Crisis On Hand: An American Idol Finalists Ranking List

[CarmenSandiego]

I’m not sure that I’d put Jax quite as low as you did and I’d definitely put Cade lower than Gabby but other than that, no complaints.

 

”The sky is falling!” has got to be “Chicken Little” Kevin!  And I’d put Jax ahead of him.

Edited May 31, 2020 by CarmenSandiego

[~Tom~]

It's been a long time since I followed an Idol list! I'll definitely keep watching this one and try to comment.  

[Elliott]

Someone else who doesn't like JAX?

[Elliott]

198. Lazaro Arbos - Not a fan, but he isn't my least favourite by any stretch of the imagination.  I don't even think he's my least favourite of that season, oops.

197. Jim Verraros - Jim's actually one of my favourites.  Last time I did a finalist ranking, he was in my Top 60, I believe. Not that good of a contestant, I'll admit.

196. A.J. Gil - Ugh.

195. Daniel Seavey - I'd probably hate him more if I didn't go into the live shows of S14 expecting him to last until 7th place, so I didn't rage at his continued survival otherwise.  Not a fan, but I'm glad he's found success post-Idol and he handled the Idol stress better than most of the 15/16 year olds did.

194. Gianna Isabella - Pass. I'd still rank her above someone else from that season, though.

193. Heejun Han - UGHHHHHHHHHHHH. I am still bitter about him outlasting Erika.

192. Corey Clark - Last. Trash.

191. Wade Cota - I liked Wade's voice, but I know I'm in the minority at IDF.  He should've left at the Top 8, though.

190. Curtis Finch, Jr. - Least favourite from that season. His voice was so grating.

189. Carmen Rasmusen - lol I remember in IDF's heyday when she was called Rasmutebutton.  Not a fan. My second least-favourite female contestant.

188. JAX - And JAX is my least favourite female contestant.  I hated her voice, everything she did seemed fake and inauthentic, and her attempt at dragging Idol post-S14 when she was cringe. Her going out in the most awkward manner possible was truly what she deserved.

187. Gabby Barrett - Also not a fan, though she did have... two?... performances that were good. I just find her family's attitude off-putting, and her marriage to Cade has somehow made both of them look bad.

186. Cade Foehner - Yeah, pass.

[miss denise]

Nice to see another Idol countdown being shared!  

 

Unfortunately, I don't agree with a lot of the S18 ranking, as my favorites - Grace, Jonny, Kimmy, Francisco, and Louis - are kind of all over the place.   Regardless, I enjoyed reading your commentary and look forward to more.   I don't really remember Jovin (due to the format and short season  a lot of them didn't register with me), but it's cool to see an unexpected person top the list.

 

I'll catch up on the sets you posted for the main list! I do see one bigger favorite of mine already included, but am hopeful we might have some in common later on.  

[Crisis]

3 hours ago, CarmenSandiego said:

I’m not sure that I’d put Jax quite as low as you did and I’d definitely put Cade lower than Gabby but other than that, no complaints.

 

”The sky is falling!” has got to be “Chicken Little” Kevin!  And I’d put Jax ahead of him.

 

Fair enough. Honestly, Gabby and Cade were nearly interchangeable, but I preferred Cade's style over Gabby's which gave him the slight edge.

 

Objectively, JAX was better than Kevin (and some of the finalists who have yet to be ranked to be honest), but she irritated me more than most, thus the low ranking.

 

2 hours ago, ~Tom~ said:

It's been a long time since I followed an Idol list! I'll definitely keep watching this one and try to comment.  

 

Welcome aboard!

 

1 hour ago, Elliott said:

Someone else who doesn't like JAX?

 

For some reason I decided to re-watch her performances because I thought I was being too harsh. It turned out she was even worse than I remembered.

 

1 hour ago, Elliott said:

198. Lazaro Arbos - Not a fan, but he isn't my least favourite by any stretch of the imagination.  I don't even think he's my least favourite of that season, oops.

