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Why Paige Anne Lost


CarmenSandiego

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So far, I've looked at five contestants who saw their American Idol journey come to an end in the Top 20.  Now, I'll be looking at Paige Anne.  She made it into the Top 26 after a male contestant bowed out but after making it to the Top 20, her journey ended when she failed to make the Top 12.  But why did this happen?  As always, I'll look at the rules that Season 21 contestants should follow in order to figure out what Paige Anne did right, what she did wrong and why Paige Anne lost.

 

Show Singing and Performing Talent

 

The first rule states that you need to show singing and performing talent.  Paige Anne is an intriguing example because she didn't make it into the Top 26 initially.  But when Beckett Rex chose to bow out, she got in.  Her Top 26 performance of "Wrecking Ball" had somewhat mixed reviews on IDF, with some liking it and some panning it, but I was one of those who thought she did good enough to move on, giving her a 7.  She moved on to the Top 20, but how did she do with "Say Something"?  Not as well, I'm afraid.  While there were some on IDF that still loved it, most ranked it lower, including me.  I gave her a 6.5, a half-step down from "Wrecking Ball" and said that she did a little too much screaming.  Crisis apparently agreed with me, since he thought that she did way too much with the song when it wasn't necessary.  And the TooFab staff thought that she poured in a lot of emotion but still had some shaky moments.

 

She too failed to make the Top 10 but she still had a chance to save himself by getting one of the two judges' Wildcard picks.  So how did she do with "I Am Here"?  The reviews were rather mixed as well.  I gave it a 7 but given that I gave four other girls higher scores, I thought that it wasn't good enough to save her.  Crisis thought that once again, she tried to do way too much with the song and the verse was too low, while the TooFab staff thought that she really took off when she hit the chorus and put her fourth of those who had to sing for their survival.  Overall, I'd say that Paige Anne stumbled with this rule somewhat.

 

Song Choice Is Key

 

I'm not sure how well Paige Anne did with this rule.  While Crisis criticized her two performances in the Top 20, he didn't criticize the choices so much as he criticized the way that she chose to sing them.  Overall, I think that Paige Anne did a decent job with this rule, however, so I'll move on.

 

Be Consistently Outstanding or Better Yet, Consistently Improve Every Week

 

This was the first rule that Paige Anne really failed on.  She was somewhat inconsistent, or consistently in the middle of the pack, neither of which is a good thing to be unless you're a country singer and can depend on a dedicated fan base.  Therefore, Paige Anne screwed up this rule.

 

Have the Confidence to Believe That You Belong

 

I think that Paige Anne succeeded with this rule.  She certainly had enough confidence to take on "Wrecking Ball".  Unfortunately, she wasn't able to back up her confidence with great performances.

 

Know Who You Are As an Artist

 

This was another problem for Paige Anne.  Partly because of her youth, she didn't really know who she was as an artist and thus tended to go for showing off her vocal range at the expense of really connecting to her songs.  Therefore, Paige Anne failed in this rule as well.

 

Remember, You Are a Package

 

This was another rule Paige Anne failed in.  She was a pop singer with a big voice, but there were a number of female pop singers with big voices.  She was able to oultast Elise and Emma, but her package was too plain to enable her to get much farther.  So Paige Anne struck out on this rule.

 

Take Any Advice Offered to You and Follow It

 

At least Paige Anne didn't have any problems with this rule.  Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly enough to save her, so I'll just move on.

 

Gather a Fan Base -- and Sustain It

 

This was the final rule that Paige Anne failed at.  She was one of several pop singers with big voices, but her lack of a strong artistic identity, plain packaging and the fact that she originally failed to make it into the Top 26 hurt her ability to gather a fan base, while her performances weren't good enough to gather more fans.  So Paige Anne fouled up with this rule as well.

 

Paige Anne was a fighter.  She was a pop singer with a big voice but because of her youth she didn't know what else could go into her artistic identity.  This might be one reason why she initially didn't make it into the Top 26.  Once Beckett Rex bowed out and she entered, she did decently enough in her Hawaii performance but in the Top 20, she needed to be even better.  And she wasn't, thus ensuring that she couldn't get the fan support that she needed.  Paige Anne's youth worked against her.  And that is why Paige Anne lost.

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