CarmenSandiego

3 hours ago, Gustavo527 said:

The voting window starts at Monday night tho. It's overnight voting. 

Thanks for telling me that.

3 hours ago, StarWalker1 said:

MV is out!

 

 

I saw the music video.  Her music video was better than the one for Emmy Russell.

Just now, QueenKalie said:

You can vote for Josh on the Voice on Monday night if you want.

I don’t usually watch the Voice …but I’ll make an exception.  I don’t have to work on Tuesday — my workplace is being remodeled, so I’ll watch the Voice and vote for Josh.  It’s acceptable enough.

2 hours ago, QueenKalie said:

I'm accepting bribes for my 30 votes that are currently up for grabs.

What would be a suitable bribe for you?

Last Monday, I analyzed the reasons why Triston Harper failed to make the finale of American Idol.  But there was one other person who failed to make the finale, that was Emmy Russell.  She did well to get as far as she did, but why couldn’t she get to the finale?  As always, I’ll look at the rules that American Idol contestants need to follow in order to figure out what Emmy did right, what she did wrong, and why Emmy lost.

The first rule states that contestants must show both singing and performing talent.  And Emmy had problems with this rule from the beginning.  She was a good enough singer, but her performance skills were very weak.  She tended to stay in one spot, either behind a piano or playing a guitar, throughout most of her run on the show, especially when she did “Shut Up and Dance”, and this might be one of the reasons why Emmy was ranked in the middle of IDF for most of her run on the show, with the notable exceptions of “Beautiful Things”, where she was ranked first overall and “Coal Miner’s Daughter”, where she was ranked second overall behind Abi Carter’s justly praised “Bring Me to Life”.  And as the number of contestants dwindled, she fell towards the back of the pack.

So how did she do on her final performances on Disney night?  Not great.  Everyone on IDF put her first song, “The Climb”, at the bottom of the first round of songs, including me.  She did do better with her second song, “Carried Me With You”, as a couple of people put that song in first overall, but most still put it either in the middle of the pack or towards the back of it.  I ranked it sixth overall but still in fourth place in the second round.  More importantly, her final song was the first and last time she didn’t use a piano or guitar and actually tried to work the stage.  Had she better performance skills, she might have worked the stage sooner and maybe made the finale.  Thus Emmy stumbled on the first rule when it came to performance skills.

She didn’t do much better with the second rule, which states that song choice is key.  Her first song for Disney night was a terrible choice for two reasons.  First, “The Climb” has been done too many times on the show.  Second and more important, the song requires a voice that can belt and while Emmy was a good enough singer, she wasn’t a belter.  While I understand why she chose that song, she should have chosen a song that was better suited for her voice.  Thus Emmy screwed up on this rule as well.

The third rule states that contestants must be either consistently great or consistently improving.  Unfortunately for Emmy, she was mostly good to very good throughout most of her run, with her only great moment being CMD.  That’s not what this rule requires, so Emmy fouled up this rule as well.

Emmy’s biggest problem was the fourth rule, which states that contestants must be confident.  True, she didn’t fall apart the way that Blake did or go too far beyond her comfort zone like Mia did, but she wasn’t confident enough to work the stage until her final performance.  Had she been more confident, she probably would’ve done better.  Thus Emmy struck out on this rule.

At least Emmy had no problem with the fifth rule, which states that contestants must have a strong, current and marketable artistic identity.  Emmy was a singer-songwriter and was able to show that quality during her run on the show, even when she did covers.  This is why she was able to outlast Kayko, who was probably also a singer-songwriter but wasn’t as good a singer as Emmy was.  While following this rule wasn’t enough to get her to the finale, at least she followed it.

The sixth rule states that contestants must remember that they are a package.  This was Emmy’s biggest strength, as we all know that she is country singer Loretta Lynn’s granddaughter.  She was able to utilize her connection to her granddaughter to get farther in the competition than perhaps she should have and while she failed to make the finale with her connection, at least Emmy followed this rule.

Emmy also followed the seventh rule, which states that contestants must take any advice offered to them and follow it, within reason.  Emmy was able to avoid getting too far beyond her comfort zone and thus did better than Mia, even if this rule failed to get her to the finale.

