|
|
Post by MFWalkoff on May 20, 2024 0:11:50 GMT
718 (Grand Finale) - The top three finalists give their all for the last chance to earn America's vote; Jon Bon Jovi serves as guest mentor; special performances from more music legends and today's top stars.
Enjoy the show!
|
|
|
|
Post by Navybelle on May 20, 2024 3:08:08 GMT
It was a LONG show, so perfect to have on in the background (for me)!
Jack was eliminated in the first cut, midway through the show, which was a shame. I thought he'd at least make it to the final 2. After that, I thought it must be Will's to win.
But Abi ended up taking it! Hooray for her. Ryan said it was close. There were a couple times she sounded a little screamy, but otherwise she did a great job and I'm happy for her. Seeing her audition clip again, compared to now is quite the difference!! Especially compared to Will, who looks basically the same. lol
|
|
|
|
Post by liedenfrost on May 20, 2024 11:10:44 GMT
May 19, 2024: American Idol Finale: The Top Three (Final Thoughts)
1. Abi Carter: Congratulations to Abi Carter. She is definitely a worthy Idol Champion. Last week I attributed her sudden resurgence in viewer popularity to sudden and surprising weekly displays of spectacular stage performances and a here-to-fore unseen willingness to fight back with unburstable heart and fierce determination. The three finalists competed against each other 11 times this season (not counting the Top 24 and earlier rounds). Of those 11 face-to-face meetings, there were six weeks where they competed against each other with only one performance, one week where they competed against each other with two performances, and this week where they competed against each other with three performances (the finale). Jack won three of those 11 meetings but none of the last five for a winning percent of 27.3%. Will won four of the eleven meetings but won only one of the last five for a winning percent of 36.4%. Abi also won four of the 11 meetings by surprisingly dominating four of the last five meetings for a winning percent of 36.4%.
The eleven most critical criteria needed to win Idol are listed here. #1) race (before tonight, 15 of the first 21 winners were Caucasian-that’s 71.4%; after tonight, that number increased to 16/22 or 72.7%); #2) gender (14 of the first 21 Idol winners were male-that’s 66.7%; after Abi’s win tonight, that number decreased to 14 of 22 winners, or, 63.6%; #3) region of residence by birth (before tonight, 14 of the 21 winners hailed from the South,-that’s 66.7%; after tonight, that number changed to 14/22 winners, or, 63.6%); #4) instrument (before tonight, 14 of the first 21 Idol winners played guitar/ukulele/fiddle or something similar-that’s 66%; after tonight that number decreased to 14/22, or, 63.6%); #5) genre of music (before tonight, 8 of the first 21 Idol winners specialized in country music-that’s 38.1%; while it isn’t dominate, it is 5% higher than pop music specialists, 10% higher than R&B specialists, and 30% higher than rock music specialists; after tonight that number decreased to 8 of 22 winners, or, just 36.7%. The other seven critical criteria are aesthetics (looks, crowd appeal, sex appeal, and stage performance), honorary membership in the southern good ole boy/girl network, appeal to women, country patriotism, appeal to the judges, and of course, singing talent. Almost all competitors score well in four of the last five categories; e.g., aesthetics, appeal to women, appeal to judges, and patriotism. But membership in the southern good old boy network is not synonymous with region; e.g., David Cook is from Dallas (the South) but clearly not a member of the good old boy network. (I made a mistake last week when I said he was from the Midwest. I meant Lee Dewyze. Sorry.) The results of this eleven point critical criteria profile needed to win Idol resulted in the following: Will satisfied 10.5 of the 11.0 critical criteria needed to win Idol, or 95.5%; Jack satisfied 10.0 of the 11.0 critical criteria needed to win Idol (91%) and Abi satisfied only 7.0 of the 11.0 critical criteria needed to win Idol, or, 63.6%.
