S20.E19: Top 5

[Ms Blue Jay]

"Top 5" - May 15, 2022 - 518

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"518 (Top 5)" - The Top 5 contestants travel to Las Vegas to be mentored by Carrie Underwood; each contestant will perform two songs.

Didn't Fritz and Noah have COVID?  There's no way it's been two weeks already.

4 (?) Carrie Underwood songs?  That is a hell of a lot.  It's not like she's Stevie Wonder or even Kelly Clarkson.  Do people actually know these songs besides Country fans?  If that?  Were there any parameters for the song choices tonight?

Finneas's performance made me seasick, I couldn't watch it.

Nicolina sounds so bad sometimes.  Her first performance was painful.

Leah's bleating goat voice kills me I can't take it.  I only figured out today that she's doing that weird affect with her voice on purpose.  She must be right?

 

Before the results are read:

I can't root for Nicolina, I can't root for Leah.  The rest, fine.  I don't "get" Fritz but fine.  I totally get Noah, I'm always happy to hear him sing and Huntergirl has been fast  winning me over.  Huntergirl's song choices have just been so much stronger the past 3 weeks.  Maybe the key is that she's picking pop-like country songs that I can actually identify with.  Maybe her stage presence is getting a lot better.

Edited May 16, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[SnarkAttack]

In a future season, I'd like to see the Top 5 contestants sing the same song, to compare and contrast.

Glad Fritz is gone.  Wish it were the three girls.

Still wish Leah would knock off the goofiness, it's annoying.  Hope she wins though.

Edited May 16, 2022 by SnarkAttack

[Annber03]

16 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Didn't Fritz and Noah have COVID?  There's no way it's been two weeks already.

I'm just struck by the fact that Ryan apparently has some deeper knowledge of D&D, if his question to Fritz regarding that game was anything to go by :p.

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Finneas's performance made me seasick, I couldn't watch it.

Yeah, that was weird. I'm not sure why they needed to do that. Also, he looked a lot like Justin Timberlake. 

I didn't like the way Leah drew out the lyrics of "I'll Stand By You", it totally threw me off. And if they were doing Carrie Underwood songs, it seems a bit like cheating to do a song that she covered? Surely there were other songs Carrie herself did originally that she could've done.

I'm genuinely surprised by the final three. I thought for sure Fritz would be in there - I expected the final three to be the two guys and then one girl. I do like that there's two girls, but I would've put Nicolina there over Leah. And of the guys, I would've preferred Fritz go through, just 'cause his musical style tends to lean a little more towards the kind of music I prefer. I can't get into Noah's brand of country - I totally understand why people connect with it, but it's just not my thing. 

[Foghorn Leghorn]

It was FF time when Finneas came on for me anyway but when the screen starting going weird I couldn’t hit the button fast enough!

Had to wonder if Carrie felt old listening to the contestants talk about growing up idolizing her music.  

Leah makes me seasick jumping around all the time. And with those hats and huge clothes she s Harpo Marx  

Leah making top 3 was a surprise as was Nicolina not making it.  No clue why boring Noah is still there.  He has little to no stage presence or personality.

 

[TheGreenKnight]

Poor Nicolina! I thought she would be top 3 for sure--her and Noah both. I mean, I didn't like her as much as Grace last year by any means--still... Sort of sad the only big voice on the show gets eliminated the night Carrie Underwood coaches. :/ Nicolina's "Blown Away" performance was very weak (and, worse, they dressed her terribly there), but I never would've thought Leah would make it over her. I did think it was suspicious that Noah sang last when Nicolina should've been going last according to how they performed in the first half of the show.... Noah did poorly on "So Small," which was unfortunate because I love that song. If the arrangement had brought it down some, it would've been perfect; but as it was the band drowned him out a lot of the time. Thankfully he knocked out his second performance.

Now Nicolina's been eliminated, I'm fully in Noah's camp. I had a feeling he was going to win anyway, but I couldn't help sort of rooting for Nicolina in case she might somehow manage it. Noah's the best country guy they've ever found though, imo, better than Laine and worlds better than McCreery and Chayce (hated both of those, the latter wasn't even "country" until the finale). I wouldn't be mad at all if HunterGirl managed to win, she seems nice and her original material is good. She actually did okay tonight with her two covers, whereas usually I don't think she sounds too great.

