American Idol- Top 7

The Monday night episode was pretty entertaining. There were a lot of strong performances, although the solos were understandably better than the duets/group performances. I watched a recording of the show late on Monday and now on Wednesday, I will do my best to offer commentary based on what I am able to remember.

Who was the mentor? Let me think for a second...oh yeah, they did not have one. It was the judges' song contest, which they have been doing for three years now. The contestants are given three songs to choose from, and must pick one. Afterward, the judge who got the most songs picked is the "winner" and can save someone from the Bottom Two for elimination. It seems like Katy Perry wins every year. Perhaps that is just a coincidence. This is her last season of Idol.

Additionally, the kids teamed up in twos and in one case in fours, to sing a song from one of the three judges. Since KAYKO and Mia were eliminated just the night before, there has to be some scrambling involved to arrange all of this, and likely not much rehearsal time. As I always have determined, I had no choice but to judge these as well, since the audience is watching and voting, while it is still going on. It gets somewhat tricky because they mix these group numbers up with the solos and thus someone will sing twice before another contestant gets to go once. The only fair thing to do is to consider the first time they sing to be "Round 1" and the second time as "Round 2." I rank both rounds and then at the end, I put together a cumulative ranking. In order to break ties, I put more emphasis on the solo performances. I feel like my rankings always seem to shake out how they should.

Let us begin-

1. Will Moseley- "Folsom Prison Blues"

This was absolutely the right song for him to pick. I had mentioned that it was hard to envision him doing something really uptempo, but this seemed to qualify. Will sounded confident and even moved all around the studio while still playing guitar. It was a whole lot better than the time Paul McDonald attempted to perform the song on Idol several years ago.

2. Kaibrienne- "traitor"

For this performance, Kaibrienne chose to go with a lower-case Olivia Rodrigo song. To me, all of that artist's angry songs sound the same. I recall believing that it was probably Kaibrienne's strongest vocal performance thus far this season. She seems to do the Olivia Rodrigo "wronged-girl" vibe very well.

3. Emmy Russell and Jack Blocker- "Hello"

There Idol goes, changing things up again, as the two duet on what is perhaps Lionel Richie's biggest known hit. I thought it was pretty good, though not really anything spectacular. Jack played guitar and seemed to do his thing. Emmy did not play an instrument and seemed less confident vocally than her partner.

4. McKenna Faith Breinholt- "Everywhere I Go"

I do not believe I know this song, but it clearly meant a lot to McKenna. I thought she sounded a bit too hoarse on the first few words but then as she got into it, her vocals were stellar.  Very often with her, it seems like she is not even in a singing competition, but is someone who should already be famous in the music world.

5. Jack Blocker- "Always On My Mind"

Jack is back. He has chosen to select the well-known Willie Nelson song, although versions of it have also been done by Elvis and others. For this performance, he does not play guitar. Some of his body movements were a bit awkward. Perhaps, he should have held the microphone in his hand instead of standing behind a mic stand, but I think he did what he wanted to do both vocally and physically. Jack delivered a very sincere and connected vocal. While I think the three best singers this season are all female, Jack has a very good shot of being there as part of the Top 3 at the Finale.

6. Will Moseley and Triston Harper- "What Makes You Country"

Not much of a surprise to put these two fellas together and have them sing a ridiculous Luke Bryan song.  Country fans will like it though. Both sounded ok, though Will maybe a bit more, but this was mostly about them delivering a high energy performance.

7. Abi Carter- "Bring Me To Life"

This Evanescence song has become a staple on singing shows. It is very different from the sort of piano driven ballads that Abi has typically been doing this season, but she pretty much blew this one out the box. Dressed the part, Abi took the stage without an instrument and proved she has serious musical versatility and pretty much nailed every note. Her version has to be considered the best cover of this song (which I do not really have strong feelings for one way or another in its original form) done on television.

8. Julia Gagnon- "Over The Rainbow"

I am not sure why she was wearing a cowboy hat. Do they do that a lot up in Maine? This was billed as Julia performing the Eva Cassidy version of the classic song, but it sounded more like the Israel (long Hawaiian name) version sans the ukulele. On a night with strong competition, this was not quite my favorite of the evening, but it was still really, really good. Julia showed restraint and dynamics, which is something some have felt she may have been lacking when she goes all out on big notes. Her, and Abi, and McKenna can all really sing. I could maybe compare them to the season when there was Fantasia, LaToya, and Jennifer (Hudson), though I think Julia might bow out first as Jennifer did.

Now that everyone has gone (at least) once, here are my Round 1 rankings:

8. Triston Harper (duet)

7. Emmy Russell (duet)

6. Jack Blocker (duet)

5. Kaibrienne (solo)

4. Will Moseley (solo)

3. Julia Gagnon (solo)

2. McKenna Faith Breinholt (solo)

1. Abi Carter (solo)

9. Kaibrienne, Julia Gagnon, McKenna Faith Breinholt, and Abi Carter- "Wide Awake"

This group, which all managed to wear different colored dresses, called themselves "Katy's Ladies" as they covered one of her less memorable songs (in my opinion.) I wonder what Emmy thought about being the only lady to not be included. Again, there must have been some rearranging done on the last day. Perhaps KAYKO was going to join them and beatbox or something.

They all sounded just fine. Julia and Abi were on their game.Kaibrienne is just a little below their standard. It may not have been the best kind of song for McKenna.

10. Triston Harper- "Sand In My Boots"

Triston seemed to go back and forth on his song choice. I do not think I was familiar with any of his options. The song reminded me a lot of "Smoky Mountain Memories" by Dolly Parton, which I first heard on Idol in 2008.  This was another good vocal and perhaps one of his strongest. However, I just do not hear anything amazing from him. Most of what he does sounds the same, but consistency for his base is probably a good thing. He did so something far more uptempo the night previous. The 15 year old Triston seems like this whole experience is very emotionally draining but he seems grateful for it and that will win him a lot of votes.

11. Emmy Russell- "Coal Miner's Daugher"

Well, they certainly set things up for Emmy to sing her grandmother's most iconic song in the "pimp spot." It did make for good television. I had thought that Emmy was the most vulnerable going into tonight but this would be likely to save her.

Playing the piano, this was easily Emmy's best moment on the show this season. I do not think every note was perfect but I liked how she brought her own personal tone and style of singing to make it a sentimental and even somewhat mournful ballad. It was very different than the upbeat Loretta Lynn version.

 

As Emmy was singing this tribute, as  a coal miner's great-grandaughter, I could not help but think a bit about politics. It is no secret that the perceived disdain shown to coal miners by politicians like Hillary Clinton and others have done a lot to shift our electoral results. There probably are not many Democrats left in Butcher Holler, Kentucky, very much unlike when this song was first written. There are a lot of red-state Donald Trump voting rural folk who will have found this performance moving and symbolic.

Round Two:

8. Kaibrienne- (group)

7. Will Moseley (duet)

6. McKenna Faith Breinholt (group)

5. Triston Harper (solo)

4. Jack Blocker (solo)

3. Emmy Russell (solo)

2. Julia Gagnon (group)

1. Abi Carter (group)

Overall rankings- with the realization that the Bottom Two vote getters would be announced:

8. Kaibrienne

7. Triston Harper

6. Will Moseley

5. Jack Blocker

4. Emmy Russell

3. McKenna Faith Breinholt

2. Julia Gagnon

1. Abi Carter

Who should have been Bottom Two: Kaibrienne and Triston Harper

Who I predicted would be Bottom Two: Kaibrienne and Julia Gagnon

 

I figured that Julia would not get enough votes but that the judges would save her, at least for one more week.

Who was Bottom Two: Kaibrienne and McKenna Faith Breinholt

So, this takes an interesting turn. Apparently, Julia has more fans than McKenna, which surprises me a little bit. I will now have to keep that in mind, especially considering next week is supposed to be split between dance songs and Adele. This sounds like that could be a strong night for Julia.

With all due respect for Kaibrienne, whom I thought got better as the season went along, the obvious choice was to save McKenna here, and I thought Katy would do so (although there were some moments when it might appear that nobody might be sent packing) McKenna Faith Breinholt was indeed the girl that Katy Perry saved, and hopefully liked it.

American Idol- Top 8

Starting off, I am not sure if they are going down to eight or seven tonight. I guess we will see. I miss the days when only one contestant at a time would go in the Finals, and it was a whole big ordeal, with a "farewell song" devoted to them, and all sorts of drama and manufactured tragedy.

For this episode, I am actually going to "live-blog" it via my DVR. I will watch the performances, and then pause and offer my comments and to construct my ongoing rankings, before the judges speak.

Shania Twain, now blonde, was the mentor tonight. The theme is thankfully not country music, but instead songs from the years the contestants were born. I think it is has been a while since Idol visited this theme. When they first started doing this, I was still younger than some of the contestants. Now, I am around the same age as all of their parents.

 

I still think Idol is trying to fool the viewers by telling the kids to act all shocked when Seacrest announces the guest mentors. They know ahead of time and quite possibly already cut their segments with them the week before.

1. Mia Matthews- "Nobody Needs To Know"

 

Does anyone else think Mia looks like Kendall Jenner? I remember when Crystal Bowersox did this song back on the last Shania Twain night on Idol and people thought the song was too fluff and beneath here. There was definitely a lot of fluff with this pink dress Mia performance.

