Why Ava Lost

[CarmenSandiego]

Last Tuesday, I posted an analysis of why Dan lost -- and why Dan got as far as the Top 14 before finally leaving.  I wasn't able to do analyses of the other two who were nominated with him due to participating in an ORG and due to wanting to re-watch the Top 14 performances, but now I've done so, so I will continue my analysis with Ava.  Ava managed to make it into the Top 14 but was cut then.  Why did that happen?  As always, I'll look at the rules that American Idol Season 20 contestants ideally should follow in order to explain what Ava did right, what she did wrong and why Ava lost.

 

Show Singing and Performing Talent

 

Ava had enough singing and performing talent to make the Top 24, but Ava was always kind of in the middle of the pack when it came to showing that talent.  The Too Fab voting staff always put her either near the bottom or In the middle, neither of which is a good thing.  And in her final performance, "Sign of the Times", they ranked her in 12th overall, saying that they felt detached from Ava's interpretation of the song.  Crisis did think that it was her best vocal, however.  I gave her a 7.5 for that performance, putting her in the middle of the pack.  Thus while Ava wasn't terrible with this rule, unlike Dan, she wasn't great with it either.

 

Song Choice Is Key

 

I don't think that Ava had any major problems with this rule.  There were others who had problems with it (like Lady K.), but not Ava.  Unfortunately, that wasn't nearly enough to save her, so I'll move on.

 

Be Consistently Outstanding, or Better Yet, Consistently Improve Every Week

 

Ava wasn't consistently great nor consistently outstanding.  Instead, she was consistently in the middle of the pack, or towards the back of it.  And that's not a good thing, especially if you have little prior exposure before the voting rounds, like Ava did.  Thus she messed up in this rule.

 

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

 

This was another rule that Ava had problems with.  She wasn't exactly unique except in terms of her hair color, nor was she memorable except for being the child of a famous musician.  There's a reason why she was only featured in the audition episode that aired after the Oscars ended.  And her tone of voice wasn't for everybody, a rule which gave Allegra similar problems.  Thus Ava fouled up this rule as well.

 

Remember, You Are a Package

 

This was another rule that Ava had problems with.  Her tone of voice wasn't for everybody, and other than her hair color and her famous father, she didn't have enough of a package to really help her get far in the competition.  And unlike Allegra, she didn't consistently improve every week.  Thus Ava struck out on this rule as well.

 

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

 

At least Ava had no problems with this rule.  Unfortunately like with the second rule, this wasn't nearly enough to save her, so we'll move on.

 

Gather a Fan Base -- And Sustain It

 

This was the final rule that Ava had problems with.  Granted, she wasn't a country singer like Huntergirl, but she had other problems beyond that.  She wasn't featured much before the voting rounds, and once she was, she wasn't able to do enough to gather a fan base that she could sustain.  In fact, she probably just barely made it into the Top 10 in public voting in the Top 20 round.  Thus, Ava failed in this rule as well.

 

Ava had too many strikes against her.  While nowhere near as bad as Dan in singing or performing skills, she was still near the bottom.  She wasn't consistently great and didn't consistently improve.  She wasn't memorable enough, and her package was too plain.  This along with little exposure prior to the voting rounds prevented her from getting the fan base she needed to survive.  And that is why Ava lost.

[FloorWax]

3 hours ago, CarmenSandiego said:

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

 

I have a question, who has done this in the ABC era? I've only started watching live this season.

[CarmenSandiego]

11 hours ago, FloorWax said:

 

I have a question, who has done this in the ABC era? I've only started watching live this season.

 

Nobody as far as I remember.  But Cameron came close when he chose to ignore the advice of Bebe Rexha and predictably was a disaster.  Which is why I'm adding to that rule next season that you shouldn't ignore any advice from mentors.