Sad for Fritz. I wish the third slot had been either Fritz or Nicolina instead of Leah, that way I would be happy no matter who won next week. I just don't care for her. Her 2nd performance was actually decent, but, aside from that, I think there was only one song she had a couple weeks ago that I liked. *shrug* It would be just my luck that the next time a female contestant actually wins, it would be someone I don't like, lol. She would be the first woman to win this show I didn't like.

[Annber03]

11 minutes ago, TheGreenKnight said:

Nicolina's "Blown Away" performance was very weak (and, worse, they dressed her terribly there)

Seriously, I can't believe they actually put her in a cape. Getting a little too literal with the title there, aren't we, people? 

[Blissfool]

Phew! Glad Leah made it.

Fritz had started growing on me, but I can't stand his hairstyle. Bangs?!

Since his audition, I have not been on the Noah train. I think he's very mediocre and I'm actually very surprised he had so many fans. He always sings very basic songs.

I liked both of HunterGirl's performances. Love the song Girl Crush. Katy was very predictable when she told HG that she's got a girl crush on her. I think she may have even said that to someone on a previous season. 

[HerkyJerky]

7 hours ago, SnarkAttack said:

In a future season, I'd like to see the Top 5 contestants sing the same song, to compare and contrast.

They did that years ago and IMHO, it was BORING!

[SnarkAttack]

Carrie looks a lot different.  

I love Girl Crush too; I didn't care for Huntergirl's rendition.

 

[thesupremediva1]

9 hours ago, Foghorn Leghorn said:

It was FF time when Finneas came on for me anyway but when the screen starting going weird I couldn’t hit the button fast enough!

Had to wonder if Carrie felt old listening to the contestants talk about growing up idolizing her music.  

Leah makes me seasick jumping around all the time. And with those hats and huge clothes she s Harpo Marx  

Leah making top 3 was a surprise as was Nicolina not making it.  No clue why boring Noah is still there.  He has little to no stage presence or personality.

 

I felt old listening to people talk about how they grew up to Carrie's music. I vividly remember voting for her in season 4. 

Leah is such an odd little duck but her musicality is unimpeachable. I hated her version of Stand By You - so treacly and drawn out - but her second number was a showstopper. That's the style she should lean into. She looked and sounded great - and like a star. 

Nicolina was at a massive disadvantage. This week, in particular, is driven by voting for hometown visits. Nicolina is from Canada - her hometown cannot vote for her. This week brings folks out of the woodwork who may never have voted before, and Nicolina could not cash in on that. I figured that might be the week we lost her. But all things equal, she was off key several times on both songs and has been butchering the big runs for a couple of weeks. It's not the travesty Twitter thinks it is. 

Noah is the King of Song Choice. He's outlasted dozens of more accomplished singers by picking songs that people connect to. They've also given him quite the Idol makeover (his hair and clothing choices have improved remarkably in the past few weeks). So Small is one of my favorite Carrie songs, and it was a hit for Matt Giraud when he covered it in season 8. Also, I cannot believe I'm typing his, but his second song was a true Idol moment. I was crying through it. It was beautiful. Kudos to him. I absolutely felt every single lyric. 

Fritz... my dear Fritz. You tried to skirt the assignment on the first round by picking some obscure song Carrie is only featured on, and then decided to imitate Michael Jackson? One bad night was enough to do my pony in. My fiance, who begrudgingly half-listens as he scrolls Twitter, put his phone down and asked during the second song, "What is he DOING?" My response: "Losing his shot to win this thing." Two ill-conceived, ill-advised performances in a row took down Phil-Squared Junior. I SWORE Fritz had this in the bag but I can't argue with results based on last night. 

Finally, HunterGirl. She's not a perfect singer or performer but she's relatable in her packages and comes across as authentic and comfortable on stage. Something tells me she's winning this thing. I think this version of Idol wants its own blonde country superstar. She doesn't have Carrie's pipes but I think she's a hard worker with real talent that country music will embrace.

I, for one, am looking forward to the finale. I think I'll enjoy everyone left and can't wait to see Christian sing with Buble!

[MarylandGirl]

2 hours ago, HerkyJerky said:

They did that years ago and IMHO, it was BORING!

