ScarletDevilCCX

Amazing. Certainly not the contestant you'd expect to be the first to perform MCR on the show, but I already knew that song was actually really poignant and she did it justice.

Her voice was so beautiful that I voted for her in spite of giving her a low performance rating for all the pauses.

Despite what this topic series would suggest, I'm really not all that frequent a drinker, so tonight I've got Yards Brewing Company's Winter Lager, "Long Jawns", since I didn't go through my last six-pack during football season. We've got three hours tonight, and "Home" is playing as Ryan makes his intro...oh, right, it's just because last week was in Hawaii, so this is the first show at their usual home. Katy's dress makes her look like a dust bunny--she says that Luke compared her to the inside of a car wash. We've got "superstar producers", including "Idol's own" Lauren Spencer-Smith. Well, at least she made it to the voting phase. We'll be starting with the Monday group for some reason, and the first to make it into the Top 20 is Jack Blocker. My initial instinct is "oh no" before remembering he was actually decent last week and there were some real stinkers. He sings Jim Croce's "You Don't Mess Around with Jim", and he almost completely avoided the weird faces. 71! I still don't think he's talented enough to go deep, but he did well. Second to take the stage tonight is Mia Matthews. She's singing Lainey Wilson's "Wildflowers and Wild Horses", and speaking of contestants who had shaky Hollywood rounds but have rounded into form, wow Mia! 82. Mackenzie Sol made it through, too. I'm pretty sure he was one of the ones who I thought bombed last week. He sings Lady Gaga's "I'll Never Love Again". It's...not awful, but not great. 46. Go back to the comedy videos, dude. Roman Collins is up fourth, and wow. He had a diabetic coma when he was 3 and the doctors said that if he woke up at all, there'd be a 97% chance he'd be braindead. That is definitely a good backstory for a gospel singer. He sings "Never Would Have Made It" by Marvin Sapp. It's maybe a bit overblown, but I'm sure it plays right to his audience. 69. Lionel tells him that God has a plan for him, and yeah, that much is obvious. Kennedy Reid is up fifth. She's singing "Love Can Build A Bridge" by the Judds. Extremely underwhelming, transitioning into bad. 32. We go to commercial break, and when we come back we'll have one of our guest stars, some platinum recording artist I've never heard of called Teddy Swims. After the guest star, Ajii is the sixth to make it through. He sings "Like a Stone" by Audioslave. It's not as good as last week, but still not bad. 70, I think? Jennifer Jeffries is the seventh to make it. She sings Matt Maeson's "Grave Digger". 73. Emmy Russell is up eighth, and she's singing an original called "Want You". 87. Ryan's moved to tears by the lyrics. Katy says she can still sense the lack of confidence and wants more of the big notes that she knows Emmy can produce. Triston Harper also has an original called "H-O-P-E", which stands for "Hold On, Pain Ends". Remember, he's only 15 and he's somehow already the most country of country singers imaginable. 97. I really think he's one of the best singers this season has. He's the first one that I immediately start texting in votes, only to be reminded that voting doesn't even open until the show ends. I'm not used to that from the ABC era! Ellie Marie, KBlocks, and Odell Bunton Jr. are the last three remaining from the Monday group, and it's Odell who makes it through. I don't think he did well last week, but he was a Platinum Ticket winner. He sings "The Door" by Teddy Swims, and he redeems himself from last week. 88. Second half now. Kayko is the first one through; here's hoping he can rebound because he was one of my faves in the pre-voting rounds but I thought he didn't do well on a strong night. He's written humdreds of songs, and he sings song #485, "OVER YOU". ...Good enough. 83. Jordan Anthony also makes it through. I feel like he was the other one I thought wasn't good last week? But I did pick him as a favorite in the auditions. He's singing "when the party's over" by Billie Eilish. It's,,,very blah. 51. Quintavious is third into the second half, and he's singing "Hollow" by Tori Kelly. It's...too much for me, I'd say. I'm not really sure how to describe it. It wasn't bad, and it had good energy, and yet it just kind of...went straight through me. 66. Up fourth is Kaibrienne "KB" Wilkins. She talks about how much of a tomboy she was growing up, following her siblings. She's singing "girl i am now" by...Kaibrienne. Oh, that's why Ryan introduced her differently! She's gone from abbreviating her first name to using it as a mononym. But...she's completely choking. This is an original song; it shouldn't be this easy to tell that she's freaking up, but she's really freaking up, having trouble getting the words out. Yes, there's also a lot of emotion coming out, but this is... It's sad. Because her voice just now was beautiful. I loved her singing. But she really messed it up. Lionel saved it for her, remembering his own similar moment, stopping and starting at a show at Madison Square Garden. For the integrity of the ratings, I give it a 40. But it's a 40 that I'm voting for. Another guest, I think his name was Paul Russell. I don't think I'd vote for him if he were one of the contestants though he's certainly not bad. Nya is the next one to make the Top 20. She dedicates Ray Charles' "Georgia On My Mind" to her late father, who passed when she was 16. Good. A little shouty maybe? But pretty good. 78. Jayna Elise is also into the Top 20. I'm already losing focus so I missed the song choice, but it's a 103 and it's rare that I give out a rating over 100 without first giving out a 100 flat and then getting it topped, but she was that amazing. Abi Carter's grandmother passed away in between the Hawaii week and now, and she's singing My Chemical Romance's "Welcome To The Black Parade", which I recently realized really is a very poignant song, moved me to tears just the other day. Of course, that quality of the lyrics is far more evident with the arrangement she came up with, full-fledged power ballad. There's the 100 flat to justify the 103. Lauren Spencer-Smith's performance will be after the next break. Lauren sings "Fingers Crossed". Will Moseley is the next contestant to make it to the Top 20. He's the first member of his family to graduate from college (Biology, Georgia Southern). He said he'd take one year off to chase music and if it didn't work, he'd get a real job. He thinks it's looking good for year two. "Makin Me Look Good Again" by Drake someone-or-another. I'd also say it's looking good for Year 2. 95. McKenna Faith Breinholt also made it into the Top 20. Zach Williams and Dolly Parton did a reaction video to her audition. She's singing Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now". It's good. 80. The last three waiting are Blake Proehl, Hailey Mia, and Julia Gagnon...wait, no, Blake was definitely one I thought was bad last week; Jordan must have done okay! And Julia was also one I didn't vote for; she was decent, but in such a strong field, I couldn't give her my vote. Go Hailey! If she makes it, then all nine of the ones I voted for last week will have been among the ten who made it. Julia made it through. She was a Platinum Ticket winner, so unsurprising. She sings...I have no idea. It's a 102 though, even with her being so overcome with emotion that she struggles to get the final word of the song out. The crowd is chanting her name.

