American Idol Reboot

[taf2002]

So far, tonight’s been a bit of a snooze. I don’t see anyone I’d actually vote for.

Actually I was impressed with some of them, esp the guy who sang "Maybe This Time" from Caberet. And there were a few who didn't do as well as they had in the Hollywood round that I thought should have been cut: the young pudgy guy & the girl who smiles freakishly all the time (and who wants to be quirky but is just plain goofy) come to mind. And some rose to the occasion who didn't have great auditions: the biggest improvement was the guy from Kenya. My fav so far is the guy with the little baby. I'm pulling for him.

 

[BaileyCatts]

Ada ... Adam .... u can be anyone u wanna be if you can sang like that cause u totally had me crying tonight. As did Effie (girl who sang The Dance).

I question some of the Top 24 making it over others who got booted. Names? I have no clue ... I just know by looking at them so I would need to see their pictures. But its almost like some of them were put thru just to be the automatic boots to take the cut from 24 to 14. Once its down to 14 I'll start to remember all their names since those will make the Live shows.

 

[Susan1]

Before last night, I was rooting for the last girl with the shaved head on the sides (name?). I hope she does better with her next song. And I'm always for the rockers. I hope he picks a familiar song next. Wasn't Chris Daughtry more successful than whoever (?!) won that year?

 

[taf2002]

I pretty much agreed with the 24 picks but a couple really puzzled me - the ones who didn't do well in their showcase solos & went thru anyway. Like the pudgy guy, Noah?, was awful & the girl who sang Bad Romance. And Katy Perry outdid herself in the last 2 shows. Ugh! What's the deal with throwing her chair? And who dressed her? JLo?

 

[TheGirlCanSkate]

We laugh at Katy's clothing choices - many look like skating outfits. I didn't get the chair moving thing at all.

 

[skatesindreams]

I dislike the "judging" of both Katy and Luke.

 

[quartz]

I've managed to only watch a few minutes here and there. Seems everything I saw was all about Katy Katy Katy. Is it her show now? She's totally annoying, and I probably won't watch anymore because of her.

 

[Jayar]

Thaddeus getting cut was the most confusing part of the night until the guy whose father wouldn't come see him got through. They should have reversed those two.

 

[merrywidow]

I much prefer this judging panel to any on the former panel (with the exception of Steven Tyler. I liked him) Did Maddie Pope get through? She is a country singer & my favorite of the girls. Michael Woodard is my favorite of the men....at least for the present.

 

[taf2002]

I much prefer this judging panel to any on the former panel (with the exception of Steven Tyler. I liked him) Did Maddie Pope get through? She is a country singer & my favorite of the girls. Michael Woodard is my favorite of the men....at least for the present.

If you mean Maddie Poppe (pronounced poppy) the answer is yes. Michael did too.

I just checked out the top 14.

Spoiler

All my favs made it. Only one I disagree with is Catie (the girl who dresses like a bag lady & has a goofy smile on her face all the time.)

 

[TheGirlCanSkate]

One thing about Catie - her lyrics are a current teen point of view. Her singing is average, the "character" that she is presenting is average, but the writing is pretty funny.

I didn't think bag lady. More like she bought what Jan Brady no longer wanted.

 

[moebius]

I wonder if the producers told Trevor Holmes' girlfriend to be feisty with Katy Perry to make it more entertaining.

Two singers on Gwen's team on the 'Voice' didn't make it past top 50:
-Ricky Manning (can't understand why she stole him from Pharrell)
-Taylor Williams (liked his rendition of 'If' by Bread.) Apparently he and fellow Idol contestant, Amelia Hammer are dating. They met during the Hollywood round.
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/li...-amelia-hammer-harris-taylor-williams-dating/
I don't think Idol showed any of Ricky's and Taylor's performances. Both fared better on the Voice, with Taylor finishing fifth and Ricky in the top 20.

Still shocked that Laine Hardy made to top 50 after that awful 2nd solo performance. I'm telling' ya being cute as a button really helps in the music industry, but it can only go so far as he didn't make it to top 24. He redeemed himself on the showcase performance, though, so he only hit 50% of the time. I think he should be in the top 24 as some of the ones the made it through did as bad as he did. Hope that he auditions again as he is capable of being a good singer, just not consistent yet. Give him a couple more years to develop and he'll be a force to be reckon with: cute (well, I don't know if that will change as he gets older) and talented. Funny that he was paired up with Garrett to get the judges final decision for the top 24, as both are considered heartthrobs. Garrett is more good looking than cute, though. Looks more mature than Laine. I didn't like Garrett's audition. Didn't care for that growl. If Laine hits, I prefer him to Garrett.

