ScarletDevilCCX

B-side? Did she miss the memo on the theme?

Okay, we've got another person actually worth voting for.

QUEEN CASEY IS IN THE HOUSE!

I feel like I'm always in the minority in this topic. I mean, I'm in agreement with the idea that tonight has been pretty bad in general, but in stark disagreement as to who the few bright spots have been (Leah and Tristen mostly, to a lesser extent Dan but he doesn't even come close to the other two.)

OMG seriously?

Why do contestants continue to try to sing "I Believe" on Idol? It's never a good idea!

Katy pulling the "your favorites aren't safe" on Fritz freaking Hager is very nearly enough to make me want to give votes to everyone except Fritz and Noah no matter how poorly they sing. Like, that actually wasn't horrible, except he tried to turn the song into something it isn't at the end, but he's still not worthy of the "favorites" tag.

Wait, Hold Back the River is the same guy? Damn! I actually love that song, whereas I don't really like that "Let It Go".

Exactly the type of performance his fembots fans will eat up, I'm sure.

Okay, I don't need to hear any more. Leah. It's Leah. I want Leah to win.

That was...not good. Which was sad because the clip of him working with Gabby, I thought he was finally going to have his moment.

If this were Season 6 or 7, I'd have probably voted for Huntergirl the moment I saw that outfit, but I'm more mature now. Do the producers really think that the leadoff spots are advantageous? They put their Platinum Ticket winners at the top. I guess in some ways, it is more advantageous in the "voting closes at the end of the show" era than it was in the "voting opens at the end of the show" era, but tbh, it still isn't.

They've already cast their lot; the Platinum Tickets were their sign of who they wanted. I picked Huntergirl because they've likely already seen the cracks in Jay when they had to use a wild card just to get him here, and the person they were actually counting on just up and withdrew from the competition. (Yes, I'm still convinced that Kenedi was this year's Exalted One).

Ah, but if you consider that true, then those two statements aren't mutually exclusive. After all, we did have an all-male Top 2 in Season 17--it's just that the ABC era has yet to have a two-person finale. That said, as strong as this season seems to be, it's already starting to leave a bad taste in my mouth the likes of which we haven't seen since they decided that five straight male winners from Seasons 7-11 was grounds for completely stacking the deck in Season 12 to assure a female winner. While presumptive producers' favorite Kenedi Anderson outright withdrawing lightens their burden a little, Noah or Fritz making the finale would, in my mind, set us dangerously close to the same situation we were in a decade ago. Don't get me wrong; I don't dislike Laine, or Chayce; in fact, Chayce was probably one of my favorites last season and was definitely the one I was rooting for in the finale with Casey gone. And technically speaking, there was even a female winner in the mix, but just like in sports, the "COVID season" of Idol shouldn't necessarily be considered "a normal year", not to mention the favorable draw of a five-person finale with one girl to four guys plus live voting that meant that the three West Coast contestants in that quintet were at an inherent disadvantage. Also, I think I heard that the label has already dropped Just Sam? But there we go again. It's not like they even care who actually wins, right? After all, they regularly pimp Alejandro (runner-up) and Gabby (third place) while rarely mentioning their seasons' respective winners, Laine and Maddie. Hell, they can't even go a full season without taking credit for Lauren Daigle and/or Tori Kelly, neither of whom even made it to America's votes! So I'm sure that even if another bland white dude like Noah or Fritz wins, they'll just ignore him in favor of the Platinum Ticket winners.

1. Nicolina 2. Leah Marlene 3. Mike Parker 4. Tristen Gressett 5. Hunter Girl 6. Allegra Miles 7. Dan Marshall I don't think I've heard a bad performance out of any of them. Tristen sometimes lags behind the others on pure vocals, but even his weaker performances are still good and his outstanding stage presence makes up for it. 8. Lady K 9. Christian Guardino 10. Jay Copeland Christian is consistently good, but never great, while Lady K and Jay have both had moments where they're ahead of most of the first group, but haven't been consistent at all. 11. Ava Maybee 12. Fritz Hager 13. Emyrson Flora 14. Noah Thompson Ava and Fritz are...okay. Emyrson and Noah, I honestly seem to actively struggle to even pay attention when they're on stage. Like we are literally multiple shows into the voting stage now and Emyrson might as well still be "montaged contestant" to me. I did enjoy her Top 24 performance, though, and it came at the perfect moment because she was sent to Final Judgment along with another contestant in a "one stays, one goes" and I thought at the time that the judges picked wrong, so I came into Top 24 with a negative feeling towards her.

It's so tough to choose! I think I've got to go with Nicolina, Leah, and Mike. But Tristen and Huntergirl are really good, too, and it seems weird that Allegra isn't even in my Top 5 but that's how strong this season is.

Sign me up.

I'd have taken Sage or Jacob over Jay, but I am taking this! Tristen, Mike, and Allegra were the three in danger that I desperately wanted saved.