The final probability or chance of winning was calculated as a combination of 50% of the eleven head-to-head stage competitions, and, 50% of the final eleven point critical criteria score. Before tonight, Will had a lock on this championship as his combined score and chance of winning was 75% last week. Jack’s final combined score of 68.8% last week and Abi’s final score was 40.3%. After tonight, the final combined scores are: Will lost all three rounds tonight for a final 68.2% chance of winning and Abi won this overall competition with a final combined score (chance of winning) of just 50.1%. Such things (they call them upsets) happen all the time, but this upset happened as a result of three very significant factors that are statistically significant. 1) What Abi did tonight was unusual. She actually won four of the last five head-to-head meetings against Will and Jack. I can’t recall another time that has happened on Idol. Tonight, Will and Jack didn’t just lose, they got pummeled. Abi clearly won all three rounds tonight and it wasn’t even close. There is no sane argument to the contrary. Such domination by one contestant is not likely to happen again for months and months and months. 2) Since the original Idol show was canceled by FOX and picked up by ABC in 2016, five of the last seven Idol winners were non-southerners; e.g, one from New York (Just Sam), two from California (Chayce Beckham and Abi Carter), one from Hawaii (Iam Tongi), and one from the Midwest (Maddie Pope). That’s a decided shift from what was happening at FOX. After 15 seasons on FOX, 12 of the 15 winners were born and raised in the South. That can be directly related to viewer demographics related to ABC and FOX. According to the PEW research center data, southerners prefer watching FOX to ABC while westerners (except for Nevada and Arizona) prefer ABC to FOX. This suggests that when Idol left south-friendly FOX for west-friendly ABC, the Idol demographic changed and the winning profile also changed. The South did win two of the last seven competitions on ABC so it remains a threat but its dominance of American Idol is likely over. 3). I have no proof but I strongly believe that the addition of Katy Perry brought along with her a lot of savvy social media viewers that can actually multitask easily and continue voting while doing other things on their mobiles. And based on population, there are surely more savvy social media users in the West and East than in the South. Based on my research, these are the reasons the South no longer dominates the Idol stage. What else could it be? The South still maintains and enjoys a huge television viewing time advantage over the West and East regions of the United States and that advantage is likely the reason why it is still a threat.
My favorites guest performances: 1) Bishop Briggs & Abi Carter (River). Bishop has a huge voice and completely overwhelmed Abi, but it made for good contrast and I must admit, I love Bishop Briggs and River. 2). Emmy Russell and Wynonna Judd (Coal Miner’s Daughter). Wynonna was in fine, fine form tonight and generated beautiful tone and vocal muscularity and volume. 3) Nick Fradiani & the Idol Boys, selections from the Neil Diamond based musical, A Beautiful Noise. Good to see Nick doing well on Broadway. 4) The best guest performance of the night, Cee Cee Winans’ and Roman Collins’ spirited and rapture-laden presentation of one of my favorite gospel songs ever, The Goodness of God. If you haven’t heard it, treat yourself to another piece of heaven and listen to Cee Cee Winans’ wonderful Alabaster Box.
As for the three finalists, it wasn’t much of a contest tonight. Will was not his usual dynamic self and Jack has been vulnerable for two weeks. In the mean time, Abi has been gaining steam and getting better every week, which culminated tonight in dominating fashion. Even though she didn’t win the number of head-to-head competitions outright, it turns out she actually had winning odds in her favor. I was foolishly trusting data that did not account for the developing trend that was clearly happening; e.g., that the winning profile had changed since Idol moved from FOX to ABC and now favors competitors from the Eastern and Western regions of the United States. So I will need to write a new algorithm for next season.
Let’s give some love to Fantasia. Not all Idol participants acknowledge the role that American Idol played in their lives. Fantasia clearly does. I was so disappointed when Idol left FOX. I couldn’t wrap my head around the thought of losing what I believed to be the Primordial God of Singing Competitions. It feels great and I am so thankful to have Idol back in my life.
Finally, props to the best host on television, super producer Ryan Seacrest. Dudes don’t like him (his Q score among dudes 35-49 y/o is quite negative…lol but women love him). That’s what matters. More women than men listen to On Air With Ryan. More women than men watch American Idol, The Khardashians, Wheel of Fortune. Pat Sajak fans might not open their hearts to Ryan so easily. He's going to have to earn their love. And when he was there, Live with Kelly & Ryan. Dude does not get enough credit for his philanthropic activities but devotes his precious free time to it anyway (even if he doesn’t seek attention). Ryan’s had a bad week. Hopefully, he can rest up and recharge. I could never juggle two jobs, let alone five, six, and seven. Special thanks to Lionel, Bryan, and Katy Perry for their wisdom and wit. I enjoyed watching them each week. They have good chemistry. But no Lionel, I don't think you're going to get your wish. Taylor Swift is not going to accept an invitation to join the Idol judging panel. She's working on her billion dollar tour. I love the Idol House Band. Those guys are complete professionals and uber talented. Finally, I think Katy Perry had a positive effect on Ryan. Not only did she bring wisdom, beauty, fashion, and wonderful aesthetics to the Idol judging panel, she apparently also inspired Ryan to become fashion conscious. He donned some wonderful blue and black blazers this season (from his clothing line??), as well as some stylish velvet, slim-fitting tuxedos and suits. Looked like a model on the Idol stage. From the very beginning, he’s been good to Idol. He was there at the beginning and has remained loyal every since. He is the only member of the original Idol staff that is still working there after 22 seasons. Show that man some love.
|
|
|
|
Post by dagwood on May 21, 2024 19:17:29 GMT
I would have been fine with any of the final 3 winning, but I was rooting for Will. Abi is amazing. I think all three should be able to have decent careers.
|
|
