zachary D'Onofrio, 19, is doing the Beatles' "Golden Slumbers", and he made it to Hollywood in Season 16. I like him. Katy's not sure what to make of him and asks for more, and he asks if he can bring in his girlfriend. And it's another returning finalist! I do remember the sparks between him and Catie Turner, and apparently they fell out of touch but last year they got together. She's looking a lot less geeky than she did on her run on the show. They put Zach through. Then Ryan makes things weird. Montage of oddballs. Brianna Collichio, 15, is from upstate New York and she auditioned after a video she made and her sister Sentina posted on TikTok went viral. She originally had an earlier audition date, but she collapsed just before her first audition as a result of her cystic fibrosis. She says normally that would be a problem for singing because a lot of CF patients have scarred lungs and are all raspy, but she doesn't have that. She's singing "Scars to Your Beautiful" by Alessia Cara, naturally. It's amazing. How is this only the hour one closer; this is the type of thing they often put at the very end of the show?! They put her through, of course. She's in tears. We get some people who were in a boy band together. They're not worth remembering. Oh, wait, no, we've only seen one of them. Colin Jamieson, 22, of Boxford, MA, is doing "six feet under" by Billie Eilish. He's...better than his friend, but still not great. He goes through though. Vahhley, 23, from Brooklyn, NY. Has a son, probably about 2 or 3...and they've been living in a homeless shelter for the past 8 months. She's singing "One Moment in Time" by Whitney Houston. She sings beautifully, and as they're delivering the verdict, her father (who's also homeless) can't keep her son MJ under control any longer, and as a new mother, Katy's tuned in to that. Vahhley goes through. ...Oh no, some more stuff got lost because my computer is bad. I remember the last contestant because she had a baby who had a life-threatening condition, and I remember an autistic kid with an even more severely autistic brother who was told to come back another year, and there was a guy who sounded good but they thought was too fake, which was then contrasted with someone who was real, had gone through some issues and had a sister who also had those issues that he wrote a song for. The other two I mentioned (not the guy who was too fake) also had originals that were very personal. It's a theme this year.

Wow. That was amazing. The vocals were pretty good, too.

Okay, fine, I guess more auditions are okay. Seems like they take forever, though; I was starting to wonder how they managed to get through it so quickly in the FOX era until I remembered that they used to be two nights a week all the way through.