Ugh, finally. Started trying to make this topic with plenty of time, and the keyboard just...wasn't working. Like I could backspace out the autocomplete of the topic title, but actually typing something new...no. Smirnoff Orange, neat (from the freezer). Odell Bunton Jr., the third Platinum Ticket Winner, gets the anti-pimp spot because why not. He does Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars's inescapable 2014 hit "Uptown Funk"--the song of 2015 having actually come out in 2014 basically says everything you need to know about 2015 in music. Anyway, this is a song that's carried more by the beat than the vocals (hence why Ronson is billed first), so it's really not a song that can work for anyone other than Bruno Mars. 57. Elleigh Marie is channeling her anger at being cheated on into Cee-Lo Green's "Forget You". And...it's another dud. This is another song that's not easy to do justice. 25. We are not off to a good start. My mother says "I like the way she spells her name." Seriousleigh? Mackenzie Sol is up third, and we're reminded that he won the sing-off for the final spot. He's singing Nick Jonas's "Jealous". We see in the mentor session with Jelly Roll that he's still struggling to hit a certain note in falsetto. Was this song always this slow to get started? No, I'm pretty sure he's reinterpreting it. It eventually gets more towards the familiar beat. I think he did well changing it up. 60. Jelly Roll seems impressed, though, saying he had the highest expectations for Mackenzie and he still blew him away. Jennifer Jeffries is torn between "All I Want" by Kodaline and "Bruises" by Lewis Capaldi. Jelly Roll seems to like the former better, but she's not as comfortable doing that on guitar so she might be choosing between Bruises with the guitar and All I Want without it. She chooses Bruises. I think this was performed last night and I misidentified the title. This was...underwhelming, but I don't really remember it being slain last night either, which is weird because just about everyone last night was better than this group. 47. Why do they always load up one group with all of the good contestants? ...Oh, good, Emmy Russell is up next (along with a performance by mentor Jelly Roll). Jelly Roll sings "Halfway to Hell" and confirms that, no, I'm not just being harder to please than normal tonight; they just haven't rolled out a good contestant yet. Emmy looks to change that with "Beautiful Things" by former contestant Benson Boone, and it barely takes any time to confirm that she succeeds. 87. She instantly gets me texting in votes, because after four clunkers there's no doubt she gets my vote. Jelly Roll is hyped, and Lionel is loving Jelly Roll. Katy compares her to Joni Mitchell. Even after knocking over my (thankfully already empty) glass putting my computer down, I miraculously manage a bathroom break short enough to not miss a thing. Vanna White is here, because apparently in addition to all the things he already does, Ryan Seacrest is going to be taking over as the host of Wheel of Fortune next season with Pat Sajak's impending retirement. Ajii is up sixth, and the judges are audibly shocked. And in Katy's case, visibly shocked. I don't think they expected him to be this good--yeah, Lionel is also clearly stunned. This was the first time Ajii's mother saw him perform. 98. The Brooklyn boy is a reggae star! Katy compares him to The Weeknd. Luke says he's got the same type of infectious energy as Jelly Roll. Kennedy Reid will be performing after the next break. Kennedy brought her "bestie" Jean Ann, who looks to be about 50 years her senior, to Hawaii with her. She's singing "Fancy" by Reba McEntire. This is either going to be brilliant or awful, no in-between, calling it now. ...Looks like brilliant. She started out not moving around much on the stage, but she got to it later in the song and it kind of made it hit even harder. 91. I'm impressed. Jack Blocker is up eighth, and I remember thinking he probably shouldn't have even made it to Showstoppers but he was actually pretty good in that round...I think? He's singing Kacey Musgraves's "Rainbow". Oh, right, I remember, he's got the faces. In Showstoppers he sang so well that he overcame it, but yeah, he's got awful stage presence. ...Is it just me or do his eyes kind of wander even when they're not closing? The mellow ballad really helped him, because it kept him from overdoing the facial expressions, but it still seemed a little overtuned. 66. I know that doesn't sound great, but I'm serious, he should sing the mellow ballads more often. Roman Collins is up ninth, and Jelly Roll is not a fan of the advice Katy and Luke gave to him at the final judgment. He's singing "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" by Marvin Gaye. ...I think he should've listened to Luke and Katy. 63. We're nine performances in and I've only rated three performances above 70, while last night I rated 10 out of 12 that high. KBlocks is up tenth, and I'm hoping she can do well. But I'm not sure about this from the mentor session. She's singing Katy Perry's "Harleys in Hawaii". A bold choice. And I'm unsurprisingly not a fan. ...Oh wow. This started out at least decent, but continued to get worse and worse. 18. Mia Matthews is singing "Daddy's Hands"--her father was a carpenter, and he was from Hawaii. Jelly Roll says that he lost his father in 2019. So did I. ...I don't like sad ballads, and that's going to depress my rating for this performance. There's some weakness near the end...though right at the end, it's clear that it's not simple missed notes, but tears. 70. Which wouldn't have gotten my vote last night (I ended up excluding Julia from my ballot as well after giving her a 74), but will tonight. Up last is Triston Harper. Okay, fair enough. I forgot about him, and putting him in the pimp spot, it probably wasn't even necessary on this weak night but I'm not complaining. He's singing "God's Country" by Blake Shelton. I end up adjusting most of the other scores down a bit, because once again, they did save the best for last: 100, again.