She took the judges advice and put the guitar down and showed some stage movement tonight but it was extremely cheesy. Mia seemed uncomfortable putting on this kind of performance and it seemed like her vocals also suffered. I am sure the judges will tell her how terrific it was and that "you have a career."

Luke did point out that Mia forgot the lyrics in at least one spot and then Katy started hitting on Mia's boyfriend.

2. Jack Blocker- "Believe"

Not to quibble, but I believe this song is from 1999 and not 1998. Anyways, it was an interesting song choice for a guitar playing type like Jack to take on a Cher dance anthem. This slowed down version sort of sounded like what Adam Lambert did it with it during his Idol audition, and I believe he has sang as well in the years since.

I think people will like what Jack did with the song. He does not have the most expansive vocal range but he made this suite his style well and he appears emotionally connected while telling the story.

3. McKenna Faith Breinholt- "Iris"

Another late 90s tune was next. This week. McKenna was able to meet the mentor in person and was back at the piano. As the song started out, her voice still sounded strained, or as Shania described it, "husky."

As the performance went on though, McKenna really improved and was able to hit the higher notes. She has incredible talent and I thought her last ending riff was really solid.

 

Is young Triston missing from the couches? They showed him earlier sitting next to Will and Triston looked a little out of it and gave a big yawn. Now, it seems like he might no longer be seated there.

4. KAYKO- "Teenage Dirtbag"

This Sam kid is becoming more and more of a cartoon character by the episode. It is like they would have put Ziggy through the live shows, except KAYKO now seems to have a thing for sweaters.

There is a lot to digest here. At the last minute, he backed out of performing an altered version of "Oops.. I Did It Again" for this Wheatus song. It did indeed feel very Y2K. At this point, for better or worse, KAYKO is pretty much the antithesis of the traditional Idol "White Guy With A Guitar." Is he even able to sing a ballad? The defunct website Vote For The Worst would have loved what he is doing this season. Needless to say, his vocals are not going to blow anybody away, but you cannot overlook his performance skills. KAYKO is pretty much in his own lane at this point.

5. Emmy Russell- "All The Small Things"

Another odd song choice, as Emmy takes on Blink-182. At first I thought this might have potential, as Emmy does have a unique tone to her voice. I sort of wonder though if she should have played guitar.

As the performance went on, I liked it less and less. It just seemed sort of reptitive and pointless and once again, Emmy seemed distracted on stage. I was trying to compare it to Mia in thinking which one could have been worse thus far and at least it seems like Mia is committed to trying to succeed more.

Next, it was a pretty nice moment to bring out 2020 winner Just Sam (certainly considering that there are no female African-American singers left this season) to basically have a coronation moment. She looked decent and sounded good singing a Whitney Houston song, as a moderate confetti shower fell at the end. I note that I amusing female pronouns, but Sam no longer does. Welcome to the 2020s. From what I believe I have read in the past, "they" have had a difficult few years. Again, it was good to let Sam have their moment on stage with a live audience. I do not think many people care about the 2020 Presidential nominees who missed their chance to have a normal convention.

6. Triston Harper- "She's Country"

Triston appears to be just fine when it is his turn to perform. First, we see his mentoring session with Shania. Both have dealt with childhood homelessness It was not mentioned that both have Native American (or Native Canadian) heritage.. It certainly sounds like Triston has had a difficult life, based on the backstory that Idol is putting out there.

This song sure has a lot of words. It seems like Triston knew all of them. His voice held up, even if the performance was a little manic. Triston definitely was out there to work the stage and do some sorta cringy dance moves and facial expressions. In some ways, it feels sort of wrong that he is singing a song like this and performing it the way he is at just 15 years old, but since he comes across as an older type of soul, that will get overlooked. I think he is better at "old school" country than this kind of Jason Aldean drivel, but a lot of Idol voters will love it.

7. Abi Carter- "Clocks"

This was another weird segment. Someone should have maybe told Abi not to mention her mother getting into a car crash while listening to a Shania song on the radio. (Shania's parents were killed in an auto accident.) Abi then began her song surrounded by what looked like a confused group of Idol audience members. I could swear that one of them was Mary Cheney.

Abi definitely took Luke's advice to do something without the piano and to show movement on stage. If anything, she overdid it a bit. This felt sort of like an Alanis Morrisette performance. Vocally, I thought it was pretty good, although I do not like this particular Coldplay song. In a few points, I felt like Abi was trying too hard to "sing loud."

8. Julia Gagnon- "Here I Am"

This is a Bryan Adams song I did not know. Apparently, it is from some sort of animated movie that Julia loved as a kid. I have sort of mixed feelings on this performance. In many regards, she sounded really good, especially on the lower notes. However, it just seemed like the song itself was lacking in melody. As usual. Julia can really belt out the big notes, but it seemed almost a bit over the top this week.

I still think she has the best overall voice this season, but Julia is probably on borrowed time in terms of just how far she will go in this competition.

 9. Will Moseley- "Modern Day Bonnie And Clyde"

I expected Will to be good as he always is. I did not expect it to be this strong of a performance. I do not know the song and it was not exactly anything too different from what Will has been doing. However, he just sounded completely on his game from beginning to end. On songs like this, he has sort of a rock-like appeal that transcends the country genre. At least for the nine who have gone thus far tonight, he is the only one to not have a questionable note at any point in the song. I still feel it is very likely he will be the winner of this season in a few weeks.

10. Kaibrienne- "Here Without You"

I liked this song choice for Kaibrienne. She is very good but not great. I liked the effort and much of the results on this performance, but there is just something about her voice that is a bit too rough. She seems like someone who would be considered a really, really good bar singer, but it is harder to see how she fits in the current music world. I think she has done very well to have gotten this far in the competition.

 

Rankings:

 

10. Emmy Russell

 9.  Mia Matthews

 

8. KAYKO

7. Triston Harper

6. Jack Blocker

5. Kaibrienne

4. Abi Carter

3. Julia Gagnon

2. McKenna Faith Breinholt

1. Will Moseley

 

I have paused the recording to post my rankings and predictions.

Who should be eliminated: Emmy Russell and Mia Matthews

As usual, it is much tougher to predict. I think the country vote might be coming in strongly for both Will and Triston, the two dudes, leaving Mia and Emmy (though the latter is not truly a country singer, but has an obvious family connection) a bit more at risk. That would be the most deserving outcome, although I am sort of worried for Julia at this point.

Who I am predicting will be eliminated: Emmy Russell and Mia Matthews

The announcements are being made. The last three standing are also my Bottom Three, although the person safe will be "in no particular order."

Who was eliminated: Mia Matthews and KAYKO

Very interesting. I have to think that Loretta Lynn fans are what is keeping Emmy alive in this competition. Something tells me that Emmy might have preferred to have been relieved of this burden. I also sense that KAYKO is probably not too upset about leaving. A few weeks ago, I would have thought he would be Top 5 for sure, but he got progressively weirder. Ultimately, he was "blocked" by Jack Blocker, who appealed more to the fans that KAYKO was trying to win over, although the two guys were very different artists over the last few weeks.

My parents will probably be pleased that KAYKO is gone, but upset about Mia. This has to be difficult for her also, but as mentioned, the guitar playing/hat wearing portly males tend to get more votes from the heavily female Idol voting audience than young pretty girls like Mia.

So, heading into Monday night's show, we are down to eight contestants. Five females and three males. Something tells me that at least the next couple two to go will be ladies.

White House Race- April 27, 2024

We are back at it again on a Saturday. This week's political headlines mostly involved protests on college campuses and a former President on trial watching a Pecker on the stand. The election is less than 200 days away. The nominees are all but chosen, but primaries are still being held in some states. This week, a closed Republican primary in Pennsylvania, still produced a bunch of votes for Nikki Haley, a candidate who ended her race several weeks ago. The bottom line is that there are many Republicans who do not appear willing to vote for Donald Trump this November. By the same token, there are many Democrats who are at least threatening to not vote for Joe Biden.  Robert Kennedy Jr. remains a factor, polling several points higher than he should, considering his absolute insanity on a wide range of fronts. It appears that Trump may now be more concerned that RFK Jr. could be costing him votes.

I do not really know what to say on the New York courtroom events. There are not cameras in the courtroom, but every detail is being excruciatingly covered on cable news. Some think the week went badly for Trump's defense, as the Prosecution is making their case. Others believe the case remains fundamentally weak. We definitely know for sure though to just what lengths Trumpworld went to in 2015 and 2016 to plant false stories in the National Enquirer about their political rivals. In spite of this, spineless politicians like Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, who were the victims of vicious smears, shrug it off. After all, they have a political master that needs to be bowed down to.

 

Moving on, I find it difficult to really even try to describe what is going lately on college campuses and other places. For decades, America has prided itself as a society that looks down upon bigots and hatred. We have certainly seen episodes of hateful people exercising their Constitutionally protected free speech rights before, while having those views be denounced in the media and in society in general. If the targets of hate speech were African-Americans or the LGBT community, there would rightfully be tremendous pushback in solidarity with those targets.

