American Idol Performances Mini Rankdown

[*Wallace]

Not surprised with Jacob's SSTBTHW coming in last. It is pretty iconic how that performance made the finals, but shame a more loved performance didn't make it through instead.

 

Well I'm glad Stefano's INYN didn't come in last. #lowstandards I knew it would come in low as IDF dislikes him but oh well. A great performance and glad to see some rankers giving it proper credit.

 

Would have liked Lauren's LMMD and Casey's IPASOY to have been a little higher but also not upset with those placements.

 

I'm alright with Kendra's GOMM coming in at 16th, which I was kinda expecting. Its interesting seeing how polarizing she is.

[*Wallace]

50 minutes ago, FrogLenzen said:

Thia surviving the first set hahaha

 

I can see her performance ranking high, possibly making the Top 10?

 

But I could be wrong lol.

39 minutes ago, 1234567890 said:

Easily the worst song to ever make a finals in this game. - @Alex95

 

S1 and 8 say hi.  

 

32 minutes ago, FrogLenzen said:

He said song not performance

Yeah. I took it as the actual song.

 

Those seasons did have much worse actual performances.

[hayden98]

I'd prefer Stefano ranked higher I think, but I've got no problems from this first set~

[1234567890]

3 hours ago, Alex95 said:

Lol what’s worse?

 

3 hours ago, FrogLenzen said:

He said song not performance

How bold of you to assume that I read.

[Zoey]

I’m pretty sure I didn’t miss Kendra out on my ranking. 

[Weedy_Speedy]

I knew Jacob would be last.  At least Kendra didn't escape the bottom rung, I was convinced she would. Poster child of the IBWs.

[jarmon]

2 hours ago, Zoey said:

I’m pretty sure I didn’t miss Kendra out on my ranking. 

I'm guessing you're one of the @*Chris haha. 

I noticed his name was mentioned twice for Kendra so I think you're the one who ranked it 20/20

[Zoey]

12 minutes ago, jarmon said:

I'm guessing you're one of the @*Chris haha. 

I noticed his name was mentioned twice for Kendra so I think you're the one who ranked it 20/20

I ranked it at 6/20 actually. 

[jarmon]

11 minutes ago, Zoey said:

I ranked it at 6/20 actually. 

I-am actually shook rn....the world is ending haha. My bad 

[Alex95]

Oop fixed

[*Wallace]

3 hours ago, Weedy_Speedy said:

I knew Jacob would be last.  At least Kendra didn't escape the bottom rung, I was convinced she would. Poster child of the IBWs.

At least Jacob has the much more deserving "You're All I Need To Get By" in there, which made it through to the next set.

 

I def expect it to show up in the next set though.

 

And MTE regarding Kendra.

[1234567890]

7 hours ago, Weedy_Speedy said:

I knew Jacob would be last.  At least Kendra didn't escape the bottom rung, I was convinced she would. Poster child of the IBWs.

I thought Kendra would end up in the Top 10. Thank God, she didn't.

[Alex95]

15. Lauren Alaina "I Hope You Dance"

12.2/20

Watch Here

@QueenKalie - 2/20

@1234567890 - 2/20

@goofycilla90 - 3/20

@Zoey - 3/20

@JORDAN_FAN - 3/20

@hayden98 - 5/20

@Weedy_Speedy - 8/20

@jarmon - 8/20

@*Chris - 11/20

@*Lily - 11/20

@NGM - 12/20

@JC - 13/20

@*Diana - 14/20

@rdhaley96 - 15/20

@FrogLenzen - 15/20

@Crisis - 16/20

@*Amanda - 16/20

@Solaris - 17/20

@Elliott - 17/20

@taylorkat - 18/20

@*Wallace - 19/20

@sublymonal - 19/20

@Alex95 - 19/20

@Steven_ - 19/20

@totes4totes - 20/20

 

Kevin

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Something something nuts of wonder.

 

Akshar

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AHHHH I absolutely love this song sooo much! Lauren is definitely gonna be benefitting from that haha. I thought she did a pretty decent job with this song and that her voice sounded lovely.

 

Lily

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This is one of those country songs I feel like I should hate but I do secretly kinda love it oops. And I thought Lauren did a very lovely job with it.

 

JC

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Boring, boring, boring. How did this slip through to top 20?

 

Richard

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Very pretty performance from Lauren. Nothing outstanding, but a solid showing from her. I liked the song choice for her voice, and she delivered it well. Not much more to say.

