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S19.E16: Disney Night

peachmangosteen

By peachmangosteen
in American Idol

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peachmangosteen

peachmangosteen

  Quote

After the results of the Comeback show are announced, we see the Top 9's trip to Walt Disney World for a one-on-one session with a celebrity mentor. The season’s Top 10, including the Comeback winner, then perform a song from the renowned Disney songbook in hopes of securing America’s real-time vote. The Top 7 finalists are revealed at the end of the episode.

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Airs May 2nd.

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MBJ

MBJ

(edited)

Hmm!

I would have traded Caleb for Alyssa, or to a lesser extent, Cassandra, but otherwise, I'm very happy.  

I was really, really, really wanting Arthur to make it at the end there.  I don't even know if I like his performances as much as I like him.

Luke said Cassandra performed the best we'd ever seen her?  Uhhh........ she sounded really wobbly to me..... Maybe he was trying to be nice because they see the real time results?  

I really hate this format because the votes and the performances have zero correlation, seeing as how some singers have to go last.  Grace did a very good job though, and begrudgingly I thought Casey did too.  

Edited by Ms Blue Jay
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leocadia

leocadia

First, the positive!  Can John Stamos replace Bobby Bones permanently?  That would be awesome.  I’m surprised they started his “career” montage with Full House.  Prior to that he was well known from General Hospital which is an ABC show.

The problem with Disney Night (aside from the fact that the whole Mega Conglomeration of Mass Media Marketing that is Disney puts me off) is that either you’re not familiar with a song and have no connection to it (i.e., Caleb’s song from Cars that sounded like Jumpin Jack Flash in parts), or the opposite, you have a nostalgic connection to a song that makes it really difficult for someone to do it justice. 

I know many people think it’s unfair for Arthur Gunn to get a second chance, but since I prefer him both personally and vocally to all of this year’s contestants, I don’t mind.  I think his whole season was unfair to all of the contestants.  I also thought it was kind of rude of the show to make such a big deal about him not seeing the movie Coco and doing his own version of the song, when Chayce went much further afield on “Baby of Mine.”  If he has seen “Dumbo” and came away thinking that a rocking country jam to one of the most poignant songs in the Disney catalogue was a good idea, I question his judgement. 

Speaking of unfair, I thought it was weird that they made Hunter, Cassandra and Grace follow the guest performer.  The way they have it set up, it’s clear people are just voting for their favorites and not tonight’s performances, but it would make more sense to have the guest perform at the end while they’re “tabulating” the results. 

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MBJ

MBJ

  On 5/3/2021 at 2:05 AM, leocadia said:

Speaking of unfair, I thought it was weird that they made Hunter, Cassandra and Grace follow the guest performer.  The way they have it set up, it’s clear people are just voting for their favorites and not tonight’s performances, but it would make more sense to have the guest perform at the end while they’re “tabulating” the results. 

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I agree with, like, everything you said, but 100% this.  The show is so damn corrupt it's a joke.

  On 5/3/2021 at 2:05 AM, leocadia said:

First, the positive!  Can John Stamos replace Bobby Bones permanently?  That would be awesome. 

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Seriously, I wish.

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Annber03

Annber03

  On 5/3/2021 at 2:02 AM, Ms Blue Jay said:

I would have traded Caleb for Alyssa, or to a lesser extent, Cassandra, but otherwise, I'm very happy.  

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Same. And I do wish Deshawn had stayed. Tonight wasn't necessarily his best performance, but I've liked him in this competition in general and I'm sad to see him go.

Hi, Jon Batiste! Nice to see him here-I wish he'd been the one to mentor the contestants, he would've been great with them. Loved his performance, too. I want to go dancing with him :D. 

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MBJ

MBJ

(edited)
  On 5/3/2021 at 2:08 AM, Foghorn Leghorn said:

Seems to me the ones who sing near the end wouldn’t get the same chance of votes as those who sang early?  How does it work as Grace got in which btw I am pleased about.  

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Built in fanbase who doesn't care what she sings and how she sings it.  I'm pleased she got in too; I loved her performance, but the way the show is set up is such B.S.

