Final season of American Idol AI15

[Jayar]

The girl Jenn, who seemed to be high, is going to make it to the final 24. She is musical in ways that I can't even explain. It wasn't so much the singing that was fantastic. It was her piano playing that showed how good she really is. She will be able to step up to anything that Hollywood asks of her. Broadway guy is too much of a clone of last year's winner. They will cut him before the top 24 when they realize it.

 

[Susan1]

Yes, the guy at the end. He said he was playing cops and robbers using a gun in the home and shot his brother.

The guy was in Peter Pan Live, so I don't think anything in Hollywood week will phase him.

Thanks. Man!!!!!! That kind of stuff happens too often. There was just a story on the news of a guy who accidentally shot his son who was skipping school and walked in the house the and guy thought he was an intruder. Uh, look before you shoot?

 

[PeterG]

I also liked the girl who sang Lips Are Moving. The judges were especially bad last night. They talk about finding a bookend to Kelly Clarkson but then they put thru all those horrible singers. That girl who sang Radioactive with her 1000 affectations was the worst they put thru imo.

The judges were shown at one point saying that there were a lot of auditioners who were just not cutting it. All three judges looked pretty disappointed about this. And it's not like we saw really talented people that the judges said no to...

Yes, the guy at the end. He said he was playing cops and robbers using a gun in the home and shot his brother.

The guy was in Peter Pan Live, so I don't think anything in Hollywood week will phase him.

John Arthur Greene is his name, he is currently starring in Matilda as "the doctor". I wondered if his story was audience manipulation to get future votes. An eight year old is never, ever, ever, ever responsible for there being a loaded gun in a house...and no eight year old is responsible for a loaded gun being left somewhere that he could find the gun and then pull the trigger of that gun. It's shameful that his minister parents have let him carry the guilt of this around for so long. Unless he is using this to further his career. It's weird when people use such personal parts of their life for public consumption, especially when they will need votes from the public to achieve greater success.

 

[taf2002]

The girl Jenn, who seemed to be high, is going to make it to the final 24. She is musical in ways that I can't even explain. It wasn't so much the singing that was fantastic. It was her piano playing that showed how good she really is. She will be able to step up to anything that Hollywood asks of her. Broadway guy is too much of a clone of last year's winner. They will cut him before the top 24 when they realize it.

If she is top 24 material, how bad are the ones they cut? Anyone who describes herself as quirky has already lost my vote. Acting high on something isn't quirky, it's stupid. And it doesn't matter how well she plays piano, it's a singing contest. Actually I don't really have a good sense of her voice. She sang so slowly & with so many affectations that it was hard to tell.

 

[Allskate]

I've watched about half of the auditions and have been underwhelmed in general by the contestants.

The judges are just annoying. Not just with their antics, but their decisions. Keith saying yes to the fifteen year-old, who he said wasn't ready, and then saying no to the mule rider, who clearly was at least Hollywood material? Of course, if Keith isn't on board with a particular country singer, I can't see her getting far in the competition.

 

[Aceon6]

Last night's show was a bit better than Monday's to my ears. It was nice to see John Wayne back. He seemed to be out of practice, though, so I was wondering if the producers reached out to ALL the age eligible Hollywood week grads to make sure they would have a minimal number of viable contestants.

 

[taf2002]

Half the people who got tickets last night were clearly not good enough & yet these judges put them thru. For example, that Hawaiian girl was awful, they even critiqued her, & still they said yes. It's hard for me to believe that whoever owns &/or produces this show & hyped it to be the greatest ever & a bookend to Kelly didn't make judging changes. I thought they were going to bring back Simon. IMO one night of The Voice auditions (any season) produces more really good singers than the last 4 or 5 seasons of Idol. Why am I still watching? I have no idea, other than I keep hoping it will get good again.

 

[PeterG]

I thought there were a number of good performances last night.

CJ Johnson singing Kiss On My List was very strong, as was Ethan Kunz singing Stormy Monday (Allman Brothers). Can't find a youtube clip for Ethan, unfortunately.

I also liked John Wayne Schulz who sang The Dance. I remember (and liked) him from his previous time on Idol, glad that he came back again. Kassy Levels and Rhea Raj were also strong. From googling Kassy, I see that she has an album out (probably independently) and Rhea has her own youtube channel. So some experience with both of them that will hopefully show in how they do this season.

Jake Dillon singing Danny's Song was a favourite, even though the judges struggled with whether to put him through or not. I thought his song was very real, simple and beautiful. It made me tear up a bit. When the judges feel a contestant might be limited in what they can do, I don't know why they don't ask them to do another song which shows off their diversity. For Dillon to almost not go through would have been a mistake. Glad Keith gave him a second yes.

