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Bk1234's The Voice Season 20 Contestant Ranking List (#1 and #2 Posted!!!)


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13 hours ago, VintageVoice said:

I just finished the first draft of my ranking of the contestants for Season 20; let's just say you having Zania in your top 15 is gonna put you in significantly less danger than someone who landed in my bottom five will put me 😅🤪

if its rachel/carolina/lindsay (or gih, but i think she's less likely to be B5), there WILL be crying (from me)

5 hours ago, AliXRose said:

So you're telling me the top 10 are : Gihanna, Rachel, Lindsay, Carolina, Dana, Pia, Corey, Anna Grace, Cam and Ryleigh ?

 

Not Bad GIF by Zara Larsson

iconic top 10

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#15. Rio Doyle (Team Legend)

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Kicking off this set is one of the teen contestants from this season and I’d say I have her higher than most on here. Rio was someone who I surprisingly never got into pre-season, which is probably because I skipped right over her flawless “Trainwreck” cover like an idiot. However, once her blind audition aired, I instantly became a fan. For her audition, Rio sang “When We Were Young” by Adele and her unique tone INSTANTLY grabbed my attention. Her vibrato was a bit uncontrolled at times (most likely due to nerves), but overall, she sounded great and that TONE, oh my goodness… It has a quality that just forces you to pay attention to whoever is singing. John was the only one to turn for Rio, which surprised me. I thought she deserved at least two chairs, but whatever. Rio moved on to the Battles on Team Legend and sang “Somebody That I Used To Know” with Carolina. The song choice was odd (and don’t even get me started on how they tried to make it connect to Rio’s personal life... ), but the ladies both killed it. It even ended up being one of my favorite battles of the season! I always go back and forth on who I prefer here, but Rio brought the tone and Carolina brought the high notes. Rio also brought a lot of power to the song, which kept me invested in her parts. Her tone is like an entire ocean to explore. Anyway, John chose Rio, which I was fine with (especially since Carolina got saved right after.) She brought more depth and power to the song, so I can see why he went with her. Now, Rio moved on to the Knockouts where she really needed to deliver a moment, but unfortunately, she was given “Issues” by Julia Micheals. Rio still delivered a solid performance though. She found moments in the song to belt and show off the full extent of her voice. While she would have probably done even better with a ballad, Rio still fought during this performance and did a great job. Out of all the contestants that were eliminated in the Knockouts, I’d say she deserved a steal the most. Rio’s Voice journey unfortunately ended here (I honestly felt bad seeing Gih, Rachel, and Carolina in the lives, and not her :(), but I cannot wait to continue supporting Rio. Her tone is insane and is going to sound amazing on some original material. Additionally, Rio is another contestant who I have loved interacting with. She’s so sweet and funny, and like Keegan, she’d probably be Top 5 if I was solely basing this ranking off of my interactions with the contestants. 
Clue: A part of an international border consists of a combination of this contestant and a S21 coach. (Rio Doyle’s first name and Ariana Grande’s last name form the Rio Grande River, a river that forms part of the US-Mexico Border.)

 

#14. Avery Roberson (Team Blake -> Team Kelly)

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Up next is the last battle steal to be ranked and the second four-chair turn to be ranked. Avery was one of my pre-season favorites, and as many of you know, his thread was the first S20 fan thread that I made! The thing that made me love Avery from the start was his tone and his ability to connect to the lyrics and deliver emotion through his singing. He did just that in his audition performance of “If You’re Reading This,” and I was so impressed. When I got the notification for this on YouTube, I literally stopped what I was doing, watched the performance and was moved to near tears. It was such a beautiful performance and I think what Kelly said was really important. You don’t have to hit all these crazy notes and do all these vocal tricks to get a four-chair turn. Avery stayed true to himself, connected to the song, and that was enough to get all four. One thing I remember about his audition was how crystal clear the video was on his family’s camera (a rarity on the Voice. :haha:) The coaches apparently fought really hard for him, but Avery still ended up going with Blake, which made sense. I still can’t get over the fact that Avery’s audition was one of his first live performances… WOW… Anyway, Avery moved on to the Battles and delivered one of my favorite Battles with Ethan Lively. Ethan’s strength in his lower register suited the song better, but Avery’s tone sounded amazing here. Something I forgot to mention when talking about Avery’s blind audition was how stiff he was on stage. Here though, Avery looked like a seasoned pro. He strummed his guitar so confidently and really owned the stage. This was definitely a close one, so I was happy to see Ethan win and Avery get stolen by Kelly/Kelsea. However, Knockouts are where things didn’t go too well for Avery. He was paired up against Kenzie Wheeler (one of Kelly’s favorites) and put in the last taping where no steals were available. I pretty much knew the result after just seeing the pairing. Avery’s elimination was especially hard for me pre-season because I genuinely expected him to make lives, so when he didn’t, I was devastated. 😭 However, by the time Avery’s KO aired, I was all good and just watched to enjoy Avery’s final performance on the show. This was a full-circle moment for me because Avery’s Instagram cover of “Tomorrow” was the first cover I watched of his, so seeing him perform it on the show was so amazing. 🥺 This wasn’t Avery’s best. He struggled to hit the high notes near the end and it was a bit shaky. However, I commend him for maintaining the emotional connection to the lyrics. While it wasn’t perfect vocally, I was still able to get something out of the performance. Avery went home after this, which was sad to see, but understandable. Supporting Avery and making his fan thread are two things that I will probably never regret. While his Voice journey was cut short, I know that he has so much more to bring to the table post-show! 🙂
Clue: The first S20 contestant I made a fan thread for. (Avery’s fan thread was the first fan thread I made for Season 20.)