197. Jim Verraros - Jim's actually one of my favourites.  Last time I did a finalist ranking, he was in my Top 60, I believe. Not that good of a contestant, I'll admit.

196. A.J. Gil - Ugh.

195. Daniel Seavey - I'd probably hate him more if I didn't go into the live shows of S14 expecting him to last until 7th place, so I didn't rage at his continued survival otherwise.  Not a fan, but I'm glad he's found success post-Idol and he handled the Idol stress better than most of the 15/16 year olds did.

194. Gianna Isabella - Pass. I'd still rank her above someone else from that season, though.

193. Heejun Han - UGHHHHHHHHHHHH. I am still bitter about him outlasting Erika.

192. Corey Clark - Last. Trash.

191. Wade Cota - I liked Wade's voice, but I know I'm in the minority at IDF.  He should've left at the Top 8, though.

190. Curtis Finch, Jr. - Least favourite from that season. His voice was so grating.

189. Carmen Rasmusen - lol I remember in IDF's heyday when she was called Rasmutebutton.  Not a fan. My second least-favourite female contestant.

188. JAX - And JAX is my least favourite female contestant.  I hated her voice, everything she did seemed fake and inauthentic, and her attempt at dragging Idol post-S14 when she was cringe. Her going out in the most awkward manner possible was truly what she deserved.

187. Gabby Barrett - Also not a fan, though she did have... two?... performances that were good. I just find her family's attitude off-putting, and her marriage to Cade has somehow made both of them look bad.

186. Cade Foehner - Yeah, pass.

 

198. Understandable

197. It's rare to see a Jim Verraros fan! Including this list, I usually see him in the bottom three if not ten. I may have a contestant or two that would make Jovin being my Season 18 favorite look like child's play. 

196. Agreed

195. Agreed, especially the last sentence. After his elimination, he said something along the likes of he was just happy to be on American Idol, so he wasn't too sad about leaving. He was just nowhere near ready to be on Idol when he was.

194. Someone lower than Gianna? I have to see who this is.

193. Tell me about it. That was one of the most disappointing things about Season 11.

192. So succinctly put 

191. Just never acquired the taste for it. *shrugs*

190. Can't say I disagree

189. OMG at Rasmutebutton!  That nickname fit her perfectly during her run.

188. Oh yeah, she had a song and video called La La Land. I remember Daniel, Rayvon, and Adam Ezegelian appearing in it. 

187. Agreed

186. No argument here

Edited May 31, 2020 by Crisis

[Crisis]

7 minutes ago, miss denise said:

Nice to see another Idol countdown being shared!  

 

Unfortunately, I don't agree with a lot of the S18 ranking, as my favorites - Grace, Jonny, Kimmy, Francisco, and Louis - are kind of all over the place.   Regardless, I enjoyed reading your commentary and look forward to more.   I don't really remember Jovin (due to the format and short season  a lot of them didn't register with me), but it's cool to see an unexpected person top the list.

 

I'll catch up on the sets you posted for the main list! I do see one bigger favorite of mine already included, but am hopeful we might have some in common later on.  

 

Just now seeing this. As I said before, I enjoyed reading the other countdowns and was disappointed they were all lost due to the crash, so I decided to do one myself. I guess I am all over the place when it comes to these contestants.  Welcome aboard, and I hope you do enjoy my commentary, whether we disagree on contestants or not.

 

I'm curious to see which a finalist was a favorite that has already been ranked. Hopefully, there will be some finalists we have in common.

[miss denise]

8 hours ago, Crisis said:

 

Just now seeing this. As I said before, I enjoyed reading the other countdowns and was disappointed they were all lost due to the crash, so I decided to do one myself. I guess I am all over the place when it comes to these contestants.  Welcome aboard, and I hope you do enjoy my commentary, whether we disagree on contestants or not.

 

I'm curious to see which a finalist was a favorite that has already been ranked. Hopefully, there will be some finalists we have in common.

Yes, I lost years of lists and projects from here myself, so it is very unfortunate.   Glad to see the lists start back up again with yours! And thank you.  

