ForReal

I loved Maddie Poppe on her season, rooted for her all the way, created a playlist for her on Spotify, and...I never listen to it. When I do think of her, I think of "Brand New Pair of Roller Skates" or "Bear Necessities," not anything she's done since. I remember Adam Lambert's great performances from his season more than I do anything he's done since. I guess that's the nature of the beast.

Well, Mike didn't know Kristen at all when he first went to Brokenwood, and if I recall he was sent to sort of sniff out some corruption or ineptness, which turned out to be the guy he ended up replacing. So maybe he felt it was better not to talk about Tania, or maybe that's just how it works -- the more secret the identity, the safer the witness. I also felt kind of off kilter by Mike grieving while Gina was reciting her poems and so on. It was an odd juxtaposition. I always felt that Tania didn't like Mike very much, or at least she blamed him for having to go into the witness protection program, but he always took the blame without flinching. I think that is what makes Mike a guy who's had numerous wives (and why Gina has the hots for him) -- he's a good, good guy; he's kind, he's fair, he's not judgmental. Gina likes him because he is the only one who appreciates her abilities. Kristin started the snarkfest between her and Gina, and I don't blame Gina for not wanting to talk to her.

I'm not sure what Grace was thinking...She needs to snap out of competition mode some of time. She's busy showing off all the notes she can sing that I can't pay attention to the storytelling. I agree -- and Grace is my favorite. I don't know that I will ever follow her music, but I think she has a beautiful voice and a wonderful personality, so I wish her all the best. I'm glad Casey went out on a high note. She's very talented, but a bit under-cooked. She would be even more amazing in a few years. I was really impressed by Casey's singing ability, but she's felt too young to me for awhile now -- I didn't feel she connected to the meaning in the songs. When Luke made a comment about going to an 80's theme bar, I thought, yeah, she can't go in, she's way underage.

Sure, but I don't recall feeling in the past that contestants aren't so much competing to win the show as trying to make the most of their exposure. Of course, they aren't getting any advice from the judges, so there's no way to see if they are trying to steer a course towards winning. In the past, singing an original song was deemed risky, but now it feels like they might just as well go for it. Might be a better strategy for success.

This is cynical of me, but this season feels like everyone is dancing around wanting to stay in the competition as long as possible but not necessarily win (because we all know that winning AI is not necessarily a good thing career-wise). That the WGWGs keep singing original songs (not something we usually saw at this point in the old days) says to me that they are trying to make the most of their exposure on the show rather than worrying about winning it. Willie and Grace keep showcasing their big voices, and I think their success will depend on that, because I don't expect to hear either of them on the radio. Casey has an incredible talent, but her age is showing now and I think she is falling behind. I don't think it matters, because she has a lot of years ahead to grow her talent into a career. Same for Caleb. Arthur...I liked him last year, I felt sorry for him this year, and I wish him all the best. I think he got chewed up and spit out by the AI machine. I hope he finds success away from the show.

I tend to agree. You are much kinder towards Hugh than I am, though. I felt like he and Louisa got together by default, because they were both English and educated, not because they were attracted to each other. Even when Hugh was good with the kids, it didn't seem sincere to me. I much preferred Spiros watching Louisa make mistakes and standing by to help her out, rather than trying to control her. Their mutual appreciation and respect seemed more genuine. It kind of bugged me after spending so much time there on Corfu, Hugh couldn't understand why Louisa wasn't ready to leave just because he was.

Unpopular opinion here, while I think she sang beautifully, she seemed to totally miss the sadness of the song which was really disappointing to me. I assume she hasn't seen the movie. At least he was honest, lol. I wish they would watch the movies before taking on the songs, doesn't seem like that big an ask. I wonder, too, if he truly has the votes. I liked him last year but I am not seeing anything this season to justify him staying on. I feel sorry for him because he looks so uncomfortable.

I guess it makes sense that she was just striking out in fear and anxiety, but I thought it was weird that she was complaining about Lea's being biased because Shaun's her boyfriend. Like what if he was Lea's ex-boyfriend and she told the parent NOT to do whatever he recommended because he's a jerk? The woman needed to make up her own mind. I wondered that too and thought that she rushed into the hospital without her purse. I didn't see purses near either mom that I can recall.

This was unclear to me as well. I wondered if Lea was only going to be able to have one person in the room as a result of Covid restrictions, and she was choosing the doula over Shaun, which wouldn't be right, in my opinion. But if both Shaun and the doula could be there, why was Shaun being so stubborn? He's frequently part of a surgical team, seems like he could understand that numerous people can be needed during a procedure.

I saw this, too, and wondered what it will be like to hear her speak in a normal way instead of in the stilted way she did as Bones.

