I got it! I now know why I'm so underwhelmed with season's group of guys - aside from the fact that most of them aren't that great singers - and why the girls will probably dominate this season. I figured that there are so many of the same type of artists in this group that they keep running over each other like little kids in a bumper car arena.
Everyone is starting to sound so familiar and then, in retrospect, ordinary. Until a few of them get knocked off there will be so much vote splitting that any girl will stand a decent shot of winning this show. But, let's see.
Anyway, just like the Top 10 Girls, let’s take a look at these finalists and decide where they really stand.
SEASON 10 Ranking
SEASON 11 Ranking (Boys)
SEASON 11 Ranking (Girls)
Let's go to the rankings, shall we?
Elijah's a pretty attractive guy. His voice? It can be pleasant at times, but really, Elijah is a package artist and not exactly a strong vocalist. He’s moldable and could be transformed into a relevant singer with the right material, but he, unfortunately, made a weak case for himself after his atrocious rendition of Bruno Mars'
Fly Me To The Moon. He can't sing in the same league as the other guys - or girls - and his vocals didn't have enough strength to allow him of any impressive technical feats. He needs to rethink his strategy because his last attempt didn't work.
LONG SHOT
I'm going to hell for saying this, but Lazaro, to me, is just an incredibly mediocre vocalist. He's a bland performer with a terrible diction and dated vocal technique. I have no doubt in my mind that if he's not impaired vocally due to his stutter, NO ONE will take notice. I don't know. I just can’t stand to see contestants skating by on a sob story, but the sad truth is America eats them up most of the time. So yes, expect Lazaro to be in Finals.
SHOO IN
Charlie is obviously sailing through the competition, but I have this funny feeling that he’ll crash sooner than later. Yes, he’s got a very unique voice and a memorable personality, but there’s only so much quirkiness American can take. If he can control his voice a little more and be consistent with his performances, then he could easily make the Final 10, but until then, he’ll just remain an “also-ran” for now.
MOST LIKELY
Cortez was a hard contestant to figure out. On one hand he screams “middle of the pack” contestant, but on the other, he could potentially harness a dangerous mix of young and older female voters to propel him into the later rounds. He looks like a pop star, has the voice to make great current music, and has the judges' support behind him. My question then became: how big is his actual fanbase? The picture will become clearer after this week.
POSSIBLE UPSET
The road to an American Idol win is crowded with the rotting corpses of contestants like Curtis Finch, Jr. Some got far, some floundered in the beginning, but none have ever won the show. Look, the guy has a good technical singing voice, but it's dangerous to be a
diva on this show. He's WAY too arrogant to win this competition and I just can’t see the American public falling in love with him as a person, and that is essential if you want to go far in the final rounds. Will his spectacular vocals be enough for him to get a spot in this year's Top 10? I'm not sure, but as far as I'm concerned, he has a long road to healing the villain edit he received during Hollywood Week.
MOST LIKELY
While I did think that Nick's rendition of
Say Something Now was annoyingly underwhelming, I still think that he has one of the loveliest tones in the competition this year. His beautiful cover of Grace Potter's
Stars proved that. Now, if he can only make a connection with the audience by showing them exactly what type of artist he wants to be, then he has a good shot of lasting for another week. Oh, and a more accessible personality will really help because he's slightly forgettable.
POSSIBLE UPSET
He's attractive, he's non-threatening, he's like every grandmother's dream, and he's country! Every season we have a contestant who fills this role and this year we have Paul Jolley. His version of
Tonight I Wanna Cry wasn't the best, but it secured a place in the semifinals. If Paul can manage to change strategy over the next few weeks and convince the public that he's a genuine country singer, he can be unstoppable. Now, is Paul a country singer? Does it matter? Isn’t the goal to win?!
POSSIBLE UPSET
I've been a fan of Burnell since his audition and
This Time, though flawed, was one of the better performances during the Sudden Death round. He’s marketable, self-assured, has a distinct tone to his voice and doesn’t come off like a pompous ass like Curtis Finch. If he manages to pick popular modern songs that the audience can relate to, he may find a comfortable niche for himself on this program. He may be get lost in the shuffle of Curtis, Cortez and Vincent if he doesn't do anything about it.
MOST LIKELY
Listen was a huge success on a night that most of the boys were too nervous to even sing in key. I honestly think that Devin has a good soaring voice and his vocal range is pretty spectacular. It was a clever idea to highlight his ethnicity to separate himself away from the herd in order to make to the next round, but he needs to quit it after that. Don't go Karen Rodriguez on us, Devin because you'll be missing opportunities to connect with a wide swath of American voters who don’t share any of your similarities.
POSSIBLE UPSET
He’s flown mostly under the radar until he performed an awesome version of
Cause I Love You. His vocals were terrific, his stage presence was pretty entertaining, and, though not as organic as Joshua Ledet, he has great dynamics. If Vincent can clear up the confusion and make a strong case for himself as an actual relevant artist that could fit in today's music landscape - more like Frank Ocean or Miguel - then this dude could be unstoppable. Besides, I'd rather see him make it than Curtis ANYDAY.
MOST LIKELY
1 comments:
Just send them all home now. Not impressed with any of them. As far as I'm concerned, ever single one of the guys is pretty forgettable.
Seriously, if a girl doesn't win this year, I'm not sure I'll watch Idol any more.
Post a Comment