CarmenSandiego

I definitely agree. But Nicolina was doomed.

Yay, Leah made it into the finale!

I don't know why Lionel stood up for that performance. Noah was probably better with this song but he's still a little sleepy. Nowhere near as boring as Dan though.

Nicolina is doing a better job with her second song but I'm not sure that it's going to be enough.

Fritz was enjoyable, but not quite as good as Leah or Huntergirl.

That was actually Huntergirl's best performance!

Leah killed her second performance! She might have just punched her ticket for the finals!

Nicolina wasn't as good as she had been in the past. BTW, what is the name of the song?

Noah was okay, but he was also boring as usual.

I agree that Fritz was safe. As for the first two, Huntergirl was good but predictable, and I actually loved Leah's performance of "I'll Stand By You"!

Not me. Personally, I hope that Noah is eliminated, but that's unlikely unless Noah has to drop out because of COVID-19.

I'll be voting.

Yeah, Noah has to quarantine. Wgm might be content to make a fool out of himself, but Noah isn't that dumb.

I loved Clay too. In fact, Clay is the first guy I ever voted for from the beginning, and the only guy who was my favorite (I also voted for James Durbin, but he was my second choice, and I only voted for him because he has Asperger's syndrome, like me).

Because of things that I have to do elsewhere online, I'm going to finish off my analysis of the people eliminated in the Top 7 tonight. I already did Christian, so now it's time to look at Jay Copeland. Jay began so well, getting a Platinum Ticket, but eventually struggled, barely making it into the Top 14 and finally being eliminated in the Top 7. Why did this happen? A good look at the rules that American idol Season 20 contestants should ideally follow will explain what Jay did right, what he did wrong (a lot), and why he lost. Show Singing and Performing Talent There's no doubt that Jay had the singing and performing talent needed to make the Top 24. He got a Platinum Ticket, he should have had the necessary talent. What he didn't always do is show that talent. Like Christian, he had a bad habit of trying to do too much, both vocally and in terms of performance. This began in the Top 24 and continued in the rest of his performances, with exceptions such as "Lilac Wine", which was widely regarded as his best performance. So how did he do with his final two songs? It was kind of a mixed bag, to be honest. While the TooFab staff loved his rendition of "I Have Nothing", Crisis and I weren't so fond of it for reasons which I'll get into later. The TooFab staff also liked his Mother's Day Song but put it in seventh for that round, while Crisis wasn't so fond of it, as he thought that the song was arranged in a weird way. All in all, Jay sometimes showed his talent, so he sometimes followed this rule. Song Choice Is Key This was the biggest problem that Jay had. When I saw that he was doing "I Have Nothing," I wasn't too happy. If you don't have the voice, you should avoid Whitney at all costs. Even if you can handle her songs, it's best not to do them in the voting rounds. You're going to be compared to her and that's not a good thing, even if you're a guy singing her songs, as Jay was. Thus Jay fouled up this rule. Be Consistently Great or Better Yet, Consistently Improve Every Week This was another problem that Jay had. Because of his habit of singing and performing too much, his performances were rather uneven. He did great with "Lilac Wine", but "I Have Nothing" and "A Song For Mama" weren't so good. Thus Jay screwed up on this role as well. Stand Out By Being Unique or By Being Memorable For Positive Reasons Jay had a mixed bag with this rule as well. On the one hand, he was a Platinum Ticket holder, so he was memorable for a positive reason. On the other hand, he was also memorable for doing too much in terms of vocal and performance ability, so he was memorable for a negative reason. Still, he was somewhat successful, so I'll move on. Remember, You Are a Package This was another rule that Jay had problems with. His package was being a overly showy vocalist and performer, which isn't a good package. Like Christian, he probably would have done better in the seasons before Season 7. Thus Jay missed the mark with this rule as well. Never, Ever Argue With Any Of the Judges or Respond To Any Baiting From Ryan At least Jay had no problems with this rule. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough, so I'll move on. Gather a Fan Base -- And Sustain It This was the final rule that Jay failed to follow. Jay had to get into the Top 14 by being a Judges' Wildcard, so that indicated that he had early problems in gathering a fan base. He was able to do well enough afterwards to outlast Mike and Tristen, while was featured more than Allegra and thus outlasted her, but sooner or later his luck was going to run out, and it did. Thus Jay failed this rule as well. Like Christian, Jay was an old-school American Idol contestant, but he did have some positive things going for him. After his needing to get the Wildcard to get into the Top 14, he was able to improve his performances, culminating in "Lilac Wine". He was also more memorable than Allegra, largely due to his getting a Platinum Ticket while Allegra was barely featured in the early rounds. But he still had a tendency to over sing and over perform, and the bad song choice of "I Have Nothing" spelled the end of his run, as his lack of a strong fan base caught up with him. And that is why Jay lost.

