CarmenSandiego

Where's the music event? I live in Southern Oregon.

Thanks. I love the snippet of the song she sang.

My top 3 are as follows: 1. Wé (obviously) 2. Leah 3. Megan (it was between her and Iam, and she squeaked out third place).

Ah. Thanks for explaining it to me.

Who's Hailey? Just curious.

Good point there. I do agree that Allison should have gotten past Danny, but Adam was a suitable person for the finale -- even if his vocal tone drove me nuts!

Kris won his season.

I didn't think that Alejandro had a very good singing voice. But I agree that it would be nice to have someone go far with a high level of musicianship and a very good to great singing voice.

Yeah, bringing him in with Iam & Matt in the Showcase round and then advancing Iam first was the first sign for me that Colin might not win after all. I thought that Colin would at most get second (and hoped that he'd not even make the finale), but I stopped thinking that he would win after the Showcase moment.

Well, I watched the videos of the finalists and now I'm getting to the end of my articles on why most of the American Idol Season 21 contestants lost. Now I'm going to look at why two of the Final 3 lost, and first on my list is Colin. Frankly, Colin shouldn't have gotten this far, and when I point out the rules that Season 21 contestants should follow, you'll see why I think that Colin shouldn't have gotten this far, and why Colin was always going to lose. Show Singing and Performing Talent Colin had enough singing and performing talent to make the Top 26, but what about when he had to show that talent? Well, all too often he was mediocre, with a few moments of being good but not great thrown in. The main problem seems to be his performing talent: Colin had decent if not spectacular vocal skills but when it came to performance skills, he sucked. On IDF, he was more often than not at or near the bottom of the rankings with "Dancing On My Own" the main exception to the rule. That said, there were people such as those on the TooFab staff who enjoyed his performances more than those on IDF, but he was still not as good as most of the cast and he showed it in his final performances. Only Zoey on IDF gave him a score above a 7 for both of his songs; the rest of us usually gave him much lower scores for at least one of them. I gave him a 6 for "Stupid Boy" and a 6.5 for "Either Way" and outright said that it was nowhere near good enough. As for Crisis, he said that SB was a typical Colin performance with a lot of enunciation issues and that he failed to come out with enough urgency to sing for the title, and that EW exacerbated the issues that plagued him. The TooFab staff also put him in last place in both of his performances, saying that he was coasting on SB and holding back, while they felt that he was better on EW but still not giving everything he had. Thus it's clear that Colin screwed up the first rule, especially with the performance aspects of it. Song Choice Is Key I don't think that Colin had any problems with this rule. I was wishing that he would do "You've Got a Friend In Me" from Toy Story for Disney week, but he was apparently smart enough not to do such a predictable song choice. And if he did have problems, they weren't enough to sink his chances, so I'll move on. Be Consistently Outstanding or Better Yet, Consistently Improve Every Week Colin was not consistently outstanding, nor did he consistently improve every week. But there were moments when he improved enough for the country fans and middle-aged American housewives to get him into the finale, so he succeeded just enough with this rule. Have the Confidence to Believe That You Belong This was probably Colin's biggest problem. I don't think that he had enough confidence to win the competition. The TooFab staff thought that just when it seemed like he was going to take the next step, he fell back into being mediocre and I think that his confidence issues were the reason why. Thus Colin struck out on this rule. Know Who You Are As an Artist At least Colin had no problems with this rule. He was a country or country-rock artist and he showed off his country roots. So I'll move on. Remember, You Are a Package Colin was somewhat successful with this rule. He was a country singer and was cute enough to appeal to middle-aged American housewives who were a huge part of the AI voting demographic. Unfortunately, his lack of performance skills and lack of confidence hindered his ability to create a package good enough for the win, so in the end he struggled with this rule. Take Any Advice Offered to You and Follow It At least Colin had no problems with this rule. Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly enough to save him so I'll move on. Gather a Fan Base -- and Sustain It This ultimately was the reason that Colin got as far as he did. He was a country singer, which appealed to those voters who liked country singers, and he was cute enough to appeal to the middle-aged American housewives. And when Warren Peay was eliminated, he had the country fans all to himself, and that probably got him into the finale. Thus Colin succeeded with this rule. In the end, Colin shouldn't have even gotten to the finale. He only got there because he was a country singer who had the country fans all to himself when Warren was eliminated, and he was cute enough to appeal to middle-aged American housewives. But he was never going to win. He wasn't consistently outstanding and he didn't consistently improve enough. Most of all, his performance skills sucked and he lacked confidence. Without those two factors, third was as far as Colin could go. And that is why Colin thankfully lost.

I hope that they get another female winner. Pop, rock or folk it doesn't matter much although I might be more inclined to get a single by a pop or folk winner if only because I don't really like rock.