 

#13. Zae Romeo (Team Nick -> Team Kelly)

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Zae is one of the contestants this season that has grown on me so much throughout the season. We got off to a rocky start pre-season, but his consistency in the pre-lives made me start to really like him. Zae is the third four-chair turn to be ranked and the second knockout steal to be ranked. He started off with an emotional rendition of “Falling,” which instantly caught my attention. His vocal choices were genius because they created emotional, vocal moments throughout the entire performance. There were intimate parts that allowed me to connect and parts where he showcased the ache in his voice. To put it simply, this was Zae at his prime and surprisingly, I was digging it. Zae got all four chairs to turn around and ended up going with Nick (his first choice was Kelly, but he was impressed with how accurately Nick guessed his musical influences.) In the Battles, he and Lindsay were given “Rewrite the Stars,” which he cites as the hardest song he has ever had to sing. The song was not for them at all and for Nick to correctly guess Zae’s musical influences, I was quite disappointed. 😞 I was even more disappointed to see that they short-clipped the battle… :( I preferred Lindsay here, but Zae had some good moments. My main issue though is the run that Zae did at the end. Zae’s voice is one that typically does not do well with complex runs like the one he tried to do here. It was executed sloppily and instead of each note being precisely hit, it felt like Zae’s voice fell down the vocal stairs. 😅 Zae was chosen as the winner though, which I can’t really argue with since we only saw a segment of the battle, and moved on to the Knockouts. Zae’s Knockout performance of “Electric Love” is what really made me a fan. This was Zae’s best vocal performance of the season. That note he held out was amazing and something I didn’t even know he could do. He even managed to execute that complex run near the beginning. This performance was a step-up for Zae and this is when I started to really root for him. Unfortunately, he took a step back in the Playoffs. Zae’s studio of “When I Look At You” was my favorite studio of the season, but unfortunately, he could not deliver the song well live. :( The song was simply too big for him and his voice being hoarse certainly didn’t help with that. He hit a few bad notes and I wonder if the hoarseness was due to him over practicing the day of the performance. Regardless of the cause, this was not Zae’s best and I can understand why he was instantly eliminated the following night. Zae grew on me a lot throughout this whole Season 20 journey. I went from finding him overrated pre-season to absolutely loving him. Unfortunately, I think I jumped on the Zae hype train too late. Regardless, Zae’s emotional audition and innovative performance of “Electric Love” are enough to warrant him this spot. :yes:
Clue: The “Bard of Avon.” (A reference to Zae’s stage name, Zae Romeo, and Romeo Montague, a prominent character in the tragedy Romeo and Juliet, which was written by William Shakespeare, who is sometimes referred to as the Bard of Avon.)

