S20.E12: Season 20's Top 20

[helenamonster]

Original airdate: 4/17/22

[Ms Blue Jay]

Three hours baby, with special performances by Chayce Beckham, Alejandro aka Scarypoolparty, and sexiest man alive Phillip Phillips.  The first two of those performances were great.  Alejandro HAD ME SHOOK.  PP's........ ...... I couldn't get through it.  

My favourite performances of the actual contestants:

Ava - Anyone by Demi Lovato - W O W.  I cried.
Emyrson -  Tell me you love me - Demi Lovato. 
Nicolina - Edge of Seventeen - Stevie Nicks
Jacob - Don't you worry about a thing - Stevie Wonder
Noah - Falling by Harry Styles

Others are victims to ridiculous song choices.  I love Amy Winehouse but Jay, wtf?  That song and arrangement were just not for you.  I like Tristen but again, The Weeknd song.  He changed the song so much I was trying so hard to place it.   I like Christian but ..... sigh.  Imagine by John Lennon.  We had to sing that in school, something about it just makes it feel like way beyond cliched at this point for me.  Mike (HOT MIKE) was good.  I just don't care for the genre, but he's good.  If the judges help him make money I'm all for it.  I just hope that he is happy.

Watching this an hour late was magic.  THREE HOURS!  I was able to fast forward through the non performances AND EVEN all of the performances I couldn't bear (No offense, but just me personally:  Huntergirl, Dan, Frick (?) Frisk (?) whatever his name is, Leah Marlene, sorry Ellie Rowe, etc.)

50% of it is song choice and for some reason Jay is just so bad at song choice.  AGGH!  It aggravates me.  Interesting how two of my favourite performances were Demi Lovato songs, it's not like I'm a Demi superfan but I just think that the two singers here did a great job.

I was surprised at who made it; good for them.  

Edited April 18, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Annber03]

8 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I love Amy Winehouse but Jay, wtf?  That song and arrangement were just not for you. 

Aw, I kinda liked that performance, actually, myself. I do agree, though, that it wasn't perfect - I would've liked to see a little more attitude and toughness in how he sang the song, he sounded a bit too happy for the mood of the song. But I still enjoyed the performance overall and thought it was one of the stronger ones of the night.

I'm glad Lady K's here, and I love her look. She sounded great, too. And I agree "Imagine" is an overcovered type of choice, but I do like Christian, so I'm glad he's here. He seems like a nice guy. Nicolina and Sage had good nights with Stevie Nicks-led songs., one solo and one with Fleetwood Mac. 

Allegra's version of "Free Fallin'" was...interesting. I think she's a good singer, but, yeah, I dunno, I'm of two minds about that performance. Hm. 

It's wild to see how much older Phillip Phillips looks. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

I'm a big Rihanna fan.  Lady K's performance was almost a copy of Rihanna's with no nuance.  Rihanna sang that live on a big awards show and I watched that performance at least a dozen times.  It just feels like a copy...... (whispering) but just not as good.   
 

3 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

I'm glad Lady K's here, and I love her look. She sounded great, too. And I agree "Imagine" is an overcovered type of choice, but I do like Christian, so I'm glad he's here. He seems like a nice guy. Nicolina and Sage had good nights with Stevie Nicks-led songs., one solo and one with Fleetwood Mac. 

Oh I love Christian as a person, so far.

Sage......... it felt uneven to me.  Started off good but at the end it got kinda too wild for me.

3 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

Aw, I kinda liked that performance, actually, myself. I do agree, though, that it wasn't perfect - I would've liked to see a little more attitude and toughness in how he sang the song, he sounded a bit too happy for the mood of the song. But I still enjoyed the performance overall and thought it was one of the stronger ones of the night.

I just have way too much of an intimate love for that song, LOL.  I couldn't get with Jay's interpretation.  I admire him for the gutsiness of the song choice and not changing the gender of the lyrics.  That's awesome.  So brave, and no one does that. But the actual execution, Yeesh.

[quickjessie]

I'll be sticking with Fritz all the way.  Just love that kid.  He moves me where some other better singers do not.

[twilightzone]

3 minutes ago, quickjessie said:

I'll be sticking with Fritz all the way.  Just love that kid.  He moves me where some other better singers do not.

That was actually a very tough spot to be in - to perform right after his idol Phillip Phillips - and Fritz brought it.

[LennieBriscoe]

JAY!! Wow, he just outshone Tristen* (who sounded "tinny" or something to me, plus ix-nay on the Lambert eyeliner) by a mile! What an homage to Amy! 😊

*Tristen was undercut not only by Luke; Ryan got him to say he studied MJ and Elvis on moves, which takes away from his own authenticity. 😐

NICOLINA!! Mesmerizing! Brilliant voice!🤩

Don't like  Modern Country AY-tall. 😕

Didn't  care for Phil Phillips back in the day, still don't. He looks okay to me, though, like a hybrid of Chris Martin and Steve McQueen. 