Ada Vox takes the cake in the showcase performances. Also like Jurnee's showcase performance.

I actually like the nerdy spastic girl. She's quite entertaining. Not the greatest voice, though. Same as the zumba instructor.

 

[TheGirlCanSkate]

I also preferred Laine to Garrett. Laine was just...wholsome and yes, I think others who made 24 were not quite as good.

I did not like Katy's yelling for Trevor to come back so many times when he was already told no. It was insensitive.

 

[PeterG]

How I'm ranking the contestants so far (I give everybody a title so I an remember who's who):

1. Cade Foehner - rocker

2. Dennis Lorenzo - soulful Dad

3. Ada Vox - supermodel

4. Brandon Diaz – hair model

5. Jonny Brenns – daddy don’t love me

6. Ron Bultongez - Congo

7. Michael J. Woodard - inexperienced

8. Garrett Jacobs – facial hair disaster

9. Marcio Donaldson - crier

10. Caleb Lee Hutchinson – ahm frum the contry

11. Trevor McBane - hillbilly

12. Dominique – Dominique who? (little air time)

Women

1. Jurnee – marine wife

2. Gabby Barrett – cleaning toilets with pop

3. Michelle Sussett – Selena 2.0

4. Maddie Poppe - songwriter

5. Alyssa Raghu – 15yo

6. Amelia Hammer Harris – 60s chick

7. Shannon O'Hara – Adele wannabe

8. Mara Justine – 16yo, long red hair

9. Layla Spring – 16yo from the farm, y’all

10. Catie Turner - goofball

11. Effie Passero – mohawk rocker

12. Kay Kay – Kay Kay who? (little air time)

Before last night, I was rooting for the last girl with the shaved head on the sides (name?). I hope she does better with her next song. And I'm always for the rockers. I hope he picks a familiar song next. Wasn't Chris Daughtry more successful than whoever (?!) won that year?

Taylor Hicks. Half of the top 10 his year had more success than him. Daughtry, Katharine McPhee, Elliott Yamin, Kellie Pickler and Mandisa, who's doing quite well as a contemporary Christian artist (four albums close to gold status and fifteen top 20 hits on the CCM charts).

Thaddeus getting cut was the most confusing part of the night until the guy whose father wouldn't come see him got through. They should have reversed those two.

I wonder if Thaddeus is one of those people that the producers really like, but think that maybe won't do as well with the voting audience as they would like. So they hold him back a year to create a bigger buzz and then does better that next season (making the producers and the audience happy).

 

[taf2002]

@PeterG, I don't remember all the names but I would move Effie Passero up on your list. She has a gorgeous voice & her personal style is growing on me.

 

[TheGirlCanSkate]

PeterG - I'm going to laugh every time I see them now - your monikers will stick to them more than their names.

 

[PeterG]

@PeterG, I don't remember all the names but I would move Effie Passero up on your list. She has a gorgeous voice & her personal style is growing on me.

I want to like Effie more than I do. She's had a rough performance here and there, plus no real back story for us to connect with her more. Plus if you're going to do a Heart song, you have to nail it. If you falter, your shortcomings really stand out while songs by lesser vocalists would be more forgiving.

PeterG - I'm going to laugh every time I see them now - your monikers will stick to them more than their names.

I made myself laugh with some of the monikers (especially facial hair disaster...WHAT is Garrett DOING to that beautiful face of his???) partly because some of the storylines they create for these people are either over-the-top or so repetitive or sometimes pretty corny. I rarely agree with posters who say they wish so and so would stop crying (as I love a good cry and love seeing others having a good cry), but Marcio is just an endless stream of tears. Hmm. THAT probably should have been his moniker!

 

[taf2002]

I can understand Marcio being emotional but he may be milking it just a teensy weensy much. But I love his voice. And I love the guy he was up against in Final Judgement. They may split votes though.

 

[haribobo]

My rankings tonight, upon 1 viewing...

1. Jonny- delightful
2. Cade- jammin
3. Catie- yasss, needs new outfits
4. Michael Woodard- substantial performance, needs real clothes
5. Gabby- preferred Jenna's version but still, good
6. Brandon- lovely moments but hard to shine, prefer other songs on him
7. Dominique- very good, not Latoya London though. I won't miss him and that's the issue, can't remember anything he's done.
8. Michelle- she is always fun but her voice was kinda ratchet, Beyonce isn't for her
9. Kay Kay- solid, forgettable. Lame song choice IMO, its overdone.
10. Layla- we have been passing her through on cuteness for like 5 episodes. She isn't bad but I don't care much.
11. Trevor- that song is perfection already, he is sooo forgettable. That Amish look, no no.
12. Dennis- SO FAKE. Love that song but not on him. Horrifying.