Triston up last. Probably didn't even need to, but I ain't complaining; this kid sounds like a country star but I worry that he'll struggle to resonate with the country fanbase due to the color of his skin.

They would have! She would be a VFTW idol.

...Not bad. Wouldn't have gotten my vote last night, but it gets it tonight because there have been so few good performances.

Worst of the night. What the hell was this night?

Not me. We're 9 performances in and I can confidently say that my Top 16 would be 10 from last night and 6 from tonight (regardless of whether the last three are amazing or awful, since the #4-6 from the first nine of tonight all rate behind last night's #10 but ahead of #11).

...I think he should've ignored Jelly Roll's advice and listened to Katy and Luke's.

"Understated" is definitely not a word I'd use to describe Jack; he's constantly making exaggerated facial expressions.

Still seemed a bit...overtuned is the word I'd use...but I think this was a good song choice for Jack. The mellow ballad kept his overexpressiveness to a minimum.

Accidental double post.

Oh wait I forgot this guy was still here. I think he actually did well in Showstoppers but he really never should've made it that far.

Make that three straight winners. They really did put all the clunkers at the beginning of the show huh?

Two good performances after a slow start.

Okay, good, the signed, award-winning artist actually sounds good to me. I was starting to wonder if I was just harder to please tonight than last night, but nope, the first four contestants really were all worse than at least 10 of the 12 from last night.