Do they do this every year?  This is around the time I always stop watching.

  On 5/3/2021 at 2:09 AM, Annber03 said:

Hi, Jon Batiste! Nice to see him here-I wish he'd been the one to mentor the contestants, he would've been great with them. Loved his performance, too. I want to go dancing with him :D. 

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It was a huge get to get the most recent Oscar winner for Best Original Score to perform.  I'm impressed they even got THAT to happen.  Having Jon mentor would probably be a bridge too far.  I hope he's so important now he doesn't have time!  😁.   Meanwhile John Stamos is clearly trying to promote that show about how he's a girl's hockey coach or whatever.  

Edited by Ms Blue Jay
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Annber03

Annber03

  On 5/3/2021 at 2:10 AM, Ms Blue Jay said:

It was a huge get to get the most recent Oscar winner for Best Original Score to perform.  I'm impressed they even got THAT to happen.  Having Jon mentor would probably be a bridge too far.  I hope he's so important now he doesn't have time!  😁.   

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Haha, yeah, my mom and I were talking about how tired he must be-he's certainly had quite the busy time of it lately, for sure :). 

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Diana Berry

Diana Berry

  On 5/3/2021 at 2:08 AM, Foghorn Leghorn said:

Seems to me the ones who sing near the end wouldn’t get the same chance of votes as those who sang early?  How does it work as Grace got in which btw I am pleased about.  

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You can start voting for  your favorite at the beginning.  I gave her votes at the very beginning.

arthur seems like a nice  enough guy.  Someone posted his fan base numbers last week which are huge.  I’m assuming he will probably win the whole thing.  He’s had a year to develop that base.  It just doesn’t seem very fair to this year’s contestants.   I saw a very uncomfortable Arthur and 6 none too happy finalists at the end.

 

 

  • Love 9
PhD-Purgatory15

PhD-Purgatory15

(edited)

Called it 7 for 7 tonight. Whoo.

Now, on merit Hunter should've been eliminated weeks ago..

Casey needs to pivot back next week, and seriously rock out to Viva La Vida, or some other more anthemic/harder Coldplay song.

I thought that was about as solid and confident as Caleb has sounded (I feel like I might have said the same thing about Caleb last week). He's definitely on something of an upward trajectory. He's also a rare contestant this season who likes singing and is adept at performing uptempo songs. Which to me is critical since his range is pretty limited..

I don't even listen to Willie anymore, and I can basically guess what Grace's performances are going to sound like before they happen. I wish, in an alternate AI world with judges willing to constructively criticize them. Ask them politely, "so what?" If either of them came into a recording session for their "new" "debut" CDs with the idea that they are just going to do 10 or 11 ballads with the volume cranked to 15 out of 10 the professionals in the room would laugh them out of the room and tell them "Guess what, it's 2021...not the 70s or 80s"..

I was rooting for Arthur, but you can see how conflicted he is doing this whole come back. He just looks so uncomfortable and unsure of the whole situation. For goodness sakes, he still hasn't met the Top 9 in person yet! They didn't let the poor guy go to Disney World and he had to do his mentor session with Uncle Jessie over zoom :-(

Chayce was okay, yet again. I feel like he has pretty much plateaued over the last month or so.

 

Edited by PhD-Purgatory15
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leocadia

leocadia

While it was clear that "Stylist" must have been the "Word of the Day" on Lionel Richie's calendar, I question if he understands what the word means.  To me, a stylist would be someone who sings with a signature style, not someone who has a recognizable voice which is how he seemed to be using it.  Willie has a strong clear voice, but I didn't hear any particular "style" during his performance.  I can't remember the other people he said it to, but I had the same reaction every time he said it.  

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MBJ

MBJ

(edited)
  On 5/3/2021 at 2:16 AM, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

I don't even listen to Willie anymore, and I can basically guess what Grace's performances are going to sound like before they happen. I wish, in an alternate AI world with judges willing to constructively criticize them. Ask them politely, "so what?" If either of them came into a recording session for their "new" "debut" CDs with the idea that they are just going to do 10 or 11 ballads with the volume cranked to 15 out of 10 the professionals in the room would laugh them out of the room and tell them "Guess what, it's 2021...not the 70s or 80s"..

