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Post by waywyrd on Apr 7, 2024 23:46:47 GMT
Tonight: The top 24 travel to Hawaii, with 12 taking the stage for America's first vote this season; Tori Kelly mentors, performs and joins the judges on the panel; reigning American Idol Iam Tongi performs.
Enjoy the show!
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Post by ancientcity on Apr 8, 2024 1:04:21 GMT
Jordan Anthony sings Titanium. Luke says he doesn’t think they’ve ever had a male contestant sing Sia. Katy finishes his sentence. I submit: Season16, Michael J Woodard, Top 14. How soon they forget…
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Post by Navybelle on Apr 8, 2024 1:13:21 GMT
Tori sounded the best so far, too bad she's no longer a contestant. Some have been okay, and some have been boring. No one's been great, or horrible. I'm kind of just blah about them so far. Yay, nice to see Iam again!  He sounds good too, he could win again against tonight's group. |
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Post by cynbeth on Apr 8, 2024 1:57:44 GMT
I feel the same way.
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Post by Navybelle on Apr 8, 2024 2:03:27 GMT
KB was pretty good; I like her voice.
Will has a great voice, and yes he's a WGWG, but I can't help but like him! Katy and Luke say it was the best performance of the night, safe as it was.
Tomorrow night looks like it will be good!
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Post by liedenfrost on Apr 8, 2024 6:35:23 GMT
April 7, 2024: The Top 24: Part One
1. Will Moseley: My choice to win it all the first time I heard him sing and saw him interact with the judges and Ryan. I won’t list them here but he checks almost every box: he’s not handsome but he’s male, a guitar player, and a good singer, humble personality, a good old Southern country boy, loves country music and the blues, and exudes an obvious patriotism. Otis Redding’s Sitting on the Dock of the Bay is a good song but there’s nothing special in these lyrics. It’s just a song about a guy who is unemployed and lonely but mostly just tired of listening to everybody telling him what to do so he sits on the dock and ponders the state of his life.
2. Nya: One of the most interesting arrangements and phrasing of Tina Turner’s The Best I have ever heard. Didn’t like the chorus much (prefer the original) but Nya’s jazz-inspired verses were heavenly. She doesn’t check many of the boxes at all and is unlikely to win (yes, I do believe in historical data and I’ve been harvesting Idol data for 21 seasons now) and is going to need a lot of things go her way to win it all. But I had no choice but to bring her here at #2. What she did tonight was one of the finest performances I’ve ever seen on Idol.
3. Abi Carter: A formidable opponent when in her lane. But part of the Idol experience is for the judges at some point to force contestants out of their lanes. When out of her lane, she’s beatable. Christian music, however, fits her like a glove. I loved Hillsong United’s Oceans (Where Feet May Fail). It’s the Biblical story of the Apostle Peter walking on water in Matthew 12: 22-33. When God told Peter to leave the boat and walk, he did. He walked on water toward the shore. But as soon as his eyes wavered from God, he started to sink. The moral of the story is that we should keep our eyes on God and not stray from his presence. If we don’t do that, then our feet, like Peter’s, will fail. Here, “feet” is obviously a symbol for “faith”.
#4. McKenna Faith Breinholt: An old school rock classic on the Idol stage. Brandi Carlisle’s The Story is telling the story of a woman who’s lived a full life, a hard life, and suffered setbacks in her love life and other relationships. “All of these lines across my face tell you the story of who I am. So many stories of where I’ve been and how I got to where I am.” I don’t know about the Tiktok crowd but Baby Boomers everywhere will love what she did here and express that love in the form of a vote. Sheepishly, I confess. I liked it too.
#5. Jayna Elise: Demi Lovato’s Confidence is not one of my favorite songs. I don’t like the song structure or the lyric much. But Jayna sang it very well. It’s a song about confidence and this performance was loaded with it. So it was a perfect song choice for Jayna. She doesn’t check many boxes either but in life, upsets happen all the time so we cannot count her out, especially if she continues to do what she did tonight. This was a wonderful performance.
#6. Julia Gagnon: My God, this young lady has pipes! But there’s something missing. Adele’s Rumor Has It was very well presented, as was Ain’t No Way. Every note was money but she never found the heart of either song. She hasn’t yet learned how to establish an artistic contract between her and her audience and you simply cannot win Idol without it. She reminds me of Jennifer Hudson who, despite the best pipes Idol has ever seen, never learned to play the Idol game and left the competition much earlier than her talent warranted. Call me jaded, but Idol is a competition and you’ve got to work it to your advantage. Absolutely contestants must sing well and emote well but that is not enough to win a title. You need votes and you need a strategy to get them. Grace Kinstler was a wonderful talent but an even better strategist and tactician. She played the Idol game better than anyone I’ve ever seen and reaped the benefits.
