S21.E13: Top 20

[Gemma Violet]

I started the thread for last night's show.  Not sure if anyone is allowed to start a topic.  If not, please delete.

[String Theory]

Speaks volumes that no one has posted here.  Very meh season.

Why do they have judges for this part of competition? Aren't decisions made based on the viewers votes?

[Gemma Violet]

I thought it was rude of Katy to act so disappointed about one of her faves going home at the end.  I felt bad for Wé.  Katy was more or less saying, "Wé should have been the one to go home instead of my fave."

[sempervivum]

This has been said before, but I can barely put a name to a face at this point, and now 8 more will disappear. Certainly makes it easy to skip a show, eh?

I would be happy to see all the divas (Olivia, Nutsa, Paige) eliminated, except for We, who can do more than sing corny old show-off songs. I would be OK with losing Colin, Oliver* and Warren, who blur together and haven't done anything interesting. Zach and Matt, your time is up. Do I think this will happen, nope. Probably the opposite.

Unless something dramatic occurs, We and Iam will be #1/2 or 2/1. The only (slight) interest at this point is who #3 will be.

* Oliver is making it clear that he has no hair on top🦅 (that's a bald eagle!)

[gaPeach]

3 hours ago, Gemma Violet said:

I thought it was rude of Katy to act so disappointed about one of her faves going home at the end.  I felt bad for Wé.  Katy was more or less saying, "Wé should have been the one to go home instead of my fave."

 I saw it somewhere today that Katy is or should be fired because she is so rude to mostly female contestants.  My guess if this is true, she just will not be back next season.

And as I have stated previously, I have not watched AI for years and am so disappointed on the process and the fact that so many contestants made it to Hollywood that we never saw.  We only saw the ones the AI deemed worth their time.  They showcased their back sad sob stories, gave them extended airtime and their very own hashtag.  The rest of the contestants were show for a nano second in a quick montage, never to be seen again expect in the background when the "chosen ones" were on camera.  

This show is beyond boring.  And actually, Katy spices it up with her antics and negative vibes to female contestants.

[Maya]

Three hours is WAAAAY too long for this show to be on. Especially since 1/3 of that time is the judges’ blathering and useless comments.

i was surprised Elijah was eliminated. Also surprised so many women advanced, but I assume they’ll all be cut tonight. I still think Colin has winner written all over him. 

[cowgirlwen]

26 minutes ago, gaPeach said:

And as I have stated previously, I have not watched AI for years and am so disappointed on the process and the fact that so many contestants made it to Hollywood that we never saw.  We only saw the ones the AI deemed worth their time. 

I personally know of two (one from my hometown, and another who is an extended family member), who made it to Hollywood in the past couple of years, but never were shown on TV.  Both are excellent singers who, at the very least, deserved a minute of airtime.  Sad that they got their hopes and dreams built up, just to be quashed because they didn't fit the storyline that AI was trying to sell at the time.  

 

[JayDub1987]

I don’t have a ton of thoughts on this one. I’m fine with the people leaving getting voted off. Their performances in Hawaii were either forgettable or terrible. 

I like Warren, which isn’t a shock since I like Stapleton a lot. I also really like Mariah. My pick to win is still Mary Beth Byrd. Danielle is a really good. Paige Ann has really good vocals, but she’s gonna get boring fast. That’s one of the downsides of being on here at such a young age. Same could be said of Colin. He’s decent, but not great. Unfortunately, he’s probably not gonna get too much better while on this show, but may make it too far to be really be able to make another run a few years down the road. 

 

Im mildly amused at critics saying Katie is too mean. From where I’m sitting, none of these judges say anything critical of anyone. They should replace the term “judge” with “cheerleader.”

[gaPeach]

27 minutes ago, cowgirlwen said:

I personally know of two (one from my hometown, and another who is an extended family member), who made it to Hollywood in the past couple of years, but never were shown on TV.  Both are excellent singers who, at the very least, deserved a minute of airtime.  Sad that they got their hopes and dreams built up, just to be quashed because they didn't fit the storyline that AI was trying to sell at the time. 

I feel bad for those contestants.  Good singers but not worthy of airtime according to AI producers because don't fit a certain mold or sob story.  I will see it to the bitter end on this season but not again.  Ever.

[paul4295]

4 hours ago, String Theory said:

Speaks volumes that no one has posted here.  Very meh season.