 

#12. Victor Solomon (Team Legend)

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Next up is the first leak of the season and the first contestant to sing a John song and get John to turn around. Victor is also the third finalist to be ranked, meaning Rachel and Cam are the last finalists left. Victor is one of those contestants that started with a bang and ended with a bang. However, it’s the middle of his run where things got a little shaky. Victor got off to a great start with his audition performance of “Glory,” a John Legend song. The first thing I noticed about Victor’s voice was the rasp and how dominant it was throughout the performance. I thought his rasp suited the power and conviction that the song required, but as we’ll see later, I thought his rasp felt out of place on certain songs. Anyway, this was a great vocal and I was pretty surprised to not see him get four chairs (well, I wasn’t surprised since I read the spoilers, but you know what I mean… :haha:) After a nice singing segment with John, Victor predictably chose John and moved on to the Battles where he was paired up against Deion, another three-chair turn. First of all, the song “U Got It Bad” is great, but it was just not a good fit for Victor and Deion. I preferred Deion here and that’s mostly because I thought he outshined Victor vocally. Victor had some good moments (and dance moves), but vocally, this was much weaker than his audition, and in my opinion, his rasp didn’t fit well with the song. Regardless, John chose Victor, which I can understand because he seemed more invested in him and Victor was the true performer in this instance. In the Knockouts, Victor delivered his most underrated performance (in my opinion.) I could have done without some of the dance moves, but he sounded really good here! I liked his vocal choices and how they suited the mood of the song. While this wasn’t the all-out vocal slayage performance we were hoping for (don’t worry, that would come later ;)), he still did a great job and deservedly won the Knockout. Victor moved on to the Playoffs where he got a bit screwed over with the sound mix (which was stealthily edited in the YouTube video.) I based this ranking off of the YouTube video since I can clearly hear and judge his vocals. “I Wish” wasn’t the moment song we were hoping for, but he did a solid job with it. Now, I will say, I still don’t really get the hype behind this one. He did a nice job vocally, but I thought there were more interesting performances that night that made Victor’s performance forgettable. America disagreed though because Victor was granted the public vote slot and moved on to the Semis. Now, when I found out that Victor was going to do “I Can Only Imagine,” I was so excited for him. He finally got the opportunity to do worship and he sounded amazing in the studio. Unfortunately, his voice sounded a bit hoarse here, and it wasn’t because of his tone. He struggled with some of the higher notes, especially near the end. However, I will commend him for delivering the message. He was literally preaching at the end, and regardless of how he sounded, that message definitely came through. He shined in his trio performance with Dana and Pia though. He sounded great vocally and his stage presence was on point as usual. Anyway, Victor predictably got the PV slot over Pia and advanced to the finale where he gave one of his weaker vocal showings and one of his strongest performances in the competition. For his ballad, he sang “I Can’t You Love Me” and I wasn’t too impressed. It was pitchy in a few spots and I just don’t think this was the right song for his voice. I didn’t really get much emotion out of the performance either, outside of me feeling bad for him as he struggled through the song. However, Victor re-gained my attention after his performance of “Freedom.” I was worried for him. He got a big song in the Semis with “I Can Only Imagine” and gave a shaky performance, so I was really hoping that he would deliver here and he most definitely did. This was by no means a perfect vocal, but it didn’t matter because Victor brought so much passion to this performance. The choreography was insanely good and Victor commanded the stage. 🤯 His raspy tone fit this song perfectly and allowed him to exhibit so much extra power. A true master class performance and it’s a shame he only placed 5th after it. :( Victor truly ended his run with a bang. In fact, I would say this was my favorite performance from him. As I already mentioned, Victor did come in 5th, which I was a bit disappointed to see after his performance of “Freedom,” but it is what it is. Victor had a pretty interesting run. I loved his blind and “Freedom,” with his Knockout falling close behind, but his inconsistency in the middle is why he fell short of my Top 10.
Clue: First impressions are key, but it’s also important to end on a good note. (A reference to the fact that Victor’s two best performances were his audition and his finale performance of “Freedom,” which closed the show.)

 

#11. Zania Alaké (Team Legend)