Got a bit of a headache already, though with other cold-like symptoms, maybe a drink would be good for me. Then again, it might just be "too much time in front of screens"...and yet, here I am forcing myself to continue looking at screens. ...What the heck. Bacardi and Cola it is. We get an announcement that Iam Tongi will be performing, and then we get a silly intro with the judges. The numbers immediately go up on screen, though they don't stay on the screen for nearly long enough to get more than a glance. Maybe if I had preconceived notions I could zoom in on my favorites (okay, I did immediately take note of Kayko at #5...), but... They once again introduce Tori Kelly as "Idol's own". She didn't even make the Top 24, in the infamously unsuccessful Season 9. 16-year-old Hailey Mia's up first, singing "she's all i want to be" by Tate McRae. Never heard of them, but the all-lowercase marks them as a product of the 2020s...even though this song wouldn't be out of place in my own '00s childhood. Hailey did really well...oh, wait, these are voted on, I need to actually come up with a number! Let's just go with 78. ...I didn't even pick up on it, but my mother notices that it seems almost like one of Hailey's eyes is half-closed. Jordan Anthony of Perth, Australia is up second. He's singing "Titanium" by Sia, representing the Aussies (eh, close enough...actually, it does show as "David Guetta ft. Sia"). Okay, the votes don't close until tomorrow morning; I won't be rushed. 87. Up third after the break is Jayna Elise. I start to go to my phone for the commercial break, only to be reminded that I scheduled this update that my phone's been pushing for 8:15 (I can't schedule it for the middle of the night because Pokemon Sleep). She sings Demi Lovato's "Confident", and she clearly is; I love her outfit but it's definitely "bold". No signs of lack of confidence in her voice either; this feels like a 90. The judges agree that she had a ton of stage presence. Next up after another commercial break is Julia Gagnon with Adele's "Rumour Has It", certainly not an easy song but she was a Platinum Ticket winner. Julia got engaged on Christmas Eve, and she's thrilled to celebrate her engagement in Hawaii. She's actually deeper than the original, and there's a break that, I don't think is in the original song but then again I don't have any albums from much past the late 00s so maybe it's just not in the radio version. Anyway, 74. Good, but not stunning. We'll be getting a Tori Kelly performance before our next contestant, who as I noted before is Kayko. They mention that Tori was only 16 when she got her Golden Ticket. I don't have to rate her performance though. Kayko's doing an original, "How To Live Without You", that he wrote after the unexpected death of his mother a couple years ago. Ah, that's why Ryan referred to Tori's mentor session with him as "emotional". He went to Hawaii with his mother about 10 years ago and has been getting deja vu. ...Huh. I was expecting to be too overcome with emotion to even give this a proper rating, having experienced the loss of a parent, but this...wasn't really it? Obviously the emotion weakened certain parts of it, but...the song itself didn't feel like it had the appropriate gravitas? See, this is why I refuse to pick my favorites in advance. 36. Ryan notes that during rehearsals, it was cloudy most of the day but when Kayko took the stage the sun came out and it was really magical. Yeah, whatever. Nya is up sixth, singing Tina Turner's "The Best". She's singing it for her fiance, and she notes that they've been together for five years but this is the first time he'll be seeing her perform. As someone who's only ever heard this song in commercials, this is incredible. 95. Blake Proehl is up seventh, and he's been to Hawaii before, as a ball boy at the Pro Bowl when his father was a coach, back when that was still in Hawaii. Tori's definitely got the constructive criticism. He's singing "Anyone" by Justin Bieber. It's...underwhelming. 48. After the next break, it's Iam Tongi's performance, followed by another Platinum Ticket winner, Abi Carter. Iam's song is called "Why Kiki?" Cute. I love it. Abi says she had already come to terms with going home after her performance in Hollywood when she was suffering from bronchitis. She mentions that she's used to performing behind her piano and this will be her first time without an instrument to hide behind, though she does start off behind a vaguely piano-shaped prop. She's singing "Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)" by Hillsong UNITED, and it's beautiful. 86. We'll be getting two contestants without a commercial break between them again, Quintavious and KB Richins. Quintavious is singing "Hollow" by Tori Kelly. Oh, wait, no, he isn't; he's singing "Something In The Water", but not that one. Well, whatever, it's amazing. 97. KB's up next, singing Bryan Adams's "Heaven"--her father's favorite. Another masterpiece. 93. I'm realizing that the anti-pimp position is still a thing; I loved Hailey's performance at the time but as all the other contestants rolled in, so many of them outscored her. Will Moseley is up eleventh, singing Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay". It's effortlessly good, 92. Wow. Tonight was incredible. With only one contestant left, it seems clear which two I want to go home...and one of them was the one whose name I immediately saw at the beginning and recognized as "a favorite". Up last is McKenna Faith Breinholt. She's singing Brandi Carlisle's "The Story". And somehow, they still did it. They saved the best for last. 100.

