Why Nutsa Lost

[CarmenSandiego]

In the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame round, we had to say good-bye to two singers.  I already analyzed why Lucy Love, who was one of the two eliminated in that round, lost.  Now it's time to look at the other one eliminated:  Nutsa.  She undoubtedly should've gone farther than Top 12, but it wasn't in the cards.  But why did her American Idol journey end sooner than it should have?  As always, I'll look at the rules that Season 21 contestants need to follow in order to figure out what Nutsa did right, what she did wrong, and why Nutsa lost.

 

Show Singing and Performing Talent

 

Nutsa had enough singing and performing talent in order to make the Top 26, but her performance style was at times over-the-top, especially in her audition and in the Showstoppers round.  Her first performance in the Top 26 round, "Paris (Oh La La)" was also rather over-the-top, but it still got her into the Top 20.  Unfortunately, once she got there and did "Unbreak My Heart", she couldn't get into the Top 10 via America's vote but sang "And I Am Telling You I Am Not Going" more than well enough to get one of the two the Judges' Wildcard picks and make it into the Top 12.

 

So how did she do with "The Show Must Go On"?  The people on IDF loved her, including me, as I gave her a 9 and said that if one of the two wildcards could've moved on, it should be her.  Crisis also loved it and put her performance in second, only behind We Ani's "Something's Got a Hold on Me".  However, the TooFab staff was somewhat more critical, placing her in 8th overall but still putting her in their Top 10.  Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to save her but at least Nutsa followed the first rule.

 

Song Choice Is Key

 

For the most part, I think that Nutsa followed this rule.  I don't think that anybody ever really criticized her song choices.  While it wasn't enough to save her, at least Nutsa succeeded with this rule as well.

 

Be Consistently Outstanding or Better Yet, Consistently Improve Every Week

 

Nutsa had some problems with this rule.  While she was better overall than Lucy, she was consistently very good but not great, which isn't really what this rule states.  Still she was better than most and she was able to do both up-temp songs and ballads, so I'll move on.

 

Have the Confidence to Believe That You Belong

 

Nutsa definitely followed this rule.  She had more than enough confidence.  Unfortunately, that still wasn't enough to save her, but at least she did fine with this rule.

 

Know Who You Are As an Artist

 

I think that Nutsa knew who she was as an artist and thus followed the fifth rule.  Unfortunately for her, she was often an over-the-top kind of artist, especially in her audition and a fair number of viewers were turned off by her artistic identity.  Thus, she stumbled with this rule.

 

Remember, You Are a Package

 

This was the first rule that Nutsa really failed in.  Her over-the-top performance style probably turned a lot of middle-class American housewives off, and the fact that she was not only from the country of Georgia but wasn't even an immigrant from there turned off the more xenophobic women even more.  Then there was her duet with Carina d'Angelo, which became a train wreck.  I think that there was fault on both sides:  Nutsa failed to recognize that Carina wanted to keep rehearsing longer, while Carina allowed her anger at Nutsa for going to bed before Carina was ready to send her into a downward spiral.  Nonetheless, this considerably damaged Nutsa's chances of getting very far, let alone winning.  Thus Nutsa fouled out on this rule.

 

Take Any Advice Offered to You and Follow It

 

For the most part, Nutsa followed this rule but her meeting with Adam Lambert had him suggest that she try a song that wasn't so diva-esque, but she feared that she wouldn't have enough time to learn a new song, and thus decided to incorporate the softer side into her song.  Thus Nutsa struggled with this rule at the end.

 

Gather a Fan Base -- and Sustain It

 

Nutsa had major problems with this rule.  Her over-the-top performance style was divisive, with some loving it and others (such as middle-aged American housewives) hating it.  Her non-American nationality turned off xenophobic voters as well, and her duet with Carina only added fuel to the fire.  This seriously hurt her chances to attract and sustain a fan base and thus Nutsa struck out on this rule as well.

 

Nutsa did a lot of things right.  She showed plenty of singing and performing talent, she could do up-tempo songs and ballads, she was consistently very good and she had few if any problems with her song choices.  She had the confidence to believe that she belonged and she knew her artistic identity.  Unfortunately, her artistic identity was part of her downfall, as she was too over-the-top for many viewers; her non-American nationality was a further turn-off and her duet with Carina only added rule to the hatred some had for her.  And while she had a lot of overseas fans, they couldn't vote for her, which also affected her ability to gather and sustain a fan base, and thus hurt her chances on this show.  Nutsa was too divisive, and sadly, that is why Nutsa lost.

Edited May 6, 2023 by CarmenSandiego

[Carrie_On]

She was on borrowed time being a contestant from outside of the U.S. I think she could’ve gotten into the Top 10 or so had she continued to get the cute, fun edit she got in her audition, where she couldn’t understand the words Luke was saying. However, once the duet round aired, she was done for. People then could say she had a “bad attitude” and not vote for her on that merit instead of not voting for her because she wasn’t American. I had said from her first audition that she was giving me Tatiana Del Toro vibes and I was right lol. She was cast for the drama and it didn’t hurt that she was actually a good singer, albeit very theatrical. 
 

All in all, she was the least likely of anyone this season to win the show. She checked every box that gets people voted off the show lol. 
 

- Glamour girl with big voice 

- Not a U.S. citizen

- Poor Hollywood Week edit

- Too much industry experience. I think she even won The X Factor in her country?

[kamil24]

She lost because the people that watch this show suck.

[CarmenSandiego]

1 minute ago, kamil24 said:

She lost because the people that watch this show suck.

 

I agree with you to some extent.

[Carrie_On]

2 hours ago, kamil24 said:

She lost because the people that watch this show suck.

Well, the fact that she’s so old-fashioned and pageanty didn’t help things.