 

Just caught up on 198-186, so I'll comment in a minute, but also hope we might have some shared favorites!  I have no idea what to expect, of course, and will at least enjoy reading your thoughts either way.  

 

Of those posted so far - I love Gabby and am sad you (and the majority of the forum) don't care for her.  I don't know that most of the rest would rank quite this low for me, but I don't have any issue with it either.  Your comments on Lazaro and that group performance cracked me up, and I was literally just talking a few weeks ago about that thread breaking down the performance and wishing I could see it again.  That was so good. Also, I'm sure others have mentioned it, but Why Don't We has had quite a bit of success and I heard their songs on the radio, so that is an amazing accomplishment for Daniel, and definitely nothing I saw coming.  

[Elliott]

18 hours ago, Crisis said:

194. Someone lower than Gianna? I have to see who this is.

Olivia.

[Crisis]

12 hours ago, miss denise said:

Yes, I lost years of lists and projects from here myself, so it is very unfortunate.   Glad to see the lists start back up again with yours! And thank you.  

 

Just caught up on 198-186, so I'll comment in a minute, but also hope we might have some shared favorites!  I have no idea what to expect, of course, and will at least enjoy reading your thoughts either way.  

 

Of those posted so far - I love Gabby and am sad you (and the majority of the forum) don't care for her.  I don't know that most of the rest would rank quite this low for me, but I don't have any issue with it either.  Your comments on Lazaro and that group performance cracked me up, and I was literally just talking a few weeks ago about that thread breaking down the performance and wishing I could see it again.  That was so good. Also, I'm sure others have mentioned it, but Why Don't We has had quite a bit of success and I heard their songs on the radio, so that is an amazing accomplishment for Daniel, and definitely nothing I saw coming.  

 

Yeah, losing years of lists and projects has to be rough. I would be sad if it happened to me as well.

 

I look forward to your comments. As I said before, I try to be as objective as possible when writing about the contestants. I try to at least say something positive about the ones I don't care for and later on I'll be pretty critical of some of my favorites.

 

Too bad we don't agree about Gabby, but hey, she's doing very well for herself right now! Yes, that thread was legendary! I was able to see some things I didn't pay attention to before when re-watching that performance. Too bad it's gone now. As for Daniel, good for him! I don't really listen to the radio all that much, but it's a good thing if he and Why Don't We are getting their songs played on the radio.

 

4 hours ago, Elliott said:

Olivia.

 

I meant when that person showed up in the rankings.  Since we're here, without giving too much away, Olivia was a difficult one for me to place. To be honest, I'm still kind of deciding where to put her.

[Crisis]

I'll go ahead and post the next set now.

 

185. Kevin Covais: Season 5 (11th Place)

It’s time for the first Season 5 finalist to show up, who happens to be Kevin Covais aka Chicken Little. Kevin got his nickname from Paris because of his physical resemblance to the cartoon character. Kevin was another teenager who, as with most of them, was underdeveloped vocally. In addition, he had a lisp that was really noticeable whenever he sang. I remember not caring for his performances during the semifinals. He made it into the finals where during the first week he gave one of the worst performances of all-time with Part-Time Lover. For starters, that song was way too mature for him; no teen should be singing a song about an extra marital affair. Moreover, everything about it was cringe-worthy, from the styling, awkward dancing, and of course, singing. After the performance, I remember Simon calling it appalling and Kevin snapping back with, “I wasn’t expecting much from you anyway”.  Not only did he survive it, he wasn’t even in the Bottom 3.  He came back the following week with When I Fall In Love which was his best performance of the season. It wasn’t enough as he was eliminated the night after. Kevin did pretty good for himself post Idol as he was able to land a couple of acting gigs, including a recurring role in Good Luck Charlie, so good for him for making the most of the opportunities presented to him.