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Closing out this set is the first of the three, iconic Season 20 Aunties to be ranked and one of the most consistent contestants in the pre-lives this season. Zania is a contestant that I (and most of IDF for that matter) had been sleeping on throughout the entire pre-season. She didn’t get a fan thread until shortly before blinds aired. However, Zania caught everyone’s attention with her amazing rendition of “Sweet Love” in the blinds (that deserved four chairs…) The way her voice traversed the song was so effortless and gave off the vibe of a skilled performer. She slayed vocally, but that wasn’t even my favorite part. She maneuvered the stage with so much class and grace. Her movements on stage matched the vocals and general vibe of the song. Plus, she looked stunning while doing it. I thought she deserved to turn all four chairs, but Zania only got to choose from two, and went with John, which I guess was a good decision. John paired Zania and Durell in the Battles and the two of them sang the Bee Gees’ “Emotion.” Both of them did great here, but like I mentioned in Durell's write-up, Zania stood out more, and it’s not just because of her outfit. :haha: Zania’s stage presence was on-point and I preferred her vocal choices. Again, her movements on stage perfectly captured the vibe of the song. Her vocal choices made me really pay attention to the performance and see who was slaying. :haha: Not to mention, that high harmony they both did was insane! John chose Zania here (which I was happy with) and Zania moved on to the Knockouts where she delivered my favorite performance of hers. Zania, looking as gorgeous as usual, came out on stage and slayed that song. She brought a ton of power and most of all, conviction, to the song. My favorite parts were where she reached for some of those higher notes. The only negative thing about it was that I felt bad for Rio. :haha: This was a moment for her and I think it’s because she included a level of passion that really only comes from personal experience. She killed it and definitely deserved that Knockout win, which she was granted by John. Now, after Zania’s amazing, near-perfect pre-lives, it was so upsetting to see her get “Dangerous Woman” in the Playoffs. :( We all know Ariana is coming next season, but giving an Ariana song to Zania was by no means a good choice. She really did try her best (and it seems like she was working so hard to make it work that entire week), but this song just did not work for her… Her pitch was all over the place and while she owned the stage, it was hard to ignore her vocals… It was painful to see such a great talent have to struggle through a song that was completely out of their wheelhouse. I really don’t want to talk about that performance anymore, so to wrap this write-up up… Zania was instantly eliminated in the Playoffs, but she should be really proud of her run on the show. She was one of the most consistent contestants in the pre-lives and would have easily made my Top 10 had *that* not happened… However, because of her amazing pre-lives she has the top spot in this set and rests just outside my Top 10. 🙂
Clue: I don’t know what was more dangerous: this contestant or their song choice. (A reference to the lyrics of the song “Dangerous Woman,” and how the song was not a good fit for Zania in the Playoffs.)

 

 

Feel free to share your thoughts down below! I will be posting the clues for the next set once everyone has gotten a chance to view the rankings and respond.

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  • Bk1234 changed the title to Bk1234's The Voice Season 20 Contestant Ranking List (#11-15 Posted!!!!)

Very happy that Corey is not in this set.
 

The Top 10 will consist of Cam, Rachel, Corey, Dana, Gihanna, Pia, Ryleigh, Anna, Carolina and Lindsay, which is a good Top 10 (A lot of them are in mine, and the ones that aren’t are pretty close)

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4 minutes ago, Cookie73 said:

Very happy that Corey is not in this set.
 

The Top 10 will consist of Cam, Rachel, Corey, Dana, Gihanna, Pia, Ryleigh, Anna, Carolina and Lindsay, which is a good Top 10 (A lot of them are in mine, and the ones that aren’t are pretty close)

Me too! 😅 He’s the sweetest. 🥺❤️
 

My Top 10 :wub: I’m so proud of myself. 

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On 5/23/2021 at 8:16 AM, Bk1234 said:

Rankings (by team):

 

This is just a placeholder for now (the bolded names are in alphabetical order.)

 

Team Kelly:

Corey Ward

Gihanna Zoë

Zae Romeo

Avery Roberson

Savanna Woods
Kenzie Wheeler

Ainae

Halley Greg

JD Casper

 

Team Legend:

Carolina Rial

Pia Renee

Ryleigh Modig

Zania Alaké

Victor Solomon

Rio Doyle

Gean Garcia 

Deion Warren
Ciana Pelekai
Durell Anthony

Denisha Dalton

Christine Cain

 

Team Nick

Dana Monique

Lindsay Joan

Rachel Mac

Keegan Ferrell

Jose Figueroa Jr.

Raine Stern

Bradley Sinclair

Andrew Marshall

Awari

Devan Blake Jones

 

Team Blake:

Anna Grace

Cam Anthony

Jordan Matthew Young

Emma Caroline

Savanna Chestnut

Pete Mroz

Ethan Lively

Aaron Konzelman

Connor Christian

 

The contestants left are in bold.

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A bit surprised Avery is not in your Top 10, especially considering you had Lain in there last season due to his work off the show.

 

Never really got into Rio, but she did win her battle for me.

 

Fair placement for Victor, he did his thing with Glory and went into hibernation until Freedom. Nothing really remarkable between that but overall decent journey.