Wait, it's episode 4 already? Feels like it just started. Then again, the first episode was during the Valentine's Day marathon and it feels like it's been forever since I've hung out with that community, so I guess it's been a while. No alcohol during the show; I had a kind of late dinner and it included two glasses of chardonnay. They start off by showing Carrie Underwood's audition, then show Gabby and how she was inspired by Carrie and apparently we're already to the point where Gabby's the inspiration for people. We've got...oh, a 15-year-old. From upstate New York. Laila Mach of New Paltz, with an original song. Pretty good, though there's a bit of lyrical dissonance. And apparently the ex-boyfriend she wrote that song about really did crash his car a couple days later? Well, anyway, she gets through and it's well deserved. Next is R'Eh from Houston, Texas, a soldier in the U.S. National Guard. She's singing "Bad Girls" by Donna Summer and she leaves to...do a quick costume change before her performance! It's a good performance, though I'd kind of like to hear what she does with something more contemporary because performing a disco song tells me absolutely nothing about how she'd do as a performer in the 2020s. They salute her, which is not really proper protocol--civilians aren't ever supposed to salute. We go to commercial...did I just catch a Roll Tide in there? And from Katy of all people, who memorably showed up as the guest picker for College Gameday and correctly picked Ole Miss to upset Alabama? (It wasn't dumb luck, either; she did a lot more research than anyone expected.) Oh. She's doing it to troll Luke, who's a huge Georgia Bulldogs fan. Right now, Luke's alone in the audition room because he's on a schedule. This was the day of the Georgia-Bama game. Michael Gerow, 16, of St. Louis, MO, is doing an original song. I don't think he's that good. Too affected, and he's scrunching his face up too much. The judges love him, though...Katy even uses her "top 10 material" cliche! He goes on. I don't agree. And next comes a high school cheerleader from Clanton, Alabama--Luke immediately asks if she's an Alabama fan or an Auburn fan and gets another "Roll Tide". I mean, neither answer is something a Dawgs fan likes, is it? Cameron McGhar was raised by her grandmother because her mother was a druggie. She was a pageant kid. She's singing "Girl Crush" by Little Big Town and she sells it much better than the last person to sing it, but she's still being too deliberate, enunciating too much. They've got her doing another song, and I like it more, but Katy keeps saying she's out of tune...oh, I recognize this song now! Katy says that "you only have one chance to show us what you've got, and that wasn't it; we had to pull it out of you". Lionel gives her a no. Cameron says she's ready. Katy says "you weren't ready", and we go to commercial. So...she goes through? If it goes to commercial when it's looking like a no, it's probably a yes. Katy fakes her out! "I'm not gonna Roll Tide with you...but I'm gonna roll the dice with you." Luke seems to be leaning no, too. But he goes with Katy and lets her through! I hope she comes back next year if and when she gets cut in Hollywood. Beane is frim Boston, MA, and he's the grandson of a pastor. While grandpa did the sermons, grandma did the music. His real name is Brandon Heppler. Luke makes a dad joke about making him a jumping Beane. He's singing "Wait for the Moment" by Wolfpack, or at least I think that's what he said. He's a wedding singer, and this song sounds like something a wedding singer would sing, but there's nothing wrong with that; we've had some wedding singers go deep on this show before. I like it. Not sure if this style of music will resonate with the voters...actually, it probably won't matter; he's Hollywood material but not voting round material. Lionel says that he's not sure if it's right for American Idol. Luke seems to agree, but Katy says he's a walking pocket full of sunshine and it's not put on; he's literal stardust. She gives him a yes, Luke gives him a no. Lionel puts him through. Anthony Key, 27, is from northwest Indiana and he's been performing all his life, asking for the mic at a wedding when he was 5. Yeah, I can tell he's theatrical. He has a "Pop Star" vanity plate and he's doing "Dynamite" by BTS...wait, this is a BTS song? He has always felt influenced by the boy bands; the clip of him at age 5 had him doing Backstreet Boys tunes. Katy feels she isn't quite sure if he knows who he is. There's too much performance in there, too much choreography, not enough lead vocal quality. He says he's not going to give up just because three celebrities told him to stick to choreography...I mean, dude, your choreography is really good. You could have a future in the biz regardless. Ash Ruder of Turlock, CA, is 22, or will be the day after the audition, and she's a daddy's girl...except he was an addict and wasn't really there for her, and she had been angry at him for quite some time. She's trying to make up for lost time. Also, it's her father's birthday on the day of the audition. She's doing an original song that she wrote for him. Well, she's got talent as a songwriter. Not bad as a singer, either, but wow, this song. This is a professional level song. She goes through in an emotional display; Lionel couldn't hold back the tears. We've got another Lionel fan here, and she gets to live her dream of dueting with him, and she's not bad. Cheryl K, 24, originally from Malaysia, and the foreign accent is evident in her speaking voice but not so much in her singing voice. I'm a fan. Lionel says she doesn't have enough control yet. Her dog's name is Jimmy Choo? She's a character. It's a no from the others, but they say that she just needs to hone it a bit more. Heather Russell, 20, of Toronto, ON, is also meeting her idol, Katy Perry, doing her new song "Harleys in Hawaii". Huh, not familiar with this one yet. ...Doesn't sound like any Katy Perry song I've ever heard. But I love it! She's playing the piano, too. Luke says to make sure to look at the judges and be careful of all the tricks, because her high end is great and she might be one of the best singers they've heard. Lionel says that he's not normally a fan of someone who relies on a lot of runs. Katy makes an odd metaphor with cake, but it actually works. The guys put her through, and then Katy makes like she's going to say no even though it wouldn't matter...Luke leaves her with the advice "be an artist, not a singer." Caleb Kennedy is 16 and he's a singer-songwriter from Roebuck, SC. He says he used to play football but he quit because it's hard for a fat boy to breathe out there. His parents are divorced. He's singing an original called "Nowhere". He's got a bit more grit than previous country teens, though I'm not sure if I like it as much--after all, the opposite of gritty is smooth. Katy says that that song is going to take him somewhere. He goes through. Judges being weird and being conscious of it. Abby LeBaron is 19 and from Springville, UT. She's doing Kodaline's "All I Want" and playing the piano, and she's the best of the night. Thing is, normally this late in the episode that'd be a much bigger compliment than it is right now. She's good, make no mistake, but nobody this episode has jumped out as a favorite for the season. Phillip Murphy, often called by his last name, is a traveling musician. He's from Seattle Baltimore (maybe the audition's in Seattle?) and he's half-blind, and his mother died when he was young and his father became a drug addict after his mother died. He sings "Just the Two of Us" and it's not really that good, and Katy agrees. Lionel says he needs to peel back a couple of layers of mystique and show the real him, and wants to hear something else, so he sings an original called "The Painted Man". Much better; this song reminds me of some of the better Original Winners Songs. Luke says yes, and Katy says he's a bit too novelty and gives him a no. We cut to outside, and he walks out of the room with a golden ticket. Alyssa Wray is from Perryville, KY, and she says that she's always stood out, being a 6'2" tall black girl in Kentucky. She's the last contestant of the day, which usually means "story", but she's not standing out aside from her size. Perryville's a small town, only 750 people...wow, that's only about half the size of my town! ...Oh. Yeah, occasionally they make up for a lack of backstory by just giving us someone that good. She's doing "I Am Changing". The judges are on their feet before she even finishes singing. They're ready to crown her a star.