It does not seem like the same can be said these days for Jews. Even many Jewish-Americans are reluctant to speak out. What we are seeing though on the news every day is pretty unprecedented. Young Americans, and those who are living in as guests in America, seem emboldened to attack Jews and to literally target them for harassment and intimidation. When this sort of thing happens from right-wing extremists, such as what we saw a few years back in Charlottesville, people spoke out against it. There seems to be greater consternation as to how to respond when left-wing extremists are the ones spreading this hate. With that in mind, Republicans and those on the right are taking the opportunity to spotlight the anti-Semitic extremism for political purposes. I would like to think they actually mean what they say about wanting to protect Jews in America. However, there is hypocrisy at place, because many of these exact same people choose to look the other way or make excuses when anti-Semitism rears its ugly head at C-PAC gatherings or on January 6 riots, or on the Mar-A-Lago dinner guest list and many other related examples.

Some have compared what is happening on college campuses to anti-Vietnam War protests in the 1960s. I find such a comparison to be shockingly off-base. This is not at all like the 1960s. It is far more like the 1930s in Germany. This is Charlottesville in 2017, without the tiki torches, and with much larger, more menacing crowds.

Large portions of these demonstrators are actively seeking out, threatening, and harassing Jews and making their lives in the United States very unsafe. They are being told "go back to Poland."

Many of these people do not care about Gaza. They care about harming and terrorizing Jews. Somehow that is getting lost in translation to those who are willfully ignorant.

In the 1960s, people on college campuses called for an end to a war. Today, people on college campuses are calling for “a thousand October 7ths”, the burning of Tel Aviv, and the destruction of Israel by force. They are actively chanting slogans and waiving flags praising Hamas and Hezbollah.

There is very little “peace, love, and understanding” at play in these demonstrations. These are not anti-war demonstrations in any way, shape, or form. They are not advocating a "cease-fire." They are advocating a greater war of expansion that results in the demolishing of Israel.

Different states and different campuses are taking different approaches to these events, which have shut down classes and caused graduation ceremonies to be canceled. Columbia University in particular appears unable to take steps to stop what is going behind free speech and instead an active threat against its Jewish students. In places like Texas and Florida, politicians and university officials have taken a more firm approach, that involves police and expulsions, and they are facing criticism for that.

 In the meantime, the question I and many others continue to ask is why is it that Jews are so reviled and so blames for so many things in the world, even by people who profess to be on the side of justice and equality. This is an age old question though and certainly not limited to the United States.

This week, President Biden was asked an off the cuff question about anti-Semitic protests. He said he denounced them but also denounces "those who do not understand what is going on with the Palestinians." Once again, Biden is trying to have it both ways and in using those words, sure sounds a whole lot like a post-Charlottesville President Donald Trump who spoke of "good people on both sides" in a clash between white supremacists and those who opposed them. Biden himself said he was spurned to run against Trump because of those remarks. Now, he is basically parroting this "both sides" argument. What is "going on with the Palestinians" certainly has nothing to do with Jewish-Americans and should not even be brought up in the same discussion as the increased instances of anti-Semitism within the United States. If one wants to really know what is going on with the Palestinians, history would be very instructive. Their issues are internal more than with Israel. On several occasions, Palestinians authorities have rejected having their own state, simply because they do not want Israel to be a state also. Those who voted Hamas into power in Gaza are what is going on with the Palestinians, and certainly Hamas itself, which wants to see as many of its own people die in order to advance its anti-Israel agenda is what is going on. Joe Biden knows all of this, but he is being a political coward once again.

Finally,. we are getting closer to the point where Donald Trump will need to pick a new runningmate. Many ambitious Republicans want that slot. I am still a bit surprised at the talk about people like Marco Rubio, considering the fact that he would have to literally resign from the Senate and move to a new state other than Florida in order to be selected. I think Ohio Senator J.D. Vance is a real possibility, because Don Jr. likes him, and they share views on wanting Putin to defeat Ukraine.

A name that has gotten a lot of mention though has been South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem. There are a lot of issues surrounding her that could be considered huge problems, but MAGA world seems to shrug everything off as a "liberal media conspiracy" or "fake news." Over the past couple of days, she has gotten a lot of criticism for writing in a book, in a proud fashion, that she once shot and killed her 14 month old puppy because she "hated" the dog after deciding he not make it as a hunting dog after some alleged misbehavior. This made Noem decide that the execution of Cricket was the only solution.

This made dog lovers aghast and others could not believe she would even admit to it and decided it would greatly harm her political career. I think she wrote this and is speaking about it for an audience of one. Donald Trump is the person who could put her on his ticket and he hates dogs. His hatred for pets, and dogs in particular is well-documented. Comparing a person to a dog has long been a main page in his rhetorical playbook. Noem thinks Trump will like her more knowing she shot and killed a dog and I think she is right. This will help her chances of being picked.

If she is picked and there is outrage over this instance from her past, I know exactly how MAGA will respond. First, they will say that since the left is ok with killing a baby after it is born (not an entirely untrue claim as it relates to failed abortion procedures), they have no room to complain about anybody killing a dog. Then, they will point to Joe Biden's troubled White House German Shepherds and their biting habits and say that Noem had the guts to do what Biden could never do.

Sadly, the Republican Party is in a weird place these days.

 

U.S. House Special Election

26. New York

vacant upon resignation of Brian Higgins D

(won by Biden with 61% of the vote)

Likely Democrat

American Idol- Top 10

I watched Monday night's episode on Tuesday, and now it is Thursday and I will try to remember what I wanted to write. Frankly, the Sunday show was better overall.

With performances on successive nights, the contestants were obviously working on both songs throughout the week. The mentoring sessions with Meghan Trainor had to have been filmed before the live Sunday show. The theme for this round was "Billboard Number One Hits" although, it must have been a chart-topper for any Billboard category, instead of the overall "Hot 100." 

1. Abi Carter- "All Too Well"

The previous night, I thought she was incredibly good on an old Elton John song. On Monday, she was the first contestant to pick something from the Taylor Swift songbook, which these days, seems like a smart vote-getting strategy. I really liked her voice on this also, although it was not as good as the night before. Once again, she performed the entire song at the piano. The judges would be surprisingly critical, at least by ABC Idol standards towards a few of these contestants. Usually, everything is sunshine, rainbows, and puppies, no matter what.

2. Will Moseley- "Starting Over"

Will was solid as always, but he is indeed becoming predictable. I did not find this performance as interesting as his others. Everything he does is standing still at a microphone with his guitar and singing in a somewhat low-key way. He is very good at that, but a potential Idol winner should be able to serve something different up from time to time.

Speaking of Idol winners, I was surprised when Seacrest announced that Just Sam would be appearing as a guest performer, and before a live Idol audience for the first time. Just a week ago, I said there was no way they would ever have her on. Maybe somebody was paying attention.

3. Jayna Elise- "Diamonds"

This Sia written Rihanna hit has already been done a lot on Idol. I was thinking that maybe Jayna could have done a Rihanna song like "Disturbia" instead. Afterwards, she said she sang this in tribute to the late Willie Spence, who considered it his signature song. Once again Jayna, while not totally flawless, was close enough to excellent to make me really appreciate her talent and hope she would be sticking around. Last year, she had been eliminated in the Hollywood Rounds, and we also learned that she was part of the KidzBop show back in 2016, which I suppose was long ago enough that these contestants were actually children back then.

4. Mia Matthews- "Over You"

I remember Mia's purple guitar once again but a couple of days later, I always have a hard time recalling exactly how her song went. She is definitely playing to the female country pop niche and is good at that. I just think that some of the other females have more distinctive voices.

5. Roman Collins- "Roar"

His Sunday night performance pleasantly surprised me a bit. I though this attempt at a Katy Perry song (in front of Katy Perry) was just a mess, even though she professed to love it. He started off doing a much slowed down version of the song, while playing piano. Then, he stood up and turned it into a gospel number.That alone made it seem disjointed. However, I cannot get past how when he is not belting or hollering or doing vocal gyrations, he sort of awkwardly speaks the lyrics. I am far from an expert, but I think he just lacks musicality.

6. Jack Blocker- "Blinding Lights"

Jack continues to remind me of a Kris Allen/Phillip Phillips hybrid. Doing an acoustic guitar version of a The Weeknd song is also something that it seems like those two past winners would have attempted. However, I just did not like this as much as I would have hoped. I agree with the comments that the tempo was too slow. It just seemed sort of boring.

7. Emmy Russell- "Lose You To Love Me"

As usual. I like her tone. She may not sing my favorite kind of music, but I can imagine what her album might sound like. Emmy is definitely in her head though and is visibly stressing out on camera every round. In a way, this reminds me of the Marybeth Byrd campaign, but I think Emmy is taking it to an even higher level. Towards the end of this performance, she seemed like she was reacting to something she felt she did wrong. Are people going to be voting for her just because of who her grandmother is?

8. Triston Harper- "Beautiful Crazy"

He dedicated this song to his young girlfriend, whom he Facetimed while she was in Wal-Mart. (I doubt that was a total surprise.) After doing Elvis the night before, Triston went more heavily into his country identity for this performance. There is no doubt he has a good voice, but I think this was not that great of a performance. Like some of the others, it was just a bit on a boring side.

9. Julia Gagnon- "Something In the Orange"

This was another song I do not know. Would it be considered country? Despite some questionable fashion choices, I continue to be extremely impressed by Julia's talent. There seems to be a female singer I say this about every season, who falls just short of the Top 2, if even that. I did enjoy the dynamics and emotion that Julia brought to this performance. Unlike many of the others, she is willing to stretch herself and sing different types of music, although an uptempo performance might be a good idea soon.

