I’m beginning to feel like Charlie Brown with the football. Every year Idol is like Lucy, promising to hold the football, enticing me to run. And every year, the producers pull the damn ball away. Season 14 looked fantastic on paper. Talented, dynamic contestants. A new mentor that seemed to care about his job and the success of the winner. But once again, as we near the finale, Idol has turned into a trainwreck. For me this is the worst season of Idol ever. Much of the disaster can be blamed on the horrible format which has the singers anticipating a live performance and possible elimination at the same time. The result has been a weekly show that’s fraught with tension instead of excitement.
The worst, however, is the negativity. Back on season 12 when judges Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey were at each other’s throats, it became clear that Real Housewives like drama didn’t work on Idol. Unfortunately, the new producers didn’t get that memo. This season, we had a contestant eliminated after a judge initiated a confrontation with him. The scene might have been “real,” but it was awkward and uncomfortable to watch. This week, we had Scott Borchetta dressing down Clark Beckham in a video package. Once again. AWKWARD. That Scott had a point about Clark’s song choice and delivery, and that the singer took the stage and pretty much proved him right is beside the point. Should Clark have zipped it and compromised? Probably. But again–not the issue. It’s the over the top villain edit that Clark received that’s the problem. Scott has made it pretty obvious that his favorites right now are Jax and Nick Fradiani. He has also talked about viewers and the dilemma of steering their votes in the right direction. Undermining Clark’s front-runner status was clearly the aim here, and it probably worked. You know, Scott pays a lot of lip service to the integrity of the artist, and how they have the right to stand up for what they believe in. But in that video clip, Scott mocked and scolded Clark when he refused to do things Scott’s way. Oh, and big props to mentor Jay DeMarcus for playing Scott’s wingman. He knows who’s buttering his bread. Not so smart of Clark to walk right into that trap. But still…
When the Scott/Clark imbroglio went down, I was already pissed at how Tyanna Jones was eliminated. After Clark, Jax and Nick performed and were declared safe, Rayvon and Tyanna were called to the middle of the stage. Rayvon was declared safe and Tyanna performed one of the numbers she prepared for competition as her goodbye song. WHAT THE EFF. The girl spent all week rehearsing, and she doesn’t get to perform her songs properly? And an elimination smack dab in the middle of the show is anti-climatic. Either do it at the beginning or the end. But the best way to proceed, I think, would be to allow ALL the contestants to sing in random order. That way, they aren’t at the edge of their seats waiting to be called. They can relax somewhat before they perform. THEN call the bottom 2/3 to the stage and eliminate someone. Poor thing. At least she got a little goodbye package. I really miss the elimination show. It’s never coming back, because the show isn’t earning the advertising revenue it once did. But I wish FOX would give Idol 30 minutes on Thursday to get it done.
Anyway. I’m so distracted by the drama, I am barely considering the music. See how that’s a problem? Clark had two mediocre performances this week, but I don’t think it, or even the Scott dustup is going to send him home, because he has people. Rayvon had one good song. Jax did herself a favor and sang two ballads this week. Nick delivered two solid performances. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was leading the votes.
It’s time for YOU to sound off. Vote for your favs, and let us know who YOU think is going home.
American Idol 14 – Top 4* – Favorite Performance
*I didn’t include Tyanna’s goodbye song. It wasn’t part of the competition.
American Idol 14 – Top 5* – Favorite Contestant Overall
I’ll keep Tyanna in this category, just because.
American Idol 14 – Top 5 – Who SHOULD go Home next week?
American Idol 14 – Top 5 – Who WILL go Home next week?
American Idol 14 – Top 5 – Grade the Episode
I have to ask…Team Scott or Team Clark