Andrew Nazarekian (To Make You Feel My Love) has an incredible voice, but his mannerisms are so affected that he wrecked his audition. The judges loved what he did, though. I sure hope they get him to simplify what he does and just trusts the melody and sings the song as it was written. I did find him annoying though, a real chatterbox who interrupted the judges often with random comments that had little substance (if any).

But the best part of the show (sarcasm alert) was the busking skit when Keith played out on the street and some hoody-ed dude made off with Keith's cash! And then when Harry walked away after hearing Keith's story, money fell out of his pocket! Man, that was so hilarious. These guys are comic geniuses! I didn't think there could be a judging panel that could be more cloying than the judges on The Voice, but Harry sure is elevating this panel to that level. Ugh.

 

[BaileyCatts]

I liked the kid who sang his own song that he wrote. It was a better song than some stuff I hear on the radio. Of course I don't remember his name, will likely not remember him if I see him again, but that was a great song.

 

[manhn]

I borrowed David Cook's newest album. It's quite nice. Very Michael McDonald--not sure if Cook would take it as a complement, but oh well.

 

[PeterG]

There have been far too many twenty-ish white chicks with their whispy, earnest alt-pop auditions. Other than Lorde, nobody who does music like that can come close to having a hit on pop radio these days. Lana Del Rey, unless she stages a massive comeback, is very close to has-been status. If they want to end American Idol on a success story, they need to find a soul-pop-dance phenomenon. One part Bruno Mars, one part Katy Perry, one part Justin Bieber and one part Taylor Swift. Too many fringe-type people have gone through. None of them will sell records.

The best part of tonight's episode was the fit of Kris Allen's jeans. Dude has stayed in shape!

 

[Aceon6]

If anyone can stay awake after Euros today, Hollywood week starts tonight.

 

[Kruss]

And tomorrow...the dreaded drama-fest that is the group round.

 

[PeterG]

I felt more hopeful about the talent after watching tonight's episodes. A few were sent home who I thought did quite well. Tonight's stand-out for me was La' Porsha Ranae singing "Roar".

 

[taf2002]

I felt more hopeful about the talent after watching tonight's episodes. A few were sent home who I thought did quite well. Tonight's stand-out for me was La' Porsha Ranae singing "Roar".

I thought she did too many runs but her runs are on pitch so it's ok. And it's impossible not to like her. I think she will do well. But my fav so far is Jessica Cabrel. I love her tone.

 

[Allskate]

I thought she did too many runs but her runs are on pitch so it's ok. And it's impossible not to like her. I think she will do well. But my fav so far is Jessica Cabrel. I love her tone.

Jessica was my favorite, too. But, I think the judges and producers clearly like LaPorsha and she'll get lots of screen time and support and do well. She can sing, but I thought her performance was cold and clinical. I could take her or leave her. There are a number of other singers that I prefer.

 

[moebius]

Hollywood week is my fave segment of AI, followed by the auditions. Get to see more performers than the auditions and personally I think the performances are more interesting to watch than the live rounds. Live rounds are so boring partly due to the terrible arrangements and for the most part, the performances seem more cold, fake and over the top compared the auditions and Hollywood rounds. Maybe it's because the singers are forced to sing the songs they are not familiar with. Even the group performances during the live rounds are so cheesy and high school talent showish compared to the group rounds. Or maybe because of my short attention span, I find Hollywood week more compelling.

 

[PeterG]

I was hoping tonight was going to be 90 minutes of singing and then half an hour of telling us who the top 24 was. I know they have shortened this season, so I thought that long program where they move everybody into three or four different rooms....then the judges mope in and give their morbid/inspirational speech...then finally tell everyone yes or no... Then there's the bit where they make everybody wait in a hotel conference room and send people up in an elevator one at a time to a 100 foot long ballroom where the judges sit as far away from the elevator as they possibly can... Well - I was hoping they were going to scrap that to shorten the season and just call 24 from the theatre seating who made it to the top24. Guess we have to put up with all the above bullcrap next week...

Until then, there have been 15 spoilers of the top 24 so far:

Spoiler

1. Chris CJ Johnson (short older professional musician)
2. Dalton Rapattoni (cute alt-pop emo blonde guy)
3. James VIII
4. Jordan Sasser (hair-bun worship leader)
5. Kory Wheeler
6. Lee Jean (young African-American guy, did a boring acoustic thing for his audition)
7. Trent Harmon (I think maybe he had mono...was that mentioned?)