10. Kaibrienne- "Wrecking Ball"

She followed an alumni performance by 2008 runner-up David Archuleta. It is always good when he returns to Idol, although the former Utah resident clearly no longer considers himself a member of the LDS Church. Kaibrienne is also from Utah and I do not think she belongs either (although I am not sure.) If I recall correctly, I thought she was decent on this Miley Cyrus song at the beginning and then went way off-key. Or maybe she was way off-key at the beginning and then had some decent moments towards the end. It was one or the other. It would be better if I could "live-blog" these episodes.

11. McKenna Faith Breinholt- "cardigan"

I almost typed the contestants name as "Taylor Swifr" as that is who this song is by. That has to be at least partial strategy. McKenna had been under the weather (assuming not Covid) during the past week and had no interaction with Gene Simmons at all, but had a video interaction with Meghan Trainor. Twenty-four hours later, her voice was perhaps a bit better, but I can still detect that it has hurt her voice a bit. There was some rough moments, but I still like her voice.

12. KAYKO- "Somebody That I Used To Know"

Speaking of sweaters, what was up with the ugly one he was wearing? Also, was he wearing guyliner and trying to go goth? I do not understand that strategy. I was expecting this to be horrible and was wondering if KAYKO might actually run out of luck with the voting. However, he pretty much did what he had to do, and continued presenting himself as someone of a made up character (hence the stage name) to his base of pre-teen and teenage girls. Vocally, it was not as bad as I thought it would be on what was once a huge song about a decade ago. He jumped and stomped all over the stage without an instrument. His voice may suffer because of all his performance theatrics but at least he is trying to make an impact. The judges hyped it up too much however.

 

Two contestants would be leaving.

Rankings:

 

12. Roman Collins

11. Kaibrienne

 

10. Jack Blocker

 9.  Triston Harper

 8.  Emmy Russell

 7.  Mia Matthews

 6.  KAYKO

 5. McKenna Faith Breinholt

 4. Will Moseley

 3.  Abi Carter

 2. Jayna Elise

 1. Julia Gagnon

As mentioned, Sunday was better. On that show, only a couple performances were below average. On Monday, only three or so were what I considered above average. Julia and Jayna were clearly the best of the night and I was hoping neither would face the figurative ax.

Who should have been eliminated: Roman Collins and Kaibrienne

Who I predicted would be eliminated: Roman Collins and Kaibrienne.

Putting my faith in America, at least fully, did not work out

Who was eliminated: Roman Collins and Jayna Elise

Roman deserved to leave the show but Jayna definitely did not. It was presented as Julia being the last one at risk before being told she was safe. She may have been the number one overall vote getter (I highly doubt it though), but it was very noticeable that all the white kids (plus the teenager in the cowboy hat) were safe and three people of color were left. I swear, I am not that "woke" but I always want results based on merit. Again, no issue with Roman being voted off, but Jayna deserved way better.  I will note of course that the winner last year (and heavy frontrunner all season) was a person of color. However, it seems the Idol voting population seems to have a far lower turnout of those who prefer black singers. I cannot say for certain what all of Triston's racial background is (besides Choctaw Indian), but otherwise, there are now zero African-Americans remaining.

American Idol- Top 12

Happy Tuesday

I am still playing a bit of catch-up with American Idol. I saw Sunday night's episode live and made my rankings. I have not yet seen Monday night's episode. Thus far, I have not run across any "spoilers", but I may very well see some. I hope to watch the episode soon. For this entry, I will be going off memory to comment on the 14 performances on Sunday.

The theme was Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the mentor, just in time for Passover, was Gene Simmons (born in Israel as Chaim Witz.). He is very rich and very famous, but not exactly known as a stellar singer. The longtime KISS bassist seemed pretty good as a mentor though. He has a long history of past relationships with women. During the episode, he made reference to one he once had with Diana Ross. Interestingly enough though, another ex-flame is Cher, and she was announced as being one of the new inductees to the Hall of Fame in Cleveland, but the camera did not go to Gene when her name was mentioned. He also seemed to keep his tongue in his mouth all night.

There were some pretty good performances on Sunday night and I actually knew most of the songs. At the end of the night, two would be cut, with the very unfair system of the voting starting at the top of the show. In theory, that could be bad for the performers who would sing last, but basically Idol voting is just picking your favorites, regardless of how good or bad they were that particular evening.

1. Triston Harper- "Heartbreak Hotel"

I need to look past learning that the teenage Triston thinks, or at least once thought on his social media that Donald Trump was a President. Since such a thing was not scrubbed, I always wonder if it was an oversight or if there is a voting advantage to be gained during the Idol game.

For this performance, Triston sang a classic Elvis song, which made my parents very happy. He did so without his guitar or cowboy hat. Vocally, it was alright, though I think he is better as a country singer. The hip gyrations for someone so young was probably unnecessary.

2. Julia Gagnon- "Run To You"

Of all the Whitney Houston ballads, this may not be the most exciting one. Nonetheless, Julia can sing just about anything and more than held her own taking this one on. She should probably do something more up-tempo and fun in the near future.

Idol then briefly paid tribute to the late Mandisa and promised a larger musical tribute next week. With the exception of Willie Spence, who was on a very recent season, I cannot recall them ever acknowledging any other contestants who had passed away.

3. Roman Collins- "You're All I Need To Get By"

I was definitely not pleased that Roman was selected to take one of the 14 spots, especially over someone like Odell Bunton Jr. It now seems though like he will be singing songs outside of the gospel genre. This is an old song, designed to get older voters in his corner. While I think there are people in this competition with better voices, and I do not always like how he rearranges the material, I have to say though that I thought this was easily his best performance.

4. Kaibrienne- "I Hate Myself For Loving You"

I was also skeptical of why America voted her into their Top 10. She sang this Joan Jett song at about 7:25 local time on a Sunday night, which is about exactly the time a version of it has aired for years on NBC's Sunday Night Football. It seemed like a football game needed to begin. I thought Kaibrienne would be compared unfavorably to Pink and Carrie Underwood, who are associated with the NFL version of the tune. I recall not really liking the way this performance started off, but by the end, I think Kaibrienne picked up steam and was credible as a rock-type voice.

5. Jayna Elise- "I Have Nothing"

Another Whitney song. This would be the second of three on the evening. How many times has this particular done been done on Idol and other singing shows? A whole heck of a lot, but it is pretty much the ultimate diva ballad. I remember thinking that I wish Julia had sung it.

Jayna pretty much did all that could be expected and perhaps a bit more. She might have been off on a couple notes but she has a big voice and this performance seemed quite impactful at the time.

6. Mia Matthews- "Those Memories Of You"

This was the first song I did not know. From what I recall, Mia sang it pretty well, but it just seemed a little boring. Compared to some of the previous powerhouse performances, it felt a little low-key for how the evening was progressing.

7. KAYKO- "High And Dry"

I do not think I know this song either. It was the first cover song KAYKO has performed on American Idol. Perhaps, it was about time. He was playing acoustic guitar and at the beginning, I thought he was singing more melodically than he been doing before. Then, as it picked up, I thought he did not sound as great. Like many other "current" Idol contestants, you either get it or you do not, and I really do not with KAYKO, at least vocally. He does indeed look far more like Woody Allen's son than Roman Farrow, whom allegedly is, but everyone knows is probably the offspring of Frank Sinatra.

8. Emmy Russell- "I Can't Make You Love Me"

On Sunday, Emmy was dressed much better and looked better than she had the previous Monday. I still like the gentle tone of her voice and thought most of this performance was decent. My mother was watching along though (who dislikes this Bonnie Raitt song) and she kept commenting that Emmy had gone off-key. It was hard for me to tell, but towards the end, the contestant did give a look like she thought she made a mistake.

9. Jordan Anthony- "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)

Jordan is very lucky to still be in this competition at this point. He also picks a Whitney Houston song and delivered a rendition that I think I have heard somewhere else but cannot quite place it. It started off slow and then got more mid-tempo. He definitely was not trying to sound like Whitney, which was wise. I am conflicted because at times, I thought Jordan was delivering a very effective pop vocal and at other times I thought he sounded way off. More often than not, it was probably a miss.

10. McKenna Faith Breinholt- "Hard To Say I'm Sorry"

They never said what her illness might be, but McKenna was so under the weather, they did not risk her infecting Gene Simmons during a mentor session. Her speaking voice has sounded congested for weeks now and vocally I could not help but notice she did sound a bit sick. I was very intrigued by this Chicago song being performed for the first time on Idol and really wanted McKenna to knock it out of the park (perhaps Wrigley Field of course) but it seemed like she was not at her usual standard.

11. Jack Blocker- "Don't Twink Twice, It's Alright"

I know a few Bob Dylan songs, but I do not think I know this one. However, my mother says she used to perform this back in the '60s as a folk singer. I pretty much liked what Jack did with it. He has his own vibe and the longer you are exposed to him, the easier it to focus on his voice and musicality and less on the facial expressions. Could he be a dark horse in this competition? We should remember that in his audition, he was initially given two "no's."

12. Nya- "I Saw A Little Prayer"

I associate this song more with Dionne Warwick than Aretha Franklin, as it was billed. I do not think it probably is a good one for American Idol. On this evening, Nya is blonde. As has been the case, I think she is good but not quite on the same level as most of the other contestants. The judges always give her fawning comments though. Looking back at my rankings from Sunday, I had her somewhat higher than I might remember right now.