 

Derek

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Wow she's 15 guys, did you know? Let's retire this song lol.

 

Crisis

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I Hope You Dance is probably my favorite Lauren performance, but even then I’m not crazy over it. While the vocal wasn’t bad, it highlighted what plagued Lauren all season. She teased going for big moments but never reaching them. That was the case here. It also didn’t help that she was treated with kid gloves all season.

 

Sola

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I hate this song in competition shows.

 

Elliott

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Awful song. Mediocre performance. Bland contestant. NEXT.

 

Wally

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This is a very lovely performance from Lauren, but not one of my main favorites from her like the other performances that made it here, or even the likes of "Candle in the Wind" or "Turn on the Radio." But this is a great modern classic country song that suits her. She delivered a beautiful vocal and connected well with the song. I do love the part where she shows some edge in her voice on that "whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens" part. That always stands out to me. All in all, this is lovely.

 

Alex

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This is sadly a 100% true story. When I was in highschool I went to a Sweet 16 of an acquaintance. The birthday girl got up in front of everyone and sang this song during the party. It was an extremely uncomfortable moment. The dress, the performance, the vocals...everything about this reminds me of that Sweet 16.

 

Steven

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This was boring. It was a predictable song choice and Lauren didn't do anything special with it. The vocals weren't too impressive either.

 

 

 

 

14. Pia Toscano "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me"

12.0/20

Watch Here

@Elliott - 7/20

@jarmon - 7/20

@Zoey - 7/20

@sublymonal - 7/20

@*Diana - 7/20

@Crisis - 8/20

@Steven_ - 8/20

@*Amanda - 9/20

@*Chris - 9/20

@Alex95 - 9/20

@Solaris - 10/20

@rdhaley96 - 10/20

@NGM - 11/20

@totes4totes - 12/20

@*Lily - 13/20

@JORDAN_FAN - 14/20

@taylorkat - 14/20

@JC - 16/20

@goofycilla90 - 17/20

@Weedy_Speedy - 17/20

@*Wallace - 17/20

@FrogLenzen - 17/20

@1234567890 - 17/20

@QueenKalie - 18/20

@hayden98 - 20/20

 

Elliott

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Great vocals, gorgeous vocals. Overdone song nonetheless though.

 

Akshar

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Honestly, she didn’t have one bad performance at all! She was SOOOO ROBBED! This was yet another fantastic performance from Pia, her control is insane.

 

Crisis

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Pia was my S10 favorite, and I enjoyed all of her performances during the season and felt she never gave a bad one. However, if I have to pick my least favorite, it would be Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me. Having said that, it was not a bad performance by any means. She sang beautifully as she usually does; it’s just that this is one of the songs I’m tired of hearing. I’d rather have All In Love Is Fair and especially River Deep - Mountain High over this; nonetheless, it’s still one of the better performances here. Finally, on a superficial note she looked really beautiful in this performance, my second favorite look behind All In Love Is Fair. Speaking of River Deep - Mountain High...

 

Honorable Mention - Pia Toscano: River Deep - Mountain High

 

What? There was no way I was not going to write about my favorite S10 performance.  Despite it not making the Top 20, I’m here to give it the credit it deserves. For weeks everyone criticized Pia for being a ballad queen. Well, she came out and showed everyone she could nail an up-tempo song just as well as a ballad, perhaps even more so. She vocally slayed as always; however, while she’s no Tina Turner she moved around on stage more than normal. She said she had tremendous stage fright, but it appeared she was making steps to overcome that. The only negative thing about that performance was the awful cow print outfit; Gwen Stefani should be banned from dressing anyone other than herself. I thought she had the best performance of the night, and it was difficult to see her eliminated the following night. Also, it was difficult to see this cut and not make the finals; I guess her beauty and talent were too much for some people to handle.

 

Steven

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Pia was always impressive on the Idol stage, and this performance was no different. She sang this beautifully and seemed connected to what she was singing too. It was another standout performance from Pia.

 

Alex

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This is when Pia began to lose me while watching live. As always, it was sung flawlessly, but it was such an uninspired song choice and she did nothing with the song that we haven't seen from her before. Luckily she came back the following week to slay us all with RDMH (and then promptly get eliminated and somehow not have that amazing performance in our top 20 )

 

Richard

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I feel like this is one of Pia’s most underrated performances. I think people tend to dismiss it because of how many ballads Pia had covered by this point, but as a standalone performance, I’d put it in the upper half of performances she gave on the show. The vocal was excellent and fit right in the pocket. Everything from her lower register to her soaring upper register worked really well with the song. 