 

Clue: The sky is falling, the sky is falling! (which of course is a reference to Chicken Little, Kevin's nickname)

 

184. Lee Jean: Season 15 (7th/8th Place)

Lee was another of the underdeveloped teens to participate in Season 15. Like Gianna, Lee had some promise, but there was a lot of roughness that needed to be smoothed out. The most noticeable thing about Lee was he appeared to be a huge Ed Sheeran fan as he sang quite a few songs of his during his time on the show. Probably the most memorable thing about Lee was when he shushed the crowd during his Final Judgment performance.  He managed to last a little while in the competition despite having some iffy performances that displayed a serious number of issues. The most glaring example was Let It Be. Everything about that performance displayed Lee’s shortcomings: the lack of pitch, connection to the song, and anything resembling a melody. His tenure on Idol was already on life support; that performance pulled the plug on any chance of him advancing. Overall, my opinion on Lee is similar to Gianna: a young, still developing artist who needed more time to grow, but I could see why he auditioned because it was billed to be the last season.

 

Clue: I've been THINKING OUT LOUD how to make this clue PERFECT, but in the end I DON'T CARE (the clue has the name of three Ed Sheeran songs in it; a reference to Lee's affinity for singing them)

 

183. Andrew Garcia: Season 9 (9th Place)

Just like that, another 9th place finisher bites the dust.  Andrew was a contestant who straight up did not live to expectations people had for him. Apparently, he had a YouTube channel prior to Idol where he was able to gather a good following, so there was some buzz about him. His buzz got bigger when he did an acoustic cover of the recently departed judge Paula Abdul’s hit Straight Up during Hollywood, which was lauded by the judges. Unfortunately for Andrew, it appeared as if he spent the rest of his Idol run trying to re-create that moment, in which most of the time he straight up fell on his face, and the judges straight up let him know about it (OK, that’ll be the last time I’ll mention straight up in this write-up, I promise. I only wanted to mention it as many times as the judges did; I still think I fell short ). The most flagrant example of this was Genie In A Bottle, which just came off as creepy. It was to the point I almost felt sorry for him. Almost. Outside of this, he often drained the soul out of the songs he did, the most glaring examples being I Heard It Through the Grapevine and especially Hound Dog. Now that I think about it, he was like a rough prototype for contestants such as Alex Preston and MacKenzie Bourg. Having said that, he gave a couple of performances I liked such as Sugar, Were Goin’ Down and Forever (although Chris Brown ). In the end, Andrew didn’t live up to the expectations placed upon him, which is too bad.

 

Clue: What was the name of the song you did in Hollywood again? (referencing some Paula Abdul ditty...)

 

182. Dexter Roberts: Season 13 (7th Place)

Dexter is the first Season 13 finalist to arrive. One thing I can say about him: he definitely knew who he was as an artist. He was country all the way and made no apologies for it. Unfortunately, he was also one of the most boring performers of the season. He completely lacked any charisma and uniqueness to help him stand out. Plus, he tended to lean towards bro-country, which is one of my least favorite genres, so there was another mark against him. The one performance of his I remembered liking was One Mississippi. Everything else was mediocre at best, with the exception of Cruise, which was just bad (then again, I think voluntarily performing a Florida-Georgia Line song should be automatic grounds for elimination, but I digress...). After the season, I remember hearing about him getting rocky mountain spotted fever while hunting, which caused him to miss a good portion of the tour. A few years after Idol, he resurfaced on The Voice where he made it all the way to the finals. Good for him for continuing to pursue a music career; I just don’t think I’ll check for anything from him.

