Why Dan Lost

[CarmenSandiego]

This week is a little better for me, with only four people to analyze and not six.  I'm going to begin my analyses of why these four lost by looking at Dan Marshall.  Dan was a handsome male country singer, but he was the first of the trio of male country singers (plus one female country singer) who be eliminated.  And as always, I'll be looking at the list I made up of rules that American Idol Season 20 contestants need to follow in order to do well on the show in order to explain what Dan did right, what he did wrong (a lot) and why Dan lost.

 

Show Singing and Performing Talent

 

This is the most important rule for a reason.  Dan had enough singing and performing talent in order to make the Top 24, but when it came time to show that singing and performing talent, he failed to deliver.  He showed more singing talent than say, Cameron Whitcomb, but he didn't show enough singing talent to compete with much more talented vocalists such as Jacob Moran, and certainly didn't show enough performing talent to get far.  A large part of the reason for his failure to show performing talent was because he had only been performing for a short time before getting on the show, and it showed.  For example, in his last performance, the Too Fab staff called it amateur and compared it to karaoke.  And the judges were actually critical of his performance, which is never a good sign.  And if I'd been prone to sleeping, his last performance would have put me to sleep -- and most of his performances would've put me to sleep, for that matter.  It's clear that Dan fouled up massively with this rule.

 

Song Choice Is Key

 

Dan didn't do quite as badly with this rule as did some others, such as Katyrah Love.  But his performances were so dull and boring that even decent song choices would keep him around forever.  So I'll move on from here.

 

Be Consistently Great or Better Yet, Consistently Improve Every Week

 

Dan wasn't consistently great.  In fact, he was consistently boring.  Whenever he performed, it was pretty much a snooze fest.  Sooner or later, his tendency to put people to sleep would catch up with him, and it did so this week.  Thus Dan struck out with this rule.

 

Stand Out By Being Unique or By Being Memorable For Positive Reasons

 

Dan had a mixed bag with this rule.  On the one hand, he was one of four country singers -- three guys and a girl -- and thus couldn't stand out by being the only country singer in the group.  On the other hand, he was memorable for being a handsome former football player, which was a positive thing.  Unfortunately, he was also memorable for being the most boring of the quartet of the country singers.  I'd say that overall, he failed with this rule but not as badly as with the first and third rules.

 

Remember, You Are a Package

 

This was the final rule that I think Dan screwed up on although like with the fourth rule, it was kind of a mixed bag.  He was a country singer and a former football player, and could have used the package to really succeed in the competition.  But his total lack of performance skills ensured that he could never really do anything with his package.  Thus Dan ultimately stumbled with this rule.

 

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

 

Well, this is one rule that Dan succeeded in.  Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to cover up his failures with the other rules.  So we'll move on from here.

 

Gather a Fan Base -- and Sustain It

 

This might have been the rule that Dan did the best with.  He was a country singer, and the country fans have often supported country singers.  Moreover, country singers have often done well on the show, especially since Luke Bryan became a judge.  And I'm sure that the country fan base, along with his handsome appearance and being a former football player, enabled him to survive a lot longer than he should have.  But sooner or later, his luck was going to run out, and his luck ran out in the Top 14.

 

Honestly, I think Dan was really lucky to last as long as he did, and I'd put his lasting so long down to the country fans and his being a handsome former football player.  But he was never going to win American Idol.  He was one of the weakest singers and his performance skills stank.  The only thing he was consistent with was being a consistent snooze fest.  And eventually, his luck ran out.  That is why Dan lost.