Why Quintavious Lost

[CarmenSandiego]

Yesterday, I did the first of six analyses of contestants who failed to make the Top 15, as I looked at why Jennifer lost.  Now it’s time to look at another one who got the boot, and that person is Quintavious.  Quite frankly, I thought that Quintavious would go last round, so I’m not surprised that he didn’t get any farther than the Top 20.  But why was I expecting him to fall early on?  A look at the rules that American Idol contestants should follow will explain what Quintavious did right, what he did wrong, and why Quintavious lost.

 

The first rule states that contestants must show singing and performing talent.  Unlike Jennifer, who was the weakest girl vocally, Quintavious was one of the strongest guys in terms of vocals.  He also had a distinct performance style based on his being a worship leader at his church.  Unfortunately, he didn’t always show his vocal or performance skills to his best advantage.  In Hawaii, he sang “Something in the Water”, and IDF mostly praised him, with me giving him a 7.5.; but when he made the Top 20 and sang “Hollow” by Tori Kelly, IDF panned it more.  I gave him a 7, which was one of the higher scores, and said that he was better in Hawaii.

 

He failed to make the Top Ten in voting, but he had a chance to win a Wildcard spot with his performance of “Make It Happen” by Mariah Carey.  His IDF scores were better than in the Top 20 reveal round, and I gave him a 7.5, saying that it was better than “Hollow”.  Still, I thought that Odell and Roman, his main competition, sang their songs better.  Thus, I believe that Quintavious struggled somewhat with this rule, mainly when compared to his main competition.

 

The second rule states that song choice is key, and it was a definite problem for Quintavious.  He had a tendency to pick songs that could be directly compared to the original singers, such as Carrie Underwood or Mariah, and it didn’t always work out for the best for him.  Worse, his final song was described by MJSBIGBLOG as a fun and upbeat song, but not one that you should sing if you’re trying to get a Wildcard spot — or even if you’re celebrating getting into the Top 14!  Thus Quintavious definitely stumbled with this rule as well.

 

The third rule states that a contestant should either be consistently great or consistently improve.  Unfortunately, I don’t think that Quintavious rose to anything more than being consistently good, which isn’t what this rule states you should be, so he failed this rule as well.

 

At least Quintavious had no problems with the fourth rule, which states that contestants should be confident.  It takes confidence to take on Carrie or Mariah songs, after all!  Unfortunately, it didn’t save him, but at least he followed the fourth rule.

 

Quintavious also followed the part of the fifth rule which states that contestants should have a distinct artistic identity.  Unfortunately for him, his artistic identity was that of a gospel/soul/R&B singer, and might have been too outdated; thus I think that Quintavious fouled up this rule as well.

 

The sixth rule states that contestants must remember that they are a package.  But all that we really knew about Quintavious was that he was a worship leader.  Meanwhile, we learned that Odell was a father and that he and his children lived in a hotel when he got onto the show!  Thus Quintavious struck out on this rule as well.

 

Quintavious had an interesting relationship with the seventh rule, which states that contestants should take any advice offered to him and follow it.  In Hawaii, Tori Kelly, the mentor, really wanted him to sing “Hollow”, but he sang “Something in the Water”.  But he was actually better on the Carrie song than on “Hollow”, and Tori actually was impressed that he stuck to his guns when choosing his song.  Therefore, I don’t believe that he had any problems with the seventh rule, so I’ll move on.

 

The final rule states that a contestant must gather and sustain a fan base.  It also notes the dangers of having competition for a certain group of fans.  Quintavious was a gospel/soul/R&B singer — and he had competition in that category with two other guys, Odell and Roman!  They were all competing for a spot for the male gospel/soul/R&B singer, and only one could get that spot, since gospel wasn’t as current as say, country.  And Odell had a better package, while Roman was seen as improving.  Thus Quintavious screwed up this rule as well.

 

Quintavious probably should’ve stuck around based on his vocal talent.  But American Idol was never a competition to find the best singer.  It was looking for a future superstar, and Quintavious had too many problems in being more than just a great singer.  He had an artistic identity that was too outdated.  He wasn’t as memorable as Odell or even Roman.  And he had problems choosing good songs, often tackling songs that would have him compared with the original singers, and not always coming out on top.  Quintavious just wasn’t able to be anything more than just a great singer on this show, and that is why Quintavious lost.

Edited April 19 by CarmenSandiego