Yeah. I decided I hated her before she even started singing, and I wasn't really a fan of the audition at first, but then after they came back from the commercial and made her sing again without the affectations, I kind of like her now! ...Not really as a singer, though. There are better contestants. But I like her attitude.

We didn't even hear the "no" before it went to commercial, right?

Really thought when the graphic billed him simply as "Mias" that he was surely going through, and when he started singing, I was like "well, at least he deserves it."

This girl has got a seriously great voice. I am just blown away. ScarletDevilCCX jamescasaki Bk1234 jazzontherocks KelseyW x3 because of u hazuki sublymonal Angeles MargoK anonymouskid_35 Niki CarmenSandiego

I know, right? Made it even tougher to buy that song. Also, Alanis Sophia sounds like a contender to win this season.

Agreed. In the video audition I'd have said 12, but in person she at least looks 14.

Mary Jo's really unpolished, but she's got some great potential in her voice.

ABC still has yet to fully commit to American Idol. I'm not asking the show to reclaim the magic it once had, because that's never coming back. I just want to see one damn episode with a single elimination (and no, Jeremiah's elimination doesn't count, because there was a save reducing the number of eliminations to 1.)

They said he "could be" the best of the season.

Not seeing any of it. Not the part about him being good, and not the part about him being too "up here" and needing centering. Well, okay, after he got the ticket I kind of see it, but I didn't see it in his performance. He was boring and nasally.