The final rule states that contestants must gather and sustain a fan base.  Emmy was able to get enough of a fan base thanks to her grandmother being a country singer to get past the more talented Julia Gagnon, but she might have shared enough fans with actual country singers Triston and Will Moseley to have some possible vote splitting.  More importantly, she wasn’t good enough to add more fans that could help her keep up with Abi or get her past Jack Blocker, who was improving.  Thus Emmy struggled with this rule at the end.

Emmy did several things right.  She was able to take advice within reason, had a strong enough artistic identity, and she was the granddaughter of Loretta Lynn.  But she didn’t have enough confidence in her performance skills, and stayed behind a piano or played a guitar even when she should have worked the stage, as shown with “Shut Up and Dance”.  This prevented her from being more than just good to very good in her performances, and affected her ability to gain new fans.  Meanwhile, Will was gaining more country fans thanks to Triston’s declining performances, Abi was kicking her performances into another gear and Jack was improving, so Emmy couldn’t keep up.  Emmy wasn’t confident enough and that is why Emmy lost.

4 minutes ago, NGL2008 said:

I actually knew that for a while back when I was lurking, but they're often put in the same group now the way I understand it. Makes sense to me that your "why this person lost" threads are so thorough as a result. Regardless, is it any wonder this show and Big Brother are two of my special interests?

 

If you don't feel like explaining what went wrong in the initial thread, that's fine and you can ignore this part. But when I had talked about Triston's GF, I remember you saying you liked the guy but wouldn't vote for him especially now. Followed by Audra telling you to cut the crap before you dig your own grave even further, or something like that. I just found that super odd.

I think I put my foot in my mouth there.

43 minutes ago, NGL2008 said:

Mmmkay, your indifference is fine with me. 

 

And unless we wanna go back to talking about Le Trash Subreddit, whatever happens to this thread is up to y'all. I just wrote one thing in parentheses in case I had been blocked, and apparently that was a mistake. Not like being autistic and having my words go over people's heads is a daily struggle or anything. 

You’re autistic?  I have Asperger’s Syndrome, an Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

9 hours ago, TeamAudra said:

The label is obviously a significant parter, and it’s in their best interest to have all three originals performed on the show. Who cares about the reprises? 
 

Unrelated, I’m stuck with having to choose between the finale or a basketball game, unless I can figure out a way to watch both at the same time.  There’s no way I’m missing the basketball game. Sounds like there’s gonna be a lot of filler in the finale anyway. 

At least I don’t have a schedule conflict like you do.  I love watching women’s gymnastics, especially if Simone Biles is in a competition, and she’ll be in the U.S. Classic.  Fortunately for me, the competition is today and not tomorrow, but I’d probably still watch the finale of American Idol if the U.S. Classic was tomorrow.

1 hour ago, ShortstopVM said:

I know that "Life is a Highway" wasn't Triston's best performance, but I was a bit surprised to see him get eliminated...

 

That being said, I will be rooting for Abi all the way tomorrow night.

Then give her 30 votes and hopefully she’ll win.

53 minutes ago, KelseyW said:

It would be mean as crap regardless of who's snowflake it was.

 

You can't honestly tell me women aren't treated like Satan worshipers if they attempt rock (for ex) music but guys who rock lol for ex... OMG I WANNA MARRY THEM. SO HAWT. 

 

EYEROLL.

Agreed.  Even if Abi wasn't my favorite, saying the kind of things that this person on Reddit did about her was terribly mean.

4 hours ago, NGL2008 said:

Hooooly CRAP. Here we have someone who says they don't care who wins, and then...

 

"Abi started out positive, but I increasingly dislike her .... for 90% of the competition, she was screechy. Her interpretation of songs was poor MANY times. She would double over to shout lyrics in Oceans (totally not what its about). Lots of jarring, irrelevant runs and trills thrown in to demo voice, not sing the song.

 

Basically, Katy Perry really likes the song 'What Was I Made For', so revved Abi up at audition even though the performance had screechy notes and is physically painful to listen to in spots. Ouch.

 

Katy Pery's primary legacy will being getting millions of teenagers to sing 'I kissed a girl and I liked it' ... for her, 'What Was I Made For' is like a comnpelling anthem for the lost and confused. It seems deep.

