The Buzz with CCX - Season 19 Episode 14

[ScarletDevilCCX]

Another of my brother-in-law's homebrews tonight. Before we get to the contestants, we've got Lionel doing "Say You Say Me". As Ryan walks out after the theme, "Flashdance (What A Feeling)" is playing...ah, yes, because in honor of the Oscars, we have Movie Night! First one in the ABC era since Disney Night is basically a more restrictive Movie Night. Ah, more specifically, it's Oscar nominees/winners. Well that sucks; that means IDWMAT is on the menu, but the far superior "Iris" isn't because the Academy snubbed it. Oh, we've got live eliminations again, which means I have to vote early. Shit. Grace is up first and she's doing Pharrell Williams' "Happy", from "Despicable Me 2" (wait, really? I knew it was an animated movie, but DM2?). Good song, but interesting choice for Grace. And yeah, this is exactly what I expected--a perfectly decent but somewhat soulless performance. I give it a 55. Katy also seems to think that she's having trouble finding her identity as an artist. Luke says he's "happy" to be back here. Ryan mentions that Grace's choir teacher back at her high school did a spirit week for her and served her favorite foods--sushi and tacos. Ava August is up next, singing "City of Stars" from La La Land. We see her session with Bobby Bones, where he teaches her how to drive. Again she's going with the "prom dress and Doc Martens" combo. Well, despite wearing more practical footwear than would be expected to go with that dress, she doesn't move around on the stage at all. She's a very good singer but she isn't much of a performer. 71. Katy comments on the Docs and on the lack of movement on stage, and Ryan makes a joke about months.

 

Caleb Kennedy is doing "On the Road Again" by Willie Nelson, from the movie "Honeysuckle Rose". Bobby talks to him about his overreliance on wearing hats. He mentions that he has a weird eye that he's self-conscious about. Why do we have him around? This is a perfectly decent performance, but I've still yet to be wowed tonight. 58 for charisma--from a purely vocal standpoint it's inferior to Grace's performance, but I think overall it was just slightly better. Lionel points out that at age 16, Caleb has never been on the road. Katy says that she, too, has a "wonk eye". Luke says it was his best performance top-to-bottom and asks if he caught any fish with Bobby, and "like a true fisherman" (Luke's words), Caleb says that they rigged it up so they couldn't catch anything with the bait. Coming up after the break, Hunter Metts is wearing a bolo tie and performing a hit song from...Once. Damnit, Hunter, no! That song's off-limits on Idol now, because it's been done too well in the past!

 

We get to see some actual music during the Bobby Bones segment, or something loosely resembling music. Last week during wild card night I was almost willing to give him a pass because there were other more egregious contestants that needed pruning, but you're working your way back up my shit list! 24 seems about right for this, though I'm tempted to dock him further for the audible teenybopper-swoons from the audience. Actually, I missed this, but Mom says "he blew it and he let it show". And he's crying. Ryan's already consoling him, and Katy's trying to tell him that it was his best performance. So 14--Lionel at least manages to critique fairly instead of just fawning over him, though he's still positive. Except, yes, I'm confirming that it was a lyrics flub (I missed it, because apparently it was really close to the end, I was probably already busy excoriating him), so as per recent precedent, that's gotta be a 7.

 

Madison Watkins is up fifth, singing "Run to You" by Whitney Houston (from "The Bodyguard", of course). She acknowledges that it's risky to cover Whitney. We see what might be a childhood picture of Madison, except she's a redhead in it so she looks completely white. (She's mixed race, right? I honestly can't tell.) She sings well, though it's a bit short. 78. Okay, I'm seeing Madison's family on Zoom and they do all look white. She must just tan a lot. Chayce is up sixth, singing Bryan Adams' "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You", from "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves". Oh, Chayce had a drunk driving accident a year ago--one where he was the drunk driver. Unfortunately, despite this lowering my opinion of him as a person, I have no choice but to vote for him, because this is our first 5-star performance of the night! 87. Lionel seems to think it started slow but he found himself. Katy says a lot of girls are going to be voting with hearts in their eyes saying "that song was for me". Also, in the shot of his family, their dog is wearing a t-shirt that says "Proud Dog Brother". Cute.

 

Beane is going to be doing "Dirty Dancing". Bobby Bones asks him if he needs him to run in at the end so Beane can lift him, and Beane says that no, he has to be Baby, because he's got the curls. Also, Bobby comments on Beane's one earring, and he says that it's so people know which ear to talk into because he's deaf in one ear. Wait, so it's not just because he's gay? Anyway, this is...a performance. I love the performance, kind of lukewarm on the actual singing though. 50. Katy says "Another side of Beane; I love it!" You told Grace she wasn't focused enough. Alyssa Wray is up next, doing "This Is Me" from "The Greatest Showman". Back in her lane, finally! Lionel calls her a "subtle force", which...no. Well, whatever, 88.

 

DeShawn Goncalves is not destined to be bussed by the anti-pimp spot of live voting, but is up next singing the titular song of "The Way We Were", originally by Barbra Streisand. Bobby tries to get him to smile more by putting him on a carousel with a "rainbow chicken". He cracks a little at one note, but he's just so silky smooth. 92. Speaking of rainbows...I completely forgot that Casey has already shown that she's more than just rock. After the break, she's going with the Wizard of Oz classic, and damn, that's a high bar to clear. She's lucky the format had me vote for her before her performance. 

 

Ryan reminds us that Judy Garland was only 16, Casey's current age, when she was cast as Dorothy Gale. Casey has an emotional connection to this movie, and we see a little Casey dressed as the Wicked Witch of the West for Halloween. Lionel calls it a Disney song (nope) and says she "Caserized" it (okay?), but that pales in comparison to Katy saying that Luke was wrong and that Casey is the frontrunner. I...think it was pretty good! 84.

 

For a moment, when Ryan announced that Cassandra Coleman was doing a James Bond song I thought that yes, Grace's inability to get "Skyfall" was because she'd lost a hat pick, but nope, she's doing Sam Smith's "Writing's On The Wall" from Spectre. 100. That's all I have to say. This could be an actual Bond performance.

 

Willie Spence is doing "Stand Up" by Cynthia Erivo from "Harriet". It is a very Willie Spence performance, which means it scores about a 90 because he's apparently incapable of giving a bad performance. "One word: Amen. Two words: Religious experience. Third word: You delivered the goods." Lionel, your age is showing. Luke says that he's not supposed to use the word "frontrunner" anymore, but...

 

The first person through was Grace, and then Casey. Third is Willie, and fourth is Alyssa. Fifth is Caleb, and sixth is DeShawn, who seems shocked. Seventh is Cassandra, and eighth is Chayce. Finally, we have Hunter. Well, maybe the order actually was accurate? I'd like to think that Hunter's teetering. My top six all made it through, and the one person I voted for that didn't make it through was a wild card and therefore their departure was a foregone conclusion.

Edited April 19, 2021 by ScarletDevilCCX