S14.E22: Top Finalists Perform

[WookieeCookieez]

And I was crushed that Nick didn't sing Mr. Mister's Broken Wings.

 

I was hoping for something like "Separate Ways", because I think the slight rasp that can come through in his voice would be complimented. As much as Bret Michaels overused "Every Rose..." on his dating show I think Nick could've really done something that would stand out (other than Maddie having dibs on that song- seriously, Maddie?).

[designing1]

I'd guess tweens and younger as Seavey supporters. Someone has to replace Bieber as the barely talented, non-sexually threatening solo boy singer du jour. Bieber has largely aged and shenaniganed his way out of that demographic.

 

I'm just surprised tweens are watching this show. I'm surprised anyone is still watching this show, especially myself (damn you, Modern Family reruns that immediately precede Idol!) Hell, I'm shocked this show is still on the air!

[awaken]

Boy George, yikes!!  That's all I have to say about that...

 

Overall happy with the results!  I thought Maddie had stayed long past her due date, so that was a relief, and Adanna just never clicked for me, so I won't notice she's gone.  Next I think Daniel and Rayvon are up.  

 

I think it's gonna be Joey and Jax in the finals...maybe Nick, too.  Personally not my taste, but he did a good job this week.  Clark is great, and a "real" musician, but I don't think he has a specific demographic that's going to pull him through.  

 

Love my Quassim and Quentin, but I think they will get to about 5th-6th.  

 

Oh, forgot my fave Tyanna- I think she'll be up there, too.  

Edited March 28, 2015 by awaken

[howmanywords]

Pretty much every other season there is always that one contestant who is considered a joke and whenever they keep surviving every week we sit around wondering who is voting for them. Daniel reminds me of the the days of Sanjaya, Lazaro. and Tim Urban.  Just like they had their voters who kept them around longer than more deserving singers Daniel has his voters, and just like them he wont win.

I think it's gonna be Joey and Jax in the finals...maybe Nick, too.  Personally not my taste, but he did a good job this week.  Clark is great, and a "real" musician, but I don't think he has a specific demographic that's going to pull him through.  

IMO Clark is exactly the kind of guy this shows core viewers vote for. He's like a hybrid of Kris, Lee and P2 but with a better voice.  Hes also selling the most on iTunes (given the overall not great sales he was way ahead of the pack this week) and hes also getting the most YouTube views every week so I think hes just what the hardcore viewers love. 

[Simon Boccanegra]

Pretty much every other season there is always that one contestant who is considered a joke and whenever they keep surviving every week we sit around wondering who is voting for them. Daniel reminds me of the the days of Sanjaya, Lazaro. and Tim Urban

 

Yep. And the Korean-American contestant who had a mini-feud with Jimmy Iovine, and got told off by Steven Tyler for making a joke out of Billy Joel's "My Life." He was another no-chance finalist who was surprisingly difficult to shake off. In all three of the cases you mention and that one as well, I was thinking, "Was this person really one of the best to put through in the first place?" I couldn't believe they even got out of Hollywood. (Urban caught a lucky break, IIRC, because the person who actually won his spot was disqualified for a contractual issue. But he still shouldn't have been that close!)

 

However, once they're in the running, people vote based on whatever reason. Amusing, endearing, inspirational, a crush, et cetera. 

Edited March 28, 2015 by Simon Boccanegra

[Laurie4H]

Fox really needs to put this show out of it's misery. It makes me sad that the show that used to give me such joy (and anticipation to watch) is sooooo bad.

This. I remember Tuesdays being my favorite day (back when it was on Tuesdays) I would look for spoilers online etc....couldn't wait to get home from work to watch. All over a tv show. Now I can barely watch.

I feel like every year and more so now, people always sound great in their auditions and Hollywood and when we get to the live shows many of them don't live up to their potential.

Edited March 28, 2015 by Laurie4H

[Guest]

However, once they're in the running, people vote based on whatever reason. Amusing, endearing, inspirational, a crush, et cetera. 

I agree.  You can spend all day theorizing that it's the tweens or the grannies or some other bloc of demographically homeogenized people but isn't it a lot more likely that it's just a wide variety of people who just like him or otherwise choose to vote for him, just like how our own tastes change season to season?  

[twilightzone]

IMO Clark is exactly the kind of guy this shows core viewers vote for. He's like a hybrid of Kris, Lee and P2 but with a better voice.  Hes also selling the most on iTunes (given the overall not great sales he was way ahead of the pack this week) and hes also getting the most YouTube views every week so I think hes just what the hardcore viewers love. 

