American Idol Top 24- Part 1

This is the 20th season of American Idol, and for most of them, I have provided some of the most in-depth coverage that can be found anywhere on the Internet. Many highly visited sites that once covered Idol have come and gone, but I will continue to do my best to keep at it because one day, perhaps some family member of a contestant will find this blog while Googling their relative.

Perhaps this season should more accurately be called "North American Idol" because there are a couple of Canadian nationals in the Top 24. (A couple of years ago there was a lone Canadian in the semi-finals.) This year though, I believe at least one of them will make it to the Finals and perhaps go quite far. My question though is if Canada gets to vote at all in this competition. I have long stated how messed up I think the voting rules established by the ABC run of the show are.

This season also features more single named kids than ever before (Jay? really? just Jay?) along with a Sir and a Lady that will have their performance broadcast tomorrow night. 

Tonight, I was able to watch the proceedings "live" while tomorrow, I will watch a recording and pause as I go to offer comments. Things may be briefer tonight as I am going from memory. Of course, these performances themselves were taped weeks, if not even months ago, at Disney Aulani Resort in Hawa'i. Needless, to say everything has been heavily edited, but we really have no idea if the performance order is even close to how the contestants took the stage. It is worth a note to state that this is the first "outdoor" round of the official voting competition, unless you want to count the kids who sang in their backyard on the porch during the still surreal Zoom season of two years ago.

For all the faults of the ABC production the last five seasons, I do think they have done a very good job in finding talented singers. I was quite impressed by many I saw during the auditions and Hollywood Week. It just seems harder and harder to believe that the eventual winner or those that come close will wind up being a big star in the way that the original Idol producers envisioned at the beginning of this century.

I will now re-cap the performances from what I recall, and at the end, I will rank them solely by vocal performance. We are told that two out of this first group of 12 will be cut next Sunday night, along with what I assume will be two from tomorrow night. That will get us down to a Top 20.

Tonight, the contestants were mentored by Jimmie Allen, who I would have never heard of if he did not show up every season on ABC talent reality shows. Tomorrow night, will be Bebe Rexha, who also has done this before on Idol. I take it that Bobby Bones' mentorship reign has been buried.

1. Jay- "I Want You Back

One of the first three ever "Platinum Ticket" winners was shown first. He said he picked this song after reflecting on recent troubles with a "significant other" but I think he just wanted to get viewers, even older than myself, to vote for him, with this old school Jackson 5 hit from 52 years ago. 

For one thing, I do not know why he just will not be known as "Jay Copeland" or at least the single letter "J." I think the current President of the United States might find better poll numbers if he formally changed his name to "Joe."

Jay was impressive indeed during the auditions and I can see him as a legit R&B singer. This performance tonight, while credible, seemed sort of pointless though in demonstrating what kind of artist he could be. He sang decently enough and moved around a lot, but it felt sort of theme park corny. I think he is more talented than what he put forth.

2. Elli Rowe- "Everywhere"

This next singer has not been featured much since her original audition and many viewers may not even know who she is. Like "Jay", she also did a song from the '70s, which would become a major theme of the evening.

It is clear that Elli is talented, but she seemed nervous and tentative on this Fleetwood Mac acoustic guitar ballad. She just does not have a big enough personality to have had an impact on this.

3. Tristen Gressett- "With A Little Help From My Friends"

Originally a '60s Beatles song, it was clear that Tristen would be doing the Joe Cocker version. I wanted to roll my eyes because this has been done on Idol enough times already and it also felt like a direct appear to senior citizens to vote him through.

From his auditions onward, I have been somewhat annoyed by Tristen and have wanted to dislike him (and his Momager), but I have found myself sort of impressed by his talent and antics and agree that he makes for interesting Idol television. This 17 year old from Alabama came across tonight as the secret combined love child of Constantine Maroulis, Adam Lambert, and Casey Abrams. 

For whatever reason, Tristen seems to have 70s rocker front-man in his DNA. Either that, or he has studied many singers and has their moves and mannerisms down. This was another good performance but was more of a performance of him moving around in tight pants than anything that showed how strong of a singer he might be.

4. Scarlet- "Levitating"

The one named singer is the first tonight to not reach back to the 1970s (or somewhat earlier) and sang a recent Dua Lipa hit. She has gotten some interesting editing leading up to this performance. A lot of people may have been pissed off when she temporarily walked away from her young and vulnerable duet partner during Hollywood Week. Scarlet does seem to be a bit of a diva perhaps, but to me, she comes across as more honest in her personality than many of these other kids do. That might be polarizing to many but she is perhaps thinking beyond the cameras.

While her vocals may not have been perfect, I really like what she did and how she sounded on this song. I can very easily picture her as a current "pop star."

5. Sage- "Jolene"

Sage has just one name, but so does Jolene, the subject of this old song from yes, the 1970s. The lyrics reference Sage having "auburn hair" and "eyes of green" which sounds a bit like Sage herself actually.

This song has also been done at least a few times on Idol, but I think Sage was able to make the Dolly Parton tune a bit more current sounding, especially at the beginning. All things considered, it was a solid effort and she seemed comfortable on stage.