13. Will Moseley- "Night Moves"

This is sort of a more laid-back type song, but Will excels in things like that. It is not associated with country but he also can make just about anything fit his style. He makes it seem pretty effortless although I am not expecting Will to go truly uptempo anytime soon.

14. Abi Carter- "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"

When I heard the song choice, I was a little suspicious, because I think there are better Elton John songs. Also, this is associated with a long ago attempt by Camille Velasco on Idol which was ranked by viewers as one of the worst vocals in the history of the show.

That was a long time ago and Abi sounded very different while playing piano and singing this ballad. I will definitely have to go back and watch this again very soon but the first time I saw it, I was incredibly impressed. The things she did with her voice made it seem like a "masterclass" to use that term. Just calling it as I see it, I think it was one of the best Idol performances in recent years.

Rankings:

14, KAYKO

13. Jordan Anthony

 

12. Mia Matthews

11. Emmy Russell

10. McKenna Faith Breinholt

 9. Triston Harper

 8. Roman Collins

 7. Nya

 6. Kaibrienne

 5. Jack Blocker

 4. Will Moseley

 3. Julia Gagnon

 2. Jayna Elise

 1. Abi Carter

There are so many contestants vying for the same votes as someone somewhat similar. Jack and KAYKO and maybe Jordan aslso. Mia and Emmy. McKenna and Abi. Jayna and Nya. Even Triston and Will. Who was going to be voted out?

Who should have been eliminated: KAYKO and Jordan Anthony

I determined it might be bad news for the wildcard contestants, especially a couple of the African-American performers

Who I predicted would be eliminated: Roman Collins and Nya

Who was eliminated: Jordan Anthony and Nya

Roman was declared safe early in the announcements. I knew right away that the obvious person to leave would then be Jordan. That is what happened. Considering the fact that I had Roman ranked several spots about Jordan, it was at least more appropriate.

White House Race- April 21, 2024

I will attempt to shift my focus from American Idol to Presidential politics. This was quite a complex news week and with everything that has been going on in my life, I really have not gotten much of a chance to step back and try to absorb it all.

There were definitely some surprises though, the most pleasant of which seems to be that House Speaker Mike Johnson seems to have found some cajones. I really do not know what to fully make of it, since Johnson has pretty much been a puppet of Donald Trump for years now. Just over a week ago, he appeared subservient at a Mar-A-Lago press conference, although did succeed in getting to Trump to endorse his staying in the role as Speaker, despite the threat of Marjorie Taylor Green to call for his ouster.

This past week though, Johnson has had to rely on Democrats to get some major legislation passed and that has put his status as Speaker in greater jeopardy. I am quite glad though that yesterday, the U.S. House passed aid to Ukraine and Israel. Democrats are somewhat divided over Israel aid and Republicans are even more divided over Ukraine, but they are clearly the right thing to do. Other aspects involving Taiwan, humanitarian aid to Gaza, and potentially banning TikTok also advanced.

It is pretty rare these days to see a politician take action that might put their power at risk, but Johnson seemed to do that, and it should not be overlooked. Whether it was his consulting his religious convictions or seeing the actual intelligence for the first time as it relates to Russia and Ukraine, he committed to doing the right thing, at long last. Some thought the office of the Presidency could cause Trump to "grow in office", and that clearly never happened, but perhaps actually becoming House Speaker has had that positive effect on Johnson. It will be an interesting week ahead to see if Moscow Marjorie and her small group of Freedom Caucus cohorts actually make a move on Johnson. If so, the Speaker will have to rely on Democrats saving his job. Both sides seem to agree that Republicans will probably lose their House majority this November.

To me, the most curious aspect of this is that Donald Trump did not forcefully intervene to prevent aid to Ukraine. I am a bit surprised, but I am glad he did not, despite the fact he had a pretty perfunctory online complaint about how Europe needs to do more than we are.to help Ukraine. Is Trump simply thinking about the general election and trying to avoid looking too pro-Russia even if that might be his true preference in regards to the conflict? Or has he just been distracted by the beginning of his New York City trial to really focus on anything else? Despite the relative silence of Trump, MAGA forces online are extremely angry at Speaker Johnson and the other Republicans who supported Ukraine.

So much media attention was glued to a courthouse in Manhattan this past week and that will only intensify as opening statements start tomorrow in the hush money case. One day, while eating lunch, I saw CNN cover a man set himself on fire. Laura Coates did a pretty good job of giving the play by play as it happened, but it sort of sounded like she was calling a major horse race. The man who set himself on fire ultimately died. Mental illness is a terrible thing. The biggest surprise was that whatever he was trying to protest or counterprotest did not involve Trump nor the Middle East at all.

After much drama, a jury has been seated in this case, in a time frame far faster than many expected. There is much speculation as to if this is actually a good jury for Trump or if the political lean of Manhattan will make it tough for him to avoid conviction. All it takes is one juror though to hold out. It does look like there might be an actual verdict given within the next couple of months in this first criminal case. Frankly, I will be a bit surprised if Trump gets convicted in this case. If he wins acquittal, it will be seen as a huge political victory for him. Despite my intense negative feelings about Trump. I just hope justice is served in this case and the others, whatever it may be. The Constitution and rule of law, must always come before politics.

Will Trump be able to stay awake? There were several reports this past week about his dozing off in the courtroom during the jury selection process. So-called experts were called to speak to what might be going on in his pysche to cause Drowsy Don to nod off during such an important period in his life. Clearly, he is frustrated by not having control in this courtroom. He cannot speak when he wants and cannot order a Diet Coke when he feels he needs one. Trump is complaining about the thermostat as well, not to mention the gag order imposed on him as it relates to speaking about relatives of the Judge or other officers of the Court.

One thing is for certain. If Biden were falling asleep at any sort of public venue, Trump folks would never stop talking about it. They seem far less willing to even entertain the notion that their hero might be "sleepy." For now, while Trump is on trial, Biden is out a bit on the trail, and is certain to make his usual gaffes and completely bonkers statements, especially as he tries to work in stories about his life and family that may not exactly be true. That has been a Biden staple going back to at least 1987.

There are lots of other topics I could touch on, but will end by noting that tomorrow at sunset begins the observation of Passover. This Jewish holiday has been a part of my life since childhood but definitely feels more important after the events of last October. This past week, despite being publicly warned against doing so by the Biden Administration, Israel retaliated against Iran, for the largely failed attack Iran launched against Israel the previous weekend. Israel did not destroy Iran's nuclear facilities, but seemed to make it clear that they could if they wanted. Experts seem to be saying that Israel sent an effective message to Iran (and also in a way to Russia) that an escalated conflict would not be in their best interest. For now, Iran seems to have gotten the message and is going to let Israel have the last word. That is good news for all involved. Israel seems to have had a successful week and while that might please the Biden Administration privately, it would be embarrassing for them to acknowledge it publicly.

Still, despite Israel perhaps turning the international narrative around a bit in their favor, it cannot be forgotten that its hostages, as well as those of America, are continuing to be held by Islamic terrorists without much hope of a happy conclusion. Closer to home, anti-Semitism is scarily on the rise and pro-Palestinian activists seem to be openly hunting out Jewish students for intimidation and harm on major college campuses, such as Columbia University in New York City. There needs to be major pressure brought to bear on college administrators to now allow unlawful protests to target Jews. There is no doubt that if political extremists were targeting African-Americans or the LGBTQ community, that these Administrators, as well as others in the media, would be far more vocal.

The story of Passover tells about the ancient survival of the Jewish people and how they were led out of bondage. This continues to be a very real scenario for Jewish people in Israel, Ukraine, the United States, and everywhere else they exist on Earth.

Am Yisrael Chai. The Jewish People Live. 

 

As the Book of Exodus teaches, with words that appear on a Bell in Philadelphia, "Proclaim Liberty Throughout All The Land Unto All the Inhabitants thereof."

American Idol- Top 14

There is still something weird going on with Blogger, so I am going to type all this up elsewhere and hope I can cut and paste it later.  The font may look different.

My plan for today is that I am watching last Monday's broadcast and will blog about the performances, while still utilizing my original rankings and predictions. I will post about the "White House Race" on Sunday. Then, I will try sometime next week to post about two nights of Idol, maybe even into the weekend again. I will be able to watch tomorrow night's show live but not Monday's.

Last Monday, all 20 contestants were called and told whether or not they were "voted into the Top 14", which actually means if they were voted into the Top 10 or not. Idol producers/judges would then pick four more to round out the Top 14.

I am going to recap and rank all the performances, as I usually do on this night, even though half the contestants are already "safe." Viewers and voters are watching and their impressions will likely carry over for the next week.

1. Quintavious- "Make It Happen"

(Top 20 ranking: 9)

While I had him ranked in the Top 10, I was not surprised that Quintavious did not automatically get voted in. On Monday, he sang a Mariah Carey song, ran all around the stage area, and attempted her signature whistle note. All in all, not a bad effort, but it felt a bit manic in parts.

2. McKenna Faith Breinholt-  "Tumbleweed"

(Top 20 ranking:  1, predicted to have been voted in Top 10)

No surprise, McKenna is in, deservedly so. For this performance, without playing an instrument, she sang the song she auditioned with. It is the one that was released by her late birth mother. Once again, McKenna's voice is very alluring, even if the song seems a bit boring.

