American Idol
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1), its hard to pick absolute bests and absolute worsts when the talent level is so uniform.
I did it anyway.
And the results are wilder than Ada Voxs foundation technique.
She seems less like a superstar and more like a graduate student in musicology at Carnegie Mellon.
And now, so has one of my favoriteIdolfront-runners of the season.
Garrett Jacobs, Treat You Better
Im recovering from Bobby Bones teaching Garrett to dance.
you’ve got the option to picture it.
Alyssa Raghu, Stay
Nothing annoys me more than watching anAmerican Idolcontestant get coached on stage presence.
Is it that hard to make people enjoy watching you?
Stardom is a visual medium!
Id also call it a version of Rihannas Stay without a quarter of Rihannas character or emotiveness.
Its almost bluesy, but its not old-fashioned.
Its a lot of things!
Alyssa Raghus performance was one thing, and it was pretty.
Shannon OHara, All I Ask
Shannon OHara is 17 andmature.Shes ready for an internship at a museum.
Put a lanyard on this young adult already.
Most people, including Shannon, dont win that head-to-head.
She should return to her Unconditionally tactic and sing ballads better than the original artist.
Im a Madonna stan, but I do believe Shannon could nail my sixth-favorite Madonna song, Ill Remember.
Caleb Lee Hutchinsons voice is a countrified scalp massage and hell always have that Folgers commercial-ready, McCreery-deep quality.
Ive got news for you: There are.
Effie Passero, Barracuda
We know this was coming.
We should be thankful it wasnt Alone or What About Love, I guess.
Frankly, Magic Man wouldve given her more of a moment.
And she couldve robot-danced through the weird Nintendo-sounding electronic interlude.
Make no mistake, the vocal was fire.
And hell, that song is (Oscar-nominated) fire.
Rons chilled-out vibe is almost too casual forIdolbut his grinding, aching balladeer voice is growing on me.
This Robyn cover was stately and a bit haunting, but not essential.
More like … clever and well done.
Jurnee, Flashlight
I think Jurnee has the most distinct pure sound of the season.
Shes like Super Ashanti.
Maddie Poppe, Brand New Key
Every second of this performance was brilliant.
The song choice, with its whimsy and clap-along energy: brilliant.
TheMary Lou Lordtype vocal, teeming with girlish wisdom: brilliant.
Im happy to cede my responsibilities to Maddie if she finds any extra time in the next few weeks.
How can he add soul to Inseparable when Natalie Cole body-slammed it with soul back in 75?
But every note was an inspired (andnevercloying) choice that drew you closer and closer to the screen.
Id written off Marcio, to some degree, as an overactor.
I was with Lionel here: Natalie wouldve loved it.
Ada is reading this competition well, showing advanced self-awareness and a keenness for strong song choices.
Everyone in this competition has a shtick.
Its just that most of them are crushingly dull.
Can I get an amen?
Tonight: Another round of 12 duets and five eliminations.
And your great-aunt Lorraine will finally learn who Bebe Rexha is.
