Final season of American Idol AI15

[PeterG]

Finally got see Thursday's episode this afternoon. I'm glad about who made the top ten, although I would have preferred Manny in the top 10 over Gianna, Lee or Tristan. How I'd rank the performances:

1. La'Porsha
2. Trent
3. Avalon
4. Sonika
5. Olivia
6. MacKenzie
7. Gianna
8. Dalton
9. Tristan
10. Lee

I was so happy that La'Porsha did something new and gave it some personality. I was wondering if she could only do copy-cat versions of old stuff. She did what she needed to do. I thought Trent tried a little too hard. Hope he picks something with a stronger melody which shows off the beauty of his voice and keeps it a bit more simple. I like MacKenzie, but I think he's limited in what he can do. So song choice is really important. He needs to pick songs that suit him as well as his amazing original does. I thought Dalton's vocal was pretty weak. So shocked that the judges liked it and that they thought his arrangement was original when to me it sounded pretty much exactly like the original. Tristan and Lee are my picks to go leave next week. I won't miss Gianna, but I want Dalton around a bit longer. I think Dalton might win the show, what with 10 year olds probably doing the most voting.

 

[Allskate]

Neither Lee nor Tristan was in the bottom three? Oh, well, at least this isn't a presidential election.

I'm glad Gianna is gone. She never should have gotten this far.

 

[jenny12]

Wasn't planning on watching this season but then I saw La'Porsha!Wow!!!!

 

[moebius]

I guess the Idol fan save didn't work out last season, with Rayvon keep getting saved for 6 weeks in a row. So they're giving the final decision back to the judges again. Three females in the bottom three. I knew that would happen when the females outnumbered the males. I guess my prediction was correct as to who would go home this week. Now there's an equal number of males and females. This is probably the best top 8 evah! I don't know who I want to go home next week. Dalton and Lee have been some of my faves, but the last 2 weeks they were just mediocre. Sonika who was surprisingly good last week was also mediocre this week. Tristan is much better this week than last week. I know that Trent is the best male vocalist on the show, but somehow I don't dig his performances as much as others. I predict that Lee and Sonika will go home.

 

[PeterG]

How I'd rate the performances tonight:

1. La'Porsha
2. Avalon
3. Trent
4. Tristan
5. Olivia
6. MacKenzie
7. Sonika
8. Gianna
9. Dalton
10. Lee

Weird that Harry said Olivia's performance didn't show any vulnerability? When was a rule stated that a performance MUST show vulnerability? Very weird thing for him to say. And if Dalton looked like Trent, he would not have made it into the top 10. His vocal performances are barely adequate...he is TOTALLY coasting on his looks.

I guess the Idol fan save didn't work out last season, with Rayvon keep getting saved for 6 weeks in a row. So they're giving the final decision back to the judges again.

It worked out brilliantly as it kept the man in the competition for all those weeks who should have been the winner. Speaking of Rayvon, just read this about him at Wikipedia:

On the Valentine's Day weekend of 2016, Rayvon debuted a new single, "Can't Fight It" written with Mylen, Nate Merchant, and Isaiah Tejada. The accompanying music video acts as his official "coming out" as gay, sharing a kiss at the end with LGBT activist Shane Bitney Crone. Rayvon told Billboard: "You’d be surprised at the amount of times I tried to pray the gay away from me or tried to tell God to take this away from me. No kid should have to do what I did and pray to not be who they are. That’s why I think it’s important even in 2016 to say this."

Crone is famous for the video he made on youtube about not being able to visit his partner in the hospital because the family of his spouse were angry at him for making their song gay. Later, Crone's story was made into the documentary, "Bridegroom". Here's the video of Rayvon's:

Can't Fight It

 

[taf2002]

Wasn't planning on watching this season but then I saw La'Porsha!Wow!!!!

Did you see her last week? The "wow" was deserved then but I didn't like her Halo at all. Nevermind that it's been done to death, I thought it was a weak imitation of Beyoncé's version with too many unnecessary runs.