 

Clue: Went on to be a finalist on another singing competition

 

181. Stefano Langone: Season 10 (7th Place)

Rolling into the list is Stefano Langone. Stefano was someone who I could never get into. The only performance of his I liked was his Wildcard Round performance of Smoky Norful's I Need You Know. He definitely sang his tail off there, and I had no problems with him being a wildcard selection because of it. Everything else, however, was cringe-worthy or close to it. He tried to be this romantic crooner; instead, he often came off as a cheesy wedding singer. Everything from his arrangements, singing, and performance style was dripping with Velveeta. I didn’t understand how Pia was criticized for singing ballads all the time (which she did, to be fair) when Stefano was just as guilty. Speaking of Pia, I actually did feel kind of bad for him when he got slammed after her elimination because he just happened to be on stage with her. It wasn’t his fault Pia didn’t get enough votes to advance. Still, I didn’t care for Stefano as a performer, plus he came off as a bit of a tool. Finally, I cannot finish this write-up without mentioning I’m On A Roll. There have been some cheesy singles to come from contestants post-Idol, but this was on an entirely different level. On that note, I’ll just end this write-up here.

 

Clue: Cinnamon, tootsie, barrel, gator, egg, sushi, etc. (these are types of rolls, referencing his post-Idol masterpiece I'm On A Roll of course...)

 

185. Kevin Covais
184. Lee Jean
183. Andrew Garcia
182. Dexter Roberts
181. Stefano Langone

Clues for the next batch:

• Defended a singing "style" after a critique from the judges
• Crying about something long enough actually paid off for this finalist
• Pray for the Soul of Betty!
• A replacement for a disqualified contestant who gave a performance that should've had said replacement begging for forgiveness
• You will not rearrange our song!

Edited June 4, 2020 by Crisis

[x3 because of u]

11 hours ago, Crisis said:

185. Kevin Covais
184. Lee Jean
183. Andrew Garcia
182. Dexter Roberts
181. Stefano Langone

Clues for the next batch:

• Defended a singing "style" after a critique from the judges
• Crying about something long enough actually paid off for this finalist
• Pray for the Soul of Betty!
• A replacement for a disqualified contestant who needed to beg for forgiveness after this first performance
• You will not rearrange our song!

I loved Andrew Garcia lol... I wish he had lived up to the hype. I don't disagree with any of these placements though.

 

• Defended a singing "style" after a critique from the judges - Chris Richardson? (I loved him #cakeforlife)
• Crying about something long enough actually paid off for this finalist
• Pray for the Soul of Betty! - Constantine (yeah, didn't like him much so I won't be mad about this placement haha)
• A replacement for a disqualified contestant who needed to beg for forgiveness after this first performance
• You will not rearrange our song!

I don't remember anything else

[Crisis]

5 hours ago, x3 because of u said:

I loved Andrew Garcia lol... I wish he had lived up to the hype. I don't disagree with any of these placements though.

 

• Defended a singing "style" after a critique from the judges - Chris Richardson? (I loved him #cakeforlife)
• Crying about something long enough actually paid off for this finalist
• Pray for the Soul of Betty! - Constantine (yeah, didn't like him much so I won't be mad about this placement haha)
• A replacement for a disqualified contestant who needed to beg for forgiveness after this first performance
• You will not rearrange our song!

I don't remember anything else

 

Yeah, it's unfortunate he didn't live up to the hype.  Nice to see not much disagreement.

 

Good guesses. We'll see if they're right or not.

[CarmenSandiego]

No real complaints about the rankings.

 

 I don’t really know who might be the singers in your next batch, but Constantine seems like a good bet for the “Soul of Betty”.  I hope that Jasmine Trias isn’t the one who crying really paid off for.  I liked her even though she got to move on at LaToya London’s expense.

[Crisis]

2 hours ago, CarmenSandiego said:

No real complaints about the rankings.

 

 I don’t really know who might be the singers in your next batch, but Constantine seems like a good bet for the “Soul of Betty”.  I hope that Jasmine Trias isn’t the one who crying really paid off for.  I liked her even though she got to move on at LaToya London’s expense.

 

Nice to see no real complaints.

 

As for the guesses, we'll wait and see. I'll most likely have the new set up tomorrow or Friday evening. I'm aiming to post a new set every 2-3 days, barring any time constraints.

[miss denise]

I would have Stefano quite a bit higher, but I still prefer several others from that season. "I'm on a Roll" though  

 

The others are mostly okay for me, although I did like Lee a bit more than this. LOL all your "straight up" mentions on Andrew. I loved that performance, but yeah, everything to follow was a disappointment.  