Megan Danielle - God Whispered Your Name by Keith Urban - 8.5. Very good. Iam Tongi - Making Memories of Us by Keith Urban - 8. Also very good. Colin Stough - Stupid Boy by Keith Urban - 6. He should have gone last week! Megan Danielle - Faithfully by Journey - 8.5. Another very good performance. Iam Tongi - Cool Down by Kolohe Kai - 8.5. Definitely enjoyable. Colin Stough - Either Way by Chris Stapleton - 6.5. Nowhere near good enough. Megan Danielle - Dream Girl by Herself - 8. Just half a step behind the other two songs. Iam Tongi - I'll Be Seeing You by Himself - 8.5. Great way to honor his dad.

1. Season 16 (Maddie won and I got to see her on the tour). 2. Season 18 (Just Sam won). 3. Season 21. 4. Season 19. 5. Season 20 6. Season 17.

Or maybe Keith, Alanis and Harry would do a fine job. At least Keith would be more constructive than Luke and might be less biased towards country singers, not to mention he might be less inclined to choose predictable songs than Luke. And Harry would be a good version of the "mean judge" within limits, of course. And I liked Alanis as a guest judge more than Katy, although Katy did have good taste in song choices.

True, but not everyone would agree. I also don’t think that it was a major factor but it might have contributed to her defeat. The main reason is that the AI voting demographic can’t relate to the talented female singer, especially if she’s a vocal powerhouse. Sad but true.

This is the most disappointing analysis I ever wanted to write. I really wanted Wé to make it to the finale, but she didn't, falling just short of the finale. But why did it happen? There are reasons why she lost, and my advice to the American Idol Season 21 contestants on the rules they should follow will explain what Wé did right, what she did wrong and why Wé lost. Show Singing and Performing Talent Not only did Wé have enough singing and performing talent to make it to the Top 26, once she got there, she clearly showed that talent! IDF put her at or near the top of every round that she competed in, and the same was true of her final performances. Her song "Into the Unknown" was rated second overall, behind only Megan Danielle's "You Can't Stop the Girl", while her performance of "The Climb" was fourth, with YCSTG, ITU and Megan's "Carried Me With You" coming in ahead of her. When I re-listened to both songs, I gave ITU a 9.5, while giving "The Climb" a 9. But there were some more critical voices. Crisis said of ITU that he felt there was something missing, although he praised her using a more rock arrangement, and that "The Climb" fell apart after the drums kicked in. And the TooFab staff actually put her in last both rounds! Thus while Wé had plenty of singing and performing talent, her last two performances might not have shown it as much as she could have done, especially since Colin was a country singer whom middle-aged American housewives preferred. Song Choice Is Key This was one of Wé's biggest problems after she chose to sing "I Have Nothing". Crisis actually used a pic of Sylvester beating his head against a telephone pole to indicate what a problematic song choice that was and while she still nailed it, this might have set a pattern for somewhat questionable song choices, mainly with "The Climb". But she did do a cool arrangement of ITU which compensated for the fact that it might have seemed a predictable song choice to some, such as Crisis. And before IHN, she did quite well with her song choices. So overall, Wé began well with this rule but stumbled at the end. Be Consistently Outstanding or Better Yet, Consistently Improve Every Week Wé did quite well with this rule at first, as she was consistently outstanding. However, the problem is that she began so well that she couldn't afford to plateau, especially near the finale. And it seems that she did so, especially in her final two weeks. Thus Wé ultimately screwed up this rule as well. Have the Confidence to Believe That You Belong Wé had no problems with this rule. She had the confidence to take on some tough songs and nail them, so I'll move on. Know Who You Are As an Artist I think that Wé was solid with this rule, as she presented herself as a pop-rock singer. And unlike Kaeyra, she managed to avoid being too versatile in her song choices. Still, she didn't have as specific an artistic style as Colin, Megan or even Iam, and that might have hurt her near the end. Still, Wé mostly succeeded with this rule, so I'll move on. Remember, You Are a Package Wé had some definite problems with this rule. First of all, she didn't have a sympathetic backstory like Iam or Megan did. Then she compounded it by dressing for two weeks as a conventionally beautiful woman which might have prevented middle-aged American housewives from relating to her. And third, in her final three weeks she allowed herself to be packaged as a pop vocal powerhouse, and overall, American voters prefer the cute guy to the powerful female singer. So Wé fouled up with this rule at the end of her run. Take Any Advice Offered to You and Follow It Wé had no problems with this rule, as far as I could see, although Crisis didn't think that she took Alanis Morissette's advice for her solo performance as well as I thought she did. Still, this wasn't a major problem for her, so I'll move on. Gather a Fan Base -- and Sustain It Wé began well with this rule as well. She had a fan base from her time on The Voice and she was able to gain new fans, including me. Unfortunately, Iam had a massive following, Colin was the country singer and Megan was gaining fans as well due to also being consistent and moreover, improving . The AI voting demographic doesn't favor singers like Wé and she couldn't gather fans fast enough, especially with "The Climb". Wé began so well. She showed lots of vocal and performing talent, was confident and was consistently great or at least very good. But the AI voting demographic tended to vote for the country guy or the girl next door, not the pop powerhouse female. And then she chose to sing IHN. While she still nailed it, that stalled her momentum and caused her to plateau while Megan was improving and middle-class American housewives and country fans preferred Colin despite his mediocrity. In the end, questionable song choices, her plateauing and the AI voting demographic just shut her out. And that is why Wé tragically lost.