Why do they have judges for this part of competition? Aren't decisions made based on the viewers votes?

Because the judges are supposed to be experts with relevant commentary that would help viewers make a decision.  In reality, that hasn't happened since Harry Connick, Jr. was a judge.  The current judges never have any real criticisms to make.  Every batch of singers is the best they've ever had, every original song is a masterpiece, and every note is sung perfectly with stirring passion and emotion.

I think they do find a lot more good singers now than in early seasons, and that makes it hard for me to find any standouts.  They're all good, but I don't know that any of them are really great.  Some of them sound great one week, and then just OK the next week.

I will say I don't get the appeal of Zachariah, Lucy, or Iam.  Zachariah and Lucy try too hard, and I don't think their voices are that great.  Iam has a really good voice, but he bores me.  He's just not a performer (at least not yet).

[JayDub1987]

41 minutes ago, paul4295 said:

I will say I don't get the appeal of Zachariah, Lucy, or Iam.  Zachariah and Lucy try too hard, and I don't think their voices are that great.  Iam has a really good voice, but he bores me.  He's just not a performer (at least not yet).

I agree with all of this. Zachariah is too over the top. Are we sure he isn’t a plant? Lucy’s entire gimmick is “I want this, I have kids.” Neither of them sing good enough to win, and Lucy’s performance of an original song was terrible. I’m not sure how you go that pitchy on a song that you wrote. 

[MarylandGirl]

17 minutes ago, JayDub1987 said:

I agree with all of this. Zachariah is too over the top. Are we sure he isn’t a plant? Lucy’s entire gimmick is “I want this, I have kids.” Neither of them sing good enough to win, and Lucy’s performance of an original song was terrible. I’m not sure how you go that pitchy on a song that you wrote. 

Yes, shouldn't you write to your own vocal strengths? It's different if you're trying to sing someone else's song, and they have a different range from you. She also wasn't good in Hawaii.

I do like Zachariah, but I think it's mainly because I like rock (and alternative), and rock seems so poorly represented on Idol since the move to ABC in particular. And he's entertaining. I'd rather watch him than 5 technically good female vocalists sing slow Celine Dion songs or similar music. Though I don't think he made a good song choice or gave a good performance last night.

I like Iam, too--I enjoyed his take on an ABBA song and generally like his performances. But I don't know that I'd buy music of his. Or any of them, really!

[JayDub1987]

30 minutes ago, MarylandGirl said:

I like Iam, too--I enjoyed his take on an ABBA song and generally like his performances. But I don't know that I'd buy music of his. Or any of them, really!

I like Iam, but I'm with you. If you've ever been to Hawaii, you've probably heard someone who sounds just like him at a bar or restaurant near the beach. Seems like a sweet kid, and as a musician I LOVE the story of his dad giving him the guitar...but that's about it. He's not gonna be a star, at least not in the continental US. He would probably develop a pretty solid following in the Hawaii music scene in the same way that people who aren't huge stars have good followings in their regional music scene.

[ljenkins782]

Just now, JayDub1987 said:

I like Iam, but I'm with you. If you've ever been to Hawaii, you've probably heard someone who sounds just like him at a bar or restaurant near the beach. Seems like a sweet kid, and as a musician I LOVE the story of his dad giving him the guitar...but that's about it. He's not gonna be a star, at least not in the continental US. He would probably develop a pretty solid following in the Hawaii music scene in the same way that people who aren't huge stars have good followings in their regional music scene.

Which, for AI in its 21st year, is probably the most almost any contestant can hope for. this show isn't turning out superstars anymore.

Quote

I thought it was rude of Katy to act so disappointed about one of her faves going home at the end.  I felt bad for Wé.  Katy was more or less saying, "Wé should have been the one to go home instead of my fave."

Yes, I thought she handled that really poorly, I felt sorry for We having to stand there through that, it was awkward. Who were the judges so bummed to lose anyway, Elijah? I liked him, but his last performance was pretty terrible.

I have liked this season so far, but I'm somehow underwhelmed by the top 20. I thought a couple of people forgot their words in spots, but since the judges don't actually judge anymore, nobody said anything.

[JayDub1987]

2 hours ago, ljenkins782 said:

Which, for AI in its 21st year, is probably the most almost any contestant can hope for. this show isn't turning out superstars anymore.