Same drink as last night. They shoved all of Hollywood Round into a single week to make up for the late start, which given their usual penchant for shoving the voting rounds into a single month means there's a chance that we're already closer to the finale than the premiere. 18-year-old Australian Jordan Anthony is singing Adele's "Love in the Dark". I labeled him an early favorite, and this performance was...I'm not sure how I'd classify it. It showed off his range, and I'm not really sure if it was the best, but it was good enough, and the judges agree. Odell Bunton Jr., one of the Platinum Ticket winners, is up next...wait, showstoppers is really just the second round? Damn, the Platinum Ticket is especially powerful this year. He dedicates Nina Simone's "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" to his late sister, who died at the age of 24 of cardiomyopathy and whose birthday it would have been. This is definitely different than I know this song, but then again, I'm pretty sure the version I knew had a male singer so it wasn't Nina Simone. He's got a tough life at home, 12 people under one roof in the hotel. Katy does a patented judge fake-out, which I don't fall for for a moment. Remember, we've got only 120 minutes, including commercials, to see the entire top 24's judgments. How are they even going to find time to show us anyone else? I imagine they can't show us more than 30 performances. Nya, 28, from Manhattan, sings "Get Ready", and absolutely brings the house down. It'd be criminal if she doesn't go through, and Katy says "we really want to tell you no as a fake-out, but you're too good and no one's going to buy it." Good job, Katy. Blake Proehl, the son of a long-time NFL player whose own NFL dreams were cut short by injury, sings "In My Blood", and the judges think he's got the voice to slay that song but his head is getting in the way. They get his Nana on a video call to give him the news that he's going to the Top 24. Triston Harper is the next to learn his fate. He's 15 and accompanied in Hollywood by his mother, Hattie Mae. The judges say that every time they see him, they see a farm owner with two kids, not a 15-year-old. I understand what they mean. He does have a baby face, but his voice and his demeanor are that of an adult. He sings Cody Johnson's "By Your Grace", and as expected, he sounds like a veteran country singer. ...It's just a shame that country's main fanbase is so racist; it's going to be hard for him to get the votes he needs and deserves. Of course, he goes through. Don't want to drink too much when I'm working the next day, so I've already moved on to soft drinks. Roman Collins has a sob story and sings the Beatles' "Come Together". He's worthy, but I hate that it was already a foregone conclusion because they showed his backstory before his performance instead of after. KB Richins, and Alyssa Raghu will be receiving their judgments together. Alyssa's singing "I Will Survive", and of course she's good enough to go through; she's literally done it twice already. KB sings Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man", and she acknowledges the risk of doing a song that women rarely cover. I think it worked, but two people going in together usually means only one's going through and she notices that the judges didn't give her a standing ovation but they gave the contestants before and after her a standing ovation. But there really is going to be a sing-off! They've got one hour, and two choices of songs--"Shallow" by Lady Gaga or "Fingers Crossed" by Lauren Spencer-Smith--and they both have to sing the same song. We don't get to hear the sing-off until after the break. They decided on "Shallow". Alyssa's up first, at KB's urging. KB already looks defeated...for some reason, because this isn't close, and Alyssa knows it. Can't believe it came down to this. And yes, it's KB who goes through. Others who are leaving are Justice Murphy, McKayla McCall, Scarlett Lee, and Michael Rice. Next up is Jack Blocker, the one who only made it through because Luke convinced the crew to tell off the other two judges