perfectstorm

Borchetta only back Nick, because he didn't want Clark and threw him under the bus on national TV. Jax was really his favorite. Of course, then after the show, Borchetta betrayed her. I think Dalton is way more marketable as a Pop artist than Nick. Dalton is actually at a good age to win. Kelly, Fantasia won when they were 20. Phillip 21, Carrie 22. At 30, Nick is to old to launch as a Pop act. Most of those guys broke out in their early 20's. I don't know where Dalton ranks with Borchetta. If Radioactive wasn't a good song choice, where was his mentor, Borchetta? Too busy pimping his favorites?

If Dalton wins, the problem is going to be Scott Borchetta. He's never launched a successful Pop act. Taylor Swift doesn't count, since her initial success was really Country music. Borchetta has proven to be a snake. By the time Nick Fradiani's CD comes out, it would have been a year since he won. Wasted momentum. Dalton would have been better off with Jimmy Iovine and Interscope. Look at what they did with Phillip Phillips. Interscope is a much bigger and more successful label than BMLG.

Scott Borchetta pimping his favorite Tristan, while throwing La'Porsha under the bus. He did the same thing to Clark last year. That's how we ended up with Nick Who? IMO, the worse mistake Idol ever made was bringing this guy on as a mentor. Jimmy Iovine was a lot more effective.

Scotty McCreery has not had a bigger career than Kelly Clarkson. He was recently just dropped from his label.

My point was: debunk the myth that somehow Idol tanked - after Simon left - or that the talent wasn't as good. Attrition and Competition. At the time, Idol had already been on the air 9 seasons, which exceeds the lifespan of most shows. Starting in Season 10, it faced competition with The Voice and other TV singing shows. McCreery and Phillips are still considered way more successful than Simon Cowell era winners Hicks, Allen, Dewyze. If Kelly or Carrie had to launch their careers in the later seasons, I doubt their careers would have taken off the way they did.

Yet the ratings went up in Season 10 - after Simon left. Seasons 10 & 11 also produced 2 of the most successful winners in Scotty McCreery and Phillip Phillips. And both seasons had successful tours. And it was Season 11 that gave Idol the biggest selling song ever - Home.

I always interpreted that to mean that they were looking for a successful winner - guy or girl. To be fair, if Kelly had to compete as a contestant when the show has been cancelled, I doubt she would have been able to launch a big pop career. TV singing shows are on the decline.

Beautiful Life turned out to be a flop, despite the hard push by the label. They were trying to mirror the Phillip Phillips' mega success with Home. I agree, that the new single sounds nothing like Nick Fradiani. But the pressure is on. If the results are another disappointing Beautiful Life, I can see a "parting of the ways" with the label.

It's interesting that the Idol label head, Scott Borchetta, is now pimping MacKenzie Bourg, another WGWG. And they have yet to release Nick Fradiani's CD.

Johnny Cash.

The more successful alums, who can pull in the viewers, would never want to do something like this. There is no reason for them to. Unfortunately, the alums who would want to do this, do not have the bandwidth to draw in the viewers.

But Cook never lived up to that potential after the show. Part of it, he was never able to shake off the Idol stigma. He's now doing crowd funding. After Kelly and Carrie, Daughtry is the one of the most successful alums to come off the show.

The duets should have been about the contestants - not the alums. It was the job of the mentor to bring out the best in the contestants. So if an alum did indeed "blow their" duet partner away, they in effect, really weren't doing their jobs as mentors.

Style is not going to be a deal breaker for Avalon - or any of the contestants. She actually has a very good voice and has stage presence. The question then turns to personality. I don't think she's unlikeable - but how strong is her likeability factor compared to the others?

Ah, the infamous Idol pageant.bot. Jessica Sanchez was the poster child for that, lol. The big ballads, the flowing evening gowns. Standing there with a frozen smile; nodding with a scripted response. I definitely see a few girls from this season falling into that.

The selection of the mentors probably had more to do with who was available. Noticeably absent were Carrie Underwood, Phillip Phillips, Adam Lambert, Jennifer Hudson, Kat McPhee. I don't think either Caleb or Nick has had any real success to be in the mentor role. And if it couldn't get any worse for Scotty - having to mentor on the same day when it was announced he had been dropped by his label.

The day this segment filmed, it was announced that Scotty had been dropped from his label. This should have been about the contestants - not showcasing the songs of the alums.

The obvious problem with the duets - they did not show case the contestants. Most of the song choices were mis matches. And a lot of the voices just didn't mesh well.

But what if Kelly and Carrie had to compete in the later seasons and not over 10 yrs ago, when radio, the industry favored the female singers? For the record, Kelly's latest CD is a sales disaster. Same with J-Hud, Jordin. The climate is even worse for females in Country music. The young, blonde cute girl singer (Emily) is a dime a dozen in Nashville. And personality challenged Tristan is only getting noticed because of her sob story.

duplicate.

But Idol hasn't had a successful female alum (winner or non-winner), since Jordin Sparks. That was 9 yrs ago. During that period, Cook, Lambert, McCreery, Phillips dominated. The following is a good analysis of the changing trends with female artists. http://www.mjsbigblog.com/sales-news-week-ending-020416.htm

On the latest Forbes list of highest earning Idols: 1. Adam Lambert 2. Carrie Underwood 3. Chris Daughtry 4. Phillip Phillips 5. Kelly Clarkson/Scotty McCreery

But Fox isn't going to make changes (spend money) on a show that they cancelled. If they wanted top $ for advertising, they wouldn't have pulled it from May sweeps. Keep in mind that Fox can take the show off the air any time at their discretion. They are not obligated to find one last winner or even have a finale.

It was FOX that cut the season short.

But the show has already been cancelled. So why would TPTB care about appeasing the audience or ratings?