Quote

Exactly. I didn’t even mean it as a slight. If your passion is music and you can make some money performing regionally, it’s not a bad gig. I just can’t see anywhere in which Iam is gonna become a superstar who the world is clamoring to see. His songs have the same feel to them, and it’s obvious that he plays Hawaiian-style music. Just like Warren Peay probably isn’t ever gonna have much of a following outside of the southeast, and the list goes on and on. 

[Blissfool]

4 hours ago, JayDub1987 said:

Neither of them sing good enough to win, and Lucy’s performance of an original song was terrible. I’m not sure how you go that pitchy on a song that you wrote. 

Ohmygosh, I thought Lucy's song was terrible!   🎶Boulders on my shoulders...🎶.....what a joke!

And then the judges praised her?!

[Annber03]

4 hours ago, MarylandGirl said:

I do like Zachariah, but I think it's mainly because I like rock (and alternative), and rock seems so poorly represented on Idol since the move to ABC in particular. And he's entertaining. I'd rather watch him than 5 technically good female vocalists sing slow Celine Dion songs or similar music. Though I don't think he made a good song choice or gave a good performance last night.

I like Iam, too--I enjoyed his take on an ABBA song and generally like his performances. But I don't know that I'd buy music of his. Or any of them, really!

I tend to agree with this post in general. I didn't even think about Zachariah being from one of the towns that got hit by that recent tornado outbreak, but damn, that's rough, and my heart goes out to him for that, and seeing his town so devastated as it was. I also agree the show didn't need to be three hours long, but I tend to feel that way about reality shows/competitions that stretch out to that amount of time in general, so...

A lot of women were taking on some big vocal shoes last night, between Celine Dion and Freddie Mercury and so on. Not sure it worked for all of them, but lord knows they're far from the first women who've tried to take on such big singers like that, so it'll be interesting to see who benefits from that. 

6 hours ago, gaPeach said:

And as I have stated previously, I have not watched AI for years and am so disappointed on the process and the fact that so many contestants made it to Hollywood that we never saw.  We only saw the ones the AI deemed worth their time.  They showcased their back sad sob stories, gave them extended airtime and their very own hashtag.  The rest of the contestants were show for a nano second in a quick montage, never to be seen again expect in the background when the "chosen ones" were on camera.  

That's the big reason it's so much harder to connect with contestants nowadays, they move through this season at a much more rapid pace and cut so many people all at once and whatnot, and we never really get much time to get to know these people. I too would've been interested to see what some of the other contestants who left too soon could've done. 

[dizzyd]

The stylists did a very good job with the ladies. Nailah and her mom are exceptionally beautiful women, gifted genes. My comments on the episode speak nothing of talent of which there was only a handful and some really bad song choices. 8 of them will be gone on Monday, so that’s a nice big cut.

[thesupremediva1]

Well, Elise and Emma have great voices, but both took great songs and did poor versions of them. In Emma’s case, the Sam Smith was rendered unrecognizable, so I’m not shocked they were cut. Elijah and Pjae were out of tune, and Dawson was great but got zero screen time and then hosed by the panel for not staying in his box. 
On to who’s left: Zachariah is just a bit much. He has a good voice but he just feels like a gimmick. That said I enjoy him more than endless divas.

Mike: Nice job, better than last time! But I just don’t find his voice reliable or powerful. I’m nervous every performance.

Nailyah: This wasn’t my fav from her, but she’s got great tone and I enjoy watching her on stage. Solid enough to stay, I hope.

Warren: Country plays well on Idol and I think he has a future in country. I also think he picks exceptional songs. I really like him, more and more each week.

Mary Beth: This just didn’t land for me. Song wasn’t bad but wasn’t great. She has lovely tone and range, but she doesn’t have a solid identity and often seems disconnected.

Kaeyra: She’s a real star, with a great voice, a clear personality, and presence for days. She’s so comfortable on stage. It’s easy to enjoy her performances.

Oliver: I love him! This was the only good original of the night, and it was great. He’s just got an attitude and style I respond to. Broken Halos was the best thing that happened all season. It made me cry. Waiting for something that good again.j

Lucy: This was her best yet! Redemptive after the last one which wasn’t great. I think she’s in for the long haul.

Haven: I’m over her. Two poor performances in a row. One of the few who should have done an original and she didn’t.

Iam: Likely winning the whole thing. Very good on his narrow lane, and knows how to make a moment. I’m growing a bit antsy with the sameness of his performances but no one else seems to be.

