Crisis

What wasn't close? Angie's being better than Abi's or the other way around? If it's the latter although I said Abi's version is overrated, I agree with it being better than Angie's.

S22 WRAP UP FAVORITE S22 PERFORMANCE: EMMY RUSSELL - COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER Surprise! I wasn't expecting this either, but it's the one I found myself returning to more than the others. FAVORITE S22 PERFORMANCE IN A RATHER...DIFFERENT WAY: KBLOCKS - HARLEYS IN HAWAII I have zero shame! HONORABLE MENTIONS: - Odell Bunton Jr. - The Door - Will Moseley - Makin' Me Look Good Again - Jayna Elise - All I Wanted - Jack Blocker - Blinding Lights - KAYKO - Somebody That I Used To Know - McKenna Faith Breinholt - Iris - Kaibrienne - Here Without You - Will Moseley - Folsom Prison Blues - Jack Blocker - Always On My Mind - McKenna Faith Breinholt - Make You Feel My Love - Abi Carter - Hello - Abi Carter - Part of Your World - Will Moseley - My Town FAVORITE S22 MOMENTS: - I mentioned this earlier in the thread, but Teddy Swims singing along during Odell's "The Door" performance. - Just Sam finally getting to perform on stage. It was heartbreaking to learn about them returning to singing in the NY subways not too long after their time on Idol. I was glad to see them have their moment (they sounded fantastic, BTW). - The Mandisa tribute. Melinda, Danny, and Colton did a wonderful job. The kind words about their deceased colleague were the cherry on top, especially Melinda saying that Mandisa loved on people is the thing she remembers about her the most. - Fantasia being honored after her victory two decades ago. With Clay and Ruben appearing in the S21 Finale, this looks to be an annual thing. I suppose we'll see Carrie next season. The only negative I had was her not performing during the finale. Also, it's probably a longshot, but I would love to see the Three Divas unite and perform together. - Usually, the Katy duets are among the highlights of the finale. However, her duet with Jack was the weakest. With that said, the revelation of her dress with the ABC contestants was a nice touch and a way to show how much her time as a judge meant to her. Despite my complaints about her over the years, she was a fun and integral part of the show. CLOSING THOUGHTS: This was a enjoyable season to sit through. While I don't think it's better than any of the highly regarded FOX seasons, I'd say it's the best ABC season. If I were to rank the ABC seasons as a whole, it would be this: 1. S22 2. S16 3. S20 4. S19 5. S21 6. S17 I'm excluding S18 because it wouldn't be fair to rank it due to the unique circumstances surrounding it. Coming back to S22, the contestants appeared to be a well-rounded and fun bunch. They had their ups and downs, and the former outweighed the latter for the most part. I enjoyed it when the camera cut to the contestants in the lounge showing support and singing along with whoever was performing on stage at the moment. Lastly, despite my jokes, I do think the winner is a solid and deserving one; then again, I think all of the winners are deserving even if I disagree with some of them. Best of luck to her and the rest of the S22 cast. I'll wrap up the post with this thread's format. It was fun doing things differently this year. As I mentioned at the beginning, last year was rough due to my busy schedule. Getting the posts out in a timely manner robbed me of the joy I usually have doing them. It also didn't help I struggled to enjoy the season, which made it more difficult to write about. Doing a post-season thread rejuvenated me, eradicated the self-inflicted standards I placed upon myself, and made it great to talk about Idol again. With that said, I may return to the old format next season; I just have to see where I'm at both physically and mentally. Regardless, here's to next season and the next crop of contestants!