#7. Blake Proehl: If he gets past this round, I think he’ll stay around awhile. But he will need to be careful of his song choices. He is a nice young man with all-American looks. And actually Justin Bieber is in his lane. The problem tonight was that Anyone was not in his lane. We all have different artistic preferences and perhaps this song has special meaning for Blake, but, if it were me, I would have chosen Justin’s Peaches because it has cogent lyrics, an irresistible beat, and an irresistible hook. If done correctly, it is a guaranteed crowd pleaser. In addition, it would have forced him to sing different parts of the same song and also would have forced him to move about the stage. Right style, right genre, right singer, wrong song. The Jason Mraz and Justin Timberlake songbooks are also in his lane.
#8. Jordan Anthony: Titanium is a wonderful song with wonderful lyrics and an important message: no matter how many times you fall, rise up and try it again. I liked the last run but the song, as a whole, was over-cooked. If this truly is his lane, he’s not likely to last long on Idol. When I look at what he’s done to date, it makes me wonder why he chose Titanium over such tried and true crowd pleasing competition songs like Harry Style’s Adore You, Lewis Capaldi’s Before You Go, or Post Malone’s Circles. These singers seem to be in his lane as well.
#9. KaiBrienne: Bryan Adam’s classic Heaven is an Idol staple but it doesn’t bring the same reward it used to. There’s no debate here, however. She sang it well. Her alto register is money. This was a good performance. It’s just that it has been done so many times on this show and if it’s to be done again, should have a new or at least unique arrangement.
#10. Kayko: His moving tribute to his mom, How Do I Live Without You? will probably send him through to the next round. He’s got a lot to learn about performing. It isn’t enough to disappear inside a lyric unless the artist can bring the audience along with him. And the audience can’t do that if it can’t understand the words of the song. There was a bit too much shouting and screaming of lyrics in this performance for me so I couldn’t join him on his journey.
#11. Hailey Mia: She’s All I Wanna Be is a rather sad, depressing, and self-deprecating song about a girl in love with a guy whom she imagines is infatuated with the most beautiful and voluptuous girl in school. A girl that has everything she does not have. The singer wants to be that girl. Why? I don’t know. She already has the guy she wants. The theme is similar to Jax’s hit song, Victoria's Secret.
#12. Quintavious: I doubt he ends up here since he seems to be quite popular with the judges and the audience. But this was not a good version of Carrie Underwood’s wonderful Something in the Water. I love gospel music, especially wrapped up in rapture, but it still has to have structure, tone, and discernable lyrics. It still has to breathe. On Idol, gospel is judged the same as any other genre. For fairness, it has to be that way. In a gospel church service, this would likely go over well but there was far too much off-key screaming for a singing competition. Yes, screams and shouts are a natural part of Rock, R&B, and Gospel music but it must be done with tone and fit naturally into the song structure. James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Patty Labelle are masters of screaming with tone and purpose. Joshua Ledet and Fantasia Barino, the best two R&B/Gospel singers ever to set foot on the Idol stage, are also masters of screaming with tone and purpose. Quintavious hasn’t yet mastered this skill.
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Post by Gutmutter on Apr 8, 2024 10:15:03 GMT
I found something to like in everyone’s performances except Blake’s. That was just pathetic. And while I liked his performance, I kept forgetting who Jordan was every time I saw him mentioned.
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Post by waywyrd on Apr 8, 2024 23:17:59 GMT
I've never really liked the outdoor Hawaii stage, maybe it's just me but they usually don't sound the best there.
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Post by Gutmutter on Apr 8, 2024 23:21:44 GMT
I've never really liked the outdoor Hawaii stage, maybe it's just me but they usually don't sound the best there. Except Alejandro singing “Yellow” ❤️ |
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Post by Navybelle on Apr 9, 2024 2:07:46 GMT
liedenfrost I agree with you about the screaming, and not understanding the lyrics. It puts me off every time. Tonight's singers are doing a much better job of impressing me than last night's (in general). I *loved* Ajii's performance. Emmy did a great job too. Odell (Platinum ticket winner) did well. Seems they loved working with JellyRoll, and it also seems like they're styled differently than last night's group. ?maybe? Kennedy was a pleasant surprise: she chose a good song for her and looked like she was having fun up there. She's not my favorite singer, but she was better tonight than I thought she'd been before. Jack and his mouth motions!  JellyRoll likes it though and doesn't want Jack thinking about it when he sings. He does have a nice voice, but the song was just not that impactful. It was kind of forgettable to me. Sorry, Jack! He seems like a nice guy, but I just can't see him going far in this. Triston sounded great again, even though I don't even like country music! Can't believe how young he is, and how mature he comes across. I'm just proud of all he is doing for his mom and himself.