Oh, wasn't that where a single was written that the winner would release, and they all had to sing it? And of course it was an awful song. I'm sure partly because they were trying to write something that everyone would be able to sing.

[sempervivum]

The Carrie theme was a mis-step; the whole first half of the show was terrible, imo. And the second half saw only 2 good song choices- Hunter's and Noah's, again imo.

I assume this will be Season 10 redux (Scotty/Lauren/Haley), although Leah M. must have a big fanbase to have overcome that ridiculous performance of 'Separate Ways'. Any of the 3 would be OK winners. 

[MarylandGirl]

1 hour ago, sempervivum said:

The Carrie theme was a mis-step; the whole first half of the show was terrible, imo. And the second half saw only 2 good song choices- Hunter's and Noah's, again imo.

I assume this will be Season 10 redux (Scotty/Lauren/Haley), although Leah M. must have a big fanbase to have overcome that ridiculous performance of 'Separate Ways'. Any of the 3 would be OK winners. 

I feel like both Leah and Fritz made questionable choices for their second song. They were each trying to maybe show a different side of themselves, but I think in Fritz's case it backfired--he went too far with the strutting around stage without a guitar in the tiny black leather jacket (I say this as a Fritz fan!). Though Nicolina basically stayed in her lane for that round and it didn't help, but she sounded really terrible on her first song, so...

[ljenkins782]

7 hours ago, thesupremediva1 said:

I felt old listening to people talk about how they grew up to Carrie's music. I vividly remember voting for her in season 4. 

LOL, her expression during Leah's pronouncement of her as her "childhood idol" was mostly inscrutable (likely due to Botox), but that had to be a bit of an "oof" moment. 

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Leah is such an odd little duck but her musicality is unimpeachable. I hated her version of Stand By You - so treacly and drawn out - but her second number was a showstopper. That's the style she should lean into. She looked and sounded great - and like a star. 

Her version of I'll Stand by You in the Carrie rehearsal was stunning. The version she ended up doing on the show wasn't nearly as good, IMO, but the rehearsal package was lovely. I wonder if Carrie's advice resulted in some changes for the worse or if Leah did that on her own. I thought the second performance was just okay, a little shouty, but she can certainly hit the notes. I was rooting for her to make it in, but didn't think she had a chance once it was down to her, Fritz, and Nicolina.

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Nicolina was at a massive disadvantage. This week, in particular, is driven by voting for hometown visits. Nicolina is from Canada - her hometown cannot vote for her. This week brings folks out of the woodwork who may never have voted before, and Nicolina could not cash in on that. I figured that might be the week we lost her. But all things equal, she was off key several times on both songs and has been butchering the big runs for a couple of weeks. It's not the travesty Twitter thinks it is. 

Ah, that's interesting, I hadn't thought of that. But I also didn't think her performances were her best this week, that Adele song sounded like it was in too low a key and she seemed to have some microphone issues in the Carrie song, like when she was trying to brush the hair out of her mouth, she'd move the mic too far and get drowned out.

I liked the wind machine only because it brought out goofy Seacrest, making Superman poses in his cape. He's so much more likable when he leans into the doofus side.

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Noah is the King of Song Choice. He's outlasted dozens of more accomplished singers by picking songs that people connect to. They've also given him quite the Idol makeover (his hair and clothing choices have improved remarkably in the past few weeks). So Small is one of my favorite Carrie songs, and it was a hit for Matt Giraud when he covered it in season 8. Also, I cannot believe I'm typing his, but his second song was a true Idol moment. I was crying through it. It was beautiful. Kudos to him. I absolutely felt every single lyric. 

His second performance was pitch perfect, he couldn't have chosen any better for that. And Carrie Underwood crying about how similar his journey was to hers could only have helped stir her fans toward him, if they weren't already there. I do like him and his performances, so I'd be fine with him winning, but a Leah win would be a nice change of pace from the WGWG pack of idol winners.

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Fritz... my dear Fritz. You tried to skirt the assignment on the first round by picking some obscure song Carrie is only featured on, and then decided to imitate Michael Jackson? One bad night was enough to do my pony in. My fiance, who begrudgingly half-listens as he scrolls Twitter, put his phone down and asked during the second song, "What is he DOING?" My response: "Losing his shot to win this thing." Two ill-conceived, ill-advised performances in a row took down Phil-Squared Junior. I SWORE Fritz had this in the bag but I can't argue with results based on last night. 