[Crisis]

11 hours ago, miss denise said:

I would have Stefano quite a bit higher, but I still prefer several others from that season. "I'm on a Roll" though  

 

The others are mostly okay for me, although I did like Lee a bit more than this. LOL all your "straight up" mentions on Andrew. I loved that performance, but yeah, everything to follow was a disappointment.  

 

Fair enough on Stefano. Good to see someone enjoy I'm On A Roll, though I'm not a fan of it.

 

Regarding Andrew, it was annoying how many times the judges mentioned Straight Up, so I was just having fun with it. Too bad his other performances were disappointing.

 

I know you said you wanted to catch up. If so, I'll wait before posting my next set.

[miss denise]

11 hours ago, Crisis said:

 

Regarding Andrew, it was annoying how many times the judges mentioned Straight Up, so I was just having fun with it.  

 

I know you said you wanted to catch up. If so, I'll wait before posting my next set.

 

I totally get that.  

 

Oh, I believe I was caught up in the last post and don't see anything I haven't already. I'm ready for more, but thanks for waiting.  

 

[~Tom~]

185. Kevin Covais - Vincent was kind of a guilty pleasure but his lisp was distracting and he had no business advancing to top 12.

184. Lee Jean - Such a nonentity. 

183. Andrew Garcia - Straight Up was rather overrated and pretty much everything sucked after that. Lasted way too long. 

182. Dexter Roberts - Yeah he was nothing but a karaoke country bar singer on Idol. At least One Mississippi was good and he got better on the Voice? 

181. Stefano Langone - I agree so much that his cheesiness and mannerisms were so annoying. I Need You Now and Tiny Dancer were good, but that doesn't make up for terrible versions of Lately, Hello, etc. And don't get me started on I'm On a Roll. 

[Elliott]

27 minutes ago, ~Tom~ said:

And don't get me started on I'm On a Roll. 

To quote a mod, MY EX WANTS TONIGHT

[Crisis]

2 hours ago, miss denise said:

 

I totally get that.  

 

Oh, I believe I was caught up in the last post and don't see anything I haven't already. I'm ready for more, but thanks for waiting.  

 

 

OK, that's all I need to see! I should have the next set up soon.

 

1 hour ago, ~Tom~ said:

185. Kevin Covais - Vincent was kind of a guilty pleasure but his lisp was distracting and he had no business advancing to top 12.

184. Lee Jean - Such a nonentity. 

183. Andrew Garcia - Straight Up was rather overrated and pretty much everything sucked after that. Lasted way too long. 

182. Dexter Roberts - Yeah he was nothing but a karaoke country bar singer on Idol. At least One Mississippi was good and he got better on the Voice? 

181. Stefano Langone - I agree so much that his cheesiness and mannerisms were so annoying. I Need You Now and Tiny Dancer were good, but that doesn't make up for terrible versions of Lately, Hello, etc. And don't get me started on I'm On a Roll. 

 

185. I can't say I disagree

184. You may be right 

183. I don't have much of an argument against this

182. Completely agree. I actually didn't see him on The Voice (then again, I can't really get into the show), but I did read about him being on there.

181. Absolutely no arguments here.

 

1 hour ago, Elliott said:

To quote a mod, MY EX WANTS TONIGHT

 

What is this?!?! 

Edited June 5, 2020 by Crisis

[~Tom~]

37 minutes ago, Crisis said:

What is this?!?! 

A mod (Wallace) expressed his liking for I'm on a Roll once upon a time and I liked embarrassing him about it. One of the highlights of the old IDF.  