Yeah, it sucks I have to have the other side done as well, but I'm sure it will be worth it in the long run. I completely agree about dealing with a temporary inconvenience over terrible pain. So... I'll have you know I'm particular about what I can be bribed with. In other words, they better be good. They were declaring her the winner in the commercials?! It's probably a good thing I didn't see them. It would've been more ammo for me. She did show some more versatility after Luke encouraged her to because like I said in her conclusion, she wasn't going to win exclusively doing piano ballads all season. Hey, how dare you use my saying against me! However, I can't have too much Bad Blood with you; I'll just have to Shake It Off. It makes sense for that song to be Taylor made for the original artist. The consensus favorite Abi performance appears to be "Bring Me to Life" (unpopular opinion incoming: I thought that performance was incredibly overrated. Sonika Vaid did it better, probably another unpopular opinion). I always thought "Part of Your World" is a great song to cover, and she did a splendid job with it. She and Angie were similar in a few ways; she was fortunate there was no Candice Glover type contestant who slayed on a near weekly basis.

This is a good point. It made me think of something. There tend to be two categories when it comes to artists that Idol contestants are advised to stay away from: 1. Those with peerless range and tone. Even if the contestants do a good job with their songs, they always run the risk of not matching up to the original artist. Examples include the diva trifecta of Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and Celine Dion (never mind there were themes dedicated to the first two in past seasons). I would also put singers like Freddie Mercury and Chaka Khan in this category. 2. Those with such unique styles that it's difficult for anyone but the original artists to do justice to their songs. I mentioned the B-52s as being part of this category earlier in the thread. It appears Taylor Swift is another one who can fall in this category although there are some examples posted that show to be the exceptions. I'm still thinking about doing this, although the signs point to me eventually getting around to it. To add to this, Welcome to the Black Parade is one of those songs that is hard to do justice to in this type of setting. It has too much going on in it, and cutting out any part makes the song feel incomplete. The prime example of Abi's performance was her singing only the first line of the intro before segueing into the verse. The intro is probably the most recognizable and iconic part of the song; therefore, for it to be cut as short as it was felt disjointed and discombobulated. I nearly put this as my least favorite Abi performance; however, despite its faults, it still sounded nice at times. I can't say the same for All Too Well. Speaking of Abi, it may seem like I'm anti-IDF It-Girl. However, I can assure you that's far from the truth. I tend to be more amused than annoyed when it comes to them and the reactions to them, and Abi was no different. I just enjoy poking fun and invoking some reactions, and it's evident that my style of humor does not translate well most of the time. Besides, the support for favorites here is relatively harmless compared to the real world (the prime example going on now is some of the more insane Swifties' behavior and reactions towards Dave Grohl after he made an offhanded joke about Taylor Swift). I've liked and still like a few It-Girls; heck, my favorite Idol contestant is one of the biggest ones there has ever been. The important thing is to continue supporting your favorites, and ignore the discord and useless criticisms towards them. With that said, there may be more of this next season, so consider this an early warning.