I would take through my top 6 +Michelle.

 

[PeterG]

My ranking for tonight's performances:

1. Jonny Brenns – Georgia – A sweet, straight-ahead vocal. Wonderful!

2. Catie Turner – Call Me – She both made it her own and was respectful of the original at the same time. Very good.

3. Michael J. Woodard – Golden Slumbers. He is a GREAT singer. However, I felt he embellished the melody too much. Don’t try to re-write a Beatles melody!!

4. Michelle Sussett – If I Were A Boy – The vocals were strong at times and spotty at other times. But Michelle is very much a live performer, so it’s about the show she puts on more than having a spot-on vocal.

5. Dennis Lorenzo – Rude – I don’t really like this song, but he performed it well

6. Gabby Barrett – My Church – A polished performance, but a bit “paint-by-the-numbers” for me. Big vocal, though.

7. Cade Foehner – All Along The Watchtower – All growl, no melody. He has a big presence and his guitar playing is amazing though.

8. Kay Kay – Love On The Brain – Her critique was to invite people into her performance and not try to be so perfect. I feel she’s struggling with this direction.

9. Dominique – Ain’t Nobdy – Changed the melody too much for my liking.

10. Brandon Diaz – Hello – This song has such a threadbare musical backing to it that any vocal flaws end up really in the face of the listener. Too many vocal errors on this one.

11. Layla Spring – Broken Wing – Martina McBride is a powerhouse vocalist and Layla made a mistake trying to do a song this big. Bad, bad choice on her part…forced her to do things vocally that she cannot do.

12. Trevor McBane – Way Down We Go – This song doesn’t have a strong melody, it’s strength is the soulful power one brings to it. Trevor missed the bus on this…

 

[taf2002]

Does anyone ever need to hear Call Me again? Other than Hello that was the worst song choice of the night, If I Were a Boy being a runner-up. I thought almost everyone sang better on Final Judgement than they did last night. The only performance I remember is Cade's.

I've been wondering why Catie is still there but I see some people like her. she has too much vibrato for my taste.

 

[Jayar]

Catie is starting to have that Joey Cook sound. Not sure we need more of that...

 

[PeterG]

My rankings for tonight:

1. Gabby Barrett – Stay – Wow, what harmonizing! She pretty much held her own with Jennifer Nettles, which is saying A LOT.

2. Michael J. Woodard – Angel In Blue Jeans – Very strong. But why is Michael always wearing clothes for someone who weighs twice as much as he does?

3. Dennis Lorenzo – Unaware. Great fit with Allen Stone. Some of the falsetto bits were a little piercing, though.

4. Catie Turner – Good To Be Alive – Strong vocal, as expected. I did feel her vocal got drowned out a bit by everything.

5. Dominique – Wake Me Up – Nice vocal, but not a lot of character or personality within the vocal.

6. Layla Spring – Stuck Like Glue – Good vocal. But the hokey choreography and the hokey facial expressions were straight out of a 1970’s episode of Hee Haw.

7. Jonny Brenns – Back Home – He fit in well with this song. But what’s up with that ragged, 10 year old t-shirt? Did he wake up like that??

8. Michelle Sussett – I Can’t Make You Love Me – She’s not a ballad singer. She might be a good enough ballad singer in time, but for now, studios have autotune.

9. Brandon Diaz – Despactio – He fit into the vocal mix of the song but did not really stand out at all.

10. Kay Kay – Drive By – I thought her singing was drowned out by everything around her.

11. Cade Foehner – Never Tear Us Apart – Too much growling again, but he did sing a little bit here and there. His growling schtick is going to grow thin pretty quick, I think. He needs to sing instead.

12. Trevor McBane – River – He is not near a big enough vocalist to be able to handle this song. And as much as I LOOOOOVE Bishop Briggs, she should have scaled back her vocal to not overpower Trevor so completely.

 

[Susan1]

11. Cade Foehner – Never Tear Us Apart – Too much growling again, but he did sing a little bit here and there. His growling schtick is going to grow thin pretty quick, I think. He needs to sing instead.

I was only flipping back and forth watching this, but I stuck around for this song. How disappointing. I even said why didn't he just sing it. That girl that sang with him was so twitchy she made him jerky. Remember Rock Star INXS? And the other Rock Star show? And Marty? And Trees? (sigh)

 

[taf2002]

My rankings:

These 3 stood out:
1. Dennis
2. Michael
3. gabby

The rest ranked from just OK to dreadful:
4. Cade
5. jonny
6. Dominique
7. Michelle
8. Layla
9. Kay Kay
10. Catie
11. Trevor
12. Brandon

 

[moebius]

I don't why they don't pick the top 14 after all 24 have sung. One group may have better singers than the other and therefore one singer may not make the cut in the group with stronger singers, but make the cut in another group with weaker singers.