 

Katy then had to save Abi in Hawaii by announcing she was the winner. This primed the minds of the easily influenced who, if they had missed the audition episode, wouldn't have noticed her subsequent lackluster screechy performances without KP again declaring her winner in Hawaii.

 

The more Abi performs, the less I like. She started out declaring she was from a very religious background. She said in audition she got to go to the concert in Coachallea 'by the grace of God'. What an odd thing to say. You pay your money, get your ticket and wander around in the mud. But she felt she needed to involve God in her concert attendance ... to show how spiritual she was.

 

4 weeks later she's prancing around the stage dressed goth, self-consciously displaying her chest as it hangs out in rehearsal w/Megan Trainor. And Mom is the stands, 'woo-woo!'. Abi explains she's 'in character'. Because American Idol fans are voting for characters, not people who are authentic.

 

Has to be one of the fastest falls I've seen. Suggests the 'religious background' was a marketing thing to gain favor. Given she's from a family of divorce and other odd choices, she comes across as a person willing to instantly compromise herself and do anything. No evidence of being from a strongly religious background and quite the opposite, acting out 'characters', etc.

 

Just another one of Katy Pery's 'Lost Girls'."

 

What an exhausting read. When did you EVER even like this girl?!

 

Touch grass. I'm going back to my grave.

Whoever wrote this is despicable, as Daffy Duck would say.  Good thing this post would be quickly deleted if it was posted on Idolforums and whoever wrote it would be punished.

14 hours ago, StarWalker1 said:

for those who don't have spotify or apple music

 

 

I heard the song.  She was awesome!  I hope it helps get her the win!

9 hours ago, wildestinvegas said:

She also mentioned that they have music videos being released tomorrow 9AM EST (i expect them to be super low budget ofc) but I didn’t know they would do that for the songs so that’s cool. They are really not letting this Top 3 breathe ever since Top 5 results, the amount of stuff they had to do throughout the week, I would be so overwhelmed, LOL. 

I probably would be overwhelmed as well.

14 hours ago, KelseyW said:

She said in a live on Instagram that a music video is coming out today too!!

Wow!

14 hours ago, MalwareDie said:

Holy hell. It sounds like Abi is singing about her dad abusing her mom and herself with these lyrics. I don't see how she loses if they bring up the backstory around this. It sounds like a self-empowerment anthem for her and her mom and continues the story thread across the season about Abi helping her mom get through the worst of an abusive relationship.

Her dad abused her mom and herself?  I fully support the divorce then!  I would recommend divorce for all cases of abuse!

3 hours ago, TeamAudra said:

They’re also both pop singers from California. I’m just giving y’all something to think about, since I’m starting to sense a degree of overconfidence. 

Good point.  I shouldn’t count my chickens before they hatch.

29 minutes ago, joe14 said:

Y'all really though Jenna, a wildcard with multiple bottom 3 appearances, compared to Caleb, who was never in the bottom 3, had the win on lock? Maybe I was watching a different season lol.

 

There is also really nothing to suggest Abi has it on lock either, even if I think she will win.

I don’t think I was on IDF at that time, but I wouldn’t have thought that Jena had the win on lock because of her Bottom 3 appearances, even if she had been growing by the finale.

5 minutes ago, TeamAudra said:

I remember tracking the stats and Google trends during the finale of whatever season it was, convinced Alejandro had it in the bag. He dominated Laine on social media. 

Season 17.  But there’s one major difference between Alejandro and Abi:  Abi is a much better singer.

I have to admit, I’ll miss some of Katy’s antics, like how she laid out on the judges’ table after Abi annihilated “Bring Me to Life”!

3 hours ago, AuntTami said:

Th

This subreddit was especially difficult to see. I know it shouldn't bother me so much, but Andrea is seriously one of the best moms ever and she did not deserve this level of ugliness. She has never stepped into any decision lightly and always tries to do what is best for the kids. She would be the first to admit that she is not perfect, but who is? We all do the best we can. She also has no desire to be in the spotlight but does whatever the show asks because she truly wants to help Abi. She has no control over the way things are later edited. 