 

Zae and Zania´s playoff performances singlehandedly killed their runs for me, although Zania fared better due to her excelling in all 3 pre-taped rounds, whereas Zae fell a bit flat in his battle.

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3 minutes ago, Misirlou said:

A bit surprised Avery is not in your Top 10, especially considering you had Lain in there last season due to his work off the show.

 

Never really got into Rio, but she did win her battle for me.

 

Fair placement for Victor, he did his thing with Glory and went into hibernation until Freedom. Nothing really remarkable between that but overall decent journey.

 

Zae and Zania´s playoff performances singlehandedly killed their runs for me, although Zania fared better due to her excelling in all 3 pre-taped rounds, whereas Zae fell a bit flat in his battle.

It was his performance of “Tomorrow” that prevented him from reaching the Top 10. Also, S20 is more stacked than S19, so the stakes were a bit higher for Top 10. 
 

Yeah, I know her tone isn’t for everyone. 
 

:thumbsup:

 

Yeah, I agree there. It’s a shame they couldn’t shine in POs. 

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26 minutes ago, Bk1234 said:

#15. Rio Doyle (Team Legend)

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Kicking off this set is one of the teen contestants from this season and I’d say I have her higher than most on here. Rio was someone who I surprisingly never got into pre-season, which is probably because I skipped right over her flawless “Trainwreck” cover like an idiot. However, once her blind audition aired, I instantly became a fan. For her audition, Rio sang “When We Were Young” by Adele and her unique tone INSTANTLY grabbed my attention. Her vibrato was a bit uncontrolled at times (most likely due to nerves), but overall, she sounded great and that TONE, oh my goodness… It has a quality that just forces you to pay attention to whoever is singing. John was the only one to turn for Rio, which surprised me. I thought she deserved at least two chairs, but whatever. Rio moved on to the Battles on Team Legend and sang “Somebody That I Used To Know” with Carolina. The song choice was odd (and don’t even get me started on how they tried to make it connect to Rio’s personal life... ), but the ladies both killed it. It even ended up being one of my favorite battles of the season! I always go back and forth on who I prefer here, but Rio brought the tone and Carolina brought the high notes. Rio also brought a lot of power to the song, which kept me invested in her parts. Her tone is like an entire ocean to explore. Anyway, John chose Rio, which I was fine with (especially since Carolina got saved right after.) She brought more depth and power to the song, so I can see why he went with her. Now, Rio moved on to the Knockouts where she really needed to deliver a moment, but unfortunately, she was given “Issues” by Julia Micheals. Rio still delivered a solid performance though. She found moments in the song to belt and show off the full extent of her voice. While she would have probably done even better with a ballad, Rio still fought during this performance and did a great job. Out of all the contestants that were eliminated in the Knockouts, I’d say she deserved a steal the most. Rio’s Voice journey unfortunately ended here (I honestly felt bad seeing Gih, Rachel, and Carolina in the lives, and not her :(), but I cannot wait to continue supporting Rio. Her tone is insane and is going to sound amazing on some original material. Additionally, Rio is another contestant who I have loved interacting with. She’s so sweet and funny, and like Keegan, she’d probably be Top 5 if I was solely basing this ranking off of my interactions with the contestants. 
Clue: A part of an international border consists of a combination of this contestant and a S21 coach. (Rio Doyle’s first name and Ariana Grande’s last name form the Rio Grande River, a river that forms part of the US-Mexico Border.)

 

#14. Avery Roberson (Team Blake -> Team Kelly)

