- I Like – no I LOVED – Willie Spence. He’s at another level. Like professional athlete versus high school athlete level. Like get him in a recording studio stat level. It’s early yet and he won’t win and it doesn’t matter[1]. He just needs to keep getting exposure. My Daughter Diandra (MDD) is already foreseeing a Finale duet with him and John Legend. So let it be written. So let it be done.
2. I Didn’t Like the overly cheezy, schmaltzy, cloying, treacly “rendition” – I use that term loosely – of All You Need Is Love that the judges and eventually the Idolists opened the show with. That was a shock to my central nervous system. I started watching again to see this? Said MDD: “This is horrific.”
3. I Like Ava August. She gave MDD and I Joni Mitchell vibes. She’s only 15? Seriously?
4. I Liked the first round of the country singers. Yes, I actually wrote that. But it doesn’t matter because someone showed up later who was better.
5. I Really, Really Liked Cassandra Coleman who gave MDD Florence Welch[2] vibes and gave me head-to-toe goosebumps just like Florence Welch does. She could be really good when she finally realizes that she’s good.
6. I Didn’t Like whoever this annoying girl was that sang In the Air Tonight so badly I didn’t realize that she was singing In the Air Tonight. It takes an incredible lack of talent to make one of the most recognizable songs EVER completely unrecognizable.
7. I Really Liked Chayce Beckham and I liked him a lot more than the other aforementioned country singers. He’s got a dark, gritty voice that suits itself to rock, too.
8. I Really, Really Don’t Like the whole Conway mom-daughter narrative. She has no talent and the whole thing is disgustingly exploitive. I’m sure her duet will be awful and hopefully that will be the end of this nightmare.
9. I Like Murphy who goes by blindboymusic on his socials. I was captivated by his spin on Jim Croce’s I’ve Got a Name.
10. I Didn’t Like 15-year old Casey Bishop’s over-interpretation of House of the Rising Sun. I guess she was something of a sensation during the auditions. Cute girl, big voice but that was a mess. That she got Luke on his feet and Katy raising her arms to the skies made me long for Simon Cowell. She has a voice but I just can’t with 15-year olds singing classic rock songs.
That’s a wrap. So after taking a year off from musing on Idol since 2008, am I returning to my crisp, critical, cogent commentary on this show? My family will tell you that my answer to almost every yes or no question about my future intentions is, “We’ll see.” So, we’ll see.
But I am planning to watch again Monday Night. 🙂
P.S. Bonus Like: the sound of Amanda Meena’s voice during the closing vignettes of advancing Idolists. If this season is typical of seasons past, there’s some talented Idolists we haven’t seen yet.
[1] It actually does but just as with the Grammys, existential outrage has always been part of my Idol experience.
[2] Florence + The Machine.
Ray's Musings 
Leave a Reply