Yeah, not his best night either. In totality, I think I liked Fritz the person more than Fritz the artist. He seems to have a good personality and his bond with Katy Perry was consistently adorable, but I didn't always love his musical choices. And the sharp shift in persona on that second song just didn't work. 

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 Finally, HunterGirl. She's not a perfect singer or performer but she's relatable in her packages and comes across as authentic and comfortable on stage. Something tells me she's winning this thing. I think this version of Idol wants its own blonde country superstar. She doesn't have Carrie's pipes but I think she's a hard worker with real talent that country music will embrace.

I, for one, am looking forward to the finale. I think I'll enjoy everyone left and can't wait to see Christian sing with Buble!

 

Huntergirl seems like a lovely person (actually most of this season's hopefuls seemed quite likable as people), but I was honestly surprised to see her go through. Of the people left, I was the least moved by her performances and style, and putting her up side-by-side with Carrie Underwood didn't do her any favors. She looked shy and plain and overshadowed by Carrie* all glammed up and even when Huntergirl was made up and dressed for the show, she still looked a little mousy. And she looks far older than her years, I could easily buy her as a 45 year old singing in a bar. Her voice is fine, but I'm not seeing superstar potential there. 

*The most notable thing about the Idol evolution last night was looking at Carrie's journey and particularly how she's grown as a performer. I remember her playing a music festival near my hometown about a year or so after her win and the local paper noted how awkward she was on stage. Like, her voice was great, but her "performance" elements consisted of swatting bugs away and making stilted chatter about said bugs. So to see her commanding a Vegas stage and giving stage presence advice was a nice full-circle moment. Idol can get you to the big stage, but there's more to come after that and she's clearly put the work in. 

[ForReal]

I was rooting for Nicolina all season, but when she sang Adele's song, I felt like she knew it was over (and I felt like I did, for her). She has seemed the most grounded and self-assured of all the contestants, so I hope she is going back to a life that will take her upwards and onwards, after this whole experience.

Leah is a puzzle to me. I like quirky,  but she tends to annoy me. However, when she drops the quirk and just sings, she is great. She made a comment during the show about being able to be more herself and not having to be so...I can't remember the word she used, but it made me think that she had been told to turn up the quirk factor and was enjoying being herself so that people could have a better sense of her. I really liked Maddie Poppe and don't mind another quirky girl winning, but I won't be sad if she doesn't win, either.

Noah. He does nothing for me, but I am not a country music fan. I wish him the best, whatever happens. Same for Huntergirl.

[TheMediumBopper]

This promises to be a boring finale; I might skip it altogether and just find Christian's duet with Michael Buble online somewhere. I definitely felt last night that they are trying to mobilize a Noah win. Yes, he's a humble, unassuming construction worker from the sticks. We get it. He sings well enough but doesn't seem like somebody who's going to light the world on fire. 

I thought Huntergirl sounded good in her audition when it was just her and her guitar singing in a more restrained way, without all the lights and glitz and attempts to "engage the crowd." If she can get back to that quiet simplicity, I think she could have a place in the industry. But over the past weeks she's done too many things that aren't really suited to her voice.

Edited May 16, 2022 by TheMediumBopper

[MissPriss]

I know Idol can’t play with the votes 🤔, but I could see them pushing a Leah win. Musically she is flawless and quirkiness aside, she is stunning. TPTB could easily turn her into a total package like Carrie. She’s truly gorgeous but I wonder if that beauty makes her uncomfortable. She certainly does everything to tone it down. 
 

I’ve just heard speculation about TPTB wanting a female winner and I think initially Hunter was the (platinum) girl of choice. Hunter seems nice and she can sing for sure. But Leah has a nuance that Hunter lacks, and Leah’s sparkling beauty can’t be denied. I could see Leah going places. I’m just thinking out loud here. 

[MarylandGirl]

1 hour ago, MissPriss said:

I know Idol can’t play with the votes 🤔, but I could see them pushing a Leah win. Musically she is flawless and quirkiness aside, she is stunning. TPTB could easily turn her into a total package like Carrie. She’s truly gorgeous but I wonder if that beauty makes her uncomfortable. She certainly does everything to tone it down. 
 