Long Trail's Green Blaze IPA tonight. Tonight's auditions are from Ojai, CA, which Katy calls one of the most spiritual places in the country. These intros are getting stupider and stupider and I hate that ABC seems to be doubling down on the "auditions good, competitions shows bad" theory. Cecil Ray Baker is 20 from Cameron, TX, and has a daughter, 1.5 months old. He lost a friend to suicide when he was 11, then a brother the very next year, and then an uncle the year after that. I don't really like his performance much, but they showed a bunch of his story and he's leading off an episode so he's bound to go through. They have him close his eyes and put his hands in his pockets and try again, then after a bit, they have him start snapping his fingers to the beat. Yep, here we go, Luke calls him "absolute perfection", but they want him to calm down a bit. Funny, I don't feel he had enough pizzazz. Katy calls him a "country Justin Bieber" and says that he's "up here" and needs to do something every morning to ground himself. I'm not seeing what they see. We come back and see a...family performance? Samantha Sharpe, 25, from Basking Ridge, performs with her family but wants to go solo. She performs "Titanium" and it sounds great, and they agree and send her to Hollywood but the fact they didn't show much of her tells me she's probably fodder, unfortunately. Now comes Graham DeFranco, 27, an aerial survey pilot from Rockwall, TX, who kind of reminds me of Season 10's Casey Abrams. Well, he's getting an intro, at least. He's doing "Part 1" by Band of Horses. I like him. Nothing showstopping, but he's got a pleasant voice, kind of a John Mayer type (except I'm not actually a John Mayer fan). They like him and want him to have more confidence in himself, because he has a "very listenable voice". Tom McDonald, 28, is a jingle writer from Allentown, NJ and he's singing a song that he made up about his mom telling him he should audition so he did and now he's singing about auditioning. I liked his voice but they didn't put him through. Now we get some more weird Katy stuff. Mary Jo Young, 19, is from Cleveland, OH. She says she hasn't performed to a live audience since her fourth grade talent show; she just posts on TikTok. She's singing "You Broke Me First" by Tate McRae. I think I like her. She's very unpolished, nowhere near being a star yet, but there's a quality to her voice that reminds me of some very talented artists. The judges have her bring her mom in so she can finally hear Mary Jo sing in person. She gets the ticket and Katy compares her to Julia Michaels. They talk about "Idol Across America", where they let people audition online. Montage of people from far-off parts of the country. Xavier Washington, from GA, is a student at Yale. Celeste Butler is 23, from Oceanside, CA. Dzaki is...I dunno, I was trying to put the name he said up when the graphic just said "Dzaki". All three go through. Christian McGuckian, 20, is from Easley, SC. A couple months ago, she got in a bad car accident, cracked a couple of ribs, and she started to realize that she wouldn't have been happy with how her life went if that had been it for her. Her initial video audition makes her look like she's about 12, and honestly even in person she looks about 14. She's doing "Girl Crush" by Little Big Town. ...Not a fan, and not just because she looks so much younger than she actually is and that's a very mature song. Luke says she's got "magic country stuff" in her but "everything else" is getting in the way. She's already in tears and they haven't rendered a verdict yet, and it goes to commercial and they still haven't. Oh, so that's what Pooch Perfect is. The early ads made it seem like Doggy Bachelor but it's really Extreme Makeover: Dog Edition. We come back and they...want her to try again, they're doing something to try to calm her nerves. And it's...better! Still not a potential winner imo, but maybe she's worth a golden ticket after all. Luke says that a lot of country girls come in, they try to act country and sing country, and they ain't country. Christian is country. And she's crying a lot, but it's different from the crying before. And they all give her a yes! Olyasdream is a "handpan artist" from Russia. This is one of those "strange" auditions. Luke breaks one of the instruments she brought in. The