 

Lily

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While this is maybe my least favorite Pia performance it is still pretty exceptional? Girl never missed. I'd have taken "River Deep" over this here but even so, 4 out of 6 performances in the endgame? Iconic!

 

JC

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This arrangement is by far the most interesting, but it was probably her worst performance vocally. But at least it didn't make me fall asleep like the others.

 

Kevin

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Wasn't she supposed to become some huge mega-star despite America realizing her basicness and canning her in 9th?

 

Wally

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Ugh I HATE ranking a Pia performance this low, but this was always my least fave performance from Pia, and one I really could have done without being in the finals. Can we get a change and replace this with "River Deep - Mountain High"? But no, I do still really like this performance and Pia can do no wrong. She took on a classic Elton song and sang this very beautifully. She poured a lot of hear and passion into this, and delivered crystal clear stunning vocals.  I do really like this but just felt that maybe her other performances stood out more. But it's still better than some people's best performances lol.

 

Derek

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Anyone who has ever used the word "CarrieBot" but also likes Pia needs to see a therapist. Thank you for being on pitch but I think her tone is a little generic.

 

 

 

 

13. James Durbin "Living For The City"

11.5/20

Watch Here

@sublymonal - 2/20

@Elliott - 3/20

@NGM - 5/20

@Weedy_Speedy - 5/20

@rdhaley96 - 6/20

@*Chris - 7/20

@Steven_ - 7/20

@1234567890 - 9/20

@JC - 10/20

@totes4totes - 10/20

@Alex95 - 11/20

@Crisis - 12/20

@*Diana - 12/20

@FrogLenzen - 12/20

@*Amanda - 13/20

@JORDAN_FAN - 13/20

@*Wallace - 14/20

@goofycilla90 - 15/20

@QueenKalie - 15/20

@taylorkat - 15/20

@Solaris - 16/20

@hayden98 - 17/20

@Zoey - 19/20

@*Lily - 19/20

@jarmon - 20/20

 

Elliott

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A really fun, upbeat, funky performance from James. 

 

Kevin

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I don't know how this got so high. I don't even remember this performance.

 

Richard

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James was definitely the most capable male vocalist from season 10, and that was on full display in this performance. He had a lot of fun with it, moving around the stage a ton, but he never dropped the ball vocally. His ability to maintain strong vocals while playing up the theatrics on stage is something a lot of other contestants wouldn’t be able to do, but he did it here seamlessly.

 

Steven

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I forgot about this performance, but I enjoyed it enough after a re-watch to place it this high on my ranking. James was a natural on the stage. He delivered a funky performance and sang this song like it was his own. It's definitely one of the best performances in this Top 20.

 

JC

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I don't understand why Elliott likes him but not Adam Lambert, he legit is a low rent version.

 

Alex

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This performance was Fine. Nothing special. But I'll take a generic, albeit well done, rock performance over a lot of this top 20.

 

Crisis

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This was an unexpected song choice for James. I expected him to sing something like Superstition or Higher Ground. Anyway, James went and did his thing on this performance. He was strong vocally and even showed off some nice dance steps. I could’ve done without the screaming, but it wasn’t that big of a deal. I think this is the best version of Living For The City done on the show.

 

Derek

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the whoa-oh-ohs are a no for me dawg

 

Wally

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I was surprised seeing this James performance making it into the final vote. I have always really liked this, but it's not a performance I remember all that well when I look back or think of his run. But it is definitely in my top half of his performances....maybe a 5th or 6th fave from him? I do love how he rose to the challenge on Motown night and really delivered such a solid performance here. I liked seeing this funky side of James of him just performing and just straight up having fun!   He was still able to rock it out here too. Omg I love that part where he performs on the side of the stage and does that two step leg dancing. But he delivered a great and powerful vocal here. Some of his screaming/loud notes can be a bit much but I thought it mostly worked well here. But yeah, this is just a really cool and fun performance from James!

 

Lily

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Fun! Neither of these James performances really did it for me I'm sorry, he's got an impressive higher range and rocker belt but I actually enjoyed this top 20 more than I expected to and James just didn't stand out quite enough for me.

 

Akshar

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I mean this was a fine performance. I just wasn’t amazed by it or anything. It just left me meh. I think it’s just that I’m not a fan of the song lol.