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Up next is the last battle steal to be ranked and the second four-chair turn to be ranked. Avery was one of my pre-season favorites, and as many of you know, his thread was the first S20 fan thread that I made! The thing that made me love Avery from the start was his tone and his ability to connect to the lyrics and deliver emotion through his singing. He did just that in his audition performance of “If You’re Reading This,” and I was so impressed. When I got the notification for this on YouTube, I literally stopped what I was doing, watched the performance and was moved to near tears. It was such a beautiful performance and I think what Kelly said was really important. You don’t have to hit all these crazy notes and do all these vocal tricks to get a four-chair turn. Avery stayed true to himself, connected to the song, and that was enough to get all four. One thing I remember about his audition was how crystal clear the video was on his family’s camera (a rarity on the Voice. :haha:) The coaches apparently fought really hard for him, but Avery still ended up going with Blake, which made sense. I still can’t get over the fact that Avery’s audition was one of his first live performances… WOW… Anyway, Avery moved on to the Battles and delivered one of my favorite Battles with Ethan Lively. Ethan’s strength in his lower register suited the song better, but Avery’s tone sounded amazing here. Something I forgot to mention when talking about Avery’s blind audition was how stiff he was on stage. Here though, Avery looked like a seasoned pro. He strummed his guitar so confidently and really owned the stage. This was definitely a close one, so I was happy to see Ethan win and Avery get stolen by Kelly/Kelsea. However, Knockouts are where things didn’t go too well for Avery. He was paired up against Kenzie Wheeler (one of Kelly’s favorites) and put in the last taping where no steals were available. I pretty much knew the result after just seeing the pairing. Avery’s elimination was especially hard for me pre-season because I genuinely expected him to make lives, so when he didn’t, I was devastated. 😭 However, by the time Avery’s KO aired, I was all good and just watched to enjoy Avery’s final performance on the show. This was a full-circle moment for me because Avery’s Instagram cover of “Tomorrow” was the first cover I watched of his, so seeing him perform it on the show was so amazing. 🥺 This wasn’t Avery’s best. He struggled to hit the high notes near the end and it was a bit shaky. However, I commend him for maintaining the emotional connection to the lyrics. While it wasn’t perfect vocally, I was still able to get something out of the performance. Avery went home after this, which was sad to see, but understandable. Supporting Avery and making his fan thread are two things that I will probably never regret. While his Voice journey was cut short, I know that he has so much more to bring to the table post-show! 🙂
Clue: The first S20 contestant I made a fan thread for. (Avery’s fan thread was the first fan thread I made for Season 20.)

 

#13. Zae Romeo (Team Nick -> Team Kelly)

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Zae is one of the contestants this season that has grown on me so much throughout the season. We got off to a rocky start pre-season, but his consistency in the pre-lives made me start to really like him. Zae is the third four-chair turn to be ranked and the second knockout steal to be ranked. He started off with an emotional rendition of “Falling,” which instantly caught my attention. His vocal choices were genius because they created emotional, vocal moments throughout the entire performance. There were intimate parts that allowed me to connect and parts where he showcased the ache in his voice. To put it simply, this was Zae at his prime and surprisingly, I was digging it. Zae got all four chairs to turn around and ended up going with Nick (his first choice was Kelly, but he was impressed with how accurately Nick guessed his musical influences.) In the Battles, he and Lindsay were given “Rewrite the Stars,” which he cites as the hardest song he has ever had to sing. The song was not for them at all and for Nick to correctly guess Zae’s musical influences, I was quite disappointed. 😞 I was even more disappointed to see that they short-clipped the battle… :( I preferred Lindsay here, but Zae had some good moments. My main issue though is the run that Zae did at the end. Zae’s voice is one that typically does not do well with complex runs like the one he tried to do here. It was executed sloppily and instead of each note being precisely hit, it felt like Zae’s voice fell down the vocal stairs. 😅 Zae was chosen as the winner though, which I can’t really argue with since we only saw a segment of the battle, and moved on to the Knockouts. Zae’s Knockout performance of “Electric Love” is what really made me a fan. This was Zae’s best vocal performance of the season. That note he held out was amazing and something I didn’t even know he could do. He even managed to execute that complex run near the beginning. This performance was a step-up for Zae and this is when I started to really root for him. Unfortunately, he took a step back in the Playoffs. Zae’s studio of “When I Look At You” was my favorite studio of the season, but unfortunately, he could not deliver the song well live. :( The song was simply too big for him and his voice being hoarse certainly didn’t help with that. He hit a few bad notes and I wonder if the hoarseness was due to him over practicing the day of the performance. Regardless of the cause, this was not Zae’s best and I can understand why he was instantly eliminated the following night. Zae grew on me a lot throughout this whole Season 20 journey. I went from finding him overrated pre-season to absolutely loving him. Unfortunately, I think I jumped on the Zae hype train too late. Regardless, Zae’s emotional audition and innovative performance of “Electric Love” are enough to warrant him this spot. :yes:
Clue: The “Bard of Avon.” (A reference to Zae’s stage name, Zae Romeo, and Romeo Montague, a prominent character in the tragedy Romeo and Juliet, which was written by William Shakespeare, who is sometimes referred to as the Bard of Avon.)