for letting him go. He sings "You Should've Seen the Other Guy" by Nathaniel Rateliff, and he's a lot better than last night...do I support him for Top 24? ...Ah, there go the weird faces. I mean, with the amount of time they devoted to him, he's going through, right? I'm not sure it's the right decision, but less on this performance than on the previous ones. But yeah, when he finished, Lionel and Katy told Luke that they'd been wrong. The judges bring back the crew that had fought for him to tell him he's in the top 24. Mia Matthews and McKenna Faith Breinholt come in together. Mia auditioned with her sister, and McKenna met her birth family at her audition. McKenna sang Demi Lovato's "Anyone", and Mia sang "You Ain't Woman Enough" by Loretta Lynn. The judges think that it wasn't McKenna's best moment, and liked Mia's...but they're both in. Speaking of Loretta Lynn, Emmy's still in it, right? Yep, here she is, and apparently she sang right after Mia. She's singing "More Hearts Than Mine" by Ingrid Andress. She's finally got her confidence, and rightfully so. She's in the Top 24. Will Moseley is singing "Ain't No Sunshine". A classic, but it works. He goes through. Ajii sings "Too Close" by Alex Clare, and it's the perfect choice. Luke says he got too screamy, and Katy wants to hear him in a subtle mode. I'm not sure I agree; I think the energy is his lane. Lionel tells him he's in the Top 24. Kayko's also in the Top 24 as are Ellie Marie and Kennedy Reid. KBlocks sings "River" by Bishop Briggs. Luke says "every time she walks on stage, I'm wondering 'who is this person'", and I have to agree; when I saw her I was like "oh, I'm finally going to catch her name, I missed it last night", and I wasn't expecting such an obvious stage name. She's in. I've lost internet again. Right as I was about to ask what happened to the other two Platinum Ticket winners, here comes Abi Carter. She's got bronchitis. She had to drop out of high school to get a job to help support her younger siblings after her parents' divorce because her mom couldn't do it alone. She sang Cher's "If I Could Turn Back Time". Katy acknowledges that a lot of things were out of Abi's control, but some of them were, like having the guitar up there. Luke mentions that she was at the piano in her original audition and asks if she's as experienced at the guitar as at the piano. The judges finally execute a fake-out successfully; she's in the Top 24. Jayna Elise was cut at this phase last year, and I hope she goes through this year; she deserves it. She sings "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" by Celine Dion. We don't even get to see the whole scene--she's going through, and we hear Lionel say this before we've even finished hearing her performance. Quintavious and Hailey Mia are also going through; we hear a little of Hailey's performance. Jennifer Jeffries sings Noah Kahan's "Northern Attitude". They pull out the Alejandro card; we know she's through. She is. Julia Gagnon sings "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", and I'm pretty sure she isn't going home. She isn't. And...oh no, it's down to Ziggy vs. Mackenzie Sol for the last spot in the Top 24. Ziggy sang "This Is Me" from The Greatest Showman. He's keeping it real. Mackenzie sang "With A Little Help From My Friends" by the Beatles. He's amazing too. It's another sing-off. They'll be singing "Jealous" by...I don't know who, it's not the Nick Jonas song. Another commercial. Mackenzie's up first. I'm not sure I like this performance. He's getting overemotional. I mean, arguably it's really good, but...I don't know. And now Ziggy's up, and he's nothing like Mackenzie, instead being very measured--but still every bit as big. The emotion comes in...it's a tough choice. Raw emotion, or polished grace? The judges go with the former. Mackenzie is in the Top 24. ...What happened to the third Platinum Ticket winner? The judges have an announcement for the Top 24...oh, of course, it's Hawaii time, as announced by having Stitch come out wearing a lei. Tori Kelly and Jelly Roll will be the mentors and extra judges.