6. Danielle Finn- "Your Song"

More '70s classics hit the Hawaiian Idol stage this time from the Los Angeles 17 year old. I really want to root for her because she is one of the first Idol contestants to represent the Tribe and wear a (very large) Chai necklace. In reading a bit about her, I see that she comes from a pretty observant Jewish family and that her Rabbi has given her Idol journey his blessing.

In spite of all of this, I think she missed the mark tonight. Her somewhat jazzy take on the Elton John classic did not really work and she hit some bum notes. It was almost as if she was trying to sound like Barbra Streisand.

7. Mike Parker- "Best Shot"

Mike Parker is not the same person as the former party switching Mississippi Congressman, but is instead, much like his mentor tonight Jimmie Allen, a heavily tattooed African-American country singer. Mike has a Washington Nationals tattoo on his chest. He must really be a fan or lost a bet.

What would be better for Mike to sing one of Jimmie's songs? The show claimed he had no idea that Mr. Allen would be the mentor. Vocally, Mike continued to impress and sounded pretty good, though I do not know this song and am not really a county music fan. He will certainly have Jimmie Allen's fans (at least the ones who are not possessive about musical identity) voting for him. It was clear that Jimmie was quite moved to work with Mike. The mentor shed tears several times tonight on the episode. He cries as much as John Boehner.

8. Emyrson Flora- "Angels Like You"

At 16, Emyrson is the youngest contestant this season. It is a good thing the young Clevelander apparently never got a Cleveland Indians tattoo because it would now be obsolete.

I do not know this Miley Cyrus song but Emyrson sang it very well. I cannot tell if she is trying to be a country singer or more down the pop route, but she sounded "current."

9. Dan Marshall- "Heaven"

Before being put through the top 24, Dan was put in a singing runoff election against another male country singer. I sort of though they should have went with the other guy. The last time that happened, the loser of the country sing-off was Laine Hardy, who won the whole show a couple years later after fixing his teeth and finding all sorts of shiny jackets backstage at Idol.

As I recall, Dan had a second last name when he first auditioned but is now just "Dan Marshall." We had learned that he played football not long ago for the Virginia Tech Hokies, which I believe would make him the only FBS alum to make it to the Idol stage since Matt Rogers.

To his credit, Dan only went back as far as the 1980s to pick his song tonight. I have never really heard a true country version of this Bryan Adams classic and I think I understand why. It really does not work as a country ballad. Dan is a decent singer but this seemed like a lost opportunity. I note that Idol made mention of and showed Dan's girlfriend throughout the entire package. It feels like they really want him to get voted off as soon as possible.

 

10. Jacob Moran- "In My Blood"

 

A few years ago, Jacob made it to Hollywood Week on Idol before getting cut. Now, the nurse, who is almost up against the age limit, has lost a good deal of weight and has reached the semi-finals.

 

He really has a great voice and comes across as a likable person (at least to the non anti-gay hardliners) but it is hard to see him becoming a star after this show is over. For now though, he definitely has one of the best voices of all the contestants and demonstrated his high range on this Shawn Mendes song. 

11. Huntergirl- "Banjo"

I really hate her stage name and think it is dumb as hell, but I guess he prefers it to "Hunter Wolkonowski" Like "Jay" she was also one of the three platinum ticket winners and Luke Bryan keeps hyping her as the best country singer he has seen during his time on Idol.

Tonight, she performed without her guitar for the first time on a Rascall Flatts song I had never heard. She sounded ok but I was not overly impressed. It almost seemed like she was maybe a little drunk? They did show her sharing some sort of pineapple beverage during her meeting with Jimmie Allen. She put a lot of emphasis on directing the audience what to do and the judges approved of that. It is a shame that Jeb Bush's "Please Clap" moment was not similar received.

12. Nicolina Bozzo- "Elastic Heart"

I could tell that she would be given the "pimp spot" this evening and even before she sang I just had a feeling she would be the best one. I have been enormously impressed by her vocals during the audition and Hollywood rounds. The 18 year old from Toronto also seems incredibly nice and down to earth. There is also a bit of a sad backstory about being estranged from her mother after her parents divorced.

Nonetheless, a lot of people will harp on her for her looks or fashion sense. As we have seen throughout Idol history though, a lot of plus singers have done very well. In many ways, Nicolina is reminiscent of last season's Grace Kintstler, who should have won. Vocally, Nicolina also sounds a lot like Adele, both pre and post weight loss.

I do not know if this is the best song or even the best Sia number for Nicolina to show off on, but there is no denying that her voice is incredibly powerful and she might deserve to go further than any Canadian team has done in recent Stanley Cup Playoffs.

 

If anyone this season should go by just one name, it is Nicolina.

 

Rankings:

 

12. Danielle Finn

11. Elli Rowe

 

10. Dan Marshall

9.   Jay

8.  Huntergirl

7.  Tristen Gressett  

6.   Mike Parker

5.   Emyrson Flora

4.   Sage

3.   Jacob Moran

2.   Scarlet

1.   Nicolina Bozzo

If I had to predict, I will say that my bottom two will also be the two that do not get enough votes to advance.