 

[BaileyCatts]

They should ban any contestant in a singing competition from singing Radioactive ever again. I hate when people try to do that song, because they never do it right. I like Dalton, but he was off last night. Please don't anyone ever sing that song again on any singing competition show!

Any one of those bottom 3 leaving last night woulda been fine with me. I really don't like that girl who was "saved" (whatever her name is).

 

[Jayar]

Olivia

 

[Cachoo]

Olivia

She can handle it: great name, good voice, good look--she just needs good management to help her find some good songs and she will be on her way.

 

[Jayar]

She can handle it: great name, good voice, good look--she just needs good management to help her find some good songs and she will be on her way.

When has that ever happened to a contestant on Idol?

 

[Cachoo]

Cute blond with a fun name who can carry a tune? Kellie Pickler

 

[moebius]

They should ban any contestant in a singing competition from singing Radioactive ever again. I hate when people try to do that song, because they never do it right.

I've heard decent versions of Radioactive in singing competitions by a few females, not males.

 

[Sally1214]

They should ban any contestant in a singing competition from singing Radioactive ever again. I hate when people try to do that song, because they never do it right. I like Dalton, but he was off last night. Please don't anyone ever sing that song again on any singing competition show!

Totally agree. I LOVE Radioactive and I've never heard anyone in a singing competition even come close to giving it the menacing delivery it needs. They just pale by comparison and it drives me crazy!! Caleb Johnson at least had the pipes and power but even he didn't have the fierce intensity the song demands. So, yep, ban it!!

 

[PeterG]

Speaking of bad song choices, doing 60's song when the week's theme is NOT 60's music is almost always a bad choice. Is your goal to sing in a lounge of an airport hotel? Or to be a recording and touring artist? Trent picking When A Man Loves A Woman was like he was setting himself up to be the next Clark Beckham...

 

[PeterG]

Kelly Clarkson's song "Piece By Piece" was released on November 9th last year and didn't chart anywhere in the world. It was the third single from her album of the same name, which I believe was the last album to fulfill her contract. I think that when a record company is no longer interested in an artist at this stage, or feels the artist will choose a new label, they promote the first single to get some album sales (and make back money) and then ignore future singles. RCA did this with both Piece By Piece and the second single Invincible, which was well-reviewed, and written by Sia (among others). Now, after Kelly's performance on American Idol, Piece By Piece debuted on Billboard's Hot 100 after being out for four months...at #8. Additionally, the song is at #17 in Canada, #24 in Australia and #95 in the U.K.

RCA...you suck.

 

[merrywidow]

I don't record AI but I'd swear the girl the judges saved was named Avalon, hippie type? Olivia was the tall blonde, yes?

 

[PeterG]

I don't record AI but I'd swear the girl the judges saved was named Avalon, hippie type? Olivia was the tall blonde, yes?

Yes.

 

[taf2002]

Did anyone watch last night? No one would blame anyone for taking a pass. The theme was Songs From The Idol Songbook aka songs that have been done to death. First the 8 remaining contestants paired up & did duets. LaPorsha/Trent were really good & Sonika/Avalon were ok. Lee/Tristan & Dalton/Mackenzie were unbearable, The they all did solos.

LaPorsha - Come Together - she sang it well but a skin-tight leather onesie was not her friend. It was so distracting that I couldn't focus on her singing. Or maybe it was because the last person I remember doing this song (Candice) did it more memorably.

MacKenzie - You Are So Beautiful - he doesn't have the range for the high notes so he changed it to suit his voice. It was pretty good but I prefer the original.

Trent - Stand By Me - I haven't heard anyone do this better except Ben E King. I can put up with his funny faces when he sings this well.

Tristan - A Broken Wing - she did nothing new or unforgettable with this but it was ok, just not as good as last week.