1. Amelia Eisenhauer (unsharpened sword carrier)
2. Avalon Young (sang Beyoncé's XO [Lights Out])
3. Gianna Isabella (Brenda K. Starr's daughter)
4. Jeneve Mitchell (country gal who lives off the grid)
5. Olivia Rox
6. Sonika Vaid
7. Stephany Negrete (was in the bitchy girls group)
8. Tristan McIntosh (Mom in the army)

I thought she did too many runs but her runs are on pitch so it's ok. And it's impossible not to like her. I think she will do well. But my fav so far is Jessica Cabrel. I love her tone.

We've seen her sing twice and I agree completely. She is wonderful and her tone is to die for!

 

[Allskate]

MJ posted a spoiler list of the entire top 24:

http://www.mjsbigblog.com/american-idol-2016-spoilers-top-24-season-15-contestants.htm

 

[Aceon6]

I took at look at the list on mjsbigblog and it's a mixed bag. At least one really strong contestant is missing and there are two people on the females list that don't belong at all.

 

[Allskate]

Aceon, who is the strong contestant that you think is missing? There are always some cuts that leave me scratching my head, especially when they don't show the person's performance. And there are always some marginal singers placed in the top 24 because of their looks or personality or back story. And sometimes there are some gems that we barely even saw during the auditions and Hollywood selection. So, we'll see how it all shakes out, but right now I'm not super excited.

 

[Johnny_Fever]

...

 

[Aceon6]

I'm most bothered that

Spoiler

Jessica Cabral is missing and Shelbie Z made it

 

[Allskate]

I'm most bothered that

Spoiler

Jessica Cabral is missing and Shelbie Z made it

Oh, wow. I didn't look closely enough at that list. I had assumed that singer was through and didn't even look for their name. Maybe the spoilers are wrong?

 

[BaileyCatts]

I want to know how you guys remember all their names! I went ahead and looked at the spoilers because it will still be a surprise to me when they do announce it on the show because I don't know their names and faces at all. So I'll still be spoiler free while having already read the spoilers!

 

[PeterG]

Do we need to use spoiler tags? That list isn't from American Idol, so we don't know how accurate it is. But so as to not irk anybody who wants to be surprised, these are the names I'm surprised not to see in the top 24:

Spoiler

Josiah Siska (Ghost Riders In The Sky) and John Arthur Greene (Somebody Like You) are two I enjoyed but didn't stand out as much as...


Jessica Cabral – Brand New Kind Of Me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRakeABohoU

Jessica Cabral – Photograph (short)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GkNSPZTlFw

Brooke Sample - Cold Day In July (my second favourite after Jessica Cabral)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEHJXSFyISY

John Wayne Schulz – The Dance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ21UpLjTNo

Kassy Levels – Call Your Girlfriend
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uaDgiRNGOc

Kassey Levels – Treasure (Kassy at 1:10)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q81zQph7e9Q

Jake Dillon – Danny’s Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0mx6uZXhac

Daniel Farmer – How Does It Feel (vocal is affected and the dude is uber-smarmy, but he's got the goods)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RgJIwQCgjI

Melanie Tierce - Rise Up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuVhNfj0hoo

 

[taf2002]

I really dislike Jenn Blosil - both her unpleasant voice & her faux quirky. She sing like she has marbles in her mouth. I would be surprised she made it but they gave her a really good edit so I was pretty sure they'd keep her. But I predicted that Jessica Cabral would be in the last 4 or 5, or would win the whole thing. Friday night they didn't even show her singing so I was worried for her. She had the ability to "bookend Kelly Clarkson". I hope someone signs her up & makes Idol look stupid.

 

[Allskate]

But I predicted that Jessica Cabral would be in the last 4 or 5, or would win the whole thing.

At her auditions, Harry said she was tremenous, one of the best singers he'd heard, and that he'd be surprised if she didn't go really hard. He did kind of imply that he didn't think she was very physically attractive and they do take looks into account, but they certainly have let through others who don't look like models. So, we'll see.

 

[PeterG]

At her auditions, Harry said she was tremenous, one of the best singers he'd heard, and that he'd be surprised if she didn't go really hard. He did kind of imply that he didn't think she was very physically attractive and they do take looks into account, but they certainly have let through others who don't look like models. So, we'll see.

Yeah, Jessica didn't have the beauty of a Caleb Johnson.

 

[moebius]

Do we need to use spoiler tags? That list isn't from American Idol, so we don't know how accurate it is. But so as to not irk anybody who wants to be surprised, these are the names I'm surprised not to see in the top 24:

I think it's pretty accurate. Spoilers from previous years on this site has been accurate.