Dennis lucked out. His duet song was his audition song. I thought his audition was better, though.

Liked Johnny's solo, but seemed uncomfortable in the duet.
Catie is fun to watch.
Brandon's solo was awful. Lionel should have felt terrified by that performance.
Trevor seemed to be swallowed by Bishop.
Didn't care for Cade's duet.

Surprised to see Laine in the audience as the Top 24 performances were several weeks after they were announced. That means that Laine had to fly out to LA again after he was cut. Looks like he was the only Idol contestant in the audience. Wonder why he made an extra trip out to LA? Doesn't he have to go back to school?

 

[BaileyCatts]

Yeah, I agree with how they pick the Top 14 for that exact reason. All 24 should go and THEN pick the Top 14.

Was the girl country singer who got cut the one who they were always telling her "don't sing that"? And on Sunday night she sang what they told her NOT to sing? Or was that someone else? I wonder if that's why she got cut.

 

[taf2002]

I don't why they don't pick the top 14 after all 24 have sung. One group may have better singers than the other and therefore one singer may not make the cut in the group with stronger singers, but make the cut in another group with weaker singers.

If this does happen then it means that 6 singers in his group were better & he wouldn't have won anyway. I didn't see anyone go home who had a prayer of winning.

There are 2 people in the 7 who went thru that I'm not sure about. I keep feeling that Catie's schichk is put-on. if it's not & that's what she's really like it's dumb & really annoying. there's no way she could think her outfits are becoming or appropriate. I wouldn't dress a 6 yr old like that. And her last 2 or 3 performances have been very weak. frankly I was surprised she survived Hollywood week.

The other one is michelle. I really like her & think she has the best stage presence of the bunch. but her voice just doesn't live up.

 

[moebius]

If this does happen then it means that 6 singers in his group were better & he wouldn't have won anyway. I didn't see anyone go home who had a prayer of winning.

Winning doesn't equate success. Look at Lee Dwyze. His post Idol career is abysmal, despite being a winner. That one I just couldn't understand how he won. I thought Crystal Bowersox had it in the bag. On the other hand, Jennifer Hudson, came in 6th and has Grammy and an Oscar. The object is to get as much exposure as possible, even if there is no chance of winning. The longer the contestant stays on the show, the wider the audience that will be reached, the higher the chances of making a living in the entertainment industry if that is what the contestant wants to do for the rest of their life.

Trevor seems to be following the same footsteps as Noah Mac from last season's The Voice, singing two of the same songs as he did: Way Down We Go by Kaleo and River by Bishop Briggs.

 

[PeterG]

My rankings for tonight:

1. Jurnee – Flashlight. Wow…perfection!

2. Ada – Feeling Good. Normally I would hate anybody for choosing to sing this SO over-used song. But Ada KILLED IT!!!

3. Marcio – Inseperable. What a great vocal! So good to see him be happy in his interview. But then after he sang, the waterworks started up. Again.

4. Mara – Run To You. Very strong vocal. Which says a lot as I don’t think I compliment people often on covering Whitney (which I don’t think pretty much anyone should ever do).

5. Alyssa – Stay. Another perfect vocal? Like Mara, she’s young, so their performances lacked a little something. But they’ll have it once they’ve had their hearts broken a few times…

6. Shannon – All I Ask. Covering an Adele album track in a way befitting a song not chosen to be made available to the public as a single. Album filler/tv program filler. It was fine.

7. Maddie – Brand New Key. A novelty song which would never get ANY airplay if Maddie released this as a single. This should be considered Maddie’s request for a one-way bus ticket back home.

8. Amelia – Believer. This song was way too big for her.

9. Ron – Dancing On My Own – The beginning was , but the rest was okay.

10. Effie – Barracuda. Effie covers a Heart song for the second time. She didn’t really succeed the first time and this was more of a failure. P.S. to Effie saying she’s singing country for the first time tomorrow night: When you sang “The Dance”, well, that guy has had some success in the country market.

11. Caleb – Die A Happy Man. He didn’t miss notes, but he did kind of pretty much suck the life out of the song…

12. Garrett – Treat You Better. Dude, you should treat US better. Take a vocal lesson. And you can’t honestly tell us that everyone in AI's hair and make-up department hasn’t been coaxing you to shave off that horrible facial hair mess you’ve got ruining your face. +1 for those jeans, though.