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Post by liedenfrost on Apr 9, 2024 6:56:13 GMT
April 8, 2024: The Top 24: Part Two
1. Jack Blocker: Prior to this, he hasn’t done a thing that stayed in my head. I still don’t see him as a threat to win it all but this was one fantastic, emotional and heart-felt performance, delivered with crystal clear tone and texture. Kaycee wrote this uplifting anthem for the LGBTQ community to which she belongs, completely unaware at the time of its Grammy-winning potential or the massive universal appeal it would have on those “carrying weight on their shoulders”. No doubt about it. Rainbow is the best thing Kaycee has ever done and to my surprise, Jack gave it full attention. I actually applauded this performance. Could it be Jack has an alter ego or a split personality? I don’t need to know the answer; I just want this version of Jack to stick around.
2. Emmy Russell: If you’ve ever used Tiktok, you know this song. If you watch American Idol religiously (as I do), you also know the singer, Idol drop out, Benson Boone. Beautiful Things is a perfect, can’t miss, competition song, made for the Idol stage. Emmy is a good singer, a stylist, a crooner if you will, and no one in this competition does it better, but, I can’t lie. I miss Benson’s bombastic, testosterone-driven delivery of the chorus. The song is about a man in love with what he knows to be the perfect girl but does not feel at all sure of his ability to keep her or that her feelings for him will last. So he pleads with God not to take away the one thing in his life that makes the other things in his life so beautiful.
3. Kennedy Reid: Easily the most entertaining performance of the night. Reba McEntire’s tale of a small time girl named Fancy that makes it big in the city, is an Idol staple with built-in sass that needs only the right singer to make it work. Kennedy makes it go. Done many times, this is the best version of that song I’ve heard on the Idol stage. This young lady ticks a lot of boxes and could easily advance to the late rounds.
4. Roman Collins: Never thought I’d see a rousing gospel soul arrangement of Marvin Gaye’s beautiful R&B ballad, How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You. I’m not sure I know the object of Roman’s affection. Is it God, his savior? Is it a lover? I decided I didn’t need to know the answer. I just wanted to soak up this wonderful performance. What Roman did tonight was a master class demonstration of the proper use of R&B soul screams; e.g. screams done with tone and inserted into the song structure with purpose at the proper time and in the right place. This is how the masters of R&B (Aretha, Patti, James Brown, Al Green, etc) do it and Roman is a natural Gospel Soul singer. A terrific performance.
5. Jennifer Jeffries: According to the singer, Lewis Capaldi, Bruises is about an amicable breakup. He says he chose the title Bruises rather than Scars because bruises heal quickly and are repairable whereas scars are painful and lasting. He has only good memories of his former girlfriend and is open to the idea of getting back together. Jennifer generates beautiful, rich, crystal clear tone, the perfect vehicle for this sensitive song. She was totally invested in these lyrics and delivered a wonderful and touching performance.
6. Odell Bunton Jr.: This was a terrific performance as well and should easily propel him into top 20 but a ballad is the ticket to the late rounds on American Idol. So I hope Odell does not rely too heavily on hip-hop. Although popular, there’s not really a message in Uptown Funk. It’s a song about fashion, vanity, and masculine bravado. But he sang it well, worked the audience, and made them love him and his music. But there’s no denying this was entertainment at its finest.
7. Ajii: I loved what he did here. Probably because I like Tems, one of the few Nigerian singers with world wide appeal. According to Songhits, the message of Higher is: “Tems desire to elevate her life and spirit above the turmoil and pain of her past experiences”. Ajii has a powerful pipe but I would have utilized it on a different song, one known to the masses. I worry that viewers might not be as familiar with Higher as they are with some of the other songs. If left to me, Ajii would make top 20 but my experience with the Idol demographic tells me that familiarity matters and I’m not sure this song gave him the best chance to move forward. I hope he makes it in.
8. KBlocks: This was a very good and enjoyable performance. Who would have thought it? An Amy Winehouse impersonation and presentation of a jazz arranged Katy Perry song, Harleys in Hawaii? This thing had me doubled over with laughter. I loved it. Thank you American Idol. KBlocks is a unique talent and I really hope she makes top 20. I like her very much.