Fritz. A wee bit too Emo for me. No, a lot too. 🙄

How many high-pitched guys does Idol want to promote? OTOH, I wouldn't  throw some Smokey or David Ruffin outta bed, YKWIM?! 🤭😉

Edited April 18, 2022 by LennieBriscoe

[LennieBriscoe]

45 minutes ago, LennieBriscoe said:

JAY!! Wow, he just outshone Tristen* (who sounded "tinny" or something to me, plus ix-nay on the Lambert eyeliner) by a mile! What an homage to Amy!

*Tristen was undercut not only by Luke; Ryan got him to say he studied MJ and Elvis on moves, which takes away from his own authenticity. 

NICOLINA!! Mesmerizing! Brilliant voice!

Don't like  Modern Country AY-tall.

Didn't  care for Phil Phillips back in the day, still don't. He looks okay to me, though, like a hybrid of Chris Martin and Steve McQueen. 

Mistake--- Quote icon too close to Edit!.

Cameron. No. His moves are more spastic than rhythmic, IMO. Cam, in being your fan, I've gone through...changes. 

Cadence. Taking over the Beauty Queen role from Kenedi. Yelling. Meh. 

LADY K.  DIVA competition for Nicolina!  Haha---She bent over when Katy mentioned "access to the treasure chest"! 😄

Edited April 18, 2022 by LennieBriscoe

[HerkyJerky]

3 hours ago, Annber03 said:

Sage had good nights with Stevie Nicks-led songs

I didn't mind the song but Sage was one of the only singers who the judges didn't stand up for, so that doesn't bode well.

[Blissfool]

1 hour ago, LennieBriscoe said:

Didn't  care for Phil Phillips back in the day, still don't. He looks okay to me, though, like a hybrid of Chris Martin and Steve McQueen. 

 

I thought he looked like nicest-man-alive Chris Martin, too!

I'd never been on the Fritz train, but today he was so good I just might get on board. 

Leah Marlene was very good, too, although I'm unfamiliar with the song.

I liked Chayse Beckham's performance a lot.

 

 

[Maya]

Fritz and Ellie both have beautiful voices. 

[thesupremediva1]

So I'm going to go on record and say that was the finest night of singing I ever heard on Idol. No lead sinkers - Easter Sunday truly raised the game! And it better, since I no longer get to watch The Ten Commandments on Easter Sunday night because of Idol!

I think at this point, with talent this deep, it comes down to song choice and genre preference. Even Cameron stepped it up. I truly enjoyed almost everyone - even those whose style doesn't speak to me (Leah, all the country ones). 

Jay was note-perfect but if you're a long-time watcher of The Voice, that was a copy of Loren Allred's knockout round from season 3 in 2012. Loren Allred sang Never Enough on The Greatest Showman soundtrack and is currently a golden buzzer winner on Britain's Got Talent. It was a well-executed copy but I hope credit has been given to her somewhere. 

Candace was the only one who I thought missed a bit - soooo shouty (and this is coming from a diva belter who is sometimes guilty of screlting). :p 

I'm sorry to say it - I know folks won't like it - but the WGWGs represented well last night. Phil can still deliver a solid, catchy pop song that radio will rotate heavily, and I remember why Chayce won. I really love both of them. And I was thrilled to see Alejandro. Say what you want about Idol but that's a family that always welcomes folks back to the table. 

What makes this crop so great is the lack of screeching and glory-noting - I do feel they all have dynamics and light and shade to their voices. 

It's gonna be hard to whittle 6 out of this crowd. America got it all right last night.

 

[SnarkAttack]

I guess I missed it that Maybee's dad is Chad Smith!  When they showed him, I thought, man, he looks really, really familiar.  Cool.  He looked low key - doesn't want to take away from his daughter's moment.  My daughter asked why wouldn't he get her into the business another way instead of via American Idol.

Mike sure is cute; I liked Ryan's comment about the bald spot.

Both Cameron and Tristan annoy me.  The Amy Winehouse rendition, just no.  So tired of the twangy country stuff.

Again, the band overpowers the singers.  they've had this issue a LONG time.  Can barely hear them.

 

[peachmangosteen]

I so agree, @thesupremediva1. I honestly thought they all sounded great and some were like truly amazing. It's gonna hurt seeing anyone go because they really are all so talented.

I also thought the sound was miles better than it used to be and better than every other current singing show. They all seem to have problems with making it so that we can actually hear lol. But yea, last night I didn't have a problem at all.