 

#12. Victor Solomon (Team Legend)

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Next up is the first leak of the season and the first contestant to sing a John song and get John to turn around. Victor is also the third finalist to be ranked, meaning Rachel and Cam are the last finalists left. Victor is one of those contestants that started with a bang and ended with a bang. However, it’s the middle of his run where things got a little shaky. Victor got off to a great start with his audition performance of “Glory,” a John Legend song. The first thing I noticed about Victor’s voice was the rasp and how dominant it was throughout the performance. I thought his rasp suited the power and conviction that the song required, but as we’ll see later, I thought his rasp felt out of place on certain songs. Anyway, this was a great vocal and I was pretty surprised to not see him get four chairs (well, I wasn’t surprised since I read the spoilers, but you know what I mean… :haha:) After a nice singing segment with John, Victor predictably chose John and moved on to the Battles where he was paired up against Deion, another three-chair turn. First of all, the song “U Got It Bad” is great, but it was just not a good fit for Victor and Deion. I preferred Deion here and that’s mostly because I thought he outshined Victor vocally. Victor had some good moments (and dance moves), but vocally, this was much weaker than his audition, and in my opinion, his rasp didn’t fit well with the song. Regardless, John chose Victor, which I can understand because he seemed more invested in him and Victor was the true performer in this instance. In the Knockouts, Victor delivered his most underrated performance (in my opinion.) I could have done without some of the dance moves, but he sounded really good here! I liked his vocal choices and how they suited the mood of the song. While this wasn’t the all-out vocal slayage performance we were hoping for (don’t worry, that would come later ;)), he still did a great job and deservedly won the Knockout. Victor moved on to the Playoffs where he got a bit screwed over with the sound mix (which was stealthily edited in the YouTube video.) I based this ranking off of the YouTube video since I can clearly hear and judge his vocals. “I Wish” wasn’t the moment song we were hoping for, but he did a solid job with it. Now, I will say, I still don’t really get the hype behind this one. He did a nice job vocally, but I thought there were more interesting performances that night that made Victor’s performance forgettable. America disagreed though because Victor was granted the public vote slot and moved on to the Semis. Now, when I found out that Victor was going to do “I Can Only Imagine,” I was so excited for him. He finally got the opportunity to do worship and he sounded amazing in the studio. Unfortunately, his voice sounded a bit hoarse here, and it wasn’t because of his tone. He struggled with some of the higher notes, especially near the end. However, I will commend him for delivering the message. He was literally preaching at the end, and regardless of how he sounded, that message definitely came through. He shined in his trio performance with Dana and Pia though. He sounded great vocally and his stage presence was on point as usual. Anyway, Victor predictably got the PV slot over Pia and advanced to the finale where he gave one of his weaker vocal showings and one of his strongest performances in the competition. For his ballad, he sang “I Can’t You Love Me” and I wasn’t too impressed. It was pitchy in a few spots and I just don’t think this was the right song for his voice. I didn’t really get much emotion out of the performance either, outside of me feeling bad for him as he struggled through the song. However, Victor re-gained my attention after his performance of “Freedom.” I was worried for him. He got a big song in the Semis with “I Can Only Imagine” and gave a shaky performance, so I was really hoping that he would deliver here and he most definitely did. This was by no means a perfect vocal, but it didn’t matter because Victor brought so much passion to this performance. The choreography was insanely good and Victor commanded the stage. 🤯 His raspy tone fit this song perfectly and allowed him to exhibit so much extra power. A true master class performance and it’s a shame he only placed 5th after it. :( Victor truly ended his run with a bang. In fact, I would say this was my favorite performance from him. As I already mentioned, Victor did come in 5th, which I was a bit disappointed to see after his performance of “Freedom,” but it is what it is. Victor had a pretty interesting run. I loved his blind and “Freedom,” with his Knockout falling close behind, but his inconsistency in the middle is why he fell short of my Top 10.
Clue: First impressions are key, but it’s also important to end on a good note. (A reference to the fact that Victor’s two best performances were his audition and his finale performance of “Freedom,” which closed the show.)

