incandescent

I was trying to figure out who her outfit was reminding me of and you cracked it for me! Leigh-Anne in the Power video, duh.

Caleb: is more charming and charismatic than either of the designated heartthrobs, so making a play for their title is the right move. Still won't get him through, but a good idea nonetheless. Michelle: She sure knows how to throw her hair around. She's not a great singer, but how many modern pop girls are? She's also a better dancer than most of them and gives good energy. I could see her being successful post-Idol. Marcio: Cruise ship. But he’s fun! I’m glad this was a tears-free performance Mara: She was too young for that song even if she did attempt to justify it with a tragic backstory. Garrett: He sounded a lot better tonight than he has in earlier performances. Ada: To be perfectly honest I started a crossword when I took note of who was next. Catie: Y’all called it on the slow glamming. I’m not a fan of her but she was one the better performances of the night. (Sidenote: How many of Katy’s ~haters~ are legitimate criticism said snippily?) Cade: Are there any legacy acts in need of a new frontman? I think he’d do better in that sort of role than he would as a winner of AI trying to market new music. Dennis: This man's song choices stay bad. Maddie: Of all the contestants, I have the clearest vision of who Maddie will be and the kind of music she’ll put out. She’s someone I can easily see myself streaming and hearing in the background of my daily life. Journee: She’s kinda awkward running around on stage but also one of the best singers (and a proficient rapper!). Surprised she did better on the Ari parts than the Jessie J verse of the song, but Jessie J is an excellent technician. Jonny: Brendon Urie is, in my opinion, one of the best male vocalists in the current pop/rock landscape. Jonny is……………………… not. Even if he was better on a technical level, his timbre is a terrible match for the song. Michael: He’s so endearing and so versatile and I love him and his voice and his jumpsuits. Gabby: I feel like Ryan was low-key mocking her for being so twangy when she’s from Pittsburgh; I can’t blame him for it. She’s a good singer but just doesn’t click for me. I don’t find her even remotely authentic or believable. My top six for tonight: Maddie Michael Journee Catie (grudgingly) Cade ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ General thoughts: I hope next year they do a greater number of live shows so I can get more THEME NIGHTS. Theme nights were such a great part of original recipe Idol for me. Even when someone flopped because they were, like, a country singer attempting disco, they flopped in a way that entertained me!

I was thinking this is a possibility too. He's got a big development deal with Netflix and there was a kerfuffle with ABC that resulted in an episode getting shelved. I think Bow could have acknowledged Dre's (and her own) fear without it leading to a situation where he steamrolls her and puts the baby through a whole slew of unnecessary testing. And I don't get why she was so upset by Dre walking Devonte around by the arms; it's a common method to help children learn.

A) I can't believe Shaggy Doo came through! B) Ruby is a treasure. "And suddenly our little girl’s giving handies on the street for a fidget spinner!" C) I started off this series thinking Annie was just irrationally bitter, but if that's how Nancy always treats her than I'd hate her guts too. D) Just kill Mary Pat already.

Walter got off easy with one firm shove. No wonder his entire extended family likes Sly better.

To be fair, This Is Us regularly gets better ratings than The Voice, so they kinda succeeded that first time. But I agree this format is dumb.

AJ Michalka will be playing her own age! Though I guess this means Lainey doesn't make it big as a fashion designer...

I didn't take notes or anything but these are some opinions I remember having: Maddie made a spectacular song choice. A tune people are familiar with (unless they're Luke...) that brings joy to the room. Not overly show-y but she still got to prove vocal agility. Best of the night IMO. I think Alyssa's voice is great and her tone is one that could be easily identified on the radio. The girl who did Whitney is the kind who would get 3-4 chairs turned on The Voice but lose her battle round. I love Amelia's fashion sense. I disagree about her not having a sense of "inner style" or whatever they said. She has a really composed sort of swagger that I like. The face Luke made when football dude hit the bum note summed things up pretty well for him.

That Backstreet Boys lineup might be the best cold open B99 has ever done!

I was under the impression that Pops has always had money? I remember him buying Erica a guitar and kind of shrugging it off when his car was stolen in the Ferris Bueller episode. Like he's not gonna be able to finance a new jacket every week, but he can swing it as a one-off.

Holt made his speech because it was the right thing to do, but the resultant changes to the selection committee is going to be a huge boon to him too. If they only put a young, white woman on the shortlist for PR— with no intention of ever really choosing her— then they may well have included a gay, black man for the same reason.

I don't think this has ever happened to me before, but I was on Dre's side for just about everything except wanting a purebred. And the Johnsons have no business getting a dog when they couldn't even manage to keep a set of eyes on the baby despite having six people in the house this week, so of course they went ahead and got one anyway.

I know a lot of folks don't like Paige, but her relationship with Ralph is so touching to me. One of my favourite dynamics on the show.

I can't believe there's a man in the music industry called Bobby Bones and he's not the drummer for a punk band. Waste of a name! Anyway, I think Michael's become my number one. To be honest, I hope he ignores the advice to find his own niche because one of my favourite things about him is how diverse his choices have been. Maybe that's not gonna be an asset after the show, but it's what captured my attention in the first place.

@meep.meep You might be thinking of the season two episode where they took Zoey on a college tour of Brown, Bow's alma mater. It was mentioned that Dre went to Howard, but he was pushing for a UC so that Zoey would be close to home (and so he wouldn't have to fly).

I love that Erica ignoring/forgetting about Geoff has become a running gag this season. Especially because I hated the dragged out storyline of them getting together. I really hope that Pops is just a snowbird rather than a permanent Florida transplant.

I liked the physical comedy of Claire dangling off the pipe and Phil picking Joe up to answer a phone call. The Manny plot was boring and I have no idea who George Iglesias is so I don't know why the ads kept touting him as a special guest star.

Unfortunate that this episode was probably already in the can before they could wedge in some reference to the "Bitch Better Have My Money" protests.

Marion has a bajillion children/grandchildren; Gloria is one of them.

Something I'm curious about is the degree of freedom artists get when they're choosing their own songs for the knockouts. Are they handed a list of songs already covered in the season and then given free reign? Do they flip a coin if two contestants want the same song? Do producers make suggestions if an artist is drawing a blank? I ask all this because I wonder how someone who describes herself as 'if Lauryn Hill and Rihanna had a baby and the baby went to church' could have possibly chosen a folk-pop Ed Sheeran song by her own volition. I like the save button MUCH better than the block from the auditions. And I love that it didn't even work the first time around bc Alicia decided she'd try to steal for funsies.

Whenever I watch this show there's a little voice in the back of my head wondering, "Who's gonna be the first casualty, to signify that Shit Got Real?" I hope it's Boomer. Better not be Stan.

I can't believe they keep letting Tall Greyhound Dude through. He couldn't deliver on the Bublé cover during the audition even with Luke coaxing him along while he sang. He couldn't deliver on the OneRepublic cover this episode. I just don't understand what they see in this guy. I really liked the guy who covered Maybe This Time and a good handful of the original songs. Still not committed enough to learn anyone's name though.

Like how he told Kevin, "it's me, Raymond Holt," when taking him to the safe house.

So Adam is around fourteen at this point, and his dad and brother both love hockey, but this was somehow the first time he went to a game? Or the first time he actively tried to enjoy a game? Sounds fake, but okay. I loved the meta joke about Erica having no reason to come down every weekend. And Matt Bradley being the ever silenced voice of reason.

This is like the third or fourth time Chip has had a graphic, violent fantasy and I still believed he did it for a second before I remembered the dweeb probably doesn't have that kind of aim. Ben is easily my favourite of the children so I'm glad he's been the focus for the past few episodes.