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Adele did that in 2015.  It is Adele, though, and there's no one like her.  But it still happens.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/25_(Adele_album)

I haven't listened to Lana Del Rey since like 2011, but I assume she does that too.  Demi Lovato too.  Christina Aguilera?  

Edited by Ms Blue Jay
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TheGreenKnight

TheGreenKnight

I had a feeling Grace would do Frozen, although I would’ve rather she’d went with “Show Yourself.” Still, I thought she did a great job, she sounded like Kelly Clarkson on that final note. She’s definitely been my favorite this year, overall.

The weird thing is I felt as I was watching tonight that I’ve become fond of nearly all the contestants (including Beane, Ava, and Madison from past weeks). I really didn’t expect that to happen this season from how I felt about that first episode I tuned in at. To compare it to the other ABC seasons, I’d say that while I don’t like anyone as much as Maddie Poppe, I think this season has had the best general level of talent after the Laine Hardy season (I liked nearly everyone that season, too, to varying degrees—Jeremiah, Madison, Alejandro, Laine, Laci, Alyssa, Dimitrius).

Anyway, I had a feeling Alyssa and Cassandra would go tonight regardless of what they sung, although Caleb, Deshawn, and Arthur would’ve been my picks to go, tbh. Alyssa is like Arthur in that, I wouldn’t necessarily say I love either of their performances altogether, but they’re both such sweethearts it kind of hurts to see them get eliminated. Poor Alyssa. But if not this week, she would’ve gone next week, I suppose. :( Besides, I think Alyssa and Cassandra would probably divide the vote for Grace, since they’re all relatively pop types—and Grace is easily the best one of those three, so… That was probably my favorite of Casey’s performances so far. I think at times there isn’t that much nuance to her vocals, but still she is very talented. I thought tonight’s was Chayce’s best performance, too. 

I’d love for Grace to win, but if not her, hopefully it’s Casey. If it’s going to be a guy this year, I’d be “okay” with Hunter or Arthur, I guess.

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TheGreenKnight

TheGreenKnight

(edited)
  On 5/3/2021 at 2:02 AM, Ms Blue Jay said:

Luke said Cassandra performed the best we'd ever seen her?  Uhhh........ she sounded really wobbly to me..... Maybe he was trying to be nice because they see the real time results? 

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Yeah, Cassandra's best was last episode with "The Writing's On the Wall," imo. I thought she did alright tonight. I would've loved if she'd done "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" instead though! Always loved that song, Susan Egan is wonderful.

  On 5/3/2021 at 2:05 AM, leocadia said:

First, the positive!  Can John Stamos replace Bobby Bones permanently?  That would be awesome.  I’m surprised they started his “career” montage with Full House.  Prior to that he was well known from General Hospital which is an ABC show.

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I thought he was really fun, too. I thought it was right he noted Bette Midler's version of "Baby Mine" when talking to Chayce. Alison Krauss also has a gorgeous version of that song.

  On 5/3/2021 at 2:14 AM, Diana Berry said:

You can start voting for  your favorite at the beginning.  I gave her votes at the very beginning.

arthur seems like a nice  enough guy.  Someone posted his fan base numbers last week which are huge.  I’m assuming he will probably win the whole thing.  He’s had a year to develop that base.  It just doesn’t seem very fair to this year’s contestants.   I saw a very uncomfortable Arthur and 6 none too happy finalists at the end.

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I didn't really mind the twist when it was happening last episode, but after tonight I'd say I'm not happy they brought anyone from last year back. Last season's talent was much lower than this one's, and I have a feeling I'll be pissed if (mediocre) Arthur wins this thing with Casey or Grace coming second. That would be some epic bullshit! Him having been on the previous season would just make it feel even more unfair than it would on talent level alone. He wasn't even as good as Sam from last year, imo, and I'd put Sam herself below many of these contestants.

