American Idol 15 Semifinal Results & Duets – Take the Polls!

AMERICAN IDOL: Season 2 winner Ruben Studdard with contestant Stephany Negrete in the “Showcase #1: 1st 12 Performances” episode of AMERICAN IDOL airing Wednesday, Feb. 10 (8:00-9:01 PM ET/PT) on FOX. Cr: Michael Becker / FOX. © 2016 FOX Broadcasting Co.

In theory, I really like the idea of pairing Idol alums with current contestants. But having the alums come in to sing songs they already know, with a contestant who is already overwhelmed by the stress of competition, is a recipe for disaster.

The first week of a two-part semifinal, splitting the Top 24 into two groups of twelve, had them rushing through performances for the judges in a one hour show on Wednesday, and performing more leisurely on Thursday in duets with former American Idol alums who were mostly winners of past seasons.  But it actually wasn’t so leisurely. The singers had to learn a new tune that was either a single or signature cover by a popular American Idol alum to SING with said alum. Talk about pressure!

When the judges began comparing the relative inexperience of the contestants to the Idols they were singing with I just rolled my eyes.  Emily Brooke is a case in point. Of course she’s not going to measure up. Lauren has had six years of real world experience since she competed on Idol. And, quite frankly, she was an insecure mess through a lot of it. So will Emily if she keeps working hard. Pairing the vocally inadequate Jordan Sasser with the legendary Fantasia was just cruel. There was no way he was going to be able to keep up. The best duets of the night were Stephany/Ruben and Fantasia/La’Porsha. Avalon kept up with Ruben, but they were given that sentimental tripe, “Flying without Wings” to sing. The tune didn’t suit Avalon at all. The rest also suffered from either poor pairings or poor song choices.

If Idol ever comes back to television, this is what I’d love to see: Have a week devoted to Idol duets. But schedule it later in the season, at Top 6 or so. Maybe on a night the performers sing two songs–one song being a solo, the other a duet. Find Idols willing and able to come in for the full week to LEARN A BRAND NEW SONG WITH THE CONTESTANT. That way, they are on somewhat equal footing, and the pair can truly work together in a mentor/mentee fashion. What I’m imagining is similar to the So You Think You Can Dance All-Stars, which was a tweak that Nigel got right. Bringing in experienced former contestants to work with the noobs FORCED them to raise their game. Some truly great work came out of those partnerships.

Regardless, it was pretty swell to have so many talented alums performing at the same time and the same place. The show has really brought some incredible talent to the forefront. For favorite alum, I’d vote for the incredible and underrated Fantasia. She always brings her A game.

It’s time for some polls! VOTE PLEASE.

Vote For Your Favorite Duet

Vote for your favorite Idol Mentor

Which of the Eliminated contestants were robbed?

Grade the Episode

About mj santilli 34831 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!