 

 

 

 

12. James Durbin "Maybe I'm Amazed"

11.2/20

Watch Here

@sublymonal - 1/20

@Alex95 - 4/20

@goofycilla90 - 5/20

@Elliott - 5/20

@NGM - 6/20

@JORDAN_FAN - 6/20

@1234567890 - 8/20

@rdhaley96 - 9/20

@*Wallace - 9/20

@Steven_ - 9/20

@*Diana - 10/20

@Crisis - 11/20

@JC - 11/20

@FrogLenzen - 11/20

@hayden98 - 12/20

@jarmon - 13/20

@*Amanda - 14/20

@Weedy_Speedy - 15/20

@*Chris - 15/20

@*Lily - 15/20

@QueenKalie - 16/20

@taylorkat - 16/20

@Solaris - 19/20

@totes4totes - 19/20

@Zoey - 20/20

 

Alex

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I'm a little disappointed James didn't make the top 10 since he's my second fave of the season, but my fave performances from him already got cut earlier (Will You Still Love Me, While My Guitar, Uprising, and Saturday Night). Still, this is a great song and James really did his thing with it. I bumped it up a little bit hoping to help him, but I still enjoyed it a lot.

 

Elliott

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I find it funny how James' two performances that made the final vote are performances I would've been fine being cut over my actual two favourites from him, but since James was my favourite during the season, I'm ranking them highly nonetheless. Anyway, this was a really good performance that I enjoyed despite my dislike of Sir Paul McCartney.

 

Richard

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This was a great song choice for James, and he delivered it very well. The melody fit like a glove for him, and I like how he rearranged the chorus to give him the chance to belt a bit. At the same time, it always felt controlled and pretty masterful. I wasn’t necessarily blown away by this performance, but it was definitely a strong one from him.

 

Wally

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"Maybe I'm Amazed" is a fantastic performance from James and my 3rd favorite from him - behind "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow." While I would have preferred those here, I'm not mad that this is here as I still loved this performance. I do love how James starts off the song slowly and really pours so much emotion into the song. It was nice seeing this tender side of him. Speaking of, I just remembered this was the performance that made me a fan of his as I didn't like him before this. But then I also love the power and range he showcases where he gets to the chorus of the song. He's really singing his heart out here! Oooh he really goes for those high screamo rock vocals, but I don't mind and he really makes it work here. But I do love how he closes the song so softly at the end! A really nice and sweet performance from James.

 

Steven

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I enjoyed this performance, and it was one of my favorite James performances of the season. It was a great song choice for him; he seemed very comfortable with it. It was an effortlessly solid performance from James.

 

Crisis

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Maybe I’m Amazed is one of my favorite James performances. I liked the passion he sang with; it was easy to see the song meant a lot to him. I’m fairly neutral on James; however, I wouldn’t have minded if a couple of other performances made the finals. With that said, I’m happy this one made it.

 

JC

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meh, he's just not my cup of tea

 

Derek

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tbh I hate him and every time he sings I dread when he is going to scream. This was more... subdued for him I guess so this wasn't that bad

 

Akshar

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Okay James did an amazing job with this song. It was just so fantastic! I loved his falsetto in this and his runs. A great performance but I do wish “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” made it to the Top 20 as well.

 

Kevin

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I don't care.

 

Lily

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Pretty great! It's not really for me but undeniably a good performance. Will I remember it  at the end of this rankdown when I've listened to endless Lennon/McCartney songs on Idol? I'm not sure, but it's strong.

 

Sola

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Nope.

 

 

 

 

11. Pia Toscano "Where Do Broken Hearts Go"

11.1/20

Watch Here

@Zoey - 4/20

@*Diana - 4/20

@Crisis - 6/20

@sublymonal - 6/20

@*Lily - 8/20

@JORDAN_FAN - 8/20

@goofycilla90 - 9/20

@Elliott - 9/20

@jarmon - 9/20

@NGM - 10/20

@*Amanda - 10/20

@*Chris - 10/20

@hayden98 - 10/20

@Steven_ - 11/20

@Solaris - 12/20

@Alex95 - 12/20

@taylorkat - 12/20

@totes4totes - 13/20

@rdhaley96 - 14/20

@*Wallace - 15/20

@1234567890 - 15/20

@QueenKalie - 17/20

@JC - 17/20

@Weedy_Speedy - 18/20

@FrogLenzen - 18/20

 

Crisis

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Another strong vocal showing from Pia. Adding an up-tempo arrangement was unconventional; however, I thought it was a genius move by Rodney Jerkins and company because it gave the song a different and fresh feel to it. The only way this performance could’ve been better is if Pia matched the track’s energy more. Nonetheless, this was still a great performance from her.