If I had to pick a Top 14, it'd be Allegra, Ava, Cameron, Elli, Emyrson, Huntergirl, Fritz, Katyrah, Lady K, Nicolina, Noah, Sage, Tristen and then either Mike or Leah. But I'm good with all of them.

 

[thesupremediva1]

31 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I so agree, @thesupremediva1. I honestly thought they all sounded great and some were like truly amazing. It's gonna hurt seeing anyone go because they really are all so talented.

I also thought the sound was miles better than it used to be and better than every other current singing show. They all seem to have problems with making it so that we can actually hear lol. But yea, last night I didn't have a problem at all.

If I had to pick a Top 14, it'd be Allegra, Ava, Cameron, Elli, Emyrson, Huntergirl, Fritz, Katyrah, Lady K, Nicolina, Noah, Sage, Tristen and then either Mike or Leah. But I'm good with all of them.

 

My top 14: Fritz, Nicolina, Christian, Jacob, Mike, HunterGirl, Lady K, Katyrah, Tristen, Noah, Emyrson, Ellie, Dan, Ava

I know Allegra, Sage, and Jay are great - they're just not my cuppa. Cadence just isn't cutting it for me. Honestly, it will be a shame for anyone to go home. 

[sempervivum]

Fritz and Leah's voices have not wowed me in the past- he can sound whiney, she can sound strident- but those were beautiful performances. 

Tristen came across as Adam Lambert: The Middle School Years. IMO, of course.

Moving from dislike to downright hate of Christian's show-offy style and corny song choices. I'm sure he'll make top 14, and he'll probably do 'Hallelujah' next, replete with a million runs and glory notes, ugh.

Speaking of song choices, I've always thought 'Free Fallin' was a sad/regretful song, not the expansive/joyful thing Allegra seemed to be making of it. 

Also, I'm amazed at Noah being strategic enough to choose a Harry Styles song- wonder if his gf/baby momma suggested that, like she did with his Rihanna number. He's growing on me.

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 hour ago, sempervivum said:

Also, I'm amazed at Noah being strategic enough to choose a Harry Styles song- wonder if his gf/baby momma suggested that, like she did with his Rihanna number. He's growing on me.

I like his song choices too.

[TheGreenKnight]

There's a feeling about this season that gives me trainwreck vibes that I just can't shake and I'm not sure why. I mean, last season started really well even if it ended in a trainwreck (Chayce). I think it's the absence felt by people like Kenedi, Kevin, Dontrell, etc. who got all this camera time and then vanished before the show really started to me. And I'm left seeing so many contestants that make me wonder, "Who is this again? I don't even remember them."

I believe my favorite performance was Allegra's, though I didn't really "hate" anyone. Even Dan and Cameron managed to sound okay this time (for them). I can see why those two are still around--looks. Dan reminds me a great deal of Jensen Ackles, so I can see why that + his genre has helped him stick around longer than he deserves. He was okay on the verses, fell apart on the chorus. Cameron was actually okay when he was standing at the mic. Speaking of looks over talent, while I think Jay is better than those two for sure, I'm starting to think he has better looks than he does voice. I mean, I wouldn't mind him sticking around over a lot of others, but I've sort of been disappointed the past couple of weeks.

If I had to say who I'd like to see win right now, it would be Katyrah, Allegra, or Noah. I wouldn't mind if Nicolina won, but she's kind of bored me lately. The one thing I'm glad about is that both she and Katyrah aren't lacking in stage presence at all; it's so common to hear people with effortless voices like theirs criticized because they don't do enough on stage, whereas these two are doing more than most of the guitar people who are always standing in one spot. Same with Elli, she would be a good winner--she reminds me of a lesser Maddie Poppe, one of those voices that never strains on high notes but without her automatically forcing them into a song for their own sake (sort of an Alison Krauss kind of singer, whose voice has an ethereal quality to me). And is Katyrah the first person since Kelly to hit a whistle note (although it was very brief)?

Noah didn't match Harry Styles on that song at all, but I like that he's giving country versions of pop songs; it's more entertaining than, say, how Laine (even though I loved his voice) often only ever sung bayou songs that weren't really something I could get into. Thankfully Noah's handsome himself, since I'd hate if Dan somehow managed to outlast him with the two of them dividing the same vote. *shudder* Fritz... Well, I wouldn't /hate/ it if he won, he has more talent than most the WGWGs that have besmirched this show--although he had one moment that sounded like Leah (which is not a compliment at all)--but I'd much rather Noah if we're getting one of them this year. Speaking of, I actually liked the song Phillip Phillips performed. That and "Gone Gone Gone" are the only things I've ever liked by him. He had total two performances while on Idol that were any good ("Volcano" and the duet with Elyssa), almost exactly like Chayce ("Baby Mine" and the duet with Casey); at least Phillips' season was sort of blah in talent anyway and the robbage wasn't quite as extreme.