[Crisis]

180. Tim Urban: Season 9 (7th Place)

I just now noticed Tim is the third consecutive 7^th placer to show up . Anyway, Tim was initially not in the Top 24. He was a replacement for Chris Golightly, who was disqualified after producers found out he had lied about a previous recording contract, or something like that, I can’t remember the details. Tim made his semifinal debut with Apologize, and well, he needed to apologize to everyone after that performance. Needless to say, the judges made the right decision when they cut him the first time. Somehow, he managed to survive that week and gave two OK performances with Come On Get Higher and Hallelujah although frankly, he had nowhere to go but up after Apologize. He managed to make it to the finals where his ride was uneven at best. The main things I remember was his reggae version of Under My Thumb (a song I don't like because of the misogynistic lyrics, plus doing reggae versions of songs almost never work), Kara blasting him for sliding on the floor during Crazy Little Thing Called Love and his butchering of Sweet Love. Anita Baker is one of my all-time favorite singers, and this was me after hearing his version:

Outside of this, he would always have a smile on his face and be positive whether he was getting criticized by the judges or finding himself in the Bottom 3. I guess he realized he was fortunate to be in the positions he was in considering where he started. He finished his run better than he started, but overall, I can’t say I was a fan of his.

 

Clue: A replacement for a disqualified contestant who gave a performance that should've had said replacement begging for forgiveness (a play on words from Apologize)

 

179. Tristan McIntosh: Season 15 (6th Place)

Time for another of the Season 15 teens to appear in this ranking. Tristan was further along than Gianna and Lee; however, she was still raw. Unfortunately, the main thing I remember about her was her whining and crying when she didn’t get the song she wanted to perform (What Hurts the Most, at least that's what I think it was) during Hollywood before a hopeful (her name eludes me at the moment) eventually let her have it. I’m not sure if this is true or not, but the story is Tristan’s mother confronted the other contestant and persuaded her to relinquish the song to Tristan. If true, that’s not a good look for either of them. Performance wise, Tristan showed some glimpses of promise here and there; however, she was unable to put it together. Her best performance was easily Go Rest High on the Mountain. She eventually finished in 6^th place when she and Sonika were the Bottom 2, and the judges opted to keep Sonika, which I couldn’t disagree with. I also remember there being some outrage when she outlasted Avalon. In the end, Tristan had some potential but needed to learn how to harness it.

 

Clue: Crying about something long enough actually paid off for this finalist (in reference to Hollywood)

 

178. Ace Young: Season 5 (7th Place)

Ace was a contestant who was thought had a strong shot at winning Season 5. He got off to a great start with Father Figure in the opening round of the semis, showing why he was considered a favorite. Unfortunately, that was as good as it got for him. The rest of his performances really exposed his vocals in the worst way, with the worst offender was him trying to use this non-existent falsetto (he made Sway Penala sound like Barry Gibb). In addition, he often came across as a corny performer (at least to me he did). The most glaring example was Drops of Jupiter when he revealed a scar during the lines, tell me/did you fall from a shooting star/one without a permanent scar. Finally, there was some controversy during Queen Week when he wanted to change the arrangement of We Will Rock You, and Queen was like, “no, we don’t agree”. His performance was kind of embarrassing to watch. He managed to make it through the week and gave what I thought was his best performance outside of Father Figure with That’s All. It was a good performance for him to leave on. Ace has done pretty well for himself post-Idol. He co-wrote Daughtry’s hit It’s Not Over, performed in a few Broadway shows, and married Season 3 runner-up Diana DeGarmo. I’ll just say should they decided to have children and they want to be singers, hopefully they’ll get their talent from their mother.

 

Clue: You will not rearrange our song!

 

