Why Scarlet Lost

[CarmenSandiego]

Earlier today, I wrote an article which examined Sir Blayke's time on the show and explained why it ended in the Top 24 round.  But there were two others who were eliminated from that round as well, and one of them was Scarlet.  She performed "Levitating" by Dua Lipa in her group, but was one of the two lowest vote-getters, and thus her Idol journey ended in the Top 24.  But it didn't have to end so soon.  So why did she lose?

 

Show Singing and Performing Talent

 

This is the most important rule for a reason.  Scarlet had enough talent to make the Top 24, but she needed to show both singing and performing talent in her first time in the voting rounds.  Unfortunately, she only got half of it right with "Levitating", and the part that she got right wasn't really the more important part.  "Levitating" enabled her to show off her performance skills, something that the judges praised.  The problem is that it didn't show off what she could do vocally -- and American Idol is first and foremost a singing competition.  And her failure to show her singing talent was evident.  Vincent Mandile from GoldDerby put her near the bottom of his rankings, in ninth place, while the Too Fab staff put her even lower, in eleventh, with only Dan Marshall being worse.  And on the Idol Forums website, she didn't get very high scores, with the highest being 7.5 and the lowest being a 2.  I gave it a 6, putting only Dan and Danielle Finn below her.  Worse, her overall rating on this forum put her last of those who failed to move on to the Top 20, with only Cameron Whitcomb and Dan being worse.  Thus, it's safe to say that Scarlet blew the first rule.

 

Song Choice Is Key

 

And one of the reasons why Scarlet failed so badly in the first rule is because of her striking out on the second rule, which notes that song choice is key.  "Levitating" is not the type of song you want to sing in a singing competition, since it doesn't really give singers the chance to try and show off what they can do.  If she had to sing a song by Dua Lipa, there were probably other songs that she could have picked that might have been better choices for her to come out and show what she could do.  But as the Too Fab staff noted, she chose the wrong song, and it cost her.

 

Be Consistently Outstanding or Better Yet, Consistently Improve Every Week

 

Scarlet also had problems with this rule as well.  She wasn't consistently outstanding.  For example, in the Showstopper round, she shone with an Alanis Morisette song while in the Top 24 round, she sabotaged herself with a poor song choice.  And going back even further, she was great in her audition but struggled in the Duets Challenge during Hollywood week.  Up and down, up and down isn't going to help anyone win American Idol.  Thus Scarlet fouled up this rule as well.

 

Stand Out by Being Unique or by Being Memorable for Positive Reasons

 

The Duets challenge is also an example of how Scarlet failed to follow the fourth rule, which states that you. need to stand out by being unique or by being memorable for positive reasons.  Scarlet's duet with Douglas Mills Jr. was a train wreck in the making and while most of the blame should fall on Douglas because he wasn't able to remember the lyrics of "Rewrite the Stars" during rehearsal despite choosing the song, Scarlet made matters worse by becoming so frustrated that she actually walked off and had to go somewhere else to cool down!  While I related to her frustration because my biggest difficulty in a group situation was that I memorized lines so well that I had to wait for others to catch up, her behavior probably still left a bad taste in the mouths of many viewers.  Thus Scarlet was memorable for walking out during the duet round, and thus failed this rule as well.

 

Remember, You Are a Package

 

Scarlet's behavior during the duets round also meant that she screwed up the fifth rule, which states that you are a package.  The contestants needed to package themselves in a way that would enable people to vote for them.  But I don't think many viewers would want to vote for a girl who stormed off during rehearsals and struggled mightily during a duet due to frustration with her duet partner, no matter how understandable her frustration would have been.  Scarlet's inconsistent performances also didn't help her to create a good package.  So Scarlet failed in this rule as well.

 

Never, Ever Argue With Any of the Judges, or Respond to Any Baiting From Ryan Seacrest

 

Well, at least Scarlet didn't have any problems with this rule.  Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to overcome her failures in the other rules, but at least she followed one rule, so I'll move on from here.

 

Gather a Fan Base -- And Sustain It

 

This was the final rule that Scarlet fouled up on.  She wasn't a country singer, nor was she a cute nonthreatening white guy (or girl) with a guitar.  She wasn't consistent.  And the main thing she was memorable for was for going elsewhere to cool down during rehearsals for what was a train wreck of a duet with Douglas.  She needed to overcome all these obstacles coming into her first performance in the voting rounds by knocking a performance out of the park and grabbing a fan base, but picked a bad song that couldn't show off any vocals and thus wouldn't give casual fans a reason to vote for her.  So she fouled up on this rule as well.

