We are more than halfway through the American Idol season 20 audition episodes. Next week, Auditions 4 airs on March 20 and Auditions 5 on the 21st, the first Monday episode of 2022. Check out our American Idol 2022 schedule HERE. Bookmark it. We’ll be updating it throughout the season.
Tonight’s episode (Read out Recap) was underwhelming compared to the first two. The standouts of the night were Cadence Baker. Between her musician gene pool and growing up playing and singing, the teen is ready to go. Her phrasing on Whitney Houston’s “I’m Your Baby Tonight” was simply spectacular.
Honorable mentions go to Dontrell Briggs who is a fine Gospel singer. I didn’t quite get the criticism of his vibrato. Lionel was the only judge who understood where the singer was coming from. Mark Osborn had a solid Americana thing going on. I’m interested in hearing more from him. The same goes for Tristen Grissett, who allowed nerves and adrenaline to affect his audition. If he can get that energy under control, he could be a mesmerizing performer. Ryleigh Madison, Emily Faith and Dakota Hayden were solid country singers.
That last audition tugged at the heartstrings, but…
The last audition tugged at the heartstrings, but I have mixed feelings about it. Sam Finelli is autistic, and never dreamed he could one day be an American Idol Golden Ticket holder. But does he really have the talent to compete in Hollywood? Maybe. But he has so little experience performing, it’s hard to tell. His performance had a ton of pitch problems, and he needs to work on his phrasing. Best case is that at some point during Hollywood, Sam received good and honest advice on his vocals.
After his audition, Sam uploaded an emotional video to Instagram, describing his experience. I’d link to it, but now his now his entire Instagram account is deleted. The attention that comes after major TV exposure can be overwhelming.
Heart-wrenching backstories are fine, but the singing should always come first.
A heads up: American Idol won’t feature the third Platinum Ticket winner until Auditions 5.
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