fact that they didn't even show her age was a definite sign. Katy says that she's from another world, and she has to go back to the other world to compete. Lana Alanis Sophia, 19, is from Chapel Hill, FL. She was named after Alanis Morrissette, because her mother (who was only 19 when she had Alanis) was a huge fan going through a rough time. Alanis is singing a Demi Lovato song, I forgot the title because I was trying to have a discussion with my mother. Also, this could be one of the contenders for the title. We come back to the judges kazooing. Jeremias Williams is from Apopka, FL, and he's a big guy--Luke asks "who are you, where are you from, and how much do you bench press". He's 23 and his father is 80. Jeremias is a fireman and EMT. His "story" is poverty. He's singing "Simple Man" and the graphic on screen bills him simply as "Mias". So, yeah, he's going through. He deserves it. Katy says that it's "missing something". Lionel likes the timbre of his voice, though. Luke says he's got a nice voice, but he's not sure if Jeremias has found what he's looking for yet. Katy says no, and Lionel says...that he needs time. It's three nos. Huh, I guess I can't read this show as well as I thought. We come back to a montage of awkward romantic moments on Idol. And we get a guy in there dueting with his mom, and they send the guy through. Erika Perry is up next, and she starts by flirting with Ryan. This is going to be that weird person. She says she goes by "E.T." because she's extraterrestrial. She hasn't even started singing and I already hate her. And now there's some stuff that gets bleeped. Again, I'm getting Cowell-era audition flashbacks before the singing even starts. Not surprisingly, she's singing "E.T." by Katy Perry. Thankfully, it's awful. Luke's not sure if this is even English. I can only remember maybe three auditions like this in the ABC era and one of them turned out to be the defending champion playing a prank. It goes to commercial before we even hear a no, which is weird. Oh, wait, it really isn't an automatic no! They want 30 seconds, no gimmicks. Katy keeps trying to coach her. Is talent even a factor in this competition if the judges are going to pick their favorites regardless? Katy calls her "annoying but also good" and says she's likeable. It's a yes from Katy, a no from Luke, saying there's too much to do to strip down the weirdness. Lionel says he doesn't get it, but he's going to give her a very sparing "yes". Katy tells her to go call up the boyfriend who dumped her right before the audition and rub it in his face, but she already deleted his number and doesn't remember it so she can't. Are they actually making her likeable? Hunter Metz Metts, 22, is from Franklin, TN. I think I've already seen a "fan thread" for him so he's probably going deep. He's singing "All the Pretty Girls" by Kaleo, and maybe I was wrong because I misspelled the name when I was like "I've seen this name already", but he's not bad. A bit strange, though, given what I know of Kaleo. Also, he wasn't able to audition before because his sister was a Disney employee, and she quit her job to support him. He is, of course, going through. Katy gives the "top ten", and Luke does too. Luke and his kazoo again. Ronda Felton is 19, from Milwaukee, WI but living in Arizona. She's already crying tears of joy before she even gets to auditioning. She grew up the hard life--single mom with no money. She doesn't even look 19. She's singing "One Night Only" from Dreamgirls. And it's a wow from the very first note! I can't tell by the clock if this is our "show ender" or not; they certainly could fit another audition in, but given their tendency to go to commercial after almost every audition, and to especially give a spotlight to the last contestant, I doubt they will. Yep, Lionel's going to pad it out a bit with rambling. He gives a yes. Katy does as well, and Luke says that it was a great performance, but he's got a feeling it's not her best performance...to come. Lots of tears ensue; the judges have her bring her mother in. Katy asks if there's a song of celebration, and Ronda's mother asks her what song she wants to do. Ronda says "you know what song". One of mom's favorite songs is "Zoom" by the Commodores, and we get the two of them performing with Lionel. And now the clock is properly run out.