Dalton - Eleanor Rigby - he's cute but how was he not in the bottom 3 after last week? His pitch was all over the place & it was played so fast he sounded manic.

Bottom 3:

Avalon - P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing) - I love her breezy vibe. I would put this #3 on the night behind LaPorsha & Trent. She seems to me to be the type who would get lots of votes so I don't understand how she ended up here again.

Lee - Let It Be - He tried but like Dalton, he couldn't stay in tune.

Sonika - I Have Nothing - can we just retire this song already? She started out kind of shaky & not very connected to the song but about halfway thru she started sounding pretty good but others have sung this song much better. At least she hit all the notes but she had the deer-in-the-headlight look again.

Judges saved: Sonika

It's hard for me to believe Avalon is gone. I felt that she was the perfect type to succeed as the American Idol.

 

[Kruss]

I hate the accelerated pace this season, with two going home every week (and let's not even talk about how the judges are making most of the decisions this last season). I would imagine that come April 7th, we're all going to look at the calendar and wonder, "what did the time go?"

 

[taf2002]

Apparently this week was the last time for double elimination. But I don't know if there will be a save for the bottom or if they will just let the votes decide.

 

[PeterG]

How I’d ranked last night’s performances:

1. La'Porsha Renae - Come Together – She can do no wrong as far as I’m concerned.

2. Trent Harmon - Stand By Me – I’ve never thought this is a great song, and this song is definitely one that’s been done on these shows too many times. But Trent is so amazing, I could listen to him sing anything.

3. Trent Harmon & La'Porsha Renae - See You Again – I don’t like this song. But I really liked this performance.

4. Avalon Young – P.Y.T. – Pretty good, but I think the band was playing in too high a key for her. But she has pretty much perfect pitch and it’s so rare for her to every miss a note.

5. Sonika Vaid & Avalon Young - Rise Up – Not anywhere near as good as Melanie Tierce, who did the song earlier in the season, but still decent.

6. Tristan McIntosh - A Broken Wing – Tristan is improving each week, but like Sonika, every song she picks is too big for her and something that should be left to the La’Porsha’s of the world to do.

7. Sonika Vaid - I Have Nothing – This song is too big for. Some nice moments, but some decent-sized misses as well.

8. Lee Jean & Tristan McIntosh – I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing – Lee is lucky to have Tristan take the lead and overpower his flawed vocals.

9. Dalton Rapattoni - Eleanor Rigby – Dalton is good at changing the song up to hide his lack of strong vocal ability.

10. MacKenzie Bourg - You Are So Beautiful – MacKenzie just can’t do anything that demands any measure of power in a vocal…

11. MacKenzie Bourg & Dalton Rapattoni - I Want It That Way – Kinda listenable. Almost…?

12. Lee Jean – Let It Be – That’s what the entire listening audience is saying. Let it be kid…and step away from the microphone!!!!!!!

 

[Allskate]

Oh, man. This is such a weak group. It really is time for Idol to end. They've been pushing Tristan and Dalton, but I'd like to see them both go home next week. It really should be LaPorshe winning with Trent in the finale, but I can't see either of them having big careers. I just can't get excited over either of them. I would have preferred for Dalton to go instead of Avalon, but I can't get too bothered about it. The Voice contestants are much better.

I agree with the idea that the accelerated pace doesn't work well. The one thing that Idol always had over The Voice was the continuous slow build when people came to know and get more invested in contestants. With this pace that just doesn't happen as much.

It made me sad hearing Nick sing that boring song in a very unimpressive way and seeing Allison Iraheta sing backup for him.

 

[taf2002]

IMO they are pushing LaPorsha, not Tristan & Dalton. I finally came up with a theory on why they got rid of Jessica Sanchez. She was the only one who could really challenge LaPorsha vocally. Otherwise why would they suddenly quit showing a frontrunner & then cut her with no explanation? Of the 6 who are left I don't really care who wins.

