Take a Little Piece of My Heart

Welcome to Disney Night, a clever idea where The Walt Disney Company (stock symbol: DIS) uses one of their properties – the American Broadcasting Company – to promote another one of their properties – American Idol; and uses the American Idol property to promote another Walt Disney Company property – The Walt Disney World Resort, as if to remind people what a great place that will be to come to once this whole pandemic thing is over.

It was also a night to promote how strong a Top Ten Idol has this year, as evidenced by the loss of such talented singers as Alyssa, Cassandra the Lesser[1] and Deshawn. Of the three, I was only surprised – and yes, disappointed – by losing Alyssa. I knew she was in trouble once Ryan called BOTH Caleb and Chayce to safety. Along with Hunter, this means all three White Guys with Guitar got through to the final seven which means Idol’s typical voting patterns are already and will likely continue to affect the ultimate outcome.

I am worried that the best performers (Willie and Casey; Ava is already gone) of an admittedly good batch of Idolists will not make the Finale. That said, Alyssa was not someone I had projected into that Finale. I did, however, believe she was more deserving to compete next week than Chayce or Caleb.

Alright, with my results editorializing out of the way, here were my grades for the night. Again, with a nod to how strong this group of Idolists is, my Missing Mean Judge alter ego was forced to watch helplessly as I went full Paula Abdul and tossed around A grades like Halloween candy.

The Best

• Willie “Circle of Life” (The Lion King) Lionel: “Why am I crying on The Lion King?” You weren’t the only one, Lionel. Great, slow-building arrangement that Willie filled as Willie can. A+
• Casey “When She Loved Me” (Toy Story 2) Tender. Vulnerable. Flawless. Professional. She is a wonder. A+
• Grace “Into the Unknown” (Frozen II) A+ Here is Melinda Doolittle’s[2] tweet:

The Next Best

• Alyssa “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” (Cinderella) A shame she had to go after such a controlled and tempered performance. A

The Next Next Best

• Arthur Gunn “Remember Me” (Coco) He’s a better version of Chayce. I loved that he ignored coach John Stamos’ advice not to change the song up too much and did his own thing. A-
• Hunter “You’ll Be In My Heart” (Tarzan) While he’s not the best vocalist he is a distinctive vocalist. I understand why voters find him appealing and I find him more appealing than others of his ilk in past seasons of Idol. A-

The Rest

• Chayce “Baby Mine” (Dumbo) Cool, alt-country vibe that impressed Luke. B+
• Caleb “Real Gone” (Cars) Competent. Energetic. Still needs to stop looking into his ball cap. B
• Deshawn “When You Wish Upon a Star” (Pinocchio) The jazz thing didn’t connect with me. B-
• Cassandra the Lesser “Go the Distance” (Hercules) Ironic that she finally displayed confidence and picked too big of a song for the strengths of her voice. B-

Miscellaneous Musings
Re: John Stamos. I have to admit that when I heard John Stamos was going to be the guest coach, I thought, “Really? Why?” Apparently, the answer was that he was a great coach. He gave more good advice in one night than Bobby Bones has given on several seasons combined.

Re: Arthur Gunn. Given that he finished second last season, it’s easy to see how Arthur Gunn won the vote-off of last season’s Idolists for a spot this season. It also means he comes into the middle of the season with a substantial fan base. I don’t think that’s fair to this season’s Idolists.

Luke Face

This Final Seven would be even stronger with Alyssa and Ava August in place of Caleb and Chayce.

I feel my pain and outrage rising. See you next week.

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[1] As previously explained, My Daughter Cassandra says that out of respect for her, I need to refer to Idolist Cassandra as the lesser Cassandra. She does like her singing, though.

[2] 3^rd place Season 6