Turning lemons into lemonade, however, perhaps he can help the show repeat last season's finale though... By that I mean, a final five of one of Grace or Casey versus Arthur, Caleb, Chayce, and Hunter, with the guitar guys dividing the vote and the female contestant winning miraculously. :D

Edited by TheGreenKnight
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KHenry14

KHenry14

All in all, a very good night.

Caleb--finally did a song I liked and he was real good. Not sure why he's so popular, but he is. Go figure

Willie--a bit of a cliche song choice, but he sung it well. Yet, I was a bit bored

Deshawn--Nice change of the arrangement, but ultimately it was no big deal

Casey--took a chance by singing the world's saddest song....and she pulled it off!

Alyssa--She looked and sounded terrific. I wouldn't surprised if she gets signed by some label

Chayce--didn't feel Baby Mine at all. But he evidently can do no wrong, so he moves on.

Arthur--I'm sorry, he just sounds too much like John Fogerty for me. Plus, he failed to bring the emotion of that song.

Hunter--just nothing special to me. Yet he goes on AGAIN.

Cassandra--Most confident performance of her time on Idol. But it was time for her to go

Grace--Big voice, good song choice. Deserved to go on

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radiochik

radiochik

  On 5/3/2021 at 3:26 AM, Blissfool said:

Ugh! Me neither.  I was hoping it'd be a Hi-and-Bye type of comeback.

 

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Same.  But I figured there was no way the show was going to have this big twist only to have them eliminated right away.  I wouldn't put it past them to have put him in even if he didn't have the numbers.  I was an Arthur fan last season but he hasn't wowed me at all these past 2 performances - everything just sounds the same.  

I loved that Graham DeFranco was with Chayce's family/hometown watchers.  That was cute. I'm over Chayce though and ready for him to go. 

 

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peachmangosteen

peachmangosteen

  • Author
  On 5/3/2021 at 2:22 AM, TheGreenKnight said:

The weird thing is I felt as I was watching tonight that I’ve become fond of nearly all the contestants (including Beane, Ava, and Madison from past weeks). I really didn’t expect that to happen this season from how I felt about that first episode I tuned in at. To compare it to the other ABC seasons, I’d say that while I don’t like anyone as much as Maddie Poppe, I think this season has had the best general level of talent after the Laine Hardy season (I liked nearly everyone that season, too, to varying degrees—Jeremiah, Madison, Alejandro, Laine, Laci, Alyssa, Dimitrius).

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This so much. I actually think this is generally the best group for sure from the ABC seasons and honestly one of the best ever.

I agree that it really sucks that they have real time voting but the show is not that highly rated so ABC can't justify doing results shows anymore. Perhaps, they could do after-the-show voting and then just announce who leaves at the beginning of next week's show but I don't think it would change the results anyway. I also hate that so many have to go every week but again ABC doesn't seem to think the show does well enough to justify giving it more eps.

I would have rather seen Caleb and perhaps Willie go over Cassandra and Alyssa but I'm not too mad. I'm slightly afraid Caleb is going to make the finals though simply by being the only country artist. How many people are in the finale? I can't remember how it's gone in the past on ABC.

I loled for real when Arthur just admitted he'd never seen Coco instead of pretending he did and that he totally loves everything Disney like the other contestants would have. 

I have no problem with the comeback twist but I do think it'd kinda suck if Arthur won. I wouldn't be mad because I love him but I'd feel bad for this season's contestants.

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ForReal

ForReal

  On 5/3/2021 at 5:53 AM, KHenry14 said:

Casey--took a chance by singing the world's saddest song....and she pulled it off!

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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.

  On 5/3/2021 at 1:56 PM, peachmangosteen said:

I loled for real when Arthur just admitted he'd never see Coco instead of pretending he did and that he totally loves everything Disney like the other contestants would have.

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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.

  On 5/3/2021 at 10:37 AM, radiochik said:

Same.  But I figured there was no way the show was going to have this big twist only to have them eliminated right away.  I wouldn't put it past them to have put him in even if he didn't have the numbers.  I was an Arthur fan last season but he hasn't wowed me at all these past 2 performances - everything just sounds the same.