 

Scarlet had obstacles coming into the Top 24 round.  She wasn't the type of singer most people on American Idol voted for.  She wasn't consistent.  And she was known for being part of a duet drama in Hollywood Week.  But she still could have saved herself.  She could have chosen a song that showed off what she could do like LaToya London from Season 3 did, and thus grabbed fans who would vote for her.  But "Levitating" proved to be the wrong song for her.  Four strikes, and Scarlet was out.  That is why Scarlet lost.

Edited April 18, 2022 by CarmenSandiego
Scarlet has officially been eliminated

[KelseyW]

She deserved to show her potential!

 

Easily the first elimination this season that while I get it... I'm still mad about it.  

[Carrie_On]

She was a good singer but I don’t think she showed what kind of artist she wants to be. Was she the angsty rock chick or the diva pop star? I knew she’d be going home as soon as the spoilers were released BEFORE this season even premiered, because “Levitating” is such a bad song choice. Her too cool for school attitude in Hollywood Week didn’t do her any favors, either, as you said. She came over as bratty and it wasn’t funny or entertaining like say, Brenna from Season 5, who was a diva made for reality TV. 
 

I liked Scarlet’s voice but she definitely didn’t know how to play the game. I’m not shocked at all she’s one of the first people going home. 

[KelseyW]

This season is dead to me. I now I have no one to vote for...

[erik g]

1 hour ago, KelseyW said:

Easily the first elimination this season that while I get it... I'm still mad about it.  

Same (but Danielle too). Loved her audition and "You Oughta Know" was amazing, and with a better song choice she wouldve slayyyyed in the Top 24. 

[Winterfan]

Once again, I just wanted to say thanks for writing up your analysis for why Scarlet lost, according to your 7 rules contestants on the show ideally need to follow if they want to do as well on the show as they possibly can. I agree with everything you wrote. I wasn't a huge fan of Scarlet because it didn't seem like she had a good sense of who she was as an artist. Plus, as you pointed out, she made such a bad song choice. Song choice really is so important if a contestant wants to do as well as he/she possibly can do while on the show. Anyway, thanks once again for sharing your analysis regarding why Scarlet lost. And I really hope you'll keep sharing these types of insights as the season continues.

 

 

[RTV]

from MJsBigBlog:

 

Two polls for the April 10 episode correctly predicted Scarlet's elimination. She was second on the elimination poll with 24.74% of the vote, and her performance was the least favorite.

https://www.mjsbigblog.com/american-idol-2022-top-24-polls-predict-the-results-pt-1.htm

 

Scarlet was 22nd on MJ's April 6 poll for favorite Top 24 contestant.

https://www.mjsbigblog.com/american-idol-2022-top-24-polls-photos-reveal-who-performs-when.htm

 

Comments on the website suggest her Hollywood Duets behavior might be the main reason Scarlet didn't make the Top 20. Here's just one example: "The seeds of Scarlet's ouster were planted during the duets round."

Edited April 17, 2022 by RTV

[CarmenSandiego]

13 hours ago, Winterfan said:

Once again, I just wanted to say thanks for writing up your analysis for why Scarlet lost, according to your 7 rules contestants on the show ideally need to follow if they want to do as well on the show as they possibly can. I agree with everything you wrote. I wasn't a huge fan of Scarlet because it didn't seem like she had a good sense of who she was as an artist. Plus, as you pointed out, she made such a bad song choice. Song choice really is so important if a contestant wants to do as well as he/she possibly can do while on the show. Anyway, thanks once again for sharing your analysis regarding why Scarlet lost. And I really hope you'll keep sharing these types of insights as the season continues.

 

 

 

There's a reason why Randy Jackson kept saying "Song choice, song choice, song choice" in the early seasons, and this is one example.  Unfortunately, I was a fan of Scarlet although I think that I liked Allegra more, and I'm disappointed that Scarlet chose such a bad song.  Had she chosen a better song, then I'd probably be talking about why Dan lost instead of Scarlet.

 

Incidentally, I'm going to do an article on why Danielle lost after I do some more checking of the threads on this forum, so be ready.

[holinessss]

i was starting to like her...!