Leah... Good by her standards, still not my thing. Cadence is fine. Same with HunterGirl--I admit that song was pretty good and she sounded better than usual, but I still would rather she go than one of the others. Ava... Not for me (last season had the better Ava). Lady K hasn't impressed me since her audition, sadly. She has a good voice, clearly, but she's not putting her all into it to me? Maybe she is, and it's just not translating. There's no emotion or heft to her performances; reminds me of Amber Holcomb, who had a gorgeous base voice, but just couldn't get the soul of a song out consistently. Sage and Mike can both go. I don't see what other people see in Tristen--he has the antics, but his voice is below average, imo--still at least it's something different. Can't blame a guy for trying, I guess. But I think he's more of a Caleb Johnson than Adam Lambert. Emyrson is just okay every time I've seen her... I mean, she isn't bad, she just doesn't standout for me.

God, this post is turning into a monster--the show took forever to get through, too. Christian, the first performance he's had since the first one I saw by him during Hollywood that I've liked. Jacob... Katy really took me out calling him the best singer here. No way in hell is that even vaguely true. He was really good making you feel the words of the song with the verses on "In My Blood" last week. This week was more weak and, I don't know, another one like Emyrson that's sort of fodder to me.

My preferences for who to go: Mike, Sage, Dan, Cameron, Ava, Leah. But wouldn't mind if Cadence, HunterGirl, Jacob, Tristen, Emyrson went. Even Jay or Lady K wouldn't really upset since they haven't really lived up to the potential so far. Oh, and Alejandro--he still hasn't changed from Idol. Always had a nice voice, but sings these songs where he repeats the same sentence over and over and over and over. Good luck to him though, he seems nice.

Edited April 18, 2022 by TheGreenKnight

[TheGreenKnight]

7 hours ago, thesupremediva1 said:

And I was thrilled to see Alejandro. Say what you want about Idol but that's a family that always welcomes folks back to the table.

Tell that to Maddie Poppe and Just Sam.

I still remember how rude the show was to Candice Glover the following season, too; but then, that one was more on JLO and Harry Connick, Jr. not having any class than the show itself, I guess.

Edited April 18, 2022 by TheGreenKnight

[ms gilly]

Singers: changing a song’s melody so much that the original song is unrecognizable is *not* creative genius. If you want to connect with the audience, Sing. The melody. As written. At least once. 
 

 

[peachmangosteen]

5 hours ago, sempervivum said:

Tristen came across as Adam Lambert: The Middle School Years. IMO, of course.

This is hilarious lol.

3 hours ago, TheGreenKnight said:

Tell that to Maddie Poppe and Just Sam.

Maddie Poppe is going to be on 'The Great Idol Reunion' special episode on May 2.

[TheGreenKnight]

Yeah, but they didn't let her promote her album on the show when she was the reigning Idol. I'm thinking that mattered a great deal more in the scheme of things.

[Ilovepie]

On 4/18/2022 at 9:10 AM, sempervivum said:

Tristen came across as Adam Lambert: The Middle School Years. IMO, of course.

Bwah ha ha!!!!!! Nailed it! But I am totally here for it - I love that kid! Him joking that he forgot he had to go take a test because he's still in high school was hilarious. I think he thinks he's a 30 yo rocker. I kind of love him. I would love Adam Lambert to come on and duet with him.

I thought it was overall a great show and the right people went through, with the exception of that bland as oatmeal Dan. He can go anytime.

I still maintain that Noah is going to win this thing. He is showing a surprisingly masterful touch at song choice. Picking non-country songs and flipping them is going to seal it for him. I hate country, but I actually admired what he did with that Harry Styles. This is how you play the Idol Game.

My top 3 right now are Nicolina, Ava and Tristen. I also like Christian, Ellie and Katyrah. Someone needs to restyle Ellie though - she looked like a kindergartner from 1975! Her voice is angelic - I really want her to sing Gravity by Sara Bareilles - I think she would kill that song. I think Hunter and Noah are locks despite my loathing of country. Lady K looked and sounded great, but she just comes across to me as good karaoke. I don't see her doing anything interesting to the songs. I like Mike, but I just don't hear him as country. I still feel like he's doing it because Luke told him to. Can't make up my mind about Cameron or Cadence. I thought Sage, Emerson and Allegra all sounded horrible, but maybe that was just me? They all have interesting voices, but I didn't like what any of them did to the point I fast forwarded.

My least favorites are Dan, Leah and Fritz; alas, I don't think Leah or Fritz are going anywhere.

[tinkerbell]

Was Katy crying because Christian BUTCHERED "Imagine?"  

Hes not a bad singer, but his over the top delivery takes away the moody, plaintive quality the song needs.