Hope that this helps Leah get into the finale at least.

The Top 7 became the Top 5 last Sunday, and Christian Guardino was one of the two singers eliminated as a result. But could he have done something more to change his fate? He probably could have, so we're going to look at the rules that American Idol Season 20 contestants ideally need to follow in order to survive and figure out what Christian did right, what he did wrong and why Christian lost. Show Singing and Performing Talent Christian. had plenty of singing and performing talent, but he didn't always show the talent to his best advantage. One shining example was in his Top 24 performance, which Crisis criticized as missing the mark on how "Leave the Door Open" should be interpreted. Christian apparently was more focused on showing off his range than in properly interpreting the song. He continued having problems with interpreting his songs properly as shown in "Creep" and "I'm Not the Only One", but he might have finally turned the corner in the Top 7 round. The TooFab staff praised his performance of "Lonely", saying that the promise he had when he first joined the competition was finally fulfilled. Crisis also thought that the song was the first time he really saw Christian trying to connect with the song, although he still thought that Christian could have made the belting more natural in the second half. As for "Dear God", Crisis also enjoyed the performance, although that was in part because in Gospel music (which that song is), over singing is definitely encouraged! TooFab actually put Christian's performance of "Dear God" in first. However, it wasn't enough to save him. Thus, Christian struggled with this rule and when he finally improved, it was too little, too late. Song Choice Is Key Christian did have problems with this rule as well, although not to the same extent as say, Lady K. did. His main problem was choosing songs that he failed to interpret properly. I don't know much about modern music, but apparently "Leave the Door Open" is not meant to be sung at full blast. It's meant to begin slowly, then gradually build to a crescendo. Christian didn't know how to choose songs that allowed him to over sing throughout much of his stay, and that cost him. Thus, he failed the second rule as well until towards the end, and by then it was too little, too late. Be Consistently Great or Better Yet, Consistently Improve Every Week This was another rule that Christian had problems with. He more or less stayed at the same level, but as the competition progressed, others kept passing him until finally. his number came up. Thus Christian fouled up this rule as well. Stand Out By Being Unique or By Being Memorable For Positive Reasons Initially, Christian succeeded with this rule. He was able to stand out by virtue of his powerful voice. But his poor song choices and poor choices of how to interpret songs made him less and less memorable as others, such as Leah Marlene, became more and more memorable. Thus Christian messed up this rule as well Remember, You Are a Package At least Christian had a package. Unfortunately for him, his package was pretty much old-school American Idol, which changed once people could use instruments and David Cook came along. Christian's old-school package couldn't compete with those who could interpret songs or use instruments, and it cost him in the end. Thus, Christian struck out with this rule in the end. Never, Ever Argue With Any Of the Judges or Respond To Any Baiting From Ryan At least Christian had no problems with this rule. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to help him reach the finale, so I'll move on. Gather a Fan Base -- And Sustain It This was the final rule that Christian failed at. He was initially good at gathering a fan base, since he made the Top 14 via the popular vote. But his poor song choices and poor interpretation of his songs prevented him from sustaining a fan base. Thus he missed the ball with this rule. Christian would have done better before Season 7. He was an old-school contestant who couldn't adapt to the newer style of American Idol. As a result, he couldn't maintain his ability to compete with the others and in the end, his number came up. That is why Christian lost.