 

Lily

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She did a fantastic job with a kinda disappointing arrangement of this song. It sounds like the sort of instrumental you would play as the theatre curtain is going down. Pia deserves better than that! Gorgeous as always otherwise.

 

Elliott

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Probably Pia's "worst" performance, but that's like saying Candice's original performance of I Who Have Nothing was lesser of the two performances she turned in.

 

Akshar

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Okay firstly, she looks stunning in this performance! That outfit?!?! Wow! She did a great job with a song that I wasn’t familiar with and she made me love it. She just sings so effortlessly and lovely.

 

Steven

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My least favorite Pia performance here still manages to make it to the Top 11 of my rankings. I'm just not a fan of the song choice, but Pia delivers some really impressive notes here. She has a great voice, and I enjoyed her performance. 

 

Alex

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While I was happy to see Pia give us something a little different for a change, I hated whatever the hell this arrangement was. It did nothing for the song or her voice. As always, Pia sang it tremendously though. Bonus points for her parents in the intro though, who are delightful caricatures of New Jerseyans.

 

Richard

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Despite the arrangement of this being weird and a bit unfitting, Pia definitely sang it well. She wasn’t 100% spot-on in her lower register, but the big, soaring moments were incredible as always. All things considered, I quite liked this performance, but Pia is obviously capable of way better.

 

Wally

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I was surprised to see this Pia performance advance through to the finals. I do really like this, but do feel she had 4 bigger standout performances than this one, at least in my opinion. Pia delivered a really stunning beautiful vocal as she always does. I love how she sings the chorus and all of the vocal range she showcases with her big power vocals. The uptempo arrangement for this song was really interesting and something I had mixed feelings on. The arrangement was kind of weird for this particular song as I'm used to it as a pure ballad. But at the same time, I do appreciate how Pia changed it up and did something different here. 

 

JC

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This is pretty lame, but her song choices are consistently boring so this surprises no one.

 

Kevin

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Wasn't she supposed to become some huge mega-star despite America realizing her basicness and canning her in 9th?

 

Derek

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LOL this song is so bad. I promise I don't hate Pia and I do appreciate that she has a large range and generally stays on pitch. But she never did anything for me personally and I was not surprised when she went home. 

 

[FrogLenzen]

LOL Thia in the Top 10 be like

[QueenKalie]

Some of these rankings by @*Wallaceare noted.

 

[FrogLenzen]

On 2/13/2021 at 8:27 PM, Alex95 said:

Top 24 - Girls

Thia Megia "Out Here On My Own"

Pia Toscano "I'll Stand By You"

 

Top 13 - Personal Idol

Pia Toscano "All By Myself"

 

Top 11 - Motown

Jacob Lusk "You're All I Need To Get By"

 

Top 11 - Elton John

Haley Reinhart “Bennie And The Jets”

 

Top 5 - Now And Then

Lauren Alaina "Flat On The Floor"

Scotty McCreery “Gone”

Haley Reinhart "House Of The Rising Sun"

 

Top 4 - Inspirational Songs / Lieber And Stoller

Lauren Alaina "Anyway"

Haley Reinhart "I (Who Have Nothing)"

Honestly, this could have been a lot worse

[jarmon]

Love that Haley has all 3 performances in the Top 10 

[1234567890]

I’m more surprised that Jacob Lusk got a performance in the Top 10.  And not surprised in a bad way.

[Steven_]

 

My #20 made it to the Top 10?

[1234567890]

Just now, Steven_ said:

 

My #20 made it to the Top 10?

My #20 has won before so you will live.

[1234567890]

5 minutes ago, jarmon said:

Love that Haley has all 3 performances in the Top 10 

She’s IDF biggest IT Girl.  All that outrage in the final cuts and she will most likely win. like I said, I like Haley just not that performance I cut at the end.  I can’t speak for others though.

[FrogLenzen]

2 minutes ago, Steven_ said:

 

My #20 made it to the Top 10?

25 rankers and only 17 "20/20" rankings so far hahaha

[QueenKalie]

2 minutes ago, Steven_ said:

 

My #20 made it to the Top 10?

Maybe you need to reevaluate your choices then. 

[Elliott]

Where is this narrative that I don’t like Adam Lambert coming from?????

[1234567890]

2 minutes ago, Elliott said:

Where is this narrative that I don’t like Adam Lambert coming from?????