3. Jordan Anthony- "Attention"

(Top 20 ranking: 20)

American agreed with me and Jordan is "singing for his life." I have to say though that I thought he was a lot better with this more uptempo performance than the semi-dreadful piano ballad he did the night before. I still figured this would be the last we would hear from him this season.

4. Jack Blocker- "Feeling Whitney"

(Top 20 ranking: 12)

Jack has made it in. He obviously has people. I thought he might be "blocked" if you will by KAYKO. He is given a guitar for this performance and sings well, but it is a boring song that I have never heard before. I thought he was at least more interesting in previous performances. However, there is less visible saliva in his mouth for this one.

5. Kennedy Reid- "Somethin' Bad"

(Top 20 ranking: 8)

While I figured correctly she would not get enough votes, I was impressed when Kennedy sang "Fancy" and I was pleasantly surprised by how well she did on the schmaltzy Judds ballad the night before. Whatever the heck this was indeed was "somethin' bad." It was hard to make out any of the lyrics and this sort of bad-girl country just did not suit her at all.

6. Jennifer Jeffries- "All I Want"

(Top 20 ranking: 17)

After a rough performance the night before, Jennifer was going to need some help. This was a song more people know and I thought she was a good deal better on Monday. It seems to me like her storytelling ability is more effective on verses of songs than it is on the choruses. At just 18 years old, she probably would have benefitted from waiting a couple more years before trying Idol.

7. Ajii- "Call Out My Name"

(Top 20 ranking: 14)

It does not seem like Ajii even attempted a smile during his time on stage here, at least until the judge comments. That might be part of the problem why he did not get enough votes.  Vocally, I thought this was pretty solid. He has the kind of voice that can really soar on big notes. I just do not think he was picking the right songs for himself.

8. Mia Matthews- "Burning House"

(Top 20 ranking:  11)

America agreed more with my parents on this one, voting Mia in as part of the Top 10. She sang a song about having dreams about a burning house. I am worried I will be having nightmares about a flooding condo. I think with this performance, Mia's skills as a young country singer are starting to grow on me a bit. She seemed more confident and sounded good.

9. KAYKO- "What If?"

(Top 20 ranking: 13, predicted to have been voted into Top 10)

KAYKO is very happy and energetic, but he is diminutive and sort of resembles a young Woody Allen. After making it through, as I predicted, he reprised an original song about self-doubt that would seem to go along with that comparison. I thought the first voice was horrible vocally but then one cannot help but get pulled into his awkward hipster performance vibe. It is an odd situation where his songwriting will win him a lot of praise, as will his performance skills. I just am finding the vocals lacking.

10. Nya- "Water"

(Top 20 ranking: 15)

I was not surprised she did not receive enough votes. For this performance, Nya did a song I had never heard before, but it was definitely a more current vibe than she had put out there for the voting rounds thus far.  As usual, I find her vocals to be decent but not anything spectacular.

11. Will Moseley- "Gone For Good"

(Top 20 ranking: 4 predicted to have been voted into Top 10)

Obviously Will found a way to get the votes and for this performance, he sang an original song which has already fared very well on the country charts. That is a sign he is a major contender to take the crown this season. I thought the performance started off a little slow but then picked up in intensity. He can definitely sing country music and people will definitely appreciate the songwriting skills also.

After the break, the kids put on their fake shocked faces as if they are learning for the first time that the mentors this upcoming week will be Gene Simmons and Meghan Trainor.

12. Abi Carter- "My Mind"

(Top 20 ranking: 7, predicted to have been voted into the Top 10)

Abi is indeed in. Parts of this ballad I thought were superb. She has immense talent. At other portions, I think she may have overshot a couple of notes, but I am far from a musical expert. All things considered, it was really strong.

Before the next performance, by a Gospel inspired artist,  I need to take a moment and note sad and surprising passing of Idol alum Mandisa. In 2006, she was a Finalist on a very interesting season, and I liked many of her performances, especially when she did "Never" by Heart. That summer, I saw her perform live at the Idol Tour Sponsored by Pop Tarts. In the years to come, she was well known in the Christian music world and won a Grammy. It is always sad to hear about these former reality show contestants who pass away before their time.

13, Odell Bunton Jr. - "Wait On You"

(Top 20 ranking: 3, predicted to be voted into the Top 10)

I was quite surprised Odell did not make it here. I thought he was well deserving. That three-way vote split between the three African-American male Gospel singers must have been more cannibalized than Joe Biden's uncle in World War II.

What can I say? I really enjoy Odell's voice. I am not somebody who listens to this kind of music, but I find his skill and passion somewhat fascinating. I think he is very good at what he does, but America, at least those who are not steeped in the Black Church, are apparently just not into it. Maybe we can leave it up to Reverend Sharpton to comment on. It is becoming very obvious at this point of the show that only white kids are getting voted in as part of America's Top 10. I was fairly certain while watching at this point on Monday night that the judges would "save" Odell.

14. Kaibrienne- "Zombie"

(Top 20 ranking: 18)

Here is when I really started to feel disillusioned after it was revealed she was one of the Top 10 vote getters. On the basis of the previous performance, she definitely did not deserve it, and much of it had to do with sympathy for the fact that she seemed to be having a mini nervous breakdown that evening.  All that being said, and a surprising song choice aside, this was a much better vocal for her. If she keeps this up or can improve even more, she will have redeemed herself.

15. Mackenzie Sol- "False Alarms"

(Top 20 ranking: 16, predicted to be voted into the Top 10)

He did not deserve to make it and did not, although I thought he probably would. I guess that is a good thing. I cannot help but keep comparing him to Jordan. The night before, I thought Mackenzie was better (not that such a thing says much) but on Monday, I thought Jordan outsang Mackenzie. This performance was just amateurish and I think Mackenzie is actually better than this vocal. I was glad when it was over.

16. Emmy Russell- "skinny"

(Top 20 ranking: 10, predicted to be voted into the Top 10)

The last of the Caucasian contestants was Emmy, and as I expected, she made it in. She is barefoot and wearing a t-shirt and ripped jeans. I think this was an unfortuante fashion choice, although I suppose women are held to a higher standard on idol than the guys. Emmy reprises an original song which seems to be about her having had an eating disorder or at least self-image issues. I really like the quality of her voice. She has shown that she can sing country but this song is very non-country and I thik an even better vibe for her. However, towards the end, she starts visibly shaking and continues doing so after the performance ends. Something is going on. Is she sure she is ready for this whole Idol thing?

17. Julia Gagnon- "Need A Favor"

(Top 20 ranking: 2, predicted to be voted into the Top 10)

South American born Julie, who was adopted by a white family in Maine, is the first racial minority who got voted into the Top 10. She definitely deserves it. I think she is easily the most vocally versatile of this season's contestants and could probably do well in any genre. She is styled much better for this episode as well.  Much of this "celebration" performance was excellent. Towards the end, it seemed like it maybe got a bit off kilter. Perhaps there is just not a lot of time to practice these songs.

18.  Jayna Elise- "All I Wanted"

(Top 20 ranking: 6, predicted to be voted into the Top 10)

Unfortunately, Jayna did not have enough votes but I figured she would be a strong contender for a wildcard slot. To continue the fashion commentary, she is wearing what looks like some sort of sequined black hijab. Not every note of this vocal performance was perfect, but she is still very good. I like the way she leaves it all out on stage, to use a cliche. If the choice is between her and Nya, i think Jayna is the better option.

There is one spot left for either Triston or Roman and there is no way it was not going to be Triston. However, I was realizing when watching the first time, that it was troubling that they were saving Roman to sing last instead of Odell or even Quintavious.

19. Triston Harper- "Til You Can't"

(Top 20 ranking: 5, predicted to be voted into Top 10)

Triston will be the only minor in the Finals, but one of one of a handful of country or country adjacent singers. The only other male who shares that classification is Will and it will be interesting to see if they can both get enough votes week by week or if there is a surprise outcome. I liked how Triston sounded on this song. I seem to have forgotten a lot about this performance since Monday, so perhaps I liked it more the second time around.

20. Roman Collins- "It's  A Man's Man's Man's World"

(Top 20 ranking: 19)

Roman seems like a really good dude but I dislike the fact that he was being set up here to get one of the four wildcard spots. As soon as they said James Brown, I knew it would be this song. It is definitely a more secular tune than the other stuff that he and the two other competitors had been doing. Roman has amazing stage skills but I just am not that into his voice. This song has been done better by other contestants on Idol and I did not like the arrangement he did not did I understand the instances when he laughed "ha ha" during the song.

So, with America's Top 10 set, I can look back and see that six out of my personal Top 10 made it. I was thinking it would be eight. Prediction wise, I correctly called 7 out of 10. 

Among America's Top 10, there are six females, which seems higher than past seasons. Eight out of the 10 are white, and besides country-boy Triston, whom I believe is part African-American, none of them would be considered "black singers." So, clearly, there is going to be some diversity added.

Here were my overall rankings for the evening. Looking back, I might have constructed them a bit differently several days later, but this is what I wrote down on Monday.

