American Idol 2022 Top 7/Top 5 Reveal Polls: Vote For Your Favs

I LOVE AMERICAN IDOL SEASON 20. I can’t stress how great this season is, in terms of the TALENT. What’s great–so far in the finals, the cuts have made sense. There has yet to be a shocking boot that unfairly kicked a singer to the curb. Fritz Hager, Leah Marlene, HunterGirl, Noah Thompson and Nicolina Bozzo are the correct Top 5 (Read our Recap).

The thing that’s missing is a great R&B/soul singer. It’s weird and very unusual for that genre to be missing from the Top 5. But producers/judges chose singers for that genre who couldn’t cut it. Jay Copeland had a few great performances, notably “Lilac Wine” a few weeks back. But for the most part, he chooses bad songs for himself, and then doesn’t connect to what he’s singing. Lady K started off with so much promise. If she had stuck to singing Jazz and Soul, instead of trying to turn herself into a Whitney-like performer, she might still be around.

Now the question is: Can the show get through the next two weeks without more singers catching COVID? Throughout the pandemic, American Idol has managed to keep their contestants protected through strict protocols. But as rules loosen all over the country amid a virus more highly transmissible than earlier strains, contestants getting infected was inevitable. Now, who else is carrying the virus? Hopefully nobody. At least the two singers who caught it–Fritz Hager and Noah Thompson have a good chance to make the final three, and are unlikely to catch it again.

A bunch of news came out of this week’s show:

The Top 5 are heading to Resorts World in Las Vegas to work with mentor Carrie Underwood! The producers are making good on bringing alums back to perform/mentor. It’s cool that Carrie is always willing to pay it forward with Idol newbies.

American Idol announced auditions for next season. I would call that an official renewal announcement. No worries, the ratings this season have been solid compared to the rest of broadcast television (i.e. the ratings have fallen year to year, but so have broadcast TV in general).

Just like last season, the Top 7 recorded original songs with top-notch producers. The tracks will be available to stream and download on Friday May 13

Out of the seven finalists, Jay Copeland was the weakest (Whitney Houston? Really?). HunterGirl stepped out of her box with the Tate McCrea cover. But “Like My Mother Does” was not a good song choice. It’s a weak track to begin with. And Hunter had trouble reaching a few notes. Maybe emotion got the best of her, considering she just finished watching an emotional clip featuring her mom. Christian Guardino closed the night impressively. But having the pimp spot while voting closes two minutes later isn’t an advantage. Regardless, at this point, the fanbases are in place. Fritz Hager, Leah Marlene and Nicolina Bozzo were highlights of the night. A honorable mention goes to Noah Thompson singing through COVID, but landing the emotion anyway.