Ugh, lost track of time and got out of the shower right at 8 so I couldn't even get started on this topic until well into the first commercial break. We get advertised "the biggest cuts yet", and we start the show with a performance of "California Dreamin'" by the three Platinum Ticket holders. We learn that the contestants will be called up one by one, and they won't know when it's their turn, and that more than half of them will be cut. Up first is Triston Harris, 15, of Macintosh, AL. He's singing an original called "Wrapped Up In Jesus" that an 86-year-old nun at his church came up with the basic outline for and asked him to polish up. It's good. Next is Quintavious, 21. I don't really think he stood out but I might've been paying more attention to trying to get my computer to cooperate. Up third is Hailey Mia, 16, of Clifton, NJ, and she does well. Emmy Russell, granddaughter of the legendary Loretta Lynn, is up next, and she talks about the pressure of filling those big shoes and how she wasn't being true to herself. We won't hear her until after the commercial. Emmy will be doing an original called "Like That", and as expected, she's good. Jack Blocker is up, and he says that he got some critiques but he can't change who he is...oh, right, he was the one that the crew came up to bat to get Lionel to change his mind. He sings "Your Cheatin' Heart" by Hank Williams. I don't think he should stay. We go to commercial again and I quickly catch up and am able to head off to the kitchen to make tonight's drink. Bee-otch Honey Whiskey from Dumbass Whiskey, LLC, in Pompton Plains--supporting my local businesses. We're back and getting a montage of "why are you the next American Idol". We're reminded of the teen mom. Kayko has Impostor Syndrome and doesn't feel like he belonged here. He's the one who came along as an accompanist for another auditioner, Abby Blake, and was asked to sing as well and got a ticket as well. He's singing a song he wrote about the audition. ...Oh my. He's so relatable. He belongs. He's exactly the type of artist that will sell big, it reminds me so much of the type of music I listened to as a teen (oh by the way, today's my 35th birthday). He's going to be a favorite of mine. Up next is the aforementioned Abby Blake, 25, singing "Vienna" by Billy Joel. Elise Testone she ain't, but it's a perfectly acceptable performance; you're rarely going to come out on top inviting comparisons to a Season 11 Top 7 member after all. Up next, from Starkville MS, 17-year-old Jennifer Jeffries. She says that music itself saved her. Oh, right, I remember her, she's the youngest of nine children. She's singing an original called "You Were A Child", about the mental health issues that she and her siblings struggled with. ...It's going to be a no from me. Remember, we're cutting more than half the field, and while I assume that they'll show most of the yeses and few of the noes, I have to operate under the assumption that just "good" isn't good enough. The judges seem to disagree with my assessment of Jennifer, however. Naya, 28, is singing "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" and it's every bit as "big" as it needs to be. Jacy Matthews, 17, is up next--she and her sister Mia auditioned together and both advanced, with Katy the only judge who said yes to both but each of them got one of the male judges to say yes. I thought she was the lesser of the two then and I still don't think she's got it. Her sister is up next, singing "Mama's Broken Heart" by Miranda Lambert. Not bad, better than her sister, but I'm still not sure. There's another performance but I honestly don't even notice. Our next auditioner is McKenna Faith Breinholt, who was adopted at a young age and learned that her birth parents died young--they were the ones who had a documentary made about them. She sings "When We Were Young" by Adele, and it's beautiful. Ajii, 27, from Brooklyn, may not look like an idol, but his performance of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man" is Idol-worthy. Mada Chakell is singing "Tattooed Heart" by Ariana Grande and it doesn't sound good and she knows it and asks to start over. She still doesn't like what she's hearing and decides to do it a capella, and afterwards the judges ask if her voice is okay. Wow, we're actually going to get a Cowell-era meltdown, aren't we? But surprisingly, she's given another shot--there really was a mix-up? She's still a bit shaky and asks for a chair, and...she actually sounds better this time? I don't know, but it's still better than the definite no. And...she puts on a weird fake accent when responding to the judges? Luke calls her out on needing to be humbled. Next up is Camila Galavis, who is still 14, and she sings Jordin Sparks' "No Air". It's plenty good. Isabela Mercier is up next and she clearly messed up. Amanda Mograss, 24...we're in the montage of people freezing up under pressure now. KB Richins, 20, I remember her. Bipolar, was it? She decided she wanted to do something for herself for this round, a little out of her comfort zone, but it's one she feels she could've written. "How Could You" by Jessie Murph. It's...I'm not sure it was the best choice. But on the other hand, maybe it was. She breaks down crying mid-song, but she doesn't stop, doesn't even break stride. Okay, it was exactly the correct choice. That raw emotion can't be faked. And...hm. Perhaps I missed a step. I didn't pick up on this, but my mother clearly recognizes that these lyrics are about being sexually assaulted and the judges, while never directly saying it, clearly intimate as much as well. Oh wow, I just looked up the song, and yeah, if I was actually reading those lyrics even I'd be able to understand the message. I'm guessing they sanitized it a bit for television though. Ziggy showed up to the party a tad late; he was having issues with his visa. Which segues into Will Moseley, who was the auditioner whose audition Lionel had to leave in the middle of. He's singing Chris Stapleton's "Whiskey and You". He definitely belongs. Roman Collins, 24, oversings "Gravity", and Mackenzie Sol does the same to...I don't even know. Blake Proehl, and Justice Murphy...we're in a montage. I don't feel like Blake was oversinging, but the other three all were. Lionel says we've got an emergency because there's no way we can get rid of half of this class...you mean that wasn't a failure montage? Kennedy Reid sings "How Great Thou Art!", which is listed only as "traditional". They think they're done for the day, but they forgot about Ziggy, the flamboyant Dutchman. I seem to remember liking him. His mother was a drug addict and he didn't really know his father until he was an adult. His father was a rock star, and they reconnected, but his father passed away in September. Ziggy sings Kodaline's "All I Want", and there's nothing "flamboyant" or "extra" about this performance--well, except for the outfit and the cotton candy hair. He's a genuine singer. Katy immediately picks up on it--he has a certain appearance that would make people get a certain idea of who he was, and he did that and showed that maybe he wasn't what they thought he was. We're going to be cutting down from 143 to 63. Whew. Nearly lost internet just before the posting. Kayko is in group 1, but Abby is in Group 2. Quintavious is in 1, Noah Peters-Connell in 2, Kyra in 2. There was someone else in Group 1 but I keep missing her name. Group 1 goes through. In the next one, the names are coming too quickly for me to keep up, but it's obvious which one's staying. Will Moseley, Triston, and Jennifer Jeffries all stay, while Madai goes home. Ziggy, Hailey Mia, and KB are all staying. Layla and Max Dasher are in separate groups, and Emmy Russell is in Layla's; Jack Blocker is in Max's. But both groups go through! And it turns out we're actually only down to 56.

