Bouli

Has anyone else ever gotten a Sam Hunt song in the show's history? And you're right, that performance of "Body Like a Back Road" was bad. However anyone felt about Kirk Jay (personally, I loved him), it was a total wrench in the gears. I came to know him from his soulful voice mixed with emotional country ballads; he could really tell a story through his vocals. And then he sang that basic pop-country song. I agree with everyone saying that that singular performance hurt his chances of winning.

LOL, well, then they gave Tanner every one they could find in their catalog until they could get rid of him. There's no other reason why he wouldn't sing a single ballad after his audition/montaged battle. And I can see why they wouldn't like Tanner. At least in my opinion, his voice was kinda plain and didn't have much range. It's hard to like him when there's actually legitimately strong country talent this season. Ian, Jim, and Ben are all great.

To me, Carter comes off as extremely poised. AND he expertly handled a Mariah song last week. He is not going to flop. In fact, I can't imagine a scenario on this show where he DOESN'T win. Based on his social media numbers, his young age, and the big songs he's choosing, I think he's got this pretty solidly. I'm just saying that now, though; anything could change in the next two weeks. The only two contestants who I think could be threats to him are Desz (provided that she doesn't flop next week; I don't think she will) and Ian (same thing, he's going to be good; Blake is going to set him up with a good song). Even though no one is close to Carter, Desz has a surprisingly high amount of support, and Ian is gaining momentum rapidly. BTW, I can think of several theories for why Minivan rejected Tanner. I may be wrong, but it seems like the viewers really seem to be connecting to the slower and more soulful country songs offered by people like Jim, Ian, and Ben. I think if Tanner had chosen a ballad for either his Playoffs or Instant Save, he could have stood a fighting chance. As soon as they said he was singing "Pickin' Wildflowers" in the IS, I knew it was over. I don't think people are connecting with singers like him who dance around the stage to upbeat songs while donning cowboy hats; I've seen the most universal praise for Ian and Ben's slow songs, and Jim's "Humble and Kind." It says a lot that Jim didn't receive nearly as much praise when he performed an upbeat song for the Playoffs. Tanner's flavor of country just didn't connect with the viewers this year.

He's also listed on Billboard's Top 100 artists of 2020 - he's at #24!

Yeah, Kelly's comments to Tanner during the results show on Tuesday strongly suggest that for all of Tanner's shortcomings in the 'vocals' and 'live performance' departments, he sure was a really nice guy. Kelly basically indirectly shaded Marisa by saying things like, "You have such a good character, and that matters a lot." Seems like Kelly got along well with everyone on her team... except the one person who's managed to keep talking about an elimination that happened 2 months ago, over a week after it aired. And to think that if she had been nice, she probably could have gotten a spot singing on Kelly's talk show. Marisa really is the gift that keeps on giving - and keeps on burning those bridges.

I agree with all of this. I also want to add one crucial factor, though: several of the Black women who have done well in the past few seasons have been on Team Blake. That helps A LOT, especially when the show plays up the whole aspect of them being a charming and unlikely pairing. (For example, Kyla was my Season 14 snowflake instantly; her audition floored me. I was puzzled at her decision to choose Blake; it made zero sense to me at the time when Kelly had turned as well. But those two were a strategic power duo during the whole show. Until the finale, they were unstoppable. Kyla won default votes for being on Team Blake alone, plus other votes for being absolutely astonishingly good. And I don't think she would have succeeded otherwise for multiple reasons, as incredible as she was. Seconding all of that for Toneisha Harris.) And another one, Rose Short, was on Team Gwen, which is for obvious reasons tied really closely to Team Blake. AND she got to sing one of Blake's songs during the season. Blake even stood up in the middle of her semifinals performance and didn't sit down until the standing ovation - and he stood up again during her Instant Save performance, even when one of his singers was in the Instant Save, too. That kind of stuff makes a difference for a lot of people. Blake's influence on this show is pretty considerable. Overall, though, I've noticed that fortunately, people are growing progressively more intolerant to those who argue that all black women in singing competitions do is scream and holler. People are starting to appreciate the depth of black female contestants' vocals beyond just saying that they scream. I still see it every now and then, but FAR more often, I see them referred to as "queens" and talked about in a positive light. Something is changing!

