It really is very good to see these twenty entrants getting lots of time and opportunities to impress people. In the dreadful last few days of the X Factor everything is rushed through. To get to this stage, the entrants must all be pretty reasonable and be regarded as having some chance of reaching the Live Shows. So an extended period at this time instead of the rapid cuts is entirely appropriate. If anything, cut more later, by which time everyone will have had a good chance to make their mark and, indeed, some may have achieved success outside the competition and go on to star even without the Idol title itself.
This stage is so important and I am so pleased they have given everyone lots of time and aired the full performances too.
With Ryan Seacrest unwell for this edition, Bobby Bones, who has been doing a lot of mentoring with the entrants in the background and who actually does look quite a lot like Ryan, takes over on the big stage.
Alyssa Raghou and Julia Michaels
Issues
Julia's tattoos really do spoil her appearance. It's like someone has been drawing all over her, which I suppose they have been. But that's nothing to do with Alyssa who does not look like one of Julia's natural buddies but they get on a do a professional job of the track. Alyssa slows things down for this. You sense that Julia isn't confident with her, as Alyssa seems to wait for cues and is a bit late each time. For all that, Alyssa is smart and likeable in this more gentle image we are presented with. Her tone is nice and I get the feeling that she'd be fine on her own and most reliable on a Live Show.
Lionel is very impressed. You can see he's in her corner and I think I would be too, especially as she is so young. Only 16 and has clearly been working very hard.
Whether she'll survive is very much down to how a few others come across in this group.
Eddie Island and Lukas Graham
7 Years
I'm a bit tired of this song, good though it is. It was played almost non-stop here in the UK and it just isn't one of those songs you can have on repeat. It should be good for Eddie, though, as it suits his voice well and has quite a good appeal through its lyrics.
Oh dear. Eddie comes on to the stage dancing in an odd way but looking all cheerful and smiley whilst Lukas stands pretty still just tells the story. Eddie is moving around annoyingly throughout. A stupid dance and smiling. Wrong. OK, so he has a good voice and all the notes were there. He can be a cute guy in an odd sort of way but that's it. He needs to go.
Wade Cota with lovelytheband
Broken
A nice performance with a real band. Compare Wade to Eddie. Well, no comparison. One deserves to go forward, the other doesn't. Wade looks the part of a lead singer. That works better than when he's on his own. He's very good, natural. Well done, Wade. I'd like to see him go further.
We learn that his jacket belongs to one of the guys on the doors outside. I thought that idol producers would be throwing money at them all by now and clothing them but it seems not. I was also surprised when he said he didn't have a smartphone so he couldn't share stuff on Instagram with the lovelytheband guy.
Wade has already 'won' in many ways. Good for him. He won't win the show but he will get some offers along the way.
Ryan Hammond and Cynthia Erivo
Hold On I'm Coming
Cynthia is someone else I do not recognise. She's a talented singer, though and gives good advice. This old number with it's typically risqué lyric from the 60s or 70s is a good soul track but nothing special. It's also weird to hear Ryan saying "I just listened to Church music when I was young". What on Earth? It wouldn't have been the 1940s but the 1990s when he was young! I do worry about America sometimes. As for the performance, Cynthia was OK but Ryan just made a good effort but just doesn't look the part or leave us wanting more. I should think this will be the end of his road here.
Evelyn Cormier and Chris Isaak
Wicked Game
Wow. This could be a moment. A nice pairing. It was Evelyn's audition song and she's a major fan of Chris, which is pretty clear from the start. I reckon he really fancies her too but couldn't possibly admit that these days. It does add a lot to the chemistry that comes across though. They are excellent as individuals. Together? I'm not so sure. That was quite sultry and it certainly worked as Chris singing about her in the lyrics but she held back.
Interesting. She's different and I like her and her voice. A class act but whether she'll get much further I am not sure. In this group, I think she will scrape through as there are certainly two or three who should not move on.
Logan Johnson and Julia Michaels
She's looking a lot happier with Logan than with Alyssa. There's a lot going on from her side but Logan looks like a rabbit caught in a car's headlights most of the time. It's a very long intro from the girl and you begin to wonder whether Logan will actually get a chance. Eventually he joins in but she is most definitely in charge and the star here. I would like to have seen them working closer together and not at opposite ends of a big stage for most of the time. It was a difficult song. Logan does look good and would be an attraction in the Live Shows but i wouldn't put him through, looking at the competition.
Raquel Trinidad and lovelytheband
Tiny Dancer
No. That didn't work. Maybe I like the original too much but it wasn't until the very end that either made any real effort and too many runs kept appearing along the way. I have never found this girl much of a contestant and she hasn't brought anything special this week either, so this will be good news for both Alyssa and Evelyn.
Alejandro Aranda and Ben Harper
There Will Be A Light
Ben's family ran a record and music store in the town next to where Alejandro was brought up. It seems he heard A track from Idol with Alejandro playing guitar and was determined to help him get on. I guess he must be some star there too but I have not heard of Ben before. I assume that this is his song. Anyway, that seems to be why he's here doing the duet. He calls Alejandro "a true artist". This is nice. To be honest, Alejandro is the star of these two. It's a fairly 'ordinary' track that is nice rather than being really memorable but it's by far the best we've seen so far tonight and Alejandro is a mist to go forward. No question.
Dimitrius Graham and Lukas Graham
Love Someone
Here's a nice pairing. I can see that they have bonded so much better than with Eddie. Real emotions from Dimitrius. He's not in the lead but I'd like to see him make the Live Shows. Brilliant duet. Not a natural star but that was excellent.
Jeremiah Lloyd Harman and Cynthia Erivo
Time After Time
A great Cyndi Lauper number. He's been excellent so far. I just hope this is not to 'floaty' for him. He gets to start which is a good sign. Great. He does a good job and they make a very good pair, playing it dead straight too. Yes, he'll be through.
After all these performances my prediction was that Ryan and Raquel would have to go. I also had doubts about Eddie and Logan and, unless there was an imbalance between girls and boys that had to be addressed for diversity reasons (ugh!), Alyssa and Evelyn would both get through.
It is Logan who goes and, quite surprisingly to me, Eddie Island makes the Live Shows along with Wade, Jeremiah, Dimitrius, Alyssa and Evelyn. Oh, and, of curse, the last announced, Alejandro!
I though I had heard that there would be a shock twist to this show with four acts being cut. So I was always expecting a fourth name to go but it didn't happen. I must have misheard Ryan the previous night and maybe he's referring to next week. I would hope that 14 isn't to be cut to 10 in one hit, unless they do a two-parter with more than one song.
However, making the Live Shows is a pretty good thing for all of them and I am pretty impressed this year with the standards, the production and, apart from the panel and some contestants being a bit heavy on the old church stuff, the entertainment.
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