Finally, the last audition episode. Are we getting a new episode next week, or will Easter preempt it? It certainly makes no difference to me, because I'm Jewish, and the chances of me having to endure my sister's overbearing mother-in-law on my birthday went down dramatically on Thursday. Unfortunately, it's under the worst possible circumstances, namely that my sister's father-in-law died. Anyway, tonight's drink is Angry Orchard Green Apple. Ricky Moyer, a 22-year-old barista from Philadelphia, PA, starts us off with "It Must Have Been Love" by Roxette, slowed down. It's beautiful, and we get the judges' positive comments even before the performance ends. He goes through. Liliana Tovar Dalton, 17, from San Antonio, TX, writes her own music--mostly about boys. She's singing an original called "5%", which is "the amount of effort this person gave me". They were playing a Taylor Swift song behind her intro, and yeah, these lyrics are very '00s T-Swift. I like her. Katy says "I feel like that was just one long text message", and she replies that that's basically what it was, her telling her friend about how this guy [expletive]. They think she needs another gear, and have her do a cover. Yeah, I see it. Lionel starts out sounding like he's going to tell her "not yet", but then gives her a yes, and it's three yeses. Carmen Olivia, 16, of Bethel, CT; Brant McCollough, 16, of Samson, AL; and Sophia Ava Marie, 15, of Las Vegas, NV. Sophia's up first, singing Katy's "The One That Got Away" and absolutely slaying. Brant's singing...I don't know but he's good too. Don't know what Carmen's singing either; I'm pretty sure they didn't put it up on screen for any of them. She's also great, and all three go through. Camilla Galavis, 14...14? I didn't think they could audition at 14. Maybe she turns 15 before the final audition? Originally from Venezuela, now living in Miami. Her father Juan Pablo was a contestant on the Bachelor 10 years ago. She's singing "Rabia" by Joaquina. It sounded good even if I had no idea what she was saying (I took Spanish in school but that was like 15-20 years ago). Lionel says it's a no but take time to develop it. Katy seems to be saying similar things, but gives her a yes. Luke says he wrote no down on his page, but then he said that the right producer could make her a hit song, so he gives her a yes. And the judges give maybe the least enthusiastic "You're going to Hollywood" I've ever heard out of them. "I'm going to show you where the cactus are" Katy, cactus isn't a word that's the same in singular and plural. This is more padding, and I guess it's a setup for a contestant who walks in looking exactly like a young Lionel. Garrison Bennett, 18, from Hickory, NC (though the on-screen graphic bills him from Statesville). He sings Stevie Wonder's "Superstition", and it's pure. Luke gives him a yes, Katy says she's going to need a little more energy and gives him a "yeah", and Lionel gives him another solid yes. The next contestant says this place looks familiar, and her voice sounds familiar. Jayna Elise, 22, from Washington D.C. ...oh, her! The one who came to everyone's rescue, who invited the autistic guy to join them as the lone trio and stepped up for Fire when her duet partner left at the last moment. She's doing Miley Cyrus's "The Climb". Beautiful. She made it her own. She's going back to Hollywood. Keegan something-or-another is super campy and 80s. It's a no. Cate Gartner, 18, from Aledo, TX, has an 18-month-old son named Cooper. She's singing an original that she wrote after finding out she was pregnant at 16. And, oh my god, it really is perfect for her situation. This is a song about becoming a parent at an early age, dedicated to the child. It is perfect, and the judges love her for good reason. Three yeses. She's going to Hollywood "on the express train, for sure", Lionel says. Wait, don't we still have a Platinum to give out? We've got a pair of sisters auditioning. Jacy and Mia Matthews, ages 17 and 18, from Centre, AL. Both of their parents were in music, but their father passed away when they were young. After a warmup featuring both sisters and the mom, Jacy's up first singing Kris Kristofferson's "Help Me Make It Through The Night". Didn't catch what Mia sang but they both deserve to go through. But when we come back from break, Jacy gets a no from Luke, but Lionel gives her a yes, and Katy, after some constructive criticism, is a yes. Luke thinks Mia is stronger, and isn't totally sold but gives her a yes. Lionel, on the other hand, isn't sold on Mia, but Katy disagrees, and again comes through to give them both an advancement on 2 out of 3. Our next contestant is 18-year-old Jordan Anthony from Perth, West Australia, and he certainly looks like an idol. He sings "Forget Me" by Lewis Capaldi, and oh my, he's got the voice as well. He could win this. My mom agrees, and is reminded of Katy telling Liliana not to be too quick to write the songs about her exes because she's "going to meet some cuties" in Hollywood. Katy compliments Jordan on his range "for a male", and the other judges agree. He's not just a pretty face, but he's also a pretty face. Yvan Vucina, 26, singing "Walking the Dog", but that's mainly being shown to be the background for a skit on Luke bringing his dog to the auditions. And now for our actual contestant, Victoria Johnson from Boca Raton, FL, who just turned 16 in May...so if she makes it all the way to the finale she might actually be 17 by then. Or not; March may be almost over but that's still no guarantee that we'll make it to May. She's singing "No Excuses" by Meghan Trainor. It's a yes for me, but we'll see what the judges think. Katy wants her to go a little harder on a certain line, and she complies. And Victoria goes to Hollywood. Zoned out for a moment during judge shit, but we've got some good contestants who go through. Bethany Teague, 25, sings Kelly Clarkson's "Piece by Piece"...oh my. Are we at the end of the show already? Nope. Ah, but that is her story--not only that, but she says that she "gave birth to her sister", which suggests that her biological daughter was adopted by her mom...except, no, it was right after that that her mom died, so it was her grandmother who took care of her after that. I got confused for a moment with a dark-skinned man walking in, that's her grandfather, but then we go out to the lobby and I see other family members who are white so yeah, mixed race. 22-year-old Isaiah Case from Jacksonville, FL, has a quintessential country singer voice. He's married and has a two-year-old kid. He goes through. And now we've got a preview of tonight's sob story. Adopted out of an orphanage in Guatemala at age 2, but apparently later was able to make contact with her birth mom. And based on something Katy was saying just before we went to the commercials, I think I was right about there still being a Platinum Ticket to burn. Julia Gagnon, 21, from Cumberland, ME, is in fact the last contestant to audition for Season 22. When she was 18, she went to her birth father and said she wanted to know about her birth family, and her father hired a private investigator in 2020, and got in touch with her mom, Sara, who said that she didn't want to give Julia up but she was glad she did because Julia got a much better life in the US than Sara could've given her in Guatemala. Julia sings "Ain't No Way" by Aretha Franklin, and she's got pipes. The judges are clearly wowed. Well, she's getting a golden ticket at the very least. And yeah, the judges are conferring. They're going to give her the Platinum. Next week, Sunday and Monday.

I don't watch The Voice, but this surprises me; thought they were every contestant for themselves like Idol.

Looks like that, talks like that, and sings like that. Jordan might just be the favorite to win this thing.

Hearing Lionel say Cate's going to Hollywood "on the express train" reminds me, we still have a third Platinum, right?

Jayna! Absolute angel; so glad she's back.