ShutUpFlanders

I will never understand why the producers over the last two years think that not having a consistent manner or revealing the results was a good idea. Or giving the judges 6 (?) weeks of saves. It's been ridiculous. Side-note: Sia appeals to my millennial nostalgia because she reminds me of the Nanny from the Muppet Babies. Or the teachers and adults from the Peanuts. I mean, the woman's always had a killer voice, I've loved her since the "Breathe Me" and Some People Have Real Problems era. I was disappointed the contestants didn't go very deep into her songbook. From Best to Worst: Trent #1 – And that, ladies and gents, is how one has an Idol moment. He was hot as hell in the beginning, he wonderfully carried the original feel in the middle, gave it another touch of himself in the latter half as well… damn. Trent #2 – He's really got a masterful sense of vocal control. Bandzilla's been coming out tonight though. Anyway, Trent's was pretty brilliant here. Wow. He could really win. La'Porsha #1 – OMG BORCHETTA COWBOY IS NOT LITERAL WHEN BON JOVI SINGS IT EITHER WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU /endrant. Yeah, she flubbed a line but this was a direction I missed from her: unexpected. This brought me back to when she sang "Creep" in the auditions. Dalton #2 – He's a nice guy and he emotionally connected to the tension in that quite well. He isn't ready to win or to be primetime, but he did this pretty well. MacKenzie #2 – 2012 Youtube covers. There's a minor part of me that thinks he should've put the guitar away for this so he could focus on it vocally. It was okay but not great. La'Porsha #2 – Were those flubbed lyrics? The Sia theme was pretty much never going to benefit her unless she really changed up an arrangement. I thought it was her most disconnected performance to date and could send her out. MacKenzie #1 – I hate to be a J. Lo here but… I thought this version removed all the tension and the manic nature of the song that makes me like the song. And I could barely hear him. I didn't get it. However, I'm sure he dominating the votes though and is a shoe-in for the finale. Dalton #1 – Beach Boys!: The Musical. I thought the performance was completely weird and really didn't fit the whole "classic rock" vibe that had been going on in the first half. That was probably his biggest arrangement and performance misfire though he sang it decently. I'd send Dalton home over MacKenize based on overall body of work, but I also think we've seen everything that MacKenzie's capable of. I really just want the Trent/La'Porsha F2 that we won't get.

Okay, now that Tristan's finally out of the way, we've got a nice solid death battle going on in Idoland… too bad it's only going to be for three weeks. And we lost Avalon and Olivia before getting to the point of solid competition threats *sigh*. Best to Worst: Trent #2 – Well he got the oddest combo of songs of the night.That was easily the surprise of the night for me. What a damn strong vocal. La'Porsha #1 – Perfect song for her. The vocal was beautiful. There's nothing else to really say about it. Well, I would've rather have heard "Back to the Middle" instead after that. So I guess I wished it had been a different India.Arie song. La'Porsha #2 – Love her. That's all. She won't win because cute boys, but I love her. MacKenzie #2 – Man, I'm so cynical, but when did MacKenzie turn into Anthony Fedorov with the backstory? He sang bits of that with a level of vocal intensity and focus I had yet to hear from him. Nice. J. Lo earns a chuckle from me for the "Ghost of Steven Tyler" line at Keith's odd critique. Sonika #1 – Here's the thing: she's stiff but she's attempting to move in a direction with the little rock/edgy look and sound. For me, that's a good thing. Dalton #1 – The emperor has no voice. I mean, he's up against some vocal heavyweights, MacKenize simply outclasses him artsy fartsy wise, and he's a bit of a poser. But he's pretty. Dalton #2 – The Breakfast Club version of "The Sound of Silence." His lower register is terrible. He's been off since the finals started. I didn't care for it, but it wasn't bad either. Tristan's Swan Song – So Tristan did what Trent should've done on that OneRepublic song, even though I think Tristan probably would've done much better with the original arrangement of her song. It was so boring and lifeless. Sonika #2 – I almost didn't care about her pitch issues because her staging wasn't awkward for once. She needs to marry her pitch perfect voice to the staging; it can't be one or the other. Trent #1 – When he got that song handed to him he should've just flipped the entire thing. That was easily his worst performance on the show and could send him home. It did get a little better towards the end but it was just so damn gimmicky and novelty. MacKenzie #1 – What the hell was that song? That was like watching a listless Jason Mraz. Should Go – Dalton Will Go – Sonika