I'm not sure what makes up the voting mix anymore, since AI has lost a lot of viewers over the years.  Limited voting also now has an impact.  Voters rejected Alex Preston and Sam Woolf, who were more the musician types last season and both ranked higher in ITunes sales than Caleb Johnson.

Edited March 28, 2015 by twilightzone

[4leafclover]

 

So, based on my unscientific survey, it's not the grannies keeping Daniel in the contest. Maybe we can blame the middle-aged women with corporate jobs for a change? :)

 

Amen.  And thank you.

[Kromm]

Pretty much every other season there is always that one contestant who is considered a joke and whenever they keep surviving every week we sit around wondering who is voting for them. Daniel reminds me of the the days of Sanjaya, Lazaro. and Tim Urban.  Just like they had their voters who kept them around longer than more deserving singers Daniel has his voters, and just like them he wont win.

Of course he won't win.  But the puzzle is there about how that joke is being propagated.  I don't know if Tim Urban really qualified as quite as much of a WTF! contestant as those others (not that he didn't also suck), but Sanjaya and Lazaro had Vote for the Worst behind them.  Which has been gone for years, so it's no longer a an explanation.  I suppose it's possible there's some wacky twitter-based campaign for Daniel though.  That might be a current equivalent.

Edited March 29, 2015 by Kromm

[TheGreenKnight]

I feel like every year and more so now, people always sound great in their auditions and Hollywood and when we get to the live shows many of them don't live up to their potential.

I agree, which makes me wonder if some of the recorded footage is "altered" to make viewers more likely to stay for the live rounds.

 

With both Sarina and now Rayvon having crashed, I'd have to say this season is panning out to be the worst of the series, followed by last year. I used to think 9 and 11 were the lowest the talent could get, but they've managed to keep topping themselves.

[BogoGog24]

I think the new elimination format is a large reason why some are crashing and burning.

[twilightzone]

Of course he won't win.  But the puzzle is there about how that joke is being propagated.  I don't know if Tim Urban really qualified as quite as much of a WTF! contestant as those others (not that he didn't also suck), but Sanjaya and Lazaro had Vote for the Worst behind them.  Which has been gone for years, so it's no longer a an explanation.  I suppose it's possible there's some wacky twitter-based campaign for Daniel though.  That might be a current equivalent.

I'm not sure if Daniel is really a joke contestant.  His drawback is that at 15, he is too young for the competition.  He should have waited a few years to gain more experience.  His voice is changing, as his looks and he does come from a music background.  IMO, he has a much better attitude than crybaby Lazaro.  And Daniel is not gimmicky like Sanjaya

[Kromm]

I'm not sure if Daniel is really a joke contestant.  His drawback is that at 15, he is too young for the competition.  He should have waited a few years to gain more experience.  His voice is changing, as his looks and he does come from a music background.  IMO, he has a much better attitude than crybaby Lazaro.  And Daniel is not gimmicky like Sanjaya

Someone who's as BAD as he is who's never even in the bottom? 

 

That's a joke contestant.  Or at least usually would be.

 

While there are things other than actual singing that enter into the equation of popularity, when enough people are voting simply based on him being "cute"?  There's something wrong.  Or it's a joke.  One or the other.  If it's not a joke, then the closest equivalent I can think of are certain Country contestants, who often would receive big voting even if they were horrible.  Or maybe it's the equivalent to the voting block for Dancing With the Stars, where the Disney star gets tons of automatic votes.  Daniel is getting some kind of non-Disney Disney vote perhaps.

[Guest]

So many conspiracy theories-- Vote For The Worst, Automatic Disney Vote, Power Voting Tweens, Cougars for WGWGs...

 

Seriously, can anyone who reads here say they vote like that, or know anyone who does?   

 

It seems more likely that some people like a contestant's singing, regardless of if you personally think they suck.  

[TheGreenKnight]

I think people like Sanjaya and Tim Urban mostly received votes from sympathizers, maybe a few girls thought they were cute, and some who enjoyed watching Simon blow a gasket. Still, Simon was nothing compared to the way the Nicki Minaj panel wiped the floor with Lazaro. I can understand where the sympathy votes come from, because it's not really the contestant's fault they were cast and now the judges think they aren't good enough. The problem is the judges don't find anything wrong with Daniel, which is the real problem...

 

I've noticed the joke contestants usually appear on what seem intended to be girl's seasons (which are usually every three years--6, 9, 12). I know Lee won 9, but they did talk about how it was a girl's year to begin with--the indie types were just unpopular. That's also when words like "unique" and "artistry" became synonymous with "can't sing" on this show.

Edited March 29, 2015 by TheGreenKnight

[Kromm]

So many conspiracy theories-- Vote For The Worst, Automatic Disney Vote, Power Voting Tweens, Cougars for WGWGs...

