S16.E09: Top 24 Solos

[ForReal]

20 hours ago, SnarkyTart said:

Wow, now that I watched that, I do remember him on Majors and Minors (a show that I loved).  On American Idol I've been wondering if he's on the autism spectrum, whereas on Majors and Minors I thought he was ADD. 

I thought he might be on the spectrum, too, and I thought he seemed to have way more professional polish than was implied. He has so much confidence in trying out new things while in a competition, which seems unlikely unless he knows what he's doing or he's utterly clueless. I guess it's okay that he has this experience under his belt, but I feel misled.

[Silver Raven]

1 hour ago, ForReal said:

I thought he might be on the spectrum, too, and I thought he seemed to have way more professional polish than was implied. He has so much confidence in trying out new things while in a competition, which seems unlikely unless he knows what he's doing or he's utterly clueless. I guess it's okay that he has this experience under his belt, but I feel misled.

They've always done that.  They've had people who had former record contracts. Adam Lambert had been in professional musicals.

[kassandra8286]

5 hours ago, twilightzone said:

And the ratings aren't any better than Season 14, when the show got cancelled.

Season 15 was the last season on Fox, and actually the ABC reboot's ratings have been even lower, at least so far. Last night's 18-49 was 1.5 (and was beaten by the Voice). Sunday's show was also 1.5. In Season 15 the 18-49 ratings during the semi-finals were in the low 2's which was considered pretty disastrous at the time. 

I'm hoping the judging becomes a little more judgey once the live shows start. Are they going to continue lounging in those chairs the whole season? Feh. Their critique and shenanigans are so pointless. It does make watching the show faster though.

[Babalooie]

3 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

They've always done that.  They've had people who had former record contracts.

 Do you think that Lionel truly thought he had no former experience, though?  I don't know how much background the judges know or don't know, or how much (a lot) is scripted.

[Koffee Kup]

I liked the duets format, but what I do not like is the whittling down of half of the group to a certain number I feel they should hear all 24 perform and then pare down to 14. Pick the 14 best of the Top 24 not seven out of this group and seven out of that group. I have never have liked this premise.

The one contestant that I liked and thought would be moving on was Layla.  I hated the other "country" girl who went through, she was super nasally and tangy.

[MarkHB]

My hunch is that they had largely predetermined who was going to the live shows, and this was all for show ( plus giving a treat to the Top 24).

[Oholibamah]

Cade performed decently this week (although his voice had none of the nuance that song needs to sell the narrative), but meh. Like Seasons 9, 10, 11, 13 and 14 he will probably win over more versatile hardworking singers by trotting out the same genred performance every week and showing zero growth.

But if I can get a few more Michael performances of this week's caliber then the season won't be a total bust. 

[MargoKu]

I thought Dennis had the best duet by far! I think he’s better than Michael who was only good on his audition. I didn’t care for the tone of Layla’s voice but I didn’t really care for Gabby singing My Church. I don’t want Cade to win which probably means he will. He’s no Adam Lambert.

[silverspoons]

On 4/10/2018 at 12:57 PM, kassandra8286 said:

Season 15 was the last season on Fox, and actually the ABC reboot's ratings have been even lower, at least so far. Last night's 18-49 was 1.5 (and was beaten by the Voice). Sunday's show was also 1.5. In Season 15 the 18-49 ratings during the semi-finals were in the low 2's which was considered pretty disastrous at the time. 

I'm hoping the judging becomes a little more judgey once the live shows start. Are they going to continue lounging in those chairs the whole season? Feh. Their critique and shenanigans are so pointless. It does make watching the show faster though.

There is also a difference since it airs on Sunday night. Sunday night has its staples like 60 minutes but it seems like when popular reality shows move to Sunday ratings drop. The apprentice and amazing race both were moved to Sunday night and dropped. Amazing race did better when it left Sunday and went back to Thursday. 

I guess we will see how the ratings do with live shows. Right now, I don't watch On Sunday(I'm not sure if it is just me but Sunday night I'm doing laundry, making sure the kids have everything for school and My husband is getting  ready for work, I don't have 2 hours to sit live for a show) , I caught up within a few days later on hulu. I know my kids (teens) just watch youtube clips right now to see who they like. Will voting make people watch live again? 

I also am hoping for more judging. They keep saying they are looking for the whole package, look, personality and voice. I almost wish the judges would give number scores like the old Miss America, Like 8 for vocals, 10 for style, 7 for personality etc. There are people like Catie that are getting through based more on style and personality and need to know to work o the vocals, and others that are great sings but forgetable that need to know they have to bring something memorable in personality. 

[BogoGog24]

My boyfriend and I finally got to watch this episode last night and overall we thought this group was pretty meh, a few standouts, but we think Group 2 has the stronger contestants. The judges also were ridiculous with the tongue baths and Katy's dramatics over Cade. More on that later.

Dominique - It was a competent performance but nothing about it stood out from everyone else. By going first, he became forgettable quickly. Fodder.

Layla - Yuck, I don't know what the judges were yammering on about here. Her high notes were squeaky and strained. The song was too big for her. And I disagree with whichever judge said she performed beyond her years. She looked exactly like an inexperienced 16 year old? I couldn't help thinking when Ryan asked her about the sandwich at her family's restaurant that he was trying to help build up some publicity for the place because she's inevitably going back there. 

Catie - This was a good "performance" but not a good vocal. Not the right song choice at all. Nothing about this was her decision (maybe the outfit), she admitted her dad suggested the song and let's be honest, some coach behind the scenes probably told her to flip her hair. Catie was great in the beginning when she had her guitar and either sang originals or did a folk rendition of something. Since Bad Romance, she has been veering away from that.