Good. Poor Noah. While I won't vote for him, that doesn't mean that I will vote for him, I do regret that he got a bad case of COVID-19.

He might be in the same general area the others, but that doesn't mean that he's going to be anywhere near the others when it's time for rehearsals and all that.

That's probably the reason why there's no duets or trios this season. If Noah has to perform from his hotel room again, a duet or trio is going to be extremely difficult if not impossible. Also, does Fritz have to perform from his hotel room again?

Thanks, Erik! Here's my analysis of the Top 5 singles: 1. Leah -- my favorite by a slim margin. I love the flower images in her video. 2. Nicolina -- she was excellent as always! 3. Fritz -- he was a little better than Huntergirl. 4. Huntergirl -- she was very good, but I loved the others above her a little more. 5. Noah -- he was okay but nothing special. And here's my opinions on Jay & Christian's singles -- Jay: very interesting. His voice is really cool on this song. Christian: his voice is fine but I think that Jay's song was more interesting.

I was trying to find Leah's song but I can't seem to find it on YouTube yet!

I chose Leah. I think that Fritz's star is fading now.

Top 7 Template Leah Marlene - Electric Love by Børns - 7.5. Not her best but still very good. Jay Copeland - I Have Nothing by Whitney Houston - 6.5. "I Have Nothing" has been done to death. Also, Whitney Houston? Bad move. Fritz Hager - All My Friends by Himself - 7.5. Loses a little by being a rehearsal performance, but still better than last week. Christian Guardino - Lonely by Justin Bieber - 7. Good but not great. HunterGirl - You Broke Me First by Tate McRae - 8. She took a real risk with this song that paid off. Noah Thompson - Painted Blue by Sunday Best - 7.5. His best performance yet. Nicolina Bozzo - Alone by Heart - 8. Not as good as last week, and "Alone" is hard to do, but she did well with it. Jay Copeland - A Song for Mama by Boyz II Men - 7. Although he was better this round, he was still doomed. Fritz Hager - The Ocean by Himself - 7. Not my favorite performance of his. Leah Marlene - Sanctuary by Nashville Cast- 9. Much better on this song. She deserved to be safe. HunterGirl - Like My Mother Does by Lauren Alaina - 7.5. Good performance, predictable song choice. Noah Thompson - Landslide by Fleetwood Mac - 6. Not entirely his fault as he was sick, but he wasn't nearly as good as Maddie was on this song. Nicolina Bozzo - Light in the Hallway by Pentatonix - 9. Better than her first performance, but not by much. Christian Guardino - Dear God by Smokie Norful -9. His best performance and a good way to go out.

1. Which 3 singers will advance to the Top 3? (150 points) - Huntergirl - Noah - Leah 2. Which 2 singers will not advance to the Top 3? (100 points) - Adios, Fritz - Adios, Nicolina 3. Which female singer will be announced first by Ryan Seacrest to move forward to Top 3? (30 points) - Huntergirl 4. Which male singer will be announced first by Ryan Seacrest to move forward to Top 3? (30 points) - Noah 5. Which singer will be announced last by Ryan Seacrest to move forward to Top 3? (30 points) - Leah 6. What will be the ratio of male and female singers in the Top 5? (20 points) - a male and 2 females Bonus Questions 7. Will Fritz play any musical instrument in ALL of his performances this week? (50 points) - Yes 8. Which singer in the Top 5 will perform last? (50 points) - Nicolina 9. Will Katy Perry wear any type of bracelet on her left hand (50 points)? - Yes Super Bonus Question 10. Between two singers that you think will be eliminated, which singer you think has zero shot to be in the Top 3? (100 points) - Sadly, Nicolina