To set the record straight, Abi is not a high school dropout. She transferred from a public high school to an online homeschool program. This allowed her to complete school while working and helping with the younger kids. She used the money she made from working to buy a car and pay for college. She did not provide financial help to the family. Instead, she and her older siblings helped watch younger kids, helped with homework, and drove to and from activities. She dual enrolled in college and 2 years after graduating from high school, she got her BA in Psychology. At that point, she dove more into music and that's what led her to American Idol.  

They are an incredibly close and supportive family. All of the kids are bright and super-talented in their own ways. They do not deserve this kind of negative rhetoric. 

I totally agree, and I’m so glad that I’m on Idolforums where subreddits like the one which suggests that Abi’s mom was selfish for not allowing her children to grow up in a two-parent household would be deleted!

3 minutes ago, wildestinvegas said:

i've been curious to know if abi's huge lead on views is due to maybe an international interest so i did a youtube trends search for each finalist over the past 7 days on the US strictly. turns out she's the most searched on youtube on every single state. 

Oh my gosh!  Wow!   

Top 3 Questions

1. Which singer will be crowned as the new American Idol? (200 pts)

- Abi

2. Which singer will be in the 2nd Place for this season? (100 pts)

- Will 

3. Which singer will be in the 3rd Place for this season? (100 pts)

- Jack 

4. What will be the gender ratio of male and female singers in the Top 2? 2M or 1M & 1F? (50 pts)

- 1 male and 1 female 

5. Which singer will be announced first by Ryan Seacrest to move forward to Top 2? (50 pts)

- Abi

Bonus Questions

6. Which singer will perform first during the finale? (50 pts)

- Will 

7. Which Top 3 singer will perform first for their duet performance with judge/guest artist (non-competition performance)? (50 pts) 

- Will 

8. Which eliminated singer (Not in the Top 3) will perform first for their duet performance with judge/guest artist (non-competition performance)? 50 pts)

- Kaibrienne 

9. Will any eliminated singer (excluding the final 3) perform with any of the alumni (former contestants) for their duet performance with guest artist? Yes or No (50 pts)

- No 

Super Bonus Questions

10. What will be the total number of votes for the finale? More than 20 millions or Less than 20 millions or Ryan will not announce. (80 pts)

- More than 20 million 

11. How many eliminated singer (excluding Top 3) will use any musical instruments for their duet performance with the judges/guest artist? (non-competition performances) (100 pts)

- 2

12. Will Abi Carter wear any earrings during the announcement of the American Idol winner? Yes or No or She’s Not Going To Be In The Top 2. (100 points)

- Yes 

13. Will Will Moseley use any musical instruments for his first performance in the finale? Yes or No. (100 points)

- Yes 

14. What will be the color of Jack Blocker’s shirt during his duet performance with the judge/guest artist? (100 points)

- Black 

8 hours ago, wildestinvegas said:

We’ve been so robbed of watching her scores on WNTS. I think she would easily end the season with at least a +65 average (potentially a +70 one) and 2 or 3 performances with a +90 

Yeah.

1 hour ago, wildestinvegas said:

t

that's true but gabby got 3rd as well and we all thought she was a lock to final 2 (i'm still shocked she finished in 3rd LMAOOOOO) so you never know. most people thought it would be a top 2 between her and maddie. 

Yeah, but I think that Gabby fouled up her chances of making the Final 2 during the finale.  The only way I see Abi not making the Final 2 is if she had a similar meltdown, and I don’t see it happening.  Possible but highly unlikely, especially since Abi made better song choices than Gabby (no Whitney Houston songs from Abi, for one thing).

3 hours ago, KelseyW said:

Abi should have a link to Apple on her Instagram link of the single if that helps.

Thanks.  I did the pre-add on Apple Music.

5 hours ago, m1key said:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6_x17IxvBC/?igsh=MTI0ajA1Y2pmc3J3ZQ==

 

another snippet of her single! the lyrics and production are giving Adult Contemporary so it should be accesible for Minivan which is good

 

also, everyone should pre-save on whichever streaming platform you use! i believe pre-saving generally increases the amount of playlisting songs get, which would increase Abi's reach and streams!

I’ll pre-save on Apple Music.  It sure sounds cool!

ETA:  How do I pre-save a song?