20. Kennedy Reid

19. KAYKO (already safe)

18. Mackenzie Sol

17. Roman Collins

16. Nya

15. Quintavious

14. Jordan Anthony

13. Kaibrienne (already safe)

12. Jennifer Jeffries

11. Ajii

10. Triston Harper (already safe)

9.  Jack Blocker (already safe)

8.  Emmy Russell (already safe)

7.  Mia Matthews (already safe)

6.  Abi Carter (already safe)

5.  Jayna Elise

4.  McKenna Faith Breinholt (already safe)

3.  Will Moseley (already safe)

2.  Julia Gagnon (already safe)

1.  Odell Bunton Jr. 

Who should have been picked: Odell Bunton Jr., Jayna Elise, Ajii, Jennifer Jeffries

As I think every year, my wildcards make more sense, both on merit and in terms of diversity. This would have allowed the show to add two African-Americans, and a Pakastani-American, leaving a nine to five (what a way to make a livin') racial minority split. The gender makeup would have been eight ladies and six gentlemen, which would seem quite fair also.

Who I thought the judges would pick during the commercial break:  Janya Elise, Ajii, Jennifer Jeffries, Roman Collins

So, basically I thought they would unfairly swap in Roman for Odell. 

Who was picked: Janya Elise, Jordan Anthony, Nya, Roman Collins

I was resigned to it being Roman, but I cannot say I understand the logic behind Jordan and Nya. Perhaps, picking three African-Americans was necessary for diversity purposes. Jordan the Aussie took a job an American could have done however. Good luck to them all. None of these four will probably last very long.

The most awkward part of the end of the show was Mackenzie, who was standing between Odell and Roman, being confused over which one was which, and congratulating the wrong one. Maybe he can make that go viral on TikTok before it is banned in America.

American Idol- Top 20

I never do things this way, but this is a post I may just keep  adding on to to over a longer period of time. I may need to do that with the American Idol commentary for all the upcoming episodes this season. If I want to be able to cover this season, I may either need to do that or just wait until it all ends and watch recordings and enter the posts in the late spring and summer.

Long story short, I have been having and will continue to be having a lot going on, that just happens to correlate with many hours of Idol on Sundays and Mondays, at least for the next few weeks. I had a flood at my home and thus had to be elsewhere for a few days and have been trying to catch up with stuff at my job too. There is also a family Passover gathering on Monday that will be going on while an episode of Idol airs.

With all this stuff on my mind during the past crazed week, I did manage to watch Idol live last Sunday and Monday as an evacuee. I comprised rankings (which is extra difficult to do when there are 20 contestant performances each night) and as I usually do, also took a gander at predictions.

It is now Thursday night and I am going to begin watching Thursday's three hour episode again, so I can give some brief thoughts on each performance, pausing as I go, as if I were seeing them for the first time. Assuming I can find the papers I wrote them on though, I am going to stick to the rankings I made when I watched the show live and also my on the fly predictions.

 

Very possibly, my "second listen" could have me reaching some different opinions on the performances than I first thought but at the end of recapping all the songs, I am going to post how I initially ranked them and also my predictions, even though I now know which ones were wrong.

This all seems quite complicated but I have been doing this for years and do not want to quit just because of a little homeowner turmoil as I wait to see how much of a "good neighbor" my insurance will be. If I am going to do this though, it is going to be in chronological order, so after I finish the Top 20 which aired on Sunday, 4/14, which I may not be able to do in one sitting,  I will then have to do the same for the next episode, whenever the chance presents itself, and so on and so on. The bottom line is that these posts may not appear until weeks after the episodes air.

 

I will say I am quite pleased that my DVR somehow managed to still record these episodes even though it and my television were both unplugged at the time. This means I can watch them at home and be able to fast-forward through commercials at least.

The episode featured 20 out of the 24 remaining contestants getting a chance to sing for the first time in the Idol studio. The bottom two from each of the previous week's Hawa'i episodes are out of luck. I posted those rankings and predictions at the time, so no need to copy them over here now. As it would turn out, the next night would reveal the "Top 14." However, four of those picks would be the judges' selections, so even though Seacrest kept referring to who did and did not "make the Top 14", I have to assume, that the Top 10 vote-getters were just that.

1. Jack Blocker- "You Don't Mess Around With Jim"

There is a joke to be had regarding the contestant's name and Speaker Mike Johnson's use of cell-phone technology but I will not go there.

This was a really out of left-field song choice for American Idol. Jack switched up the arrangement though and made it sound like a more modern type of jam session, That seems to be his vibe. I always think I am going to dislike his performances when they begin but I guess I did not hate it. Always a good reminder to not pull the mask of the ol' Lone Ranger. I am remembering that I briefly went to grade school with the grandson and namesake of one of the radio voices of the Lone Ranger.

2. Mia Matthews- "Wildflowers and Wild Horses"

This will be the first of a plethora of songs performed over the next two nights that I have simply just never heard before. My parents seem to really like what Mia is doing on Idol, but while I think she is talented, I did not find much star quality in this particular performance.

As I am watching Idol, there seem to be reports that Israel is conducting bombings in both Iraq and Iran. Sounds like a sequel to a 1980s movie or something.I will turn on the news later and see what is what. If I am going to commit to Idol blogging tonight, I should stick with this though.

3. Mackenzie Sol- "I'll Never Love Again"

We learn that Mackenzie has a ton of followers from the slapstick comedy videos he posts as the soon to be banned Communist Chinese Spy App but has really been focused on a music career, ever since he jokingly went before Sharon Osborne and company at an X-Factor UK audition at age 4.

Will all these TikTok followers constitute a new "Sol Patrol" and keep him around longer than he deserves? That was my first impression. This particular performance had some hits and misses I believe in terms of his vocals. He started off an the piano and then stood up. It sounded like some of the low notes were rough but he was able to barely pull off some falsetto ones.

4. Roman Collins- "Never Would Have Made It"

I had ranked him 10th out of 12, so while I cannot say I never thought he would have made it, I did predict he would be one to not advance, because of the presence of other Gospel singers. However, Roman made it to the Top 20 and America heard of how he overcame a near death experience as a young child.

Gospel music is not something I know much about, but I have to say I just prefer the voices of Odell and Quintavious. There is no doubt that Roman is filled with the Spirit but his voice just sounds gruff a lot of the time and portions of the song he is just speaking rather than singing. This sort of thing might definitely be a moving experience inside of a church but I just am not feeling Roman as a singer on television.

There is no way I am going to be able to watch and blog this entire show tonight if I am going to be up to work tomorrow.

5. Kennedy Reid- "Love Can Build A Bridge"

At first I forgot if this was the night I thought she was good or the night I thought she was really bad. It turns out to have been the latter. However, there is some unfortunate irony about a Kennedy singing a song about a bridge.

For this performance on Sunday, Kennedy, who we are assured is really just 23 years old, performed sans wig. I do not expect to ever see a politician show up for a big debate without their toupee. Her video package featured her narrative of having her feelings hurt by online haters. That seems to be a little manipulative on behalf of the Idol producers but perhaps the ever so influential Melania Trump "Best Best" campaign against cyber bullies is paying attention.

Anyways, I think Kennedy performed this country ballad in a very solid and dignified way. There was not much exciting about it but she sounded good.

6. Ajii- "Like A Stone"

Upon looking it up, I see that this song was from 2002, but everything about it seemed '90s grunge,and Ajii was dressed the part in flannel. This was never my favorite style of music and Idol viewers may either be too old or too young to get it also.

This contestant can definitely sing but I think Ajii would better showcase himself doing soul and R&B or perhaps some well know ballads. He did seem a bit "angry" and while it is not fair of course, a lot of voters may not react so kindly to an angry Muslim dude singing a song.

7. Jennifer Jeffries- "Grave Digger"

During the auditions, she seemed like someone who could grow in the competition and go far. As this song started out, I was impressed by Jennifer's unique tone and delivery. Then, somewhere around the first chorus, if this song even has a true chorus,things went off the rails. It just started to sound really bad and young Jennifer clearly lost some confidence. The bottom line is that this was just not an appealing song to win votes and she should have chosen something different, and of course, sang it better.

8. Emmy Russell- "Want You"

Emmy is dressed up a bit more than she has been at times during this season (and more than she would be the next night) and for some reason, it makes her seem younger, which is probably a good thing for her.

She is the first contestant on the evening to perform an original song and I also believe this is the first time we have seen her without a piano or a guitar. The song may not have been exciting, but I appreciated her tone and the soft quality of her voice. It is very much a coffee shop type vibe though. Even if she is not great on television, she probably has one of the most studio- ready voices of the season.

9. Triston Harper- "H-O-P-E"

There was no surprise that Triston made it to the next round The 15 year old performed a song he wrote about how would should Hold On because Pain Ends. At least it was not about a small town in Arkansas that produces unprincipled politicians from both parties.

I think I have found Triston's other performances to be better, but there is no doubt he has a great voice for country music and whether his personality away from the actual performances is genuine or playing up to the cameras, I think he is succeeding very well at the Idol game. His mother Hattie Mae should probably be careful though to not sing along too emphatically on camera.

Three singers in this Jelly Roll Group remain. I remember thinking how much of a travesty it would be if the last one to advance was not Odell, but I was not too worried.

Who should have been eliminated from Group B: Elleigh Marie and KBlocks

Who I predicted would be eliminated from Group B: Elleigh Marie and Roman Collins

Who was eliminated from Group B: Elleigh Marie and Kblock

Rare current day political W for America. 

 

Go Israel. Beat Iran

Go Ukraine. Beat Russia

 

10.  Odell Bunton Jr. "The Door"

How could anyone not want to vote for him after the on camera endorsement from his five kids? However, I notice that Odell seems to be wearing thousands of dollars worth of jewelry. Did the show lend it to him? If he really owns all that bling himself, one would have to ask if that is really the best decision while his family has been struggling financially. Did the kind of religious people he is trying to get votes from have those kinds of thoughts?