We: I like her a lot but she got so far on The Voice I just can’t see getting as far on another show. She’s almost too polished.

Megan: My dark horse to win it all! Her voice is magic and she nails every performance. No one sounds like her.

Michael: So cute but he’s better than what he sang. It was kind of a nothing burger.

Paige: Ugh I like her but she just did what gets people cut, decimating a good song into a melismatic exercise and making it unrecognizable. So sad! That wasn’t good though.

Colin: That sing wasn’t good for his voice and he was just sleepy. It’s a no from me dawg.

Hannah: See above. Zero connection with the song. Time to go.

Mariah: Great song choice! Loved it where I haven’t enjoyed her previously.

Olivia: She’s great but she needs to do something outside the diva’s catalogue. She’s aging herself and coming across as boring and an imitator. No one will ever be Celine. Pick a song you can OWN. Change it up! Diva-fy something surprising. She’s the best female voice here and I don’t want to lose her.

Nutsa: A caricature of a big vocal performance. Please go home yesterday.

Tyson: Man, he just hasn’t been good in weeks but he’s always skating through. These originals are painful. The show isn’t entertaining when it’s all originals. Not everyone is Alejandro or even Chayce.

I enjoy Noah and HunterGirl so much. They vibe so well together.

[Vermicious Knid]

I always fast forward through the judges blather after they perform because it's just useless. Nutsa's dress looked fabulous and I thought she sounded great. Wé performed Skyfall better than Adele so she damn well should have stayed. Hannah does not have the chops for Queen and that was clear. 

Quote

Lucy’s performance of an original song was terrible.

Jeez, yes. The song itself is marketable and if she's smart she'll license the shit out of it to artists who want to record covers. Also, I'm tired of hearing about people's babies. I watch this show to hear people singing. 

[Blissfool]

I loved when the judges (I think it was Luke) told Nutsa she's the hardest worker on that stage. I could just imagine her Hollywood Week duet partner yelling at the screen, "SHE WANTED TO SLEEEEEP!!!"

[gaPeach]

9 hours ago, Blissfool said:

I loved when the judges (I think it was Luke) told Nutsa she's the hardest worker on that stage. I could just imagine her Hollywood Week duet partner yelling at the screen, "SHE WANTED TO SLEEEEEP!!!"

Hahahaha I bet she was.  I know a lot of people watched that unfold on Hollywood Week and it seemed as though Nutsa just left the other chick and went to bed.  We did not see that exchange, so we are going on what the other chick said.  But we see her call Nutsa and tell her she really needed to practice so Nutsa came downstairs and practiced with her.  I did not see Nutsa act put out or mad at the other girl.  And did not argue or say anything when the other girl complained to the judges.  She was actually pretty nice about it.  The other girl was trying to throw Nutsa under the bus, but it fell flat when Nutsa did not respond like a Diva.

That being said, what I think happened is they practiced and at some point, they decided to go to bed.  The other chick stayed up and got herself worked up that they needed more practice and made is seems as though Nutsa left her high and dry to sleep.  Nutsa's behavior, to me, did not support the diva vibe.  She seemed to be very supportive of the other chick.  Who in my opinion shot herself in the foot all on her own and was cut.  Just my two cents.

[ruffy666]

2 hours ago, gaPeach said:

That being said, what I think happened is they practiced and at some point, they decided to go to bed.  The other chick stayed up and got herself worked up that they needed more practice and made is seems as though Nutsa left her high and dry to sleep.  Nutsa's behavior, to me, did not support the diva vibe.  She seemed to be very supportive of the other chick.  Who in my opinion shot herself in the foot all on her own and was cut.  Just my two cents.

I don't even like Nutsa but I agree with this, I think she got a pretty unfair edit there.

DVR is the only thing that makes this show palatable... 3 hours!!?  Zipping through the commercials and the packages before each performance (most of which we've seen multiple times before!) cuts it down by a good 50%

[gaPeach]

23 hours ago, ljenkins782 said:

Quote

I thought it was rude of Katy to act so disappointed about one of her faves going home at the end.  I felt bad for Wé.  Katy was more or less saying, "Wé should have been the one to go home instead of my fave."

Yes, I thought she handled that really poorly, I felt sorry for We having to stand there through that, it was awkward. Who were the judges so bummed to lose anyway, Elijah? I liked him, but his last performance was pretty terrible.