 

Seriously, can anyone who reads here say they vote like that, or know anyone who does?   

 

It seems more likely that some people like a contestant's singing, regardless of if you personally think they suck.  

Vote for the Worst is gone, and I said so, so how's that count as a conspiracy theory?  When it existed it DID have an effect though--to deny so doesn't fit with the facts of the time.

 

The Disney voting thing was just a hypothesis based on demographics, not conspiracy theories.  To be a conspiracy theory there'd have to be some manipulation.  But a contestant hitting a demographic and enjoying success because of it doesn't have to be the result of manipulation.  Sometimes it just happens.  Arguably on DWTS they cast with this in mind, but I don't think that's been the case with Daniel. They did put him in the Top 12, but beyond that I think once they heard his actual performances on live shows, they've been as mystified by his placement as many of us have been.

Remember, these are new(ish) producers.  They weren't around in the days of Sanjaya and Lazaro.  I'm sure they know about them, of course, but knowing and experiencing it on your version of the show are probably two different things entirely.

[Guest]

I seriously doubt VFTW had any effect, ever.  I'd be glad to read evidence of it, though.  

 

DWTS puts on Disney stars because (1) Disney owns ABC and (2) it brings in a younger demographic.  I think they do well there often because they usually can dance and be charming.  

 

Now we have a "girl's year if it's a multiple of three" theory?  LOL, I haven't heard that one.  The girls won seasons 1, 3, 4, 6 and 12.  

[MarkHB]

The one year VFTW might have really had an impact was S5; they ran with Taylor Hicks, and at F3 Ryan put up a chart that showed the three contestants (with no names attached) all within c. 50,000 votes of each other, and VFTW was claiming >100k votes from its followers.  Elliot Yamin went home that week, and Cat McPhee lost in the final.

 

After that year, it all went to VFTW's heads, and by S10 it seemed like they were picking obviously favored performers at the end (Scotty McCreery) just so they could claim a victory.

 

At the same time, starting with Sanjaya I would notice what I called "VFTW Disease" among the performers, where some of them who got the VFTW endorsement would play up the crazy to chase those votes, at the expense of actually trying to do something decent on-stage.

[TheGreenKnight]

Now we have a "girl's year if it's a multiple of three" theory?  LOL, I haven't heard that one.  The girls won seasons 1, 3, 4, 6 and 12.  

If you don't think 3, 6, 9, and 12 were set from go as "girl's" years, then I'd have to guess you weren't watching.

[Guest]

What I remember most about season 9 is that Simon LOVED Lee.  He raved about him.  This probably isn't the thread for it, though.

[limecoke]

"Gols jast wunna have fuu uun."  It would serve AI right if she wins.  However, she won't because at some point the producers will make sure she doesn't.  

 

I'm wasn't particularly happy Daniel was picked for the top 24 in the first place but he wasn't the worst tonight.

 

Quentin seems extremely likable in and of himself but I find his singing a little pretentious so far.  I'd like to see him pick up the pace and actually have fun with a song.  

 

After American Idol, I watched the performance by the cast of Nashville. Remember, for the most part these folks are actors and not musicians.  They were much better than the so-called singers on American Idol.

So much word.  This season of AI is pretty bad.  I'm having a hard time remembering to watch it each week.

[ari333]

Is Joey going to grab her face and roll her eyes all the way to the finals? And I say that as someone who kind of likes her at times.

Edited March 30, 2015 by ari333

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Is Joey going to grab her face and roll her eyes all the way to the finals? And I say that as someone who kind of likes her at times.

 

I know!!!  LOL  Seeing her do that more than twice is overkill!  

[ari333]

I know!!!  LOL  Seeing her do that more than twice is overkill!  

Yes. As mentioned, the face grabbing and eye rolling work a time or two. Frankly I love an alto voice and the fact that she doesn't screech and scream at me and doesn't do the melisma bullshit that I truly loathe. So she could have me totally in her corner. She doesn't need the affected pronunciation either, imo. It grates. We know. She's quirky. Got it. Maybe she feels she has to do it? IDK. I'd love her without it.

Edited March 31, 2015 by ari333

[BogoGog24]

I've sort of wondered if her accent while singing happens while she speaks too. I've noticed in interviews she does have a slight accent while speaking.

[bluepiano]

To the folks who found Clark boring, I can only see YMMV, because (in a rare instance of agreeing with the judges) I found his "I'll Be Watching You" mesmerizing. This year we've seen a lot of minimally talented contestants who appear happy to be little more than props in big production numbers carried by the band and/or back-up singers. (Won't even mention all of Qassim's gimmicky shtick). Clark's stripped down version of a well-known song, just voice and piano (which he played beautifully) showed confidence, musicianship, and dare I say it, artistry. Like Keith, I really heard the lyrics in a different way than the previous thousand times I've heard that song. Again, that's artistry.