Since I've been informed that there is someone named Abi who not only was in S22 but also the winner, I guess I'll have to write about her. ABI CARTER Why is she the only one with a color photo? (Before any of her supporters jump down my throat, it's a rhetorical question. ) POSITIVE: Pure crystal-clear voice NEGATIVE: Her overzealous fanbase, upper register can be strident at times LEAST FAVORITE PERFORMANCE: ALL TOO WELL Well, there are quite a few things I didn’t care for in this performance. For starters, I’m not a fan of the song itself, so deduct a few points here. Next, the singing sounded uninspired; it sounded like she was going through the motions. To add to this, the last chorus was shrieky, as if her voice got away from her. The last thing I’ll mention is that as is often the case the band was too loud with the chorus sections being the most prevalent problem areas. With everything combined, this performance did not go all too well for Abi. FAVORITE PERFORMANCE: PART OF YOUR WORLD Sometimes, it’s great to hear a Disney song in its purest form, and Abi delivered that in spades. She looked and sounded like a Disney princess, and she could not have picked a better song to highlight her voice. Not only were the vocals on point, but she also captured the ethereal and wishful nuances Ariel displayed during the song. Another thing I will give her kudos for is completely disregarding Kane Brown’s advice of moving around and interacting with the crowd during the performance. That may work on a more upbeat song such as “Under the Sea”, but not this one (as an aside, Kane Brown was the most disinterested mentor I can remember since Gwen Stefani). This was one of my favorite S22 performances and although Catie Turner’s “Once Upon a Dream” is my favorite Disney performance, this one is right up there with it. OVERALL: Originally, I had two write-ups planned for Abi. One was going to be an extremely harsh parody but after seeing my previous attempt not going over so well, I scrapped the idea and decided to stick with just the authentic one. So we’ve finally reached the end of the cast, and the IDF It Girl is the one capping everything off. Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty have nothing on this Golden Girl. Abi was often compared to Angie Miller during the season and funny enough, she is someone who I put under what I call the Angie Miller Microscope. What this means is that someone is lauded and hyped tremendously during the season and because of that, I look at them with a more severely critical eye than I would the others. It’s named after Angie Miller because that was the first contestant who I viewed this way because of all the hype and praise she received after her audition and especially her “You Set Me Free” performance during Hollywood. Fair? Probably not, but that’s how my brain is wired. Hence, I wasn’t overly impressed with Abi throughout the season, and the constant praise she received had me wondering if I missed something because I didn’t think everything was as great as it was made out to be. With that said, I’ve come away with more appreciation for Abi upon rewatching her run sans the fanfare. I still don’t think she’s this impeccable talent she’s hyped up to be but while her run wasn’t flawless (besides “All Too Well”, I didn’t care for “Welcome to the Black Parade” or “The Chain”), she had a portfolio of solid performances on Idol. The best thing that happened to her was Luke advising her not to stick to singing ballads behind the piano because not only was she not going to win doing nothing but piano ballads, but it also pushed her to become a more well-rounded performer, which I think will benefit her more in the long run (now only if the judges were more consistent and offered more advice like this to everyone). All in all, Abi is a talented singer/musician who had her shining moments, and hopefully for her and her fans, this isn’t over as far as her future is concerned.

Well, I can proudly say the day came sooner! An appointment cancelled on Wednesday, so I was able to go in and have the procedure. It wasn't that bad; the worst part was the numbing. Other than that, everything was successful. The most annoying part is I have to eat foods that don't require a lot of chewing because I can't chew on that side. Besides that, I have to get the other side done next month, but at least I know what to expect now. You're welcome. - Hey, nothing wrong with that! - Yeah. As I said, I will never go out of my way to be deliberately needlessly cruel to someone. - Did you find them yet? - I'm afraid I'll have to be firm here although I am open to bribes or any convincing arguments to change my mind. - I don't have much to add here except I mostly agree with your thoughts. Jack looked like he was fighting some internal battle on whether or not he was enjoying himself. I'm glad I'm not the only one who had that thought regarding Will's Adele performance. Someone understands the assignment!

"Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde" didn't really do anything for me. Looking back, his "Rolling in the Deep" was on the flatter end; however, I liked his tone despite that and felt it could've been his standout performance had he sung it better. Personally, I would've liked to have seen him give more soulful performances similar to "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay". While I didn't mind his rock performances, I can understand this thought. No arguments from me about the Disney song. That is not one of their better ones to put it mildly. I keep reading about this Abi person. I don't recall such a contestant participating in S22. As far as I know, Will Moseley was crowned the winner.

Well, I didn't expect this to literally happen. Time to face the music. While I won't say I don't have a mean bone in my body, I do try not to be intentionally malicious whether in real life or online. My attempts at humor are mostly lighthearted and try to liven up my threads every now and then. For example, my thoughts about Blake Proehl had a bunch of football references sprinkled in because of him and his father being former NFL wide receivers. I also cheekily referenced something at the end of the genuine conclusion of your wrap-up. Unfortunately for me, outside of one person they, along with my other attempts, haven't been acknowledged that much if at all. The harsh synopsis was one of those attempts. I wrote it because I thought you would get a kick out of it. Instead, it appears you were kicked by it. It made me realize my humorous endeavors are written with the thought of how I would react to them. In this case, I would've laughed and maybe volunteered some other unsavory traits about me. However, not everyone will react the same way. I did say at the beginning don't be afraid to call me out if I overstep, and it appears I did so here. The last thing I want is to make someone feel low or unwelcome. I can't promise I will stop making bad jokes, but I will try to be more cognizant going forward.