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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.

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thesupremediva1

thesupremediva1

I missed the first 30 minutes but knew Arthur was coming back anyway, so that's ok.

Willie still sounds like he's straining to me - his voice might be tired.

Chayce, Arthur, Hunter, and Caleb all sound the same on every song and make every song sound similar. All have limited range and it's getting tiresome that we lose great talent to keep ALL of them around.

Casey sang beautifully but totally missed the emotion of the song. She smiled insipidly throughout which I found annoying. She'll be a great recording artist but I'm not sure she's quite ready for a big stage, even with the tongue baths she keeps getting from the panel (I've decided "judge" is a bridge too far for what these three do). 

DeShawn was awesome as always - he's a class act and I love listening to him. Sad he's gone for a bunch of guys who don't have his talent. I think he's just too much of a throwback for this audience.

Cassandra's voice just isn't strong or trained enough to handle the demands of this show. She has lovely parts of her voice but her range is inconsistent. 

I really love Alyssa's voice but she kept doing exactly what I said would get her booted - she presents herself like a 40-year-old diva and comes off as older. I just never found a way to connect to her, even though I was impressed every time she sang.

And Alyssa and Grace both share that stank face that's way over the top in every single song... I guess there was only room for one stank face at this point.

Grace was celestial. She really took command last night in a way that felt authentic. I feel like that song showed off why her voice is so special. She may have finally earned frontrunner status last night. 

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PhD-Purgatory15

PhD-Purgatory15

(edited)

Caleb is still here because: a.) he is the last country voice standing. b.) he seems like a real kid (shyness, flaws and all) and c.) he's doing a pretty good (and improving by the week) impression of a really young artist in the Luke Combs/Chris Stapleton lane of current male country music. If you are making the people at home think of those two voices in the context of of a reality singing competition you are doing pretty good for yourself. As I mentioned upthread, he's also about the only contestant left really willing to tackle uptempo songs which I think is helping him stand out from the crowd doubly too.

Requiem for the eliminated.

Deshawn will go down as one of the more mystifying late season AI contestants. Vocal chops for sure, but did he ever once make you think he sounded relevant to 2021? At his best he sounded like someone who would absolutely kill a church choir solo on Sunday morning or someone you might see on a Princess Cruise to the Bahamas or Alaska. He was someone who really could've benefited from invested criticism and more intense, hands on mentoring.

Cassandra unfortunately decided at some point in the competition (maybe with some "help" from the useless judges & the Boneman) that her best strategy was to try and outsing the Grace's, Casey's, Alyssa's, and Madison's of these season. That was a horribly incorrect approach. She needed to lean in hard to her indie sensibilities, the quieter/more ethereal parts of her voice, and her all around MPDG/Forest pixie (tell me she couldn't of had a MOMENT doing a delicate as glass version of Colors of the Wind!) vibe to differentiate herself from all the other females in that way. Instead of trying to beat them at their own games..

Alyssa will also go down as having vocal chops. Yet she never really packaged them in a super likable/relatable way. She was always the young girl singing the giant diva songs (because she "knew" she could). Most of the time she just didn't look like she was having a ton of fun. Like it all was labored in some way.

Edited by PhD-Purgatory15
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sempervivum

sempervivum

I saw the spoiler that Deshawn was doing 'When You Wish' last night, and was really looking forward to it, because he has the kind of pretty voice that would do well on the original arrangement. So disappointing that he chose to do a dumb 1961-era lounge version (no, Deshawn, that was NOT jazz) only missing the martini on the piano and finger-snaps. And the pink satin jacket complete with rhinestone clef lapel pin, ugh.  It's nit-picky, I suppose, but I was also mystified that he repeated the verse ending 'as lovers do' instead of going to the iconic 'your dreams come true'.

I actually enjoyed Caleb's performance more than Cassandra's- he picked the right song, and she didn't (you're not Florence, girl).

Alyssa always seemed to be trying to find the door into 1982. 