God I hate this theme. The Idols who chose songs outside of their comfort zone made the night so much better. From Best to Worst – Duets: La'Porsha and Trent – The rare Idol duet that's relatively lovely and professional sounding. Nothing will ever beat "Moanin'" by S10's Casey and Haley. Avalon and Sonika – They sounded pretty good together. I liked it. MacKenzie and Dalton – The definition of meh. This was a classic case of the Idol bus. Lee and Tristan – Just no. This was so freaking stupid to give them. You know they set these two up as a duo because every other contestant can sing circles around Tristan. From Best to Worst – Solos: MacKenzie – I think this was necessary. He connects to the emotion of the songs he sings very well. Lovely. He really could win the show. La'Porsha – Strong performance, good out of left field song choice for her. She always makes it seem so easy. Trent – Apparently the Idols all came out to play tonight based on the first three solo performances, because damn. Trent, La'Porsha, and MacKenize all chose songs that worked so crazy well for them. Dalton – I have mixed feelings on this. It was Colton Dixon lite. Good, solid vocals. But I think he's clearly a middle packer whose going to finish higher than some others. It left me a bit cold but I recognize that it was pretty strong. Avalon – First of all, girl was robbed. I get what the judges mean by the "urgency" factor. Tristan – And we are likely witnessing Idol's final "is only still here because of the pimp pieces back in the audition phase" contestant. She miffed a few notes, but that was her best pure pop-country performance on the show. Sonika – Pretty girl sings Whitney Houston in tune. I'm starting to think "Bring Me to Life" was simply a song choice fluke. Lee – And here's our trainwreck of the evening (guess they all couldn't have strong solos). I feel bad saying that because it probably has to do with being in the bottom 3 and not having his guitar for the first time. Kid's got a fierce tone and hopefully in about 3 or 4 years he ends up in a cool indie pop band or something. Should go home – Tristan. I'm willing to give Sonika one more chance over her. Will go home – Sonika. I thought she was the weakest of the surviving six.

From Best to Worst: La'Porsha – La. Freaking. Porsha. Nuff said. Trent – I'm kind of feeling a Sonika/Trent/La'Porsha final 3. That was easily the best male performance since the semis and finals began. Avalon – She dug her heels in. Man, she should've sang this last week. Damn it all. Sonika – Not sure she should've gone with a Kelly Clarkson song a week after Clarkson decimated the stage with "Piece by Piece." I do appreciate that Sonika's trying to show up some pop chops and upbeat qualities. Killer vocal. Tristan – The best she's performed by far. I'm not sure how competitive she can really be, there were still a few pitch problems, but this was her at her most connected. However, why the hell are they giving her a standing ovation though. Did they not hear Trent and La'Porsha? Also, I'm going to hell for this but I'm over the whole Tristan crying thing. Olivia – Victim of the first slot of doom and cute boys. She just did way too much vocally for my tastes, but the performance was solid. She should not have gone home. Robbed. MacKenzie – I like him but this was not the right song for him. I thought he was smarter than that. Lee – Well, you can't say he didn't try. He was alright, but his pitch isn't where it needs to be. Dalton – That was pretty plain and went nowhere interesting. It really exposed him as a meh singer when he's not hiding behind a rearrangement. Gianna – Could she have had a worse pre-performance clip? "I know I shouldn't choose this, but screw you guys!" Kind of like the Pia one during Elton John week. Should Go Home next week – Lee and Tristan (too little, too late) Will Be Bottom 3 – MacKenzie, Lee, and Avalon.

I'm shocked we lost Jenn and Jeneve, but I guess the quirk cancelled each other out. (I kind of thought Jenn wouldn't survive a vote after that horrid "Sorry" performance last week). Honestly, and you can take away my taste card for this, but my new dream judging panel consists of Kelly Clarkson, Keith Urban, Nicki Minaj, and Simon Cowell. From Best to Worst: La'Porsha – Y.E.S. I was missing this from her. There was a Mad Max element that was insane. If Idol were completely about voice and voice alone, everyone else should go home after that. Sonika – Sonika came to play and rivaled La'Porsha vocally. Who knew she had that in her? Damn. Olivia – She's probably the most similar to Ms. Clarkson in terms of stunning vocal prowess. I still think she's a little stiff and unnatural presence wise but man that's a killer voice. Dalton – So he sings "Hey There Delilah" like a Billy Idol song? He's engagingly confusing. I love that. MacKenzie – Good job, but it seems like he's better with his own stuff. I missed a bit of her personality in this. Avalon – It felt like a cool Idol single in spots. She won't win, but I would love it if she did. HA! Kelly Clarkson has the same problem I do: Avalon makes me like songs by douchebags. Trent – He was good, but there was an oddness tonight. After the one two punch of La'Porsha and Sonika, this kind of felt a bit like it belonged in the first act if that makes sense. Lee – I'm partial to the Birdy version of that song. Good, not great, no emotion again. But he's got a Tracy Chapman tone to him. I'd really like to hear him in about 5 years but he's not ready. Gianna – Waste of a Top 10 slot. She's not even a trainwreck. Good voice on an incredibly immature performance. OMG SHE DOES NOT HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO MAKE IT TO THE END J-LO, STOP IT. Tristan – Kermit McPhee. Yikes. The pitch on the backend of that was awful. Should go – Gianna and Tristan, who really didn't belong in the Top 10 in the first place Will go – Avalon and Gianna