I’ve just heard speculation about TPTB wanting a female winner and I think initially Hunter was the (platinum) girl of choice. Hunter seems nice and she can sing for sure. But Leah has a nuance that Hunter lacks, and Leah’s sparkling beauty can’t be denied. I could see Leah going places. I’m just thinking out loud here. 

I'd definitely prefer a Leah win. But I also feel sort of like they could more easily mold Hunter or especially Noah (due to his lack of experience) into what they'd want for success. I feel like Leah would want more control over song choice, style, etc.?

Maybe I'm just being cynical... Though they've also been pushing Hunter since the whole Platinum Ticket thing....

[Vermicious Knid]

Now that they've gotten a platinum ticket into the finals we will be stuck with that for the foreseeable future. Ugh.

We end up with a country WGWG, a country WG(irl)WG, and a quirky WG(irl)WG. I really want a rock oriented singing show again where there will be no country, gospel, or Christian worship songs.

[TeeMo]

I like Carrie, voted exclusively for her in her season, own a ton of her albums and have seen her in concert but she was a lousy choice as a mentor in the lead up to the finale. The celeb mentors only work when the celeb is enthusiastic about it(looking at you, Chris Martin) and I just didn’t get that from her. I know everyone uses this show as promo for their own stuff but this felt way more like something her record company suggested as a way to get some promotion for her newly announced tour than something she actually wanted to do. Also she seemed to not like Nicolina at all - did anyone else get that sense? 
 

HunterGirl had a great audition and has bored me since but I thought she had a great night at the right time last night and her styling worked well too. 

 

[peachmangosteen]

31 minutes ago, TeeMo said:

I like Carrie, voted exclusively for her in her season, own a ton of her albums and have seen her in concert but she was a lousy choice as a mentor in the lead up to the finale. The celeb mentors only work when the celeb is enthusiastic about it(looking at you, Chris Martin) and I just didn’t get that from her. I know everyone uses this show as promo for their own stuff but this felt way more like something her record company suggested as a way to get some promotion for her newly announced tour than something she actually wanted to do. Also she seemed to not like Nicolina at all - did anyone else get that sense? 

I completely agree. Carrie was definitely giving off 'forced to be here' vibes lol. And I totally picked up on her not liking Nicolina. 

[Babalooie]

Music educator here to say that I was over it when Jay and Christian were eliminated.  Leah has a really clear singing voice but is too silly and Noah and HunterGirl are too generic, as you can find singers exactly like them in every club in Nashville.  Oh, wait!  They did find one of them there, lol.   In other words, IDK who wins this season.  I'm here to watch Joe the bass player (Colin K's twin).

Edited May 17, 2022 by Babalooie
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[TheGreenKnight]

I feel like they want one of the country contestants to win. HunterGirl was given a Platinum Ticket and I believe Noah had the first audition of the season (just like Scotty on his season). They know how hard it is for a woman to win this show these days, so while HunterGirl is probably their preference, Noah is the ace in the hole.

I like these two much better than Lauren and Scotty; they probably did better finding country talent this time because of Luke Bryan being one of the judges. There wasn't a country judge back in season 10 which could account for why the people they pushed then were horrible.

[ruffy666]

Oh well... I don't like any of the final 3.  I'm a little surprised by how many fans Leah apparently has.  I don't mind that she's beyond quirky.  I just haven't enjoyed really any of her performances.  I don't know who she's working with from the AI team but the arrangement of "I'll Stand By You" was just... bizarre.  Not enjoyable at all, IMO.  I think she's better when she's singing her own stuff because her style slapped on any other song just doesn't seem to work for me.

Nicolina was my favorite and I grudgingly came around for Fritz and now with both of them gone, sigh, who cares anymore

[Foghorn Leghorn]

I also noticed Carrie was weird with Nicolina.  Carrie gave her zero advice on anything as I recall and she seemed aloof.  She was the worst mentor I can remember.  Why bother other than to promote her own career!  A night of CU’s songs was not my fave to listen to but I am not a fan of her anyway.  She is so artificial looking.

 

Edited May 17, 2022 by Foghorn Leghorn

[TheGreenKnight]

I didn't always consider myself a "fan" of Carrie Underwood. I could always recognized her undeniable talent and could enjoy a few of her songs. It wasn't until her fifth album, Storyteller--on top of hosting CMAs, which she was hilarious at--that I became a fan of her. It was when I finally felt like there was something there, instead of her being a singer only with other people pulling all the strings where it comes to songwriting and so on.

