The Buzz with CCX - Season 22 Episode 6

[ScarletDevilCCX]

Ugh, lost track of time and got out of the shower right at 8 so I couldn't even get started on this topic until well into the first commercial break. We get advertised "the biggest cuts yet", and we start the show with a performance of "California Dreamin'" by the three Platinum Ticket holders. We learn that the contestants will be called up one by one, and they won't know when it's their turn, and that more than half of them will be cut. Up first is Triston Harris, 15, of Macintosh, AL. He's singing an original called "Wrapped Up In Jesus" that an 86-year-old nun at his church came up with the basic outline for and asked him to polish up. It's good. Next is Quintavious, 21. I don't really think he stood out but I might've been paying more attention to trying to get my computer to cooperate. Up third is Hailey Mia, 16, of Clifton, NJ, and she does well. Emmy Russell, granddaughter of the legendary Loretta Lynn, is up next, and she talks about the pressure of filling those big shoes and how she wasn't being true to herself. We won't hear her until after the commercial.

 

Emmy will be doing an original called "Like That", and as expected, she's good. Jack Blocker is up, and he says that he got some critiques but he can't change who he is...oh, right, he was the one that the crew came up to bat to get Lionel to change his mind. He sings "Your Cheatin' Heart" by Hank Williams. I don't think he should stay. We go to commercial again and I quickly catch up and am able to head off to the kitchen to make tonight's drink. Bee-otch Honey Whiskey from Dumbass Whiskey, LLC, in Pompton Plains--supporting my local businesses.

 

We're back and getting a montage of "why are you the next American Idol". We're reminded of the teen mom. Kayko has Impostor Syndrome and doesn't feel like he belonged here. He's the one who came along as an accompanist for another auditioner, Abby Blake, and was asked to sing as well and got a ticket as well. He's singing a song he wrote about the audition. ...Oh my. He's so relatable. He belongs. He's exactly the type of artist that will sell big, it reminds me so much of the type of music I listened to as a teen (oh by the way, today's my 35th birthday). He's going to be a favorite of mine. Up next is the aforementioned Abby Blake, 25, singing "Vienna" by Billy Joel. Elise Testone she ain't, but it's a perfectly acceptable performance; you're rarely going to come out on top inviting comparisons to a Season 11 Top 7 member after all. Up next, from Starkville MS, 17-year-old Jennifer Jeffries. She says that music itself saved her. Oh, right, I remember her, she's the youngest of nine children. She's singing an original called "You Were A Child", about the mental health issues that she and her siblings struggled with. ...It's going to be a no from me. Remember, we're cutting more than half the field, and while I assume that they'll show most of the yeses and few of the noes, I have to operate under the assumption that just "good" isn't good enough. The judges seem to disagree with my assessment of Jennifer, however.

 

Naya, 28, is singing "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" and it's every bit as "big" as it needs to be. Jacy Matthews, 17, is up next--she and her sister Mia auditioned together and both advanced, with Katy the only judge who said yes to both but each of them got one of the male judges to say yes. I thought she was the lesser of the two then and I still don't think she's got it. Her sister is up next, singing "Mama's Broken Heart" by Miranda Lambert. Not bad, better than her sister, but I'm still not sure. There's another performance but I honestly don't even notice.

 

Our next auditioner is McKenna Faith Breinholt, who was adopted at a young age and learned that her birth parents died young--they were the ones who had a documentary made about them. She sings "When We Were Young" by Adele, and it's beautiful.

 

Ajii, 27, from Brooklyn, may not look like an idol, but his performance of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man" is Idol-worthy. Mada Chakell is singing "Tattooed Heart" by Ariana Grande and it doesn't sound good and she knows it and asks to start over. She still doesn't like what she's hearing and decides to do it a capella, and afterwards the judges ask if her voice is okay. Wow, we're actually going to get a Cowell-era meltdown, aren't we?

 

But surprisingly, she's given another shot--there really was a mix-up? She's still a bit shaky and asks for a chair, and...she actually sounds better this time? I don't know, but it's still better than the definite no. And...she puts on a weird fake accent when responding to the judges? Luke calls her out on needing to be humbled. Next up is Camila Galavis, who is still 14, and she sings Jordin Sparks' "No Air". It's plenty good. Isabela Mercier is up next and she clearly messed up. Amanda Mograss, 24...we're in the montage of people freezing up under pressure now. KB Richins, 20, I remember her. Bipolar, was it? She decided she wanted to do something for herself for this round, a little out of her comfort zone, but it's one she feels she could've written. "How Could You" by Jessie Murph. It's...I'm not sure it was the best choice. But on the other hand, maybe it was. She breaks down crying mid-song, but she doesn't stop, doesn't even break stride. Okay, it was exactly the correct choice. That raw emotion can't be faked. And...hm. Perhaps I missed a step. I didn't pick up on this, but my mother clearly recognizes that these lyrics are about being sexually assaulted and the judges, while never directly saying it, clearly intimate as much as well. Oh wow, I just looked up the song, and yeah, if I was actually reading those lyrics even I'd be able to understand the message. I'm guessing they sanitized it a bit for television though.

 

Ziggy showed up to the party a tad late; he was having issues with his visa. Which segues into Will Moseley, who was the auditioner whose audition Lionel had to leave in the middle of. He's singing Chris Stapleton's "Whiskey and You". He definitely belongs. Roman Collins, 24, oversings "Gravity", and Mackenzie Sol does the same to...I don't even know. Blake Proehl, and Justice Murphy...we're in a montage. I don't feel like Blake was oversinging, but the other three all were. Lionel says we've got an emergency because there's no way we can get rid of half of this class...you mean that wasn't a failure montage?

 

Kennedy Reid sings "How Great Thou Art!", which is listed only as "traditional". They think they're done for the day, but they forgot about Ziggy, the flamboyant Dutchman. I seem to remember liking him. His mother was a drug addict and he didn't really know his father until he was an adult. His father was a rock star, and they reconnected, but his father passed away in September. Ziggy sings Kodaline's "All I Want", and there's nothing "flamboyant" or "extra" about this performance--well, except for the outfit and the cotton candy hair. He's a genuine singer. Katy immediately picks up on it--he has a certain appearance that would make people get a certain idea of who he was, and he did that and showed that maybe he wasn't what they thought he was. We're going to be cutting down from 143 to 63.

 

Whew. Nearly lost internet just before the posting. Kayko is in group 1, but Abby is in Group 2. Quintavious is in 1, Noah Peters-Connell in 2, Kyra in 2. There was someone else in Group 1 but I keep missing her name. Group 1 goes through. In the next one, the names are coming too quickly for me to keep up, but it's obvious which one's staying. Will Moseley, Triston, and Jennifer Jeffries all stay, while Madai goes home. Ziggy, Hailey Mia, and KB are all staying. Layla and Max Dasher are in separate groups, and Emmy Russell is in Layla's; Jack Blocker is in Max's. But both groups go through! And it turns out we're actually only down to 56.