Oh my God, on her Instagram, she calls her fans "PageTurners." I love that so much!!!! And I love the way that she has been embracing positivity, kindness, and other opportunities to grow.

I find my snowflakes by watching the show. Every now and then, I like the 'surprise' factor of not knowing if someone will make it to the voting rounds - but most of the time, I will verify to see if they made it so I don't bother getting too invested. (This season, I did not verify. I paid the price with Marisa Corvo lol.) I do the same thing that Teraginn does: throughout the Blinds, I make a list of the contestants who pique my interest the most. Then most of the time, I check to see if I can be assured that they'll make it to lives. (Usually, they do!) I follow them through the next pre-taped rounds, sometimes knowing their fates, sometimes not. Usually, by Knockouts, I have my #1 sorted out and a solid list of secondary favorites behind them, usually around 3-4. But sometimes it doesn't even take that long; most of my absolute all-time Hall-of-Fame-level snowflakes from past seasons (i.e. Trevin Hunte, Delvin Choice, Kimberly Nichole, Vanessa Ferguson [with Chris Blue in a VERY close 2nd, and Stephanie Rice in a VERY close 3rd], Kyla Jade, Shawn Sounds, etc.) were people who I adored from their auditions, and I zeroed in on them for the whole season.

Reading through these responses, it has really gotten me thinking. I initially chose "Many Live Shows" because that was my favorite format; I have very fond memories of those seasons and getting to "know" each of the contestants and their styles as they had more time and exposure on the show. If I structured the show myself and had control over the number of live shows, I'd probably do it like 20-12-10-8-7-6-5-4 - but the elimination structure from Season 3 is probably the most perfect one that has actually been used, in my opinion. But after some consideration, I realized how exciting the bloodbath semifinals are. They breathed new life into the show, and they have been thoroughly entertaining and dramatic. In the end, I guess I'd say that "Many Live Shows" functions best for the contestants (and for viewers who prefer to get to know artists). "Medium Live Shows" functions best for making really good, entertaining, and high-stakes television while almost entirely disregarding what is best for the artists. But "Few Live Shows" just benefits nobody (especially with the requirement that each coach have a singer in the finale, which just punishes strong teams). I hope this structure is temporary instead of something they seriously plan on bringing back in a more permanent fashion.

So people who have been watching for a while will definitely know that the show's format/structure has undergone several changes throughout the years. Seasons also used to be longer, allowing for different formats that permitted fewer eliminations per week. Which of these structures do you prefer, and why? Sorry they are so long, by the way; it was hard for me to think of how to shorten the descriptions of how each season format works.

That's exactly it, though. After Payge was eliminated, Gwen started apologizing and yelling to her and Joseph, "I'm just playing the game! I'm just playing the game!" It really sucks that 'the game' basically won't let more unique, weird, and/or mysterious artists succeed as easily. I loved Payge for all of those qualities. I'm also really sad to see her go; she brought a breath of fresh air to the show, from the moment she auditioned.

I KEEP FORGETTING stuff from earlier in the season. Dang it. I would've been so excited for that one, too. Don't ever let ANYONE sing a rearrangement of "Toxic" on this show again. Especially someone you like. From Davina Leone to Jackie Foster to Cali Wilson - please, God, no. This song can bring down giants; it is poison (pun intended).

How old is Ryan? 31? Whether he's too old or not depends on who the Bachelorette is, I guess. Or maybe not. This current season looks like it has a lot of people in their 30s... so hey, Ryan might be in luck if he's looking for another reality show! (Seriously, I wouldn't be remotely surprised to see him show up there someday. I'm definitely still betting on an AGT run, though. You can just hear the judges gushing about his good looks.)