 I agree totally with this.  I felt bad for We, and not only did Katy do it so did Luke.  He tried to salvage it at the end, but it was too late.  I have newfound respect for Lionel because he stayed on point and only addressed We's Proformance.  Nothing else.

And yeah, who did they think should have made it over We?  I thought it was a logical choice when I saw the last 4 on the chairs.

[twilightzone]

Yeah, Nutsa has been treated very unfairly.  The duet drama has been blown out of proportion.   

But now viewers are tearing into Lucy - saying she seems bitter and has a bad attitude with the latest results.  And pointed out that when she was the last in her group to be called Safe in Top 20, she bolted out of her seat - without acknowledging that the 3 other contestants she was sitting with had been eliminated.

Idol fans can be relentless.

 

[JayDub1987]

9 minutes ago, twilightzone said:

But now viewers are tearing into Lucy - saying she seems bitter and has a bad attitude with the latest results.  And pointed out that when she was the last in her group to be called Safe in Top 20, she bolted out of her seat - without acknowledging that the 3 other contestants she was sitting with had been eliminated.

Lucy earned the backlash. Every time Ryan was talking to another contestant last night, she was staring into the camera like, bouncing around, and trying to make herself the center of attention. When the bottom group we’re all waiting on the save announcements, she couldn’t even stand there like a normal person. Nope. Had to bounce up and down, physically holding her own chin up, and once again making sure we all saw her. She thinks she deserves a spot because she has kids or something  and she “wants it.” I don’t care if you’ve reproduced, and everybody wants it. 

[Blissfool]

8 hours ago, gaPeach said:

Hahahaha I bet she was.  I know a lot of people watched that unfold on Hollywood Week and it seemed as though Nutsa just left the other chick and went to bed.  We did not see that exchange, so we are going on what the other chick said.  But we see her call Nutsa and tell her she really needed to practice so Nutsa came downstairs and practiced with her.  I did not see Nutsa act put out or mad at the other girl.  And did not argue or say anything when the other girl complained to the judges.  She was actually pretty nice about it.  The other girl was trying to throw Nutsa under the bus, but it fell flat when Nutsa did not respond like a Diva.

That being said, what I think happened is they practiced and at some point, they decided to go to bed.  The other chick stayed up and got herself worked up that they needed more practice and made is seems as though Nutsa left her high and dry to sleep.  Nutsa's behavior, to me, did not support the diva vibe.  She seemed to be very supportive of the other chick.  Who in my opinion shot herself in the foot all on her own and was cut.  Just my two cents.

I agree with everything you said. I've actually liked Nutsa all along. If you ask me, she's very gracious and sweet with the other contestants. Heck, even when Ryan asks her a question, she's gracious with her answer.

After the duet debacle, Katy told her to always show grace insinuating that Nutsa hadn't. Hello! Nutsa stood there sadly and quietly while her duet partner threw her under the bus.

[MarylandGirl]

19 hours ago, ruffy666 said:

I don't even like Nutsa but I agree with this, I think she got a pretty unfair edit there.

DVR is the only thing that makes this show palatable... 3 hours!!?  Zipping through the commercials and the packages before each performance (most of which we've seen multiple times before!) cuts it down by a good 50%

Agreed on the DVR! If I want to watch it the same night, I just wait to start watching it until 30-45 minutes in, then I can FF through much of it. Though I should have started later with the 3-hour one, as I was like "Oh no!" when I caught up.

[OLynn33]

On 4/24/2023 at 9:05 PM, thesupremediva1 said:

Dawson was great but got zero screen time and then hosed by the panel for not staying in his box. 

I was just going to read the comments and not post anything because um the show was in the spring! Lol But...this. THIS!! I thought Dawson was one of the most intriguing contestants I've seen in a long time. Very talented with both a unique voice and personality. And the judges, all of them, I won’t say have hated on him, but certainly have been less than encouraging. I just don't get it! I'm guessing it's a producing thing and he doesn't fit the narrative for this season and for spoiler reasons I'm not going to google him at this point but I'll tell you what, if I was a talent agent watching he's the guy I'd be focusing on. Like does he want to act? Sing and act? Certainly wouldn't be the judge's darling Zachariah. Nothing against the kid. And this I get.

Edited November 12, 2023 by OLynn33