I was happy with the "fast pass" choices but I would've put Avalon in over either one of those two boys. I was genuinely surprised that the judges even put through any of the men considering how much they claim the girls are where it's at. I thought they'd let all the men duke it out for the remaining Top 10 spots. From Best to Worst: MacKenzie – He's the threat to win. Hands down, best performance of these wacky semi-finals by far. Avalon – I love this girl. She's so effortless and natural. She needs to accept that Idol is going to require her to step a little out of her comfort zone (big notes win votes). If she's left out of the Top 10 I'm not going to be pleased. Jeneve – Between her and Jenn in terms of weirdo quirk this year, I'm team Jeneve. She's fun to watch, she makes things interesting, she's so clearly 15 and not 15 desperately trying to be a pop star. I dig that. Sonika – She might be one of the better pure vocalists this year outside of La'Porsha and Olivia, but TPTB/Borchetta need to give her a mic stand or something. She needs to pull a Carrie Underwood and focus on voice and voice alone. Jenn – Good but the intonation is still not there. I cannot believe she didn't get called out on that or the squeaking. If it's intentional on her part, then it's even worse. But I'd rather have her in the finals than most of the leftovers. Tristan – That arrangement was weird. I actually like her voice but she always gets shouty and desperate. Lee – This performance exemplifies his problem: great tone but not mature enough to lift the performance and connection to where it needs to be to make a serious impression. Manny – Good, better than the Coldplay song, but not terribly impressive. Gianna – Impressive voice, no connection to the lyrics whatsoever. Plus, not the brightest idea to reprise something you just sang on the show a week ago. And really J-Lo? She would've been your #5 to go straight through to the Top 10? Thomas – Yelping. I can't. Finally Harry gives a useful critique. Honestly, as long as MacKenize, Avalon, and Jeneve make it through tomorrow, I don't really care about the rest of the spots. Though my cynicism is telling me that I'm only getting MacKenize. Should go home – Thomas, Gianna, Manny, and Lee My predictions to go home – Jenn, Avalon, Jeneve, Gianna

The only ones who deserved to advance were Olivia, Dalton, Trent, and sort of Kory. Having said that, I can't believe they actually made all their cuts based on prior screen time basically. This is why I don't watch The Voice. It's so obvious and cynical to the viewers. Let America vote FFS. After tonight's "results", I'm kind of glad the show's ending this year.

A week ago, I figured this was going to be the group of death because it was stacked. Well… I was right about the death part. Yikes. From Best to Worst: Olivia – Easily the best vocal of the night. Tone is delicious. The staging stuff was a little ridiculous; like don't play the guitar for 10 seconds, meander, then stand at the mic. Choose one of those three for the damn 90 seconds. She and Dalton are the closest I've seen to potential winners in out of the entire 24. Dalton – Best male of the night. Thank goodness someone showed up to play Idol tonight. Trent – Good, not great. I thought the build of the song was good. His affectations with his face were much calmer than before. Kory – He pulls some odd faces, but he is interesting vocally. I could hear version on the radio. Adam – One the better performances of the night. Good gospel tinge to the voice. Interesting. Lee – Surprisingly good from him. I love his tone. I don't know if I see him getting much better before the end of the season however. Amelia – Interesting start, lackluster middle and ending. Bad song choice. Lost the unique raspy quality of her voice. Shelbie – Meh. The performance was the definition of mediocre bar singer. Tristan – Meh. Copy paste comment about Shelbie here, but she's a teen so she'll probably go through. Though choosing a Carrie song on Idol is always kind of silly. Manny – He's weird, no connection to the song. CJ – Boring and uninspiring. Nothing interesting going on here. Big note off pitch. Jenn – Hideous. I want to like her, but that was terrible. The pitch… yeesh. My verdict: Send them all home except Olivia and Dalton. And somewhat Kory. There's our Top 10.

Nevermind. The original spoilers were apparently wrong. Damn it.

Duets: It was nice to see the former Idols. Only Reuben and Fantasia played nice. The rest were stage hogs. Except for Nick who was just... there. Jeneve though... tonight she was like if Jon-Peter Lewis and Fred Schneider had a love child who sang country. It was kind of amazing. Results: After tonight, I'm a little miffed Stephany got the axe over Sonika and Gianna. But I don't think it was a terribly outrageous semi-final gaffe.

Based on what we saw tonight, I'm okay with the 5 who got cut. I might have kept Stephany over Gianna or even Thomas, but that's splitting hairs.