DeSz: I really wanted her to sing "Diamonds" at some point, but Payge used that as her Instant Save song. Cami Clune: "Idontwannabeyouanymore" by Billie Eilish Carter Rubin: Something in the CCM sphere. Someone else already mentioned "I Can Only Imagine." Ben Allen: "Chiseled in Stone" by Vern Gosdin. John Holiday: "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from Dreamgirls/Jennifer Holliday/Jennifer Hudson. Tamara Jade: "Dream On" by Aerosmith. (I've been waiting for another powerhouse to sing this since forever, and I think her tone would sound amazing on it.) Bailey Rae: "You Ain't Woman Enough" by Loretta Lynn, or "Blue" by LeAnn Rimes (on the off-chance that Bailey can yodel). Ian Flanigan: "I Walk the Line" by Johnny Cash - if he did something like Craig Wayne Boyd's version, I think that would be amazing. Or "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" by Bob Dylan. Jim Ranger: Something like Rod Stokes' audition, like his rendition of "To Love Somebody" by the Bee Gees? He definitely NEEDS to go back to a ballad.

Gwen did not want to risk losing Ben in the Wildcard round when he could win her the entire show (even though Carter is probably going to win her the show on his own). Bailey Rae would have given the same solid performance that she gave tonight, and it would have been a seriously close call between her and Ben. I have to say that Gwen played "the game" super well tonight. For what it's worth, I voted for Payge; in spite of her weak Instant Save performance, I voted for her overall body of work.

Absolutely. If anyone listened to her after she picked Ben, she started gushing apologies and then yelling, "I'm just playing the game! I'm just playing the game!" Gwen was trying to win. She cannot win with Payge.

Is that an unpopular opinion? I got so sick of her cheesy rapping and her weak flow. As for my unpopular opinions... I feel the same way about Carter that a lot of IDF feels about Jordan Smith: extremely good vocalist, and I respect him a lot. But I don't feel ANY sort of way about him. I don't root for or against him. I just feel near-total ambivalence. Ben is not bad at all. Ian and Ben had two of the best Top 17 performances last night. (I think this one is starting to become unpopular) In terms of powerhouse vocalists left, I still prefer Desz over Tamara. I just love Desz's tone. It's so warm and dark and smooth. Tamara's tone is much brighter; she has a great voice, but Desz is my girl. I think they're both phenomenal, though.

If you had told me this would have happened a year ago, I wouldn't have believed you.

I was also pretty legitimately shocked that Blake chose Jim for his Instant Save. I really didn't think Blake would go with two country singers on his team if he had the choice. Seems like when he can choose, he typically opts for some variety. I'm SO happy with Jim still being on the show, though. I'm so stoked to see him redeem himself from his AWFUL song choice this week.

Interesting grades from Charlie. I'm still proud of him for showing more variety in his grades. I wouldn't have given Tanner anything close to a B+. But everything else? I pretty much agree!

In my opinion, Bailey's Instant Save performance was leagues ahead of everyone else's. It was so good, that it made me wonder why she didn't sing that song (or at least sing like that) last night. Just based on that alone, I wasn't particularly shocked that she won. She was that much better than everyone else. And for the record, I was rooting for Payge. But I have to give credit where it's due.

Y'all, I REALLY like this semifinals. I don't particularly dislike anyone! Desz Cami Clune Tamara Jade Ian Flanigan Ben Allen Jim Ranger Carter Rubin Bailey Rae John Holiday John's performances just really haven't been my thing. I will acknowledge that I think he's a beast of a vocalist, extremely talented, but I just don't like listening to him anymore. I loved his audition, and then I grew distant from him with every performance after that.

All jokes aside, I was most shocked at Kelly saving Cami. I could see it coming when Kelly started talking about how there "wasn't a lane" for the person she was going to save, but my jaw dropped when she started talking about it. I really thought she was going to save Tanner because the two of them had such a great rapport.

I was surprised that Ben didn't save Worth the Wait. I didn't even know he was a coach!