I'm leaning toward hoping Casey wins, although I don't believe she will, but any of the rest are OK with me, as long as it's NOT ARTHUR. 

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leighdear

leighdear

(edited)

ABC just keeps shi!ting the bed with it's top shows.  EVERYTHING was wrong with the last couple of "The Bachelor" seasons, ditching Tom Bergeron on "Dancing with the Stars" and giving us the Uber-ridiculous Tyra Banks, and now doing the obvious "makeup" win for Arthur Gun.  Seriously, WHO is running the damn show over there?

I see them giving Arthur the title this season to compensate.  So NEXT season they'll give it to Alyssa to make up for THIS season, and onward.  Nobody who ever deserves it will win until they just put the stupid show out of it's misery.  AGAIN!  It's literally the show that won't die.   

Just like their other shows at this point.  

I always hate-watch anything Disney themed, but this watch was particularly vomitous for me.  

 

Edited by leighdear
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MBJ

MBJ

  On 5/3/2021 at 3:30 PM, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

Cassandra unfortunately decided at some point in the competition (maybe with some "help" from the useless judges & the Boneman) that her best strategy was to try and outsing the Grace's, Casey's, Alyssa's, and Madison's of these season. That was a horribly incorrect approach. She needed to lean in hard to her indie sensibilities, the quieter/more ethereal parts of her voice, and her all around MPDG/Forest pixie (tell me she couldn't of had a MOMENT doing a delicate as glass version of Colors of the Wind!) vibe to differentiate herself from all the other females in that way. Instead of trying to beat them at their own games..

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I think you're right here.

This explains why I really liked her performance of "Running with the Wolves" but have been so confused by her since.  

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Blissfool

Blissfool

  On 5/3/2021 at 1:56 PM, peachmangosteen said:

I loled for real when Arthur just admitted he'd never seen Coco instead of pretending he did and that he totally loves everything Disney like the other contestants would have. 

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Arthur doesn't know when to tell a white lie, he doesn't know when to sit or when to stand, he doesn't know when to walk off the stage. That boy is lost!

  8 hours ago, ForReal said:

 he looks so uncomfortable.

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Yep. Lost and uncomfortable. 

  On 5/3/2021 at 2:32 PM, escape said:

Why is Caleb still here?  I know he's the only Country contestant, but come on.  He is so mediocre.  He's the person that will linger a lot longer than he should.  Worse case would be if he wins with the Country votes.

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I really like Caleb. I always think he sounds like a real country artist. And he's only 16! And he loves his Mama.

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Foghorn Leghorn

Foghorn Leghorn

  On 5/3/2021 at 10:26 PM, Blissfool said:

Arthur doesn't know when to tell a white lie, he doesn't know when to sit or when to stand, he doesn't know when to walk off the stage. That boy is lost!

Yep. Lost and uncomfortable. 

 

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LOL  So true!  I didn’t watch last year but wondered why he looked so confused and while he was seated with the others he was slouched and looking unhappy while some of the others in view could be seen singing along or standing with great interest in someone else singing......I didn’t think much of his performance either....

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TheGreenKnight

TheGreenKnight

I don't think Arthur can understand spoken English very well, at least not on the fly and onstage with so much going on. I think that's where a lot of the confusion comes from. That's why most of his responses to the judges and Ryan are very generic, because he wants to be polite even though he probably doesn't understand what they said completely until he watches clips of the show later. At least I know that's how it is for me with my second language, that I have difficulty understanding when it's spoken quickly.

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Diana Berry

Diana Berry

  On 5/3/2021 at 5:53 AM, KHenry14 said:

All in all, a very good night.

Caleb--finally did a song I liked and he was real good. Not sure why he's so popular, but he is. Go figure

Willie--a bit of a cliche song choice, but he sung it well. Yet, I was a bit bored

Deshawn--Nice change of the arrangement, but ultimately it was no big deal

Casey--took a chance by singing the world's saddest song....and she pulled it off!

Alyssa--She looked and sounded terrific. I wouldn't surprised if she gets signed by some label

Chayce--didn't feel Baby Mine at all. But he evidently can do no wrong, so he moves on.