From Best to Worst: Avalon – Dark. Horse. One of the major legitimate threats to the Idol XV crown. I expect some Kris Allen/Haley Reinhart levels of busing soon. She made me like a Bieber song. La'Porsha – I'm a little confused as to what she would be artistically based on her song choices. Other than that, this girl slayed it. Jeneve – A bit rushed in terms of tempo, but this was the first time Jeneve sold vocals over persona. I think her big problem is that stupid story Idol is attempting to shove down our throats and that goofy song she chose for her audition. When she flat out sings and emotes… she's on point. Gianna – She came across as one of the least nervous out of the first bunch. Crystal clear vocals. Color me surprised, I was expecting to be very indifferent to this. She's got zero personality until she sings though and I agree with Harry: she could have been on any Idol season for the loud and in tune is all that's necessary factor. What else is there? She's got to bring that next time. Thomas – Apparently he thinks he's Damien Rice. When he doesn't do the vocal hiccup and affectation, he shows off an incredibly very good sense of pitch, tone, and emotion. I think he was probably the best male tonight but I personally can't unhear the hiccups and affectations. I say get rid of all the guys in this round except Mackenize, but I'll admit Thomas did well tonight. I just don't see Thomas doing any better that this. Mackenize – I didn't love the arrangement entirely, and he seemed a bit nervous, but there were quite a bit of strong vocal control and a good sense of musicality. I wanted to hear more of that. Sonika – Someone's going to prom. SHUT UP CROWD. Vocal is lovely but there was a bit of an emotional barrier present. Similar to Stephany in that good vocal, no presence. I do enjoy Sonika's delicate approach to singing, but I need to hear her over the swaybots. Stephany – Reminds me of Nicole Scherzinger from the Pussycat Dolls. Very good vocal, however… no connection and very charisma-lite. I don't really care and in this crop, she's not particularly special. James VIII – Band bar singer. Meh. That's not how you win Idol bud; that's how you get a week one boot. Jordan – He's much better looking with the haircut. He's wannabe Clay Aiken. But there's no artistic flavor. And he wasn't good vocally tonight. Jenna – Cheese cheese with a side of cheese. That was not good. Cute girl though. But that performance was a waste of time. Shame: I always try to root for the T24 randoms who get lost in editing. Emily – Ouch. That was… yikes. Bad. That was "if you heard someone singing that loud in their car while you were stuck in traffic, you'd roll down your window and tell them to shut up" levels of awful. Overall this was a fantastic opening night. Very good. Still wish we were voting however. Based of tonight I'd boot: Jordan, James, Emily, Jenna and one of Thomas or Stephany because these two in particular have direct competitors still in the competition who are simply better/more interesting than them.

According to MJs, the next two weeks are cutting a group of 12 to 7, which will leave us with a Top 14. Then on the 2/23 episode, the judges cut the Top 14 to a Top 8 and then America votes in 2 wildcard contestants. However, the Top 14 to Top 8 cut involves no performances, but the Wildcards will all perform again? This process of cuts from 24 to 14 to 8 is very confusing to me. Also the first five cut are: I really don't understand why they're so completely hellbent on controlling the finals this year of all years and opting for this incredibly wacky format. Were they that pissed off about last season for some reason?

The Top 24 this year is... strange. Too many teens for my taste, particularly on the women's side. I don't hate anybody, but I really only have about 7 or 8 I'm interested in seeing perform/advance. I'm sure that TPTB and I are not on the same page with those contestants. Then again, I liked the last two seasons worth of contestants until we got into the finals. Then I was sad. Maybe it will be the reverse this time. Top tier for me (for you), highest probability at making Final 10: Jenn, La'Porsha, Mackenzie, Avalon Interested in but need more information: Sonika, Dalton, Trent, Amelia, Olivia Interested in, but likely fodder: Jeneve, Kory Wheeler, Adam Lasher (the two males here are doomed based on age/editing) Needs a few years: Lee Jean (beautiful tone, but not ready for prime time whatsoever) Robbed of a T24 spot: Jessica Cabral. GTFO: The Rest.

Well tonight's episode got me very excited for the rest of the season. First, sad to see Jason go, but he was his own donwfall. Ran his mouth too much. Also, I didn't really feel bad that Liz snarked in her goodbye message about him watching BB from his mom's basement. He was calling one of the twins "thickums" and saying that "it's not his fault she's fat" like that gives him the license to be a dick. She got you back, Jason, she's not "evil." Second, I'm beyond psyched to see Julia enter the game. That dynamic is going to be interesting to watch. I suspect Julia gets along with the "outsider" part of the house more than Liz does. And she "loathes" Austin, which is a plus for most fans. Finally, I literally jumped for joy when Julie said the game reset and Battle of the Block was donezo. Thank goodness. Now we might see some power shifts we couldn't get last season. I think I saw Shelli shitting her pants in the background. Hoping for a Jackie win, but maybe now the HGs will consider putting up Clelli since they can don't have to endure 30 million negotiations and comp throws due to the BotB.