I didn't think she was too odd with Nicolina? I wondered last night if Nicolina might have had COVID considering her unexpectedly weak vocals (especially on "Blown Away"), considering Fritz and Noah had it the week before. I do think her not making the top 3 is a travesty, especially with the performance order not making sense considering she should've had the final spot, but not as big a travesty as there have been on this show. Chayce beating Grace and Willie last year is the only major one since they've been on ABC; Jeremiah going out at around #7 is another one. The travesties were nonstop the last 5-6 years on FOX, in comparison.

[Ilovepie]

Sigh..........this was the wrong week for Nicolina to have a bad week. Both songs were shouty and for the first time all season she sounded out of tune and out of control of the song. Bummer.

Well, now that my pick is out, I guess I'm rooting for Noah? It pains me to no end to root for a WGWG at this late date, but I like him the best of the three. I just cannot stand Leah. Her personality, her quirkiness, her little girl high pitched slurry voice just don't do it for me. My husband was horrified by what she did to Separate Ways. He was like "turn it off! turn it off! make it stop!!!!" Hunter is just there for me. She always sounds fine, but I just find her boring and I never remember what she sang afterwards. She'll probably be the most successful of this group though win or lose, but I doubt I'll ever hear her again on any station I listen to on Pandora or Sirius.

Who the hell was that Finneas guy? Had to FF that nonsense.

[peachmangosteen]

3 hours ago, Ilovepie said:

Who the hell was that Finneas guy? Had to FF that nonsense.

He is Billie Eilish's brother, songwriting partner, producer, etc. He has his own singing career as well. He was a mentor last season.

[Ilovepie]

2 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

He is Billie Eilish's brother, songwriting partner, producer, etc. He has his own singing career as well. He was a mentor last season.

Thanks - I thought maybe he was Billie Eilish's brother, but I wasn't sure. For the first time ever, I did not watch Idol at all last year, so I didn't see him. I should have recognized him from the Billie Eilish Disney+ show they did, but I was more listening and not watching that......

[MarylandGirl]

3 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

He is Billie Eilish's brother, songwriting partner, producer, etc. He has his own singing career as well. He was a mentor last season.

I recall him being good as a mentor--definitely better than Carrie Underwood! Though I also FFed his performance.

[twilightzone]

On 5/17/2022 at 8:08 AM, TheGreenKnight said:

I feel like they want one of the country contestants to win. HunterGirl was given a Platinum Ticket and I believe Noah had the first audition of the season (just like Scotty on his season). They know how hard it is for a woman to win this show these days, so while HunterGirl is probably their preference, Noah is the ace in the hole.

I like these two much better than Lauren and Scotty; they probably did better finding country talent this time because of Luke Bryan being one of the judges. There wasn't a country judge back in season 10 which could account for why the people they pushed then were horrible.

Then they might as well change this Country Idol.  If Noah or Huntergirl wins, then 4 of the last 6 winners have been Country. 

I thought Carrie was forgettable as a mentor.  She did very little.

This is the 20th anniversary, so why are performance slots given to non-alums?  Also the only alums at the finale will be Carrie and Gabby.

No wonder the show is losing viewers.

Edited May 19, 2022 by twilightzone

[Thalia]

On 5/16/2022 at 3:46 PM, ljenkins782 said:

Huntergirl seems like a lovely person (actually most of this season's hopefuls seemed quite likable as people), but I was honestly surprised to see her go through. Of the people left, I was the least moved by her performances and style

Huntergirl has never really excited me, but it was her performance of 9 to 5 that convinced me that she isn't all that.  The judges were acting transported, but she put absolutely no enthusiasm or acting ability into the song.  She hit the notes and can keep time.  But she doesn't have the kind of voice that makes you want to stop and listen to it again and again.  MHO. 

[ForReal]

On 5/18/2022 at 5:46 PM, twilightzone said:

Then they might as well change this Country Idol.  If Noah or Huntergirl wins, then 4 of the last 6 winners have been Country...No wonder the show is losing viewers.

I don't listen to country music, and even though I've been watching the show for a long time, I am starting to think this might be my last season.