 

The guy who bored me this week was Quentin. I'm feeling that in his case the whole "artist" thing has been overstated, because every week it's the same thing.

 

I like Joey for the most part, but that was pretty bad. It was a classic example of how a too on the money song choice can be a trap. Because it seemed like she thought all she needed to do was jump around and be cute and quirky. The vocal feel like an afterthought. (Wow, I just agreed with the judges again).

 

I thought Adanna was prone to oversinging, but she had more potential than several of the people left. I felt like at some point this season there were a number of really gifted black female singers, and now we're just down to Tyanna. Who, even if does have talented, is with Daniel in the "couple of years away" category.

 

As for Daniel, I think the only conclusion you can draw is that huge numbers of people are past even thinking of this as a singing completion (if they ever did), and just vote for the contestants they think are "nice" or "fun," or would like to have over to the house for dinner. AI has no one to blame for that than themselves. It's been at the core of the show almost from the start, although it probably got more pronounced in the past few years with the focus on ever younger contestants. Even the name "American Idol" plays up the idea that you are selecting a winner based on other factors than talent.  ("The Voice" choose their title to try to make a different kind of statement.)

Edited April 2, 2015 by bluepiano

[Simon Boccanegra]

Clark's stripped down version of a well-known song, just voice and piano (which he played beautifully) showed confidence, musicianship, and dare I say it, artistry. Like Keith, I really heard the lyrics in a different way than the previous thousand times I've heard that song. Again, that's artistry.

 

The guy who bored me this week was Quentin. I'm feeling that in his case the whole "artist" thing has been overstated, because every week it's the same thing.

 

All of this. I don't want to bag on Quentin; he's above-average as American Idol contestants of recent times go. But I do feel he's getting overpraised in some quarters. He looks like an "artist," and I was buying into it at first too, but at least for me, when one or two performances became six or seven, I started wondering how deep it really goes. Whereas with Clark -- actually the opposite. On the visual level, he could be taken for well-groomed cookie-cutter blandness that could have been created in a TV talent show factory, but he has the goods. He has something to say about the songs he covers, and considerable skills. You need the latter. That's the foundation on which everything has to rest.     

 

 

 

As for Daniel, I think the only conclusion you can draw is that huge numbers of people are past even thinking of this as a singing completion (if they ever did), and just vote for the contestants they think are "nice" or "fun," or would like to have over to the house for dinner. AI has no one to blame for that than themselves. It's been at the core of the show almost from the start, although it probably got more pronounced in the past few years with the focus on ever younger contestants.

 

Lowering the age limit was a terrible idea, and I don't disagree that there are people who stick around too long every season, as discussed upthread -- but, you know, it usually works out well enough. I give the voters some credit. I could name some winners I thought were not the best of the season (I may never get over Crystal coming in second to Lee), but most of the past analogs to Daniel were gone well before the finale, and now Daniel is too. Looking back over past seasons, most of the people still standing close to the end, like around final four, were strong performers within their seasons...including Lee (a weak season), including Taylor Hicks, including Gokey. The Lazaros, Heejuns, Tims, Megans, Sanjayas, et cetera, whom I couldn't have imagined were getting support by any meaningful musical criterion, usually were long gone by the time the herd was thinned and it was really a race. 

Edited April 2, 2015 by Simon Boccanegra

[BogoGog24]

Ahem, I'm a musician myself and voted for both Lee and Heejun in their seasons. I don't know why everyone always bags on them so much. For the record I could not stand Crystal, she just sounded shrieky and shrill all the time. And I voted for Heejun because he really did have a great voice even if he didn't seem to know how to pick songs.

[Rick Kitchen]

Heejun was an asshole.

[BogoGog24]

Heejun was an asshole.

How?

[Rick Kitchen]

Re: Heejun:

 

Watch this video:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/02/heejun-han-burns-american-idol-bridges_n_1398226.html

 

Plus he just had this smirky attitude that really turned me off.

[BogoGog24]

Re: Heejun:

 

Watch this video:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/02/heejun-han-burns-american-idol-bridges_n_1398226.html

 

Plus he just had this smirky attitude that really turned me off.

 

All of his fans know he has a sarcastic and dry style of humor and that he never means 99.9% of the things he says. I personally always found him absolutely hilarious. Some people just don't get his style of humor and take him too seriously.

[Simon Boccanegra]

I didn't take him seriously at all. That was the problem. He was Hollywood Week amusement (the feud with "the Cowboy") that should have ended there.