177. Chris Richardson: Season 6 (5th Place)

Chris was a very popular contestant during Season 6; a lot of it may have had to do with his bromance with Blake (I refuse to use the name for it ). However, seeing he is the first Season 6 finalist to appear, it’s easy to see I never cared for him or his voice. He was way too nasally for my liking. Because of this, I couldn’t enjoy any of his performances, with the exception of Don’t Really Get Around Much Anymore due to it not being as nasally as the others. The worst of the worst were The Boss, Smooth, and Mayberry. Speaking of Mayberry, there was some controversy surrounding it. After he was called out by Simon for his nasal vocals, he defended his singing style by saying “nasally was a form of singing”. I didn't like him before, but this put him at the bottom of the barrel because it told me he was sounding like that on purpose.  Consequently, he gave a shout-out to those affected by the Virginia Tech shooting, which was thought as pandering for votes. In addition, Simon was caught rolling his eyes on camera, some people thinking it was directed as Chris invoking Virginia Tech. Simon apologized the following night for it, also explaining he was rolling his eyes at something Paula said. Either way, it was not a good look for either of them. Despite this, Chris lasted two more weeks in the competition before becoming a victim of a double elimination during Bon Jovi Week. He said he knew he was eliminated when the band brought out the six-string bass because his performance was the only one in which the bass was used. I know he released a couple of songs and sang the hook on Tyga’s hit Far Away; outside of that, however, I haven’t heard anything from him. While I don't have the strong disdain for him I used to, he still is my least favorite finalist from his season.

 

Clue: Defended a singing "style" after a critique from the judges

 

176. Constantine Maroulis: Season 4 (6th Place)

It’s now time for Constantine to make his grand entrance on this list. Constantine was someone who tried to come off as a rocker when in reality he was a theater geek posing as one. Also, he was known for the ways he would look into the cameras. Throughout the semis, he tried so hard to convince everyone he was this hardcore rocker by singing three not-so-rock songs. All three were pretty bad; the absolute worst being Hard to Handle. Fortunately for him, he got a lot of airtime prior to the competition starting, so he was able to build quite a following which most likely helped him reach the finals. Once there, however, he seemed to shed his “rock” side and embraced his theatrical side more. The result was somewhat better performances. His best performance was easily Bohemian Rhapsody. This song allowed him to fully embrace his theatrical background while coming off as a somewhat convincing rocker. During his last week on the show, he once again tried to be a rocker by singing How You Remind Me. It was…not good, to say the least. This led to his elimination, which is considered to be one of the most shocking in AI history:

The best part was when it was down to him and Scott, both of them went to Carrie and Bo, knowing those two were the safe group. It turned out Scott was right, and Constantine had to stand with Vonzell and Anthony.  Another funny thing was Paula’s meltdown afterwards.  Constantine did some theater work and was nominated for a Tony, which is no small feat. In addition, he hosted some Idol related shows, so he did pretty well for himself. I’m just not a fan.

 

Clue: Pray for the Soul of Betty! (the name of the band Constantine was a member of before going on Idol)

 

180. Tim Urban
179. Tristan McIntosh
178. Ace Young
177. Chris Richardson
176. Constantine Maroulis

 

Upcoming set:

 

• Fountain, gel, ballpoint, etc.
• Considered to have done the best version of an overdone song
• The OG disqualification replacement
• Eliminated the week of what may be the most random theme in Idol history
• 

Edited August 16, 2020 by Crisis

[Crisis]

44 minutes ago, ~Tom~ said:

A mod (Wallace) expressed his liking for I'm on a Roll once upon a time and I liked embarrassing him about it. One of the highlights of the old IDF.  

 

That makes sense. 

[x3 because of u]

12 hours ago, Crisis said:

 

180. Tim Urban
179. Tristan McIntosh
178. Ace Young
177. Chris Richardson
176. Constantine Maroulis

OK this set killed me LOL.... Ace and Chris were like my top favorites in their seasons (plus Jordin on AI6). My email is even based off of Ace's name LMAO... Nah, but objectively speaking, I totally understand. I'm actually rewatching AI6 now and I know Chris was one of the weakest. Still, I wouldn't quite rank either of them so low but again, I was a fan, so maybe that's the reason. Also, Tristan: waaaay overrated. I hated how the judges acted like she was sooo amazing.

 

Upcoming set:

 

• Fountain, gel, ballpoint, etc. - Jon Peter Lewis
• Considered to have done the best version of an overdone song
• The OG disqualification replacement - EJ Day
• Eliminated the week of what may be the most random theme in Idol history
• - I feel like I should know this one... but I'm blanking on it.