Anyways, this was not a gospel song, but Odell can sure make anything sound like one. I really enjoy his voice and his performance style. My thought was that he definitely deserved to stick around this competition for several more weeks. The original artist of this song, Teddy Swims, who had previously performed as a guest, was strategically placed in the gallery with the contestants and seemed to be enjoying it as well.

Odell is in major tears as he gets praised after the performance. Knowing now that he did not get enough votes to advance, even understanding that the Gospel vote was split three ways, is still hard to comprehend.

11. KAYKO- "Over You"

Idol now moves on to Group A, having finished with Group B. Why not just go in order?

There is no surprise to me that KAYKO has advanced. He is singing the 485th song he ever wrote, along with an electric guitar interlude. While he is billed as hailing from South Florida, he speaks about living in Boston, which possibly means having attended Berklee College of Music and then also working in Nashville. . I liked the first 20 seconds or so I suppose. He certainly sounded "current." Then, it got a little weird. There was so much jumping around and vigorous yelling of the lyrics, that his voice suffered. It probably came across better in person. I think KAYKO is probably going to go pretty far this season. He seems like he would have belonged on "Glee."

Approaching Midnight now. I am going to "Save" this post and add to it until I can get through this episode.

I remember now that Group A was better than Group B overall in Hawai'i. That is probably why they went in the second half of this episode and indeed, things did get better at the end.

12. Jordan Anthony- "when the party's over"

Oh great. It is another one of those boring lowercase Billie Eilish songs.

 

Jordan seems like a nice bloke, but I just think he was really out of his depth on this evening. He has to be compared somewhat with Mackenzie, as they are both young, tall singers who were born as subjects under the British Crown. Unlike, Mackenzie, Jordan stayed seated at the piano the entire time, and had a slight microphone deflation.

Vocally, I did not think it was good at all. There were a lot of missed notes. At least Mackenzie was able to pull off a few good notes. At another time, I will ask what in the world the judges/producers were thinking on Monday night, but I will save that for the appropriate time.

13. Quintavious- "Hollow"

After making it to the Top 20, Quintavious sings the Tori Kelly song he almost sang in Hawai'i. Among Idol viewers, for now at least, he is not Q Anonymous.

I take it that this song has religious undertones (perhaps not even subtle ones) ant thus right up the alley for the worship leader. He sang it very well and as usual, did a lot of bouncing around on stage. In some ways, Quintavious, Odell, and Roman are different kinds of black church singers, yet were obviously competing for the same slice of the vote. I expected only one of them would make it to the "Finals" this season. I still think that O and Q are better singers than R.

14. Kaibrienne- "girl i am now"

Well, she seems to have settled on a new stage name, which I sort of saw coming, and for this performance, did an original song at the piano,with apparently is in all lowers.

I thought she would advance to the Top 20 but did not think she deserved to out of her group. We saw in Hawai'i, how she seemed really on edge and dealing with nerve issues. Believe me, I can relate to the stresses of life these days, but it seems like she had a major meltdown during this performance, stopping and pausing at least twice. It sort of reminded me of Brooke White at the piano over a decade and a half ago.

KB or Kaibrienne, or whatever she is calling the girl she is now does indeed have the makings of an interesting voice, but to me it sounds like she is misfiring far more often than not. Was she messing up on this performance or were the contents of the lyrics she wrote just so emotional to perform without breaking down? I think one of the songs she sang in Hollywood week was even more personal and raw and she got through that better. In any event, there was a chance she would gain a lot of sympathy votes for being vulnerable.

 

15. Nya- "Georgia On My Mind"

 

My father seems to like Nya and watched this performance a bunch of times. The week before I had her ranked 9 out of 12 but had predicted she would be eliminated. That was not the case.

 

I am surprised that someone is now singing a song I actually sort of know. The guest performance of "Little Boo Thing" by some singer I have never heard of  that I kept dozing off during on my replay is messing with my brain also. I think Nya is a good singer but I find it hard to envision her as an American Idol finalist. This performance just seemed a little too showy for me as she tried to do runs and whatnot. I think Nya is more in line with being a very good lounge singer than someone who could compete with Beyonce on the charts or even being anywhere near as good as say We Ani from last season. I am at a loss for how Katy Perry compared her to Jennifer Hudson. Nya sounds absolutely nothing like J-Hud.

 

16. Janya Elise- "My All"

 

When Jayna's name is called, she is congratulated by fellow contestant Julia who is dropping multiple f-bombs that the pre-recorded show bleeps out. Looking far less happy is young Hailey Mia, who is probably looking at who is left on the couch and has done the math in her head.

A very ambitious choice for Jayna to do a Mariah Carey ballad. I think she pretty much pulled it off. Towards the end, some notes may have not been completely in tune, but I think she is a heck of a singer and a performer. With so many of the contestants having direct competition in their various musical "lanes", I cannot help but compare Jayna to Nya, and think that Jayna is a lot better for Idol.

17. Abi Carter- "Welcome to the Black Parade"

I do not know this song by My Chemical Romance, but I assume it is not about the Bud Billiken Parade in Chicago.

This is a very emotional performance by Abi, who dedicates it to her recently deceased grandmother. Katy Perry is in tears from the start. Abi has very strong vocal and talent and she brought a lot of dynamics to this performance, from starting off softly to hitting some big notes near the end. I take it that Abi will play the piano a lot during her time on the show. With that in mind, while she probably does not sound a ton like her, she sort of looks like and reminds of Sara Bareilles.

I notice that there is a Kennedy and a Carter competing for the vote as if it were 1980. It is just too bad we do not have a Reagan or a Bush.

Next will be a guest performance by Lauren Spencer-Smith. I sort of remember that back in 2020 I thought she should not have been eliminated as soon as she was during the pandemic "sing from home": season. I recall that her family seemed to have a huge house in Canada. Maybe she was eliminated because she was the first American Idol contestant to actually perform from foreign soil. She seems to have made it in the music industry now though. Nobody else that season has. Unfortunately, that season's winner Just Sam, is more likely to be singing again in the subway to be invited to the Idol stage.

18. Will Moseley- "Makin' Me Look Good Again"

On balance, the ladies seem stronger than the guys this season, but a male usually wins, and I have to peg Will as the early frontrunner

 

The recent (ok something freaky happened with Blogger and I am just glad I did not lose this entire post) biology degree grad said he would give himself a year to make it in the music business and it seems likely he can extend that effort. Will is a very good singer and seems incredibly chill and unaffected by this whole television thing. While he is a country artist, his voice also has influences from Southern Rock, which should make "Big Mo" appealing to non-C&W fans.

"Big Mo",. along with Kennedy and Carter, is also something that comes from the 1980 Presidential primary season.

Two spots left for four singers. It seemed pretty obvious which two deserved it and it just so happens that both were adopted.

19. McKenna Faith Breinholt- "Both Sides Now"

The final segments of this episode were going to be pretty good. McKenna seems older than she is (which is not meant to imply she looks old or anything) but she just seems like she should already be famous in the music world.

I am not really a Joni Mitchell fan, but I very much enjoyed what McKenna did with this song. Her playing at the piano will probably earn her some comparisons to Abi, but it is hard to see what more McKenna could have done. Her lower register is just superb when she sings. Her speaking voice however seems strained.

As I have said before various times over the years, I cannot stand when contestants perform barefoot. If I had the ability to subtract points for that I would (call it the Paul Kim Rule.)

 

Who should have been eliminated from Group A: Blake Proehl and Kaibrienne

Who I predicted would be eliminated from Group A: Blake Prohel and Nya

Who was eliminated from Group A: Blake Prohel and Hailey Mia

Blake has been cut from teams before so he seems to take it in stride. The disappointment is very evident though for Hailey

My internet is being weird and I am trying to take steps to make sure I do not lose anything I have typed on this post.

20. Julia Gagnon- "I Believe"

I take it that Julia likes to sing Diva covers. Taking on Fantasia's winner's song from a literal generation ago is pretty bold. Other Idol contestants in the years since have probably regretted doing so.

From all the other times I can recall, this is perhaps the best showing of this song since Fantasia. Julia can really belt and do lots of other things with her voice. Just like Fantasia, she also broke down at the very last "I believe." I am not convinced that was not planned. As good as Julia is, I think that some Idol viewers may be a bit turned off by her.

 

Rankings:

 

20. Jordan Anthony

19. Roman Collins

18. Kaibrienne

17. Jennifer Jeffries

16. Mackenzie Sol (predicted Top 10 vote finish)

15. Nya

14. Ajii

13. KAYKO (predicted Top 10 vote finish

12. Jack Blocker

11. Mia Matthews

 

10. Emmy Russell (predicted Top 10 vote finish)

9.   Quintavious

8.   Kennedy Reid

7.   Abi Carter (predicted Top 10 vote finish)

6.   Jayna Elise (predicted Top 10 vote finish)

5.   Triston Harper (predicted Top 10 vote finish)

4.   Will Moseley (predicted Top 10 vote finish)

3.   Odell Bunton Jr (predicted Top 10 vote finish)

2.   Julia Gagnon (predicted Top 10 vote finish)

1..  McKenna Faith Breinholt (predicted Top 10 vote finish)