Dennis - That song choice was dumb. It did nothing for his voice. He will get a pass due to past performances, but for the future he shouldn't make mistakes like that again. Song choice is of the upmost importance in live rounds.

Michelle - See above. With a few exceptions, we thought the song choices were AWFUL. Either producers are encouraging these choices, or the contestants are really just this clueless. Singing Spanglish has never worked as a gimmick for past contestants and it won't work for Michelle. What she really needs is to just sit down and sing. We've yet to hear a real vocal from her at all.

Michael - This was by far my favorite of the night. Finally some originality with song choice, I had never heard that Beatles song before. I thought he sang it beautifully and it was the first time I really felt some kind of emotion from a performance. 

Trevor - I feel like I'm supposed to like him but I really just don't. He has potential, he has a grit to his voice and a cool look. But I don't think he is polished enough as a vocalist yet. He uses his grit all the way through the song instead of picking specific moments to use it. And for that reason, I can't like him. 

Jonny - This was for sure one of his better performances probably since Hollywood Solo 1. He has a recording-friendly tone, but there's something that just isn't clicking for me for now. 

Kay Kay - We know she's fodder since this is the first full performance we've seen from her all season. Too bad, because she's actually pretty good. Maybe none of her other performances were remarkable.

Brandon - His audition was pretty good, but like Kay Kay, he probably had nothing of note since then. I can't honestly believe singing Hello was really his choice, especially because his rendition was pretty bland. I have a hunch a producer suggested someone sing it so they could have Lionel come up and duet for a teevee moment. On a side note, Ryan was actually better than I expected he'd be.

Gabby - She turned the twang up to 11 here. Stop with that fake accent! There are actual country artists who don't have half the freakin' twang this chick does. And that glory note at the end was what Simon would have called "self-indulgent." I'm glad at least the judges told her not to overdo it. Because what she did in that moment was creating hell on her vocal cords. You never scream and shout at the top of your range like that. If she hopes to have a long career, she needs to have better vocal habits.

Cade - I'd say objectively he was the best of the night (not that that's saying much) but would be my second best/favorite after Michael. My issue with Cade though is that I think he is rather overrated. He has an average voice. But his guitar playing and showmanship are what really make him stand out. I'm sure he has some kind of professional or semi-pro experience under his belt because there's no way he's that poised, polished, and professional otherwise. Ballsy song choice too, something new and different. Here's my thing with Cade though. All his performances are beginning to run together for me. I like rock music. I have liked rock contestants on these shows in the past, like Caleb from season 13 and Jesse Kinch from Rising Star. But there's something about Cade that doesn't do it for me. My boyfriend also isn't that impressed and he loves rock music as well. Objectively, I think Cade is good if you enjoy this kind of style. I guess we just don't. That being said, he's easily the most charismatic performer they probably have this season. 

As far as Katy's dramatics go... I felt so embarrassed for the poor guy. They really took the judge antics too far this episode. I felt bad for Cade when he looked like he had no idea what to do while the judges were fanning Katy and he looked like he was just standing there waiting for a critique, while Katy is putting on her "performance." It's one thing when the judges do these kinds of things to draw attention and ratings, but I think it's highly disrespectful while a contestant is waiting to be critiqued on their performance and they are making it all about themselves. A lot of people dislike The Voice for this exact reason. DON'T BECOME THE VOICE, IDOL.

On another note, I think overall the duets are a waste of time. I guess it's for ratings and to give the contestants some kind of experience performing with others and a cool memory of getting to perform with a star. But we all know the decisions for top 14 are made before any of this ever happens and the duets don't factor into it at all. I'd rather see Group 2 perform than these pointless duets. 
 

[Evenshorter]

On 4/9/2018 at 12:34 AM, Nessie said:

I watched every episode of the old show, but I've been very on the fence about watching this reboot, and didn't decide until tonight to watch it, so this is the first time I've seen any of these contestants.  I really wasn't feeling anyone until Cade...guess I've found my horse.

Can someone explain Catie to me?  I guess she's the "quirky" girl?  She shows up looking like she just rolled out of bed and threw on a dress her mom made for her out of dirty sheets, then the judges lose their minds when she takes her hair out of it's sloppy ponytail?  "You only learn a hair flip in Hollywood" Katy?  Really?  I do it practically every day in my bathroom here in Virginia.  You can take several seats.

No kidding.  That was ridiculous.

They may call this a reboot, but other than new judges, it's just more of the same.  Way too much filler, way too many commercials.  I FF through most of the intro packages and judges yammering, and got through it in less than 45 minutes.

It's the only way to watch.

[iHaveTimeToday]

I know this thread is pretty old but I HAVE TIME TODAY. Catie is a brilliant lyricist, she’s extremely talented and she doesn’t sound like the same bland artists we hear everyday. She’s a breath of fresh air, and even if she’s not your style, which is ok, you have to admit she has talent. Not sure why everyone’s tearing her apart to feel better about themselves. This show is about judging voices, not outfits or personalities (which you wouldn’t know about since you haven’t met her). 

Also, clearly none of you have heard of the autism spectrum. I’m on it as well and if you knew anything about it you’d see that she shows some of the signs, I don’t think she’s “putting on a show”. If she is, she deserves an Oscar and a round of applause. She already gets bullied enough so find something better to do than hate on someone with QUADRUPLE the talent you’ll EVER have, myself included.