I love the song and I loved seeing We do it with Jazmin Sullivan!

After a week of mourning because my favorite was eliminated, I've gotten back into the saddle (helped by the fact that the one who should have been eliminated instead of We was eliminated first in the finale) and am now looking at the two who failed to make it into the finale. First up is Zachariah. I figured his run was going to end in the Top 5 and sure enough, I was right. But why did he fail to make it into the finale? As always, I'll take a look at the rules that American Idol Season 21 contestants needed to follow in order to figure out what Zachariah did right, what he did wrong and why Zachariah lost. Show Singing and Performing Talent Zachariah had enough singing and performing talent to make the Top 26, and when it came time to show that talent, he often succeeded. However, he often showed more performing talent than singing talent -- his singing was good but his performing ability was better. On IDF he often was in the middle of the pack. So how did he do in his final two performances? Not the best. IDF gave his performance of "I Just Can't Wait To Be King" an overall rating of 7.52 and had I voted, I would have given it a 7 since it was certainly entertaining. His second performance, "Life Is a Highway" wasn't as good, earning an overall rating of 6.25 from IDF and had I voted, I would have given it a 6.5 or a 6. As for Crisis, he said that he wanted to enjoy IJCWTBK more than he wound up doing, due to an out-of-control vibrato and insufficient performance skills until near the end but liked his performance of LIAH more. The TooFab staff put him in fourth on both of his performances, praising his unexpected song choice of IJCWTBK and enjoying his LIAH but thinking that the first song had a more consistent vocal. Thus Zachariah did well enough with this rule to get to the Final 5 but not well enough to get to the finale. Song Choice Is Key Zachariah usually didn't have any problems with this rule, but according to Crisis, he could have picked a better song than LIAH. But he didn't have major problems with this rule, so I'll move on. Be Consistently Outstanding or Better Yet, Consistently Improve Every Week This was the first rule that Zachariah really had problems with. He was consistently good-but-not-great, which isn't really what you need to be, especially at this late stage of the game. Sooner or later, that was going to catch up to him and it did. So Zachariah screwed this rule up. Have the Confidence to Believe That You Belong I don't think that Zachariah had any problems with confidence, especially since he was a fine performer, so I'll move on. Know Who You Are As an Artist Zachariah had no problems with this rule either. He was an entertainer and he showed it. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to save him, but at least he knew what type of artist he was, so I'll move on. Remember, You Are a Package Zachariah was somewhat successful with this rule. He was the one chosen to mention the flooding of Amory instead of Colin (who was from a nearby village) and he had the entertainer package. Unfortunately, American Idol is still mostly a singing competition, and Zachariah's package didn't include strong enough vocals. Still, I don't think this was a major problem, so I'll move on. Take Any Advice Offered to You and Follow It At least Zachariah had no problems with this rule. Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly enough to save him so I'll move on. Gather a Fan Base -- and Sustain It This ultimately might have been the final straw for Zachariah. Like Warren, by the time he was eliminated Zachariah was competing for votes with Colin -- in this case, votes from the same general location of Amory, Mississippi -- and Colin had the country lane all to himself by this point. Zachariah had his fan base, but it couldn't really compete with the country fan base that Colin had. So this was the final rule that he struck out on. Zachariah did a lot of things right in order to make it to the Top 5. He followed any advice he was given, he was confident, and he was a package. Unfortunately for him, his package was that of the entertainer and American Idol still prizes strong vocals. And Zachariah's vocals were worse than everyone else in the Top 5 except maybe Colin. And with Colin having the country fan base on his side, Zachariah had no chance of getting past him. In the end, that is why Zachariah lost.

For once, I agree with you. We could get a major label deal.

I'd add: THANK GOD!

I wish that We had made it into the Top 3, but at least Colin was eliminated in third so I'm happy. BTW, I voted for both Iam and Megan.

I totally agree.

I hate American middle aged housewives and country fans!

Me too. Oh and Iam was very good.

Megan was enjoyable but I’m not sure that it was good enough.