 

#11. Zania Alaké (Team Legend)

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Closing out this set is the first of the three, iconic Season 20 Aunties to be ranked and one of the most consistent contestants in the pre-lives this season. Zania is a contestant that I (and most of IDF for that matter) had been sleeping on throughout the entire pre-season. She didn’t get a fan thread until shortly before blinds aired. However, Zania caught everyone’s attention with her amazing rendition of “Sweet Love” in the blinds (that deserved four chairs…) The way her voice traversed the song was so effortless and gave off the vibe of a skilled performer. She slayed vocally, but that wasn’t even my favorite part. She maneuvered the stage with so much class and grace. Her movements on stage matched the vocals and general vibe of the song. Plus, she looked stunning while doing it. I thought she deserved to turn all four chairs, but Zania only got to choose from two, and went with John, which I guess was a good decision. John paired Zania and Durell in the Battles and the two of them sang the Bee Gees’ “Emotion.” Both of them did great here, but like I mentioned in Durell's write-up, Zania stood out more, and it’s not just because of her outfit. :haha: Zania’s stage presence was on-point and I preferred her vocal choices. Again, her movements on stage perfectly captured the vibe of the song. Her vocal choices made me really pay attention to the performance and see who was slaying. :haha: Not to mention, that high harmony they both did was insane! John chose Zania here (which I was happy with) and Zania moved on to the Knockouts where she delivered my favorite performance of hers. Zania, looking as gorgeous as usual, came out on stage and slayed that song. She brought a ton of power and most of all, conviction, to the song. My favorite parts were where she reached for some of those higher notes. The only negative thing about it was that I felt bad for Rio. :haha: This was a moment for her and I think it’s because she included a level of passion that really only comes from personal experience. She killed it and definitely deserved that Knockout win, which she was granted by John. Now, after Zania’s amazing, near-perfect pre-lives, it was so upsetting to see her get “Dangerous Woman” in the Playoffs. :( We all know Ariana is coming next season, but giving an Ariana song to Zania was by no means a good choice. She really did try her best (and it seems like she was working so hard to make it work that entire week), but this song just did not work for her… Her pitch was all over the place and while she owned the stage, it was hard to ignore her vocals… It was painful to see such a great talent have to struggle through a song that was completely out of their wheelhouse. I really don’t want to talk about that performance anymore, so to wrap this write-up up… Zania was instantly eliminated in the Playoffs, but she should be really proud of her run on the show. She was one of the most consistent contestants in the pre-lives and would have easily made my Top 10 had *that* not happened… However, because of her amazing pre-lives she has the top spot in this set and rests just outside my Top 10. 🙂
Clue: I don’t know what was more dangerous: this contestant or their song choice. (A reference to the lyrics of the song “Dangerous Woman,” and how the song was not a good fit for Zania in the Playoffs.)

 

 

Feel free to share your thoughts down below! I will be posting the clues for the next set once everyone has gotten a chance to view the rankings and respond.

Rio: I’d probably rank her similarly! I loved all three of her performances and I agree that out of the knockouts “losers) (without counting Savanna lol) she’d be the most deserving of a steal. She’s the sweetest. Her tone is everything.

Avery: I liked Avery but I couldn’t get into him as much. I’d have him in my 20s. His blind was great, but I thought Ethan won his battle and the knockout did nothing for me. He’s great at emoting though.

Zae: Another one I couldn’t quite enjoy. “Falling” was amazing, but his battle was a huge downgrade for me. I thought his knockout was overshadowed with Rachel’s, but it’s his second strongest performance for me. The lives didn’t help him either. I’d have him in my 20s.

Victor: I think I enjoyed him more than most of IDF. I REALLY liked his pre taped rounds and Freedom, I’d have him probably in my top 10, but 6-10 batch lol. I will say that while I adored team legend in the lives as a whole, he was the one I enjoyed the least (I mean PIA, ZANIA AND RYLEIGH!?!?!!) but he deserved to make it that far tbh. He has a rad personality too.

Zania: A QUEEN! I’d have her in a similar batch to Victor’s just because I thought she was one of the best in the ore taped rounds (we do not talk about Dangerous Woman). She never missed pre lives

 

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15. Rio would be in the mid 20s for me, but that’s because I don’t remember her performances as well as others. I don't think she had any bad performances. This is an appropriate placement for her.

14. Avery had one of my favorite auditions this season, but he struggled to live up to it. I think this is a good placement for him, though I would put him slightly lower.

13. I really liked Zae’s audition and knockout, but he fell off in playoffs, which is probably why he is this low. I would have him around this set, but a bit higher, since he was in my Top 5 before playoffs.

12. Victor’s audition and finale were excellent, but the meat of his run wasn’t that great. I would put him in my Top 10, but not my Top 5, but his finale helps him. 
11. Zania was great all three rounds of prelives, but her playoff was really bad. I think this placement is good for her.

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