 

[moebius]

IMO they are pushing LaPorsha, not Tristan & Dalton. I finally came up with a theory on why they got rid of Jessica Sanchez. She was the only one who could really challenge LaPorsha vocally. Otherwise why would they suddenly quit showing a frontrunner & then cut her with no explanation? Of the 6 who are left I don't really care who wins.

Huh??? Jessica Sanchez was in season 11.

 

[PeterG]

IMO they are pushing LaPorsha, not Tristan & Dalton. I finally came up with a theory on why they got rid of Jessica Sanchez. She was the only one who could really challenge LaPorsha vocally. Otherwise why would they suddenly quit showing a frontrunner & then cut her with no explanation? Of the 6 who are left I don't really care who wins.

But they don't (or shouldn't) want a winner that America won't support (Candice Glover, Caleb Johnson, etc.). So they shouldn't have one ringer in the top ten, but ten ringers. And if all ten can sing any type of song, guaranteeing a successful career because of both talent and diversity...then let America decide which ringer should win.

As for Jessica Cabral (one of my early favourites for sure), I can only guess that there are behind the scenes issues that saw her and other equally talented people (Melanie Tierce) leave seemingly too early. Such as, being able to do one style of music really well, but being awful with all other genres of music. And things like being late on a regular basis, not getting along well with other people, being too demanding in an unreasonable or unbearable way....etc. But nobody can say something like "Jessica was immensely talented...but MAN, what a B****!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Huh??? Jessica Sanchez was in season 11.

I was there for a bit, wondering if instead of Jessica Sanchez, we were talking about Jessica Sierra. Too many Jessica's as it's actually Jessica Cabral, so I just fixed that in my post right now.

 

[PeterG]

oopsy

 

[Allskate]

IMO they are pushing LaPorsha, not Tristan & Dalton.

I think that they are pushing all three. But they'd much prefer Tristan and Dalton to Trent, Sonika, Mackenzie, etc. Both Tristan and Dalton have had some pretty shaky performances that they didn't really get called out on. Tristan is getting better, but Dalton is getting worse.

I have no idea why Jessica Cabral was cut, but I'm certainly not going to assume that it has anything to do with her character or her versatility. Idol does stupid things all the time.

 

[PeterG]

I have no idea why Jessica Cabral was cut, but I'm certainly not going to assume that it has anything to do with her character or her versatility. Idol does stupid things all the time.

I agree, from what I've seen, Idol has done some stupid things. But then so has the voting audience, ever since season one when Tamyra Gray went home in fourth place. As for Jessica Cabral, I didn't mean to insinuate anything. It's just I have to wonder why somebody so wonderful didn't make it to the top ten. The mind wanders trying to find justification for something that doesn't seen to make sense...

 

[Allskate]

I agree, from what I've seen, Idol has done some stupid things. But then so has the voting audience, ever since season one when Tamyra Gray went home in fourth place. As for Jessica Cabral, I didn't mean to insinuate anything. It's just I have to wonder why somebody so wonderful didn't make it to the top ten. The mind wanders trying to find justification for something that doesn't seen to make sense...

Stupidity inherently does not make sense. And, I wouldn't be surprised if superficial things entered into their decision. I think Jessica has a good reputation, and she seems to have a good head on her shoulders. She was contacted by The Voice after Idol cut her.

 

[taf2002]

Huh??? Jessica Sanchez was in season 11.

Oopsy indeed. I meant Jessica Cabrel. And I still think there was some funny business leading to her going home. AI has never had an issue with showing someone acting like a bitch or not cooperating in some way. If Jessica did something that led her downfall I think they would have showed it. Instead they quit showing her very early.

JLo has a history of showing unearned prejudice against selected females on the show (Haley Reinhart anyone?). I think she could sway her fellow judges if she wanted to get rid of someone. Can anyone think of a male contestant who she clearly showed her distaste for? Does this panel really think that all of their top 12 were better singers than Jessica? For example James III, Manny, or Stephany? Are they tone deaf?