I'm here, though I'll largely be working on my own review thread.

"Self-taught, mediocre", huh? CASSIE!

1. ScarletDevilCCX 2. KelseyW

Add me.

I know, right? I loved her choice of favorite groups until I realized that she probably likes Nirvana and the Peppers for the same reason I like The Who and Queen--great groups that my parents love. That said, Casey has replaced Hannah as my favorite of the season. It was nice while it lasted, Hannah.

Hannah's my new favorite for this season. Something about those Mississippi girls, I guess; I was a huge Skylar stan back in Season 11.

Cold open on someone making it to Hollywood, and then we get two siblings, Ammon and Liahona Olayan of Waiahia, HI. They’re 17 and 16, respectively, and the two oldest of 8 siblings. They sing a song they wrote together. They’re not bad—Liahona’s definitely better, and the judges agree, though Katy says that as songwriters, they’re already worthy of being signed. Lionel says yes to both, and then so does Katy, and Luke too. The siblings’ parents come in, carrying baby number eight. Anthony Guzman of Santa Clara, CA is a "modern-day Viking", coming into the audition in some sort of cosplay complete with Mjolnir. Katy says "Skol!" and starts a scream-off. They're curious how it translates into his music, and he's...doing Michael Bublé? Well, okay. He's amazing at it. Luke is turned off by the disconnect between the presentation and the performance, but Katy and Lionel put him through with the advice that he needs to take himself a bit more seriously and decide who he is. I finally got away to make my drink--a vodka gimlet--and get back in time for Hannah Everhart of Canton, MS, who is about as country as they come. She's starstruck by the bright lights and celebrities. She does have the same eyes as Katy, though, which is nice. She's singing "Wayfaring Stranger", and this too is nice. They stop her at first because she's too concerned about their reaction, but they love her after the restart. She says she was thinking of auditioning with Etta James's "At Last", but decided to play it safe, and they say you shouldn't be playing American Idol safe and have her do that song too. It's also quite good, though I like her better when she stays in her country lane. Katy says she has an attitude problem, and Hannah says she thinks she's been pretty respectful. Yeah, that's the problem, right? She's too safe. They put her through. Oh damn it, something went weird and my edit disappeared. Casey Bishop, 15, is from Ebero, FL. She says there's nothing for her in her small town and that she has no performing experience, just singing into her hairbrush. Girl, that's fine, you're 15! Though apparently she listens to her parents' music--she cites Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Sublime as her favorite groups, and it disgusts me to think of those as "her parents' music", though she's also a fan of some real oldies like Ella Fitzgerald. She does a Motley Crue song, and no I'm not punctuating that properly because that's what screwed up my edit, and it's not bad, but they make her sing something else. She goes for some Sarah Vaughan--"My Funny Valentine". Oh, wow. Not quite Melinda Doolittle, but better than Amber Holcomb--the first time in pre-finals, not the vastly inferior reprise in Top 4. She goes through. As for the one that got deleted, we come back from commercial to see him sobbing, and it looks more like a rejection cry than a "oh my god I made it" cry, but then we see the golden ticket...and the pimp piece. He, too is from Mississippi, and he's an ex-con trying to get his life back together. Unfortunately, I don't think he's very good--if we hadn't already seen the golden ticket and the pimp piece, I'd have said he's a reject. Hopefully he'll be like last year's redemption story, Dillon James, who I found utterly forgettable for the first half of finals and then he became my favorite contestant for the second half. Yurisbel (no last name) is 25 and from Miami and he basically sounds like Pitbull, so it's not surprising that he's doing a Pitbull song. Unfortunately, he stops sounding like Pitbull when he starts singing. It's a no for me. It's a yes for Luke but a no for Katy...Lionel gives him a yes, because "the kids need to have some fun and you're the mascot for fun." Katy also points out that he sounds like Cookie Monster...oh my god how did I not notice that?! Love him as a person, but not as a singer. Montage of Luke doing dad jokes about place names. Chayce Beckham, 24, is from Apple Valley, CA--which has no apples--and he gets a pimp piece. His mother's name is "Windie"? Okay, compared to that, the interesting spelling of his first name is nothing. He's had a rough year (haven't we all?) and moved back home. Couldn't catch the song title but the group name was too long---something about "few"? Well, whatever, he's a good singer and I've successfully passed "buzzed" and made it to downright drunk. I over-did it on the "splash" of sweetened lime juice, and with how little was in the vodka bottle, I figured "forget measuring, I'm just going to finish the bottle". Spoiler alert: there's still vodka in the bottle. Wasn't enough room in the glass to finish it. I'm horrible at judging how much is left in a container. Montage of people doing original songs, or at least announcing that they're doing original songs that we don't get too here. Ace Stiles is 16, from Tulsa, OK, singing an original song called "Addicted", "but it's not about drugs because I'm 16 and that's illegal". Katy asks if Ace is his real name, and he says that yes, though since he's trans, he can kind of choose his own name. Yeah, I had a feeling--my mom actually initially assumed he was female, and I wasn't ready to put any pronouns in until I got a confirmation--he's androgynous and his wardrobe was kind of gender neutral (again, my mom thought it was feminine). Though I do have to concede that the pictures they showed, he looked more masculine "before" than he does at audition time. Unless that's actually from more recent than audition time--there's a little ambiguity as to whether or not this is a "proper" pimp piece, and if it is, it could be from further into his transition. We go to commercial still not knowing if he's even going through, though I suspect he is. Luke thinks he's too introverted. Lionel has a dilemma, can't figure out if he's really commanding it. Katy thinks he's quirky, but that he has something worth investing in. Katy starts the vote and says that they want him to succeed, but it's a no for now. Luke agrees, and Lionel gives a yes to push across the message that they do believe in him, it's just not there yet. I don't think their words got through, though; he still feels that he wasn't good enough. And that starts a new montage of people who they have to tell "not yet". Cassandra Coleman, 24, is from Columbia, TN, and she normally performs on TikTok so performing live is new to her. Luke says he has a farm in Columbia. Cassie's singing "The Way it Was" by the Killers...well, that's certainly an interesting choice. The Killers are one of the best groups to come out of this century. And she's slaying it. Katy fakes her out, "I didn't like it...I LOVED it." Lionel says it was angelic. Katy asks where she normally performs, and she says she usually doesn't. Lionel says "life begins at the end of your comfort zone". He asks if she has a musician side of her and forces her to go over to the piano, where she says she isn't sure if she has anything memorized and then puts on a flawless rendition of OneRepublic's "Apologize", piano and voice alike. She gets a golden ticket, and accidentally takes a second. Luke says that he almost lost his calluses during quarantine, he's been playing the guitar so little. Willie Spence, 21, born in West Palm Beach, FL, raised in Douglas, GA, which isn't far from where Luke grew up so he starts talking high school sports. He was 600 lbs. at his peak, down to 400...-ish, he says he lost "over 180 lbs." He's singing "Diamonds" by Rihanna, and it's not bad at all. I like it. I didn't mix my drink well enough and the last couple of sips were very tart. Lionel is enthused, saying "yes!" a couple of times and then calling for the vote. Katy says "you know you sing good", and I'm not too drunk to mentally shout "well, Katy, sing well!" They put him through, obviously.