Why Michael Lost

[CarmenSandiego]

After six write-ups explaining why PJAE, Elise, Malik, Elijah, Emma and Dawson all lost, now I have to do eight!  That's tough!  But fortunately, I'm determined enough to complete the task, so I'll begin with the first Top 20 contestant who had to sing for their survival, and that is Michael.  He managed to get into the Top 20 with a fine Hawaii performance, but could not get into the Top 10 via America's votes and after singing for his survival, he is gone.  But why didn't the judges save Michael?  I'll look at my rules that the American Idol Season 20 contestants need to follow in order to explain what Michael did right, what he did wrong, and why Michael lost.

 

Show Singing and Performing Talent

 

Michael had enough singing and performing talent in order to make the Top 26, and he showed enough of both in Hawaii to make it into the Top 20.  But what about this week?  Not quite as well.  While some on IDF thought that he had a solid Top 20 performance, others were more critical, including me.  I rated him at a 6, saying that it was good but it wasn't good enough.  The best that Crisis said about his performance was that it wasn't a total waste.  The TooFab staff were also critical of it, placing him in 17th overall and saying that he was hit-or-miss.  So Michael definitely failed to show his singing and performing talent on that song.

 

Not too surprisingly, he failed to get into the Top 10, but he had a chance to save himself with his second song.  Unfortunately, he didn't do any better with "Golden Hour".  Nobody on IDF ranked him very high, including me.  I gave him a 6 and said that it wasn't nearly enough to save him.  The TooFab staff put him last among those who had to sing for their survival, noting that his voice was rather thin except in the chorus.  Thus, while Michael did a fine job in the Top 26, he blew this first rule in the Top 20.

 

Song Choice Is Key

 

One reason why he had problems with the first rule is probably because of this rule, which states that song choice is key.  "Love You to Love Me" wasn’t a good song choice, since the TooFab staff noted he had a gorgeous tone on the gentler verses and a more faltering rush into the choruses and Crisis outright said that it wasn't suitable for a singing competition.  Crisis also thought that “Golden Hour” was a poor song choice for Michael to pick to sing for his survival.  Michael should've chosen better songs for his two performances in the Top 20.  Thus Michael stumbled on this rule as well.

 

Be Consistently Outstanding or Better Yet, Consistently Improve Every Week

 

This was another rule that Michael had problems with.  Coming into the Top 26, he didn't have as much exposure as a number of the other contestants in his group did and thus he needed to come out and be outstanding.  He managed to do so in the Top 26 round, but then he took several steps back with his two performances in the Top 20.  Inconsistency isn't going to get you the win.  Therefore, Michael struck out on this rule as well.

 

Have the Confidence to Believe That You Belong

 

At least Michael seemed to do all right in this rule.  I didn't see any confidence issues with him.  Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to save him, but at least he didn't have any problems here, so I'll move on.

 

Know Who You Are As an Artist

 

This was another problem for Michael.  I don't think that he knew who he was as an artist, unlike the other contestants who had performed on The Voice.  Marybeth was a country artist, and showcased her identity, while Megan showcased her Christian singing identity and even We, while being more versatile than the other two, at least showed more of her artistic identity.  Michael didn't, as the TooFab staff noted.  Thus Michael screwed up this rule as well.

 

Remember, You Are a Package

 

Michael had limited exposure heading into the Top 26 and this is probably one reason why.  The TooFab staff noted that they had no idea of who he was other than he was a pretty face.  While that was certainly enough for Katy Perry to drool all over him, that wasn't nearly enough for this show.  The others from The Voice all had very good packages while Michael was just a handsome guy with very plain packaging.  Thus Michael fouled up this rule as well.

 

Take Any Advice Offered to You and Follow It

 

At least Micheal didn't have any problems with this rule.  Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly enough to save him.

 

Gather a Fan Base -- and Sustain It

 

This was the biggest problem Michael had.  He wasn't a country singer, so he couldn't get a dedicated fan base of country supporters.  He had very limited exposure coming into the Top 26 thanks to not being shown in Hollywood week and thus got behind the 8-ball.  He needed to have an outstanding performance in order to get a fan base, or at least enough fans who would vote for him.  He was able to gain enough fans in Hawaii to help him move into the Top 20, but he was unable to sustain his fan base with a mediocre performance of "Love You to Love Me".  Thus Michael failed in this rule as well.

 

Michael was able to sing well enough to get into the Top 20, but he still had problems.  He had little to no sense of his artistic identity and all we knew about him was that he was a pretty boy whom Katy drooled over.  He needed to prove that he was more than just a pretty face, but "Love You to Love Me" was a bad song choice which resulted in a weak performance.  He had a chance to save himself, but "Golden Hour" wasn't nearly enough to compete with singers such as Nutsa.  And when he delivered another mediocre performance, even Katy knew that he had to go.  That is why Michael lost.

Edited May 2, 2023 by CarmenSandiego
Added Crisis's comments

[Carrie_On]

He was another contestant who was just too “perfect” to connect with voters. He was like the male Olivia (yes, I know Olivia can sing circles around him but my point still stands lol.) He was a good looking guy who sang sweet, simple pop songs well, but that’s all he brought to the table. He didn’t have a sad backstory or even a story about not being confident enough to want to try out for the show, like Noah and Colin had. He was just a pretty boy who could sing, which might have kept him around longer back in FOX’s American Idol, but with the new fast-paced Idol, he just couldn’t hang. 

Edited April 26, 2023 by Carrie_On

[xfactor22]

His terrible song choices after his amazing performance of “Tuesday” is basically why