WILL MOSELEY POSITIVE: Soulful country/southern rock voice, consistency NEGATIVE: Performances blended together LEAST FAVORITE PERFORMANCE: THE BALLAD OF THE LONESOME COWBOY Yeah, this was a no-brainer. First, I’ll say at least he didn’t go with “You’ve Got A Friend In Me” or “When She Loved Me”. However, that was the only good thing about this. For starters, the song itself is on the short and repetitive side. It’s not one that is ideal for a singing competition. It should stay in settings such as movies and TV shows. Then there was the lyric flub in the latter half of the song. Combine everything, and this was the biggest blip on an otherwise steady run for him. FAVORITE PERFORMANCE: FOLSOM PRISON BLUES It was between this and “Makin’ Me Look Again” for my favorite Will performance. I decided on “Folsom Prison Blues” because it was more fun to watch. Speaking of fun, he looked like he was having a blast with this one. I loved how his voice kicked into high gear when he got to the “but I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die” line. The part where he lapped around the judges’ table with the guitar put a huge smile on my face. A part of me wanted him to pick the Whiskey Myers song, but he made the right decision to go with this one. The last thing I’ll mention was the look on Jack’s face while clapping along when the camera panned to the contestants’ lounge cracked me up. MOST UNDERRATED PERFORMANCE: ROLLING IN THE DEEP I don’t believe this performance was well-received, but it was one I dug. His singing the first two lines of the chorus in a low tone was a nice way to start the performance. He did a solid job of building the performance up and didn’t let it get away from him, which is quite easy to do with this song. With that said, was it just me or did he actually sing the “I’ll lay your **** bare” uncensored? I guess someone was sleeping on the job. Regardless, this was probably the most fitting Adele song for him, and I can see him having an outlaw country cover of this. OVERALL: Will was a solid country/southern rock hybrid artist who, outside of the one Disney performance, had the most consistent run. I enjoy listening to a good voice with this combo. Bo was my S4 favorite, and I enjoyed Warren at times last season. Will was no different, although he may not have the range as the other two. His lower tone has a warm comforting sound, which was the most prevalent in “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay”, and his upper range has this raw gritty sound that works in his genre. If there was a knock on him besides the aforementioned Disney letdown it’s, as I said with McKenna, he didn’t really have a performance that stood out compared to his others (although I’ve since been informed that “Both Sides Now” is McKenna’s; it wouldn’t surprise me if someone mentioned one for Will ). Regardless, he was a solid contestant who should hang his hat high about his run. That should just about do it. I can't think of any other contestant I need to write about from this season. Nope, no one else comes to mind...

Echoes of Wisdom looks interesting. Getting to play as Zelda and the game's concept are intriguing. The main one that caught my attention is the new Mario and Luigi game. I thought that series was kaput after its parent company went bankrupt. I guess with the Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door remakes, Nintendo decided to revive the series. I, for one, am not complaining.

Unfortunately, it was only a check-up. The way my dentist explained everything when they referred me to the specialist made me think they were going to do the procedure yesterday. The actual operation is scheduled for July 3, but they will let me know if anything sooner becomes available. I was hoping they would do it yesterday just to get it out of the way. For now, I've been prescribed antibiotics and ibuprofen which I have to take prior to the procedure. In the meantime, I hope you got some sufficient rest despite being awake near your bedtime. - As I said, I wasn't going to comment on performances with original songs because those are tricky. He was certainly more interesting after he could no longer perform his original songs. - I know Mia has an account and has posted here, so I was just having fun in case she stumbled across this thread. - Julia definitely had some interesting song choices and a great voice. No arguments on that front. - I did watch McKenna's (and Julia's) and commented on them on this page. I can understand why someone prefer her earlier in the season than later. - OK, I've reached my minimum on how many auditions I will watch. As for Jack, I'm sure your love for him will be big enough to accommodate my forgetfulness. Yeah, I couldn't believe that song choice when I first heard it. It would've been corny in almost any other week, but to voluntarily pick it during the FINALE was either insane or a huge misstep. His "One and Only" was solid. Agree about his Bon Jovi performance not being that great as well.