9. Mia Matthews: Holly Dunn’s Daddy’s Hands is a tearjerker whose very first lines tug at your heart strings. Mia sang it well but like Kelly Clarkson’s Piece By Piece, it’s a song guaranteed to make you cry. This song very likely guaranteed her a place in the top 20. My only criticism is that it’s a safe song with little to no risk and the lyric draws in the audience on its own no matter who sings it. If this was purely a strategic move, I applaud the Mia Matthews camp. It means that they are playing the Idol game to win and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
10. Tristan Harper: I am confused and obviously missing something. Tristan is a good singer and insanely likable but in my opinion, there are much better singers in this competition. Despite that, he’s going to be a tough out. This kid checks every single box needed to win this competition. I just wish he would up his game.
11. Elleigh Marie: Not a fan of Ceelo Green’s Forget You. I would have chosen a different song, something that warms the heart rather than this cold dismissive song about a silly crush on a girl/boy. How is this song supposed to touch the hearts of viewers and make them vote for you? Elleigh is a good singer and may very well end up top 20 (I think she's done enough to advance) but it won't be because of what was done here.
12. Mackenzie Sol: I love Nick Jonas' Jealous. I didn’t like it on Mackenzie. He’s got a lot of things working in his favor: he’s handsome, the girls love him, he can sing, his look and style is contemporary, and he’s very likable. These are also the attributes that make him a prime candidate for a Boy Band. Mackenzie can’t win Idol (other than gender-the majority of Idol winners are male-he doesn’t check a single other box needed to win this competition) so why not consider other opportunities? No, he doesn't have to join a Boy Band. He can find other ways to pursue a solo career in music (posting his songs and performances on social media is the obvious option). But he's got all the right stuff for a Boy Band and should at least consider it as a means to an end.
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Post by Gutmutter on Apr 9, 2024 10:57:19 GMT
I’ve always loved your reviews, liedenfrost. Thank you. My order of preferences is different but I thought the overall performances were stronger tonight. Jelly Roll was an awesome mentor. |
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Post by waywyrd on Apr 9, 2024 14:47:57 GMT
I need Jelly Roll to come give me one of those pep talks every morning. He was a fun mentor, and mentioned on TwitterX that he could get used to doing this. Maybe a replacement for Katy...? Overall I think this group sounded better than Sunday night's group. Some odd song choices, though, and I thought KBlocks was just awful. There are several decent country singers, it'll be interesting to see how they split the country votes. |
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Post by dagwood on Apr 9, 2024 19:31:14 GMT
I need Jelly Roll to come give me one of those pep talks every morning. He was a fun mentor, and mentioned on TwitterX that he could get used to doing this. Maybe a replacement for Katy...? Overall I think this group sounded better than Sunday night's group. Some odd song choices, though, and I thought KBlocks was just awful. There are several decent country singers, it'll be interesting to see how they split the country votes. I haven't had a chance to watch the show yet, but I love Jelly Roll. He would be a great replacement for Katy. |
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Post by angelic_one2002 on Apr 10, 2024 12:55:52 GMT
I'd like to see Harry Connick Jr. come back to the show.
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Post by waywyrd on Apr 10, 2024 13:24:04 GMT
I'd like to see Harry Connick Jr. come back to the show. He was a good judge, too. |
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Post by angelic_one2002 on Apr 10, 2024 13:26:00 GMT
He sure was! He ranked right up there as my favorite.
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Post by Gutmutter on Apr 10, 2024 17:04:30 GMT
There’s a woman on Reddit who’s making a big stink about a guy named Jason in Will’s band who was a pedophile to her. She says Will and his band know all about it and are just ignoring her. She’s posting police/court documents so it looks legit. Maybe don’t get too attached to Will.
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Post by Gutmutter on Apr 11, 2024 19:34:08 GMT
New drama - Kennedy is sleeping with and pregnant by her married boss! The mortician’s wife is putting it all out there. He has waiting when she got her golden ticket and was in the audience at Hawaii.
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Post by waywyrd on Apr 11, 2024 20:04:56 GMT
Yikes! I just saw that on Reddit. I did think it was odd that her boss went to auditions with her, and now he was in Hawaii too?
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Post by Gutmutter on Apr 11, 2024 21:24:33 GMT
Just checked back in and somebody claiming to be Kennedy (but unverified) is saying none of it is true… so grain of salt.
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Post by Navybelle on Apr 22, 2024 4:38:30 GMT
Wow, such drama! I can't believe I almost missed all this gossip. |
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He sounds good too, he could win again against tonight's group. 
JellyRoll likes it though and doesn't want Jack thinking about it when he sings. He does have a nice voice, but the song was just not that impactful. It was kind of forgettable to me. Sorry, Jack! He seems like a nice guy, but I just can't see him going far in this. 