Vodka and cranberry tonight, probably a drink and a half's worth. I actually ended up voting for 15 of the 20 contestants so no matter what, someone I voted for is going home; I decided to give Ava a pass despite her actually finishing 16th on my ballot because I'd be penalizing her for going too ambitious on the degree of difficulty. Speaking of Ava, she's up first, looking adorable as always, and she's through. She's singing Lizzo's "Cuz I Love You". And...maybe I was wrong to give her a pass? This feels like a 58. Christian Guardino is also in the Top 10...wait, what? Ah, this must be where the wild cards are--10 that we the public chose, four that the judges choose. He's singing Radiohead's "Creep", and while it doesn't measure up to Season 13's Jena Irene, that's a kind of high bar, and he's still good for a 75. Still, that's interesting; the votes are actually cutting it in half. And we're still not going to commercial--ah, because wild card round! And Cameron Whitcomb's up third, and he's not through, and will be singing for the judges' picks...after the break. Cameron's singing "If It Hadn't Been For Love" by the Steeldrivers. Wait, aren't they kind of country? He sounds like a lounge lizard. Kind of looks like one too. 30 seems about right. Naturally, the judges are giving him a standing ovation. Katy feels that the disappointment of not getting voted through by America actually made him better. Well, it's not like he could've gotten much worse. Allegra Miles looks like she's ready for prom, and she's not in America's Top 10. She's singing her original song "Tainted", which she previously sang at her audition. It's good. I'll give it a...78? Yeah, that seems right. Lady K is fifth to receive her results, and Ryan mentions that she got a standing ovation from the judges. And she's in America's Top 10. She's singing Jazmine Sullivan's "Bust Your Windows"; Ryan remarks that two shows ago she sang "Before He Cheats" and suggests that she's trying to send a message. 84. Ryan asks her if there's a story, and while she never vandalized any property, she did post some pictures after a cheating boyfriend tried to come back to her. Commercial break. Huntergirl's up sixth, and she'd better go through...yeah, she did. She's singing "Vice" by Miranda Lambert. Wait, are we voting tonight? I don't think we are. And she's wonderful as always. 93. Seventh is Katyrah Love. She's not going through on America's vote, and she's singing "Through the Fire" by Chaka Khan. It's pretty...okay. 64. To commercial. First "Coast-to-Coast vote" next week, with the Top 14 being mentored by Gabby Barrett, and the latest "Idol History" is a judges' song contest. Cadence Baker is up next, and she's not through to America's Top 10; she's singing "I'm Your Baby Tonight" by Whitney Houston while sparkling from head to toe. The judges give her a standing ovation and Katy gives her an "O-M-G" while complimenting her look and her singing. Somehow this is time for a reminder that Gabby Barrett didn't actually win the competition, but she "won live" and Cadence just might, too. In other words, "you're not going to win, but you're going to get signed." I give her a 65. Dan Marshall is in America's Top 10, singing "Stuck On You" by Lionel Richie, which Ryan calls a country song. Well, it sure sounds like one from Dan. It's good for an 86. Leah Marlene is tenth to get her results, and she's excited. But will she be excited after Ryan gives her her results. Yes she will! She, too, is singing an original that she previously sang at her audition in Nashville, "Wisher to the Well". 98. She says she's at a loss for words, and when Ryan says she clearly isn't, she says she's got plenty of words, just not the right ones. Nicolina is up next, and she's also through to the Top 10. She's singing "She Used To Be Mine" by Sara Bareilles--also her audition song. I remember loving her audition, and I love this, too. 99. More results after the break. Sage is up next. We're 12 people in and 9 of the 11 girls have gotten their results compared to just 3 of the 9 guys. She's not in, and she's singing Allen Stone's "Brown-Eyed Lover". Wow, she's got some growl. Was it good? I dunno. 76 sounds right. Jay is up 13th. Ryan banters with him for a while, then delivers the bad news: he's not in America's Top 10. As a Platinum Ticket Winner, he's a near shoo-in for the Top 14. This performance of Imagine Dragons' "Believer" doesn't deserve it. 36. Over the top, and he doesn't stop when the song's over. Luke says the performance is why they gave him the Platinum Ticket. It's Noah Thompson's 20th birthday today, and it's Season 20, and we'll find out if he's in the Top 10 after the break! Noah's going through, singing Jason Isbell's "Cover Me Up". And he finally does something worth talking about! This is a solid 79. Jacob Moran is not in the Top 10, and he's singing "Rise" by Katy Perry. And it takes a little while, but he finds a moment! 95. Katy's got her hands to her ears. She says there were notes that she's never heard in that song before. I think that's a good thing? Elli Rowe is next to get her results, and she is not in America's Top 10. Nice, the two I really didn't want in, aren't in. She's singing Kodaline's "All I Want". It's not great, I'll give it a 40, and Lionel can only say that she's a victim of too many people in her lane, and says that America will tell her if she's done enough, to which Ryan corrects him. So yeah, Elli's gone; Lionel's as good as sealed her fate. Emyrson Flora is 17th to receive her fate. And she's in the Top 10! I wasn't paying enough attention to catch her song choice, but I was paying enough attention to give her a 90. Mike's up next, and of course he's out, because we've got only one more spot left and three contestants remaining. He's singing "Bed On Fire", I didn't catch the artist. It's good; 85. Tristen vs. Fritz for the final spot in America's Top Ten. And Fritz is the one going through. He's singing "Golden" by Harry Styles, and there's some sort of yell, I think it came from the crowd but it's already putting me in a sour mood. They show Katy up dancing throughout it, and someone else, too. That said, this actually was a good performance. 83. Tristen's song is "Are You Gonna Go My Way?" by Lenny Kravitz, and he's returned to form. I had to stealth edit Nicolina down, I was very torn between Nicolina and Leah anyway but put them two points apart originally. Tristen gets the 100, and Katy's comments make me think he is getting one of the four saves. The first person to get the judges' save, as revealed by Katy, is Allegra Miles, who Katy said she was confused when America didn't put her through. Lionel was in just as much disbelief that it took so long for Jay to get to the core of what he wanted out of him. Luke's up third, and he saves Mike--nice! I don't necessarily agree with Jay, but two of the three I wanted back are there, and make it three for three as Tristen is the last one to be saved!

Want: Tristen, Mike, Allegra, Sage Expect: Tristen, Jay, Allegra, Cadence

Tristen's our only real rocker, though, so I think he's got a decent chance of getting this save.

...Okay, that was actually good.

Damn. Wishful thinking.