JACK BLOCKER POSITIVE: Fairly consistent, good connection to songs NEGATIVE: Tone can be grating, exaggerated faces while singing LEAST FAVORITE PERFORMANCE: ALL MY EX’S LIVE IN TEXAS George Strait is a music, let alone country, legend. There are much worse artists and catalogs to choose from. With that said, what in the blue blazes was that song choice?! Was it because the theme was Homecoming, and the word Texas was in the song’s title? A song about living in another state to avoid ex-partners is a strange one for the theme. Even with the questionable song choice, the performance itself wasn’t anything to write home about. The band was too loud as usual, and the parts that could be heard were off due to him not enunciating the lyrics well. I doubt he would’ve made the Top 2 even if the performance was great, but this effort all but cemented his third-place finish. FAVORITE PERFORMANCE: ALWAYS ON MY MIND I almost put “Blinding Lights” here because I liked the way he arranged the song. However, although this song has become an overdone one on Idol, the vocal was too good not to put at the top. The hand movements were distracting while watching live; it was clear he was figuring out what to do with them without his guitar. Nonetheless, that didn’t detract from the emotionally heartfelt singing. The buildup was well done, and my favorite part was the bridge, especially the “give me one more chance to keep you satisfied/keep you satisfied” lines. All in all, Jack did his thing here, and this performance may have given him the momentum needed for his run. OVERALL: Every season, there is at least one contestant who I forget about on a weekly basis until it’s his/her turn to perform. Well, Jack was the unlucky S22 contestant. He kind of resembles John Cena (maybe that's why I couldn't see him). Besides that, I think outside of the clip of Luke fighting for him during the auditions, a lot of it had to do with him being the most “normal” contestant for a lack of better term. In a way, this helped him not have as big of a target on his back throughout the season so to speak. He never gave a truly poor performance outside of his final one, while others around him faltered in one area or another. Having said that, he could’ve placed anywhere in the competition, and I wouldn't have been surprised at the result. There were times when his tone and faces while singing made him difficult to listen to and watch, but the positives outweighed those negatives. In the end, he is someone who I’ve come to appreciate more while rewatching his run.

OK, I have the next post ready to go, so it should be up soon. I hope you feel well soon and get plenty of rest. I'm off today as well and possibly tomorrow. Unfortunately, I have to go get a root canal later this afternoon, so I probably won't be feeling all that well myself. Regardless, I look forward to your posts should you get to them. Thanks for these! Both auditions were fantastic, especially Julia's. My reaction was the same as Lionel's in that I couldn't believe the notes she was hitting, in particular when she went up to her head voice. Both auditions were also touching, with both of them being adopted. I swear someone was cutting onions around me when McKenna met her birth family. I need to have a word or two with that person.

I'm probably one of the only people here who liked Caleb. His highs were as great as anyone else's and while he had his lows, which were mostly due to his vocal issues later in his run, they weren't as bad as most of the other contestants that season. He was arguably the most dynamic contestant and knew how to put on a show. I agree with liking how he took songs such as "Skyfall" and "Undo It" and flipped them, although it can be argued that "Undo It" already had rock influences imbued in it. The last thing I'll mention is that it was interesting he was the second consecutive winner who auditioned in previous seasons. Based on his run, I have him in the upper half of Idol winners.

And the funny thing is her Adele song, an artist known more for her ballads, was an upbeat one. While on the subject of themes, I agree that most of them are useless when it comes to who the artists are. I doubt any of these contestants will be making Adele type music. I'd estimate only 5% of them are relevant. However, they have been here since the beginning and aren't going away any time soon, so it's something any aspiring contestant needs to be aware of. One of my favorite things about the show is seeing how the contestants handle them. Besides, some of the themes are cool, such as Songs From The Year You Were Born, the decade ones, and Songs You Wish You Wrote. Welcome back! I don't mind waiting until you're caught up. I'll just say a lot has happened since you were last in here.