I found most of the performances bland, with a few surprises. Grace - I like Grace and I like the song she picked, but it didn't feel like a good song choice to me. She just didn't wow me, like she usually does. Chayce - I liked his performance, didn't love it but had no complaints. Casey - I was surprised by how much I liked her version of "Over the Rainbow;" it showed me how strong her voice really is. Ava - I like her but I'm not really surprised she went home -- I think she needs some time to develop. Caleb - I found his performance utterly dull and devoid of the joy I usually feel from that song. DeShawn - I thought it was bland. I kept thinking about the movie and the looks between Streisand and Redford, especially at the end, and I thought that all of the emotion of that song was wasted in this performance. Madison - I'm sure she's a nice person, but she just feels so perfectly packaged to me, I can't warm up to her at all. Beane - It was right that he went home. Alyssa - She sang better this week with less diva posturing, but she must be still finding her way. At her audition, I thought she'd take the whole thing, but I haven't thought that for awhile now. Hunter - I felt like Katie's over-the-top pep talk probably helped him get votes, votes he didn't deserve. I am tired of the lack of confidence. I get that he may not have it, but he's going to need it to go anywhere in this profession. Cassie - She is likable and talented but I can't seem to get invested in her. Willie - He does what he's good at, and he is awesome at that. Not sure if that's enough to take the cake, though. It's amazing to me how differently we all see things and yet everyone gets along. Nice.

I know, I wish someone would tell her to tone it down, but since it's so trendy now, no one there probably thinks it's a problem. Wish there was a way to get word to her, it's really pulling her down in my book. I told my husband she looked like Marge Simpson with her hair up like that.

Before watching, I thought Alyssa could do no wrong, but that performance was terrible. I am only familiar with the Roberta Flack version, and the song to me is kind of serious and thoughtful, and she turned it into some kind of sideshow. Everything you said is right. I don't like the way the "indie" style girls enunciate, but the indie boys do it, too, in a slightly different way. They all sound like they are trying to sing a certain way, and it's not a way that appeals to me.

I agree. I FF through a lot of it because I couldn't stand listening to the team talk to each other. I did listen to Gibbs' scenes. I just wanted to see what happened in the end. I was put off by the idea that the two teams would compete against each other at the cost of the case; they are on the same side. It was just too heavy handed to me that the SecDef's life was saved by the gut instincts of the rogue agents. I'd like to see more solid detective work.

I get that last year's group got a bad deal, but it kind of seems like despite saying how incredibly much talent they have this year, they must not think they have enough if they are bringing in more contestants from last year. Kind of seems like a bad deal for this season's group.

Yeah, it's an odd dynamic. The mentors know how to focus the attention on themselves and throw a glance or two to the contestants at the right times, while the contestants seem to keep looking at the mentors in a deferential way. I kept waiting for the contestants to have *moments* in their duets, and I don't know if it's because they couldn't or wouldn't. I did not give Ava a second thought this whole season but thought she was the best of the night last night. Best of both nights, even.

I felt the same. Interestingly enough, my husband and I took opposite sides on this episode. He sided with Lea and I sided with Shaun. I said that I thought it was common for fathers to feel disconnected to the pregnancy, since it's not happening *in their bodies* and so it's all theoretical, unlike how it is for the mothers. The good parts and the bad parts are all removed for the fathers. I could see Shaun in particular feeling removed from the experience, and I agree that Lea should have understood that. I thought she was being selfish and my husband thought Shaun was being selfish. Go figure.

This is my hope for him. When Luke said, "We don't want to clip your wings," I thought that was an unexpectedly honest comment about what being on AI would ultimately do to him. I also thought the discussion of his sight and the lights was foreshadowing that he wasn't going through.

Am I the only one who thought Insurance Guy was behind the hacking? He insisted the hackers were amateurs and said he could negotiate the ransom down, only to offend the hackers and get the ransom doubled. He was *that close* to getting the money from Glassman. I was hoping Leah would somehow link the attack to him.

So glad you posted this! I've seen her on TikTok, liked her very much and thought she was talented, and I also had this inkling that she seemed familiar somehow. I did not connect her with AI. She does a lot of clever quick songs she writes and sings as the other person in a lot of popular songs. I'm glad things are looking up for her.

Alyssa was the very last contestant in the initial try-outs, and I thought then that they gave her that slot for a reason. Then she sings last this round. Don't get me wrong, I think she's great, and I think and hope that she will be in the finals as well.

I know, right? I heard the lyrics of one song, was sure I'd heard them before, asked my husband who had no clue, only to finally catch on by the end that it was Phil Collins' In the Air Tonight -- and my husband is a huge Phil Collins fan. That is not what I call "making it your own."

Seriously. Most everyone who goes through makes me wonder, how will they do when they have sing again for two minutes in a big assembly line? How will they function when they have to sing in a group with potentially uncooperative partners? We go through all this audition stuff just to get to good stuff. It seems to me that the vast majority of sob stories this year include the dad, and the moms are getting short shrift.

Or maybe saying what he wishes were true?