Why Abi Won

[CarmenSandiego]

24 singers made it to the live voting rounds.  I analyzed why twenty-three of them fell short of winning the show.  Now it’s time for me to look at the one who won:  Abi Carter.  From the first audition, the judges thought that she could be the winner and she proved them right.  But how did she overcome the odds against girls like her on this show and win?  I’ll take one last look at the rules that American Idol contestants need to follow in order to figure out what she did right, what (little) she did wrong, and why Abi won.

 

The first rule states that contestants must show both singing and performing talent.  It’s safe to say that Abi did very well with this rule throughout her time on the show, killing songs such as “Welcome to the Black Parade”, “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”, “Hello” from Adele, “Part of Your World” and most of all, “Bring Me to Life”.  Such terrific performances got her to the finale alongside Jack Blocker and Will Moseley.  So how did she do in her final three performances before being announced as the winner?  In short, she was great.  I gave her a 9.5 for “Bed of Roses” and one for “Somewhere”, and would have given her a 9.5 for her winning single “This Isn’t Over” had it been longer, giving it a 9.25 instead.  MJSBIGBLOG also agreed with me, saying that Abi won all three rounds.  Thus it’s safe to say that Abi followed the first rule.

 

Abi also did well with the second rule, which states that song choice is key.  With few exceptions, she chose songs that not only suited her voice but also allowed her to create what we would call “moments”, which got people talking and more importantly, voting for her.  Other than maybe “All Too Well”, she never really played it safe with her song choices, which made her different from Will, as he played it too safe with his song choices and thus never had “moments”.  Thus Abi followed this rule as well.

 

For the most part, Abi followed the third rule, which states that contestants must either be consistently great or consistently improving.  By getting a Platinum Ticket, Abi began at the top, meaning that she either had to continue being great or stall and go backwards.  With only one exception, “If I Could Turn Back Time” (where she had a bad case of bronchitis), she did great or at least very good in my opinion.  Others on IDF would probably say that she was good in the beginning and improved to be great by the end.  Regardless, Abi also followed this rule.

 

The fourth rule states that contestants must be confident and once again, Abi did well with this rule, as she showed the confidence needed to take on challenging songs and to work the stage, such as “Bring Me to Life”.  Thus Abi followed this rule as well.

 

Abi also had no problem with the fifth rule, which states that contestants must have a strong, current and marketable artistic identity.  Abi was a pop singer, which like country is current and marketable, but she also could do rock songs like “Welcome to the Black Parade” and make them more like pop songs.  Thus Abi followed this rule as well.

 

The sixth rule states that contestants must remember that they are a package, and that their package must be appealing to a lot of people.  Abi also did well with this rule.  Not only did she have the sad story of having to go into homeschooling so she could get a job and support her family after her parents got divorced, but she was humble and likable.  This, along with her incredible talent, made her an appealing package and thus Abi followed this rule as well.

 

Abi showed how to follow the seventh rule, which states that contestants must take any advice offered to them and follow it, within reason.  After “All Too Well”, where Abi was behind the piano for the second performance in a row, judge Luke Bryan advised her to not stay behind the piano but to get up and begin working the stage.  Abi took his advice, followed it and performed songs like “Bring Me to Life”, which is possibly her best performance on the show.  And she didn’t go too far in the other direction and avoid the piano, instead doing “Hello” and “Bed of Roses” from behind the piano.  Thus Abi had no problems with this rule as well.

 

The final rule states that contestants must gather and sustain a fan base and Abi had no problems with this rule as well.  She began gathering a fan base from her audition and despite not being a country singer and thus having a solid base of support, she was able to gather more fans with her awesome performances.  Comments on her final performances before the win on YouTube indicate that some viewers who hadn’t voted during the earlier rounds were so impressed with her songs that they voted for her.  Moreover, she gained fans from other fan bases, especially those for her roommate, Julia Gagnon, after their elimination, and that helped her as well.  Thus Abi followed the final rule.

 

Abi was the judges’ favorite from her audition, when she sang “What Was I Made For?”.  But she still had to go out there and prove that she deserved to be the winner, and she did.  She gave terrific performances, chose her songs wisely, had many moments, and had an appealing package to boot.  This enabled her to gather more and more fans and ultimately get past Will and his country fans.  For once, Americans recognized her talent enough to give her the win.  Abi was the best singer and performer, and that is why Abi won.

Edited May 22 by CarmenSandiego

[m1key]

just had the chance to sit down and read this - you did an amazing job with the writeups this season! always fun and insightful to read.

 

though i'm also curious as to what some of your reasonings would have been if Abi didn't win?

Edited May 23 by m1key

[CarmenSandiego]

3 hours ago, m1key said:

just had the chance to sit down and read this - you did an amazing job with the writeups this season! always fun and insightful to read.

 

though i'm also curious as to what some of your reasonings would have been if Abi didn't win?

I think that I would have concluded that she lost because the country fans were too strong.  Luckily, I didn’t have to answer that question but instead could answer the question of why Abi won.

 

And thanks for the praise for my write-ups.

Edited May 23 by CarmenSandiego

[MalwareDie]

I think there's a crucial thing you missed in your write-up that encompassed Abi's entire strategy, which was even hinted at in her mentor session with Bon Jovi.

 

When Bon Jovi asked what does the future look like for Abi, she said she'd be doing dark songs with a bit of happiness, which described pretty much every song Abi chose from the Top 24 onward.

 

Hence Abi succeeded 'cause she chose songs she has a personal connection with, not to check off the uptempo box or some other superficial reason that a lot of non-winning contestants do.

 

If Abi had listened to IDF about singing happy songs, she probably would've lost since she was singing songs she couldn't connect with instead of songs that spoke to her lived experience.

Edited May 23 by MalwareDie

[CarmenSandiego]

1 minute ago, MalwareDie said:

I think there's a crucial thing you missed in your write-up that encompassed Abi's entire strategy, which was even hinted at in her mentor session with Bon Jovi.

 

When Bon Jovi asked what does the future look like for Abi, she said she'd be doing dark songs with a bit of happiness, which described pretty much every song Abi chose from the Top 24 onward.

 

Hence Abi succeeded 'cause she chose songs she has a personal connection with, not to check off the uptempo box or some other superficial reason that a lot of non-winning contestants do.

Yeah, I forgot to mention that doing songs that she had a personal connection with was her strategy, and that was why she followed the second rule, and I probably should have mentioned it.