Arthur--I'm sorry, he just sounds too much like John Fogerty for me. Plus, he failed to bring the emotion of that song.

Hunter--just nothing special to me. Yet he goes on AGAIN.

Cassandra--Most confident performance of her time on Idol. But it was time for her to go

Grace--Big voice, good song choice. Deserved to go on

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Yes, it is the world’s saddest song but she didn’t seem to have a clue about the emotion behind it.  She could have at least gone on you tube and watched the 3 minute clip.  She did sound very nice.  I couldn’t even watch the movie clip last night too many memories of sobbing in the theater. 

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ljenkins782

ljenkins782

  On 5/3/2021 at 3:50 PM, sempervivum said:

I saw the spoiler that Deshawn was doing 'When You Wish' last night, and was really looking forward to it, because he has the kind of pretty voice that would do well on the original arrangement. So disappointing that he chose to do a dumb 1961-era lounge version (no, Deshawn, that was NOT jazz) only missing the martini on the piano and finger-snaps. And the pink satin jacket complete with rhinestone clef lapel pin, ugh.  It's nit-picky, I suppose, but I was also mystified that he repeated the verse ending 'as lovers do' instead of going to the iconic 'your dreams come true'.

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I literally never remember DeShawn is on the show until he sings, so I'm not sorry to see him go. And that performance was definitely boot-worthy, the cheesy lounge singer vibe was so cringe-y and the vocals were bland.

I was disappointed with a lot of the song choices, I guess I just have seen enough of the modern era movies but a lot of the songs were unfamiliar. And even the older movies were things like Dumbo, which I don't think I've seen since grade school (vs The Little Mermaid, Lion King, Aladdin, Beauty & the Beast that I immediately watched as soon as Disney + came out).

Grace made a smart choice for her voice and for maximum impact. It really stood on a night that was strangely muted. Willie's performance in particular mystified me, I remember Jennifer Hudson blowing the roof off with Circle of Life back in the day, but Willie's performance felt quiet and lacking in big notes. 

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I don't even listen to Willie anymore, and I can basically guess what Grace's performances are going to sound like before they happen. I wish, in an alternate AI world with judges willing to constructively criticize them. Ask them politely, "so what?" If either of them came into a recording session for their "new" "debut" CDs with the idea that they are just going to do 10 or 11 ballads with the volume cranked to 15 out of 10 the professionals in the room would laugh them out of the room and tell them "Guess what, it's 2021...not the 70s or 80s"..

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What is so "not 2021" about ballads? If anything, I think it matters even less nowadays what the full album sounds like in terms of mixing up styles. Back in the 70s and 80s, you were buying a whole record and listening to the whole thing. In 2021, you generally hear one song, stream that and maybe check out their other stuff, but it hardly stands out if an album is all one type. Personally, I'd rather someone do all one style if that's the style they sounds good in vs going out of their way to sing styles they're not good at and having mediocre songs as a result.

I was sorry to see Cassandra go and would have traded out Hunter for her. His appeal is really escaping me and he slowed that Phil Collins song down to a snooze level.

I'm apparently not up on current pop culture and wasn't 100% paying attention to the episode so I had no idea who Jon Batiste was or why he was suddenly singing in the middle of the show. I thought maybe I'd missed some other twist where they were letting a much older contestant enter last minute (there is an upper limit on age, right?)

 

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Annber03

Annber03

  On 5/4/2021 at 8:09 PM, ljenkins782 said:

I'm apparently not up on current pop culture and wasn't 100% paying attention to the episode so I had no idea who Jon Batiste was or why he was suddenly singing in the middle of the show. I thought maybe I'd missed some other twist where they were letting a much older contestant enter last minute (there is an upper limit on age, right?)

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Jon Batiste composed music for the movie Soul, which came out recently. It's a Disney film, and since the theme was Disney night, well...:D. He's also the bandleader for the house band on Stephen Colbert's late night talk show. 

I believe he's a couple years younger than me and I'm in my mid-30s, so yeah, when it comes to the show, he's a little old for it :p. 

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