Hollywood week, always a boodbath, is no different in its final season. My power rankings already look like a March Madness bracket, torn to bits in the first two rounds. My top pick Ashley Lilinoe and my third pick Elvie Shane were both ousted on group night. My fourth pick, Brandyn Burnette, didn’t even show up. In a way I nailed his profile, speculating that Idol might actually damage his brand. Apparently he agrees with me – he declined to participate in order to keep his career on track
I haven’t reranked anyone beyond a new top five this week, but if I did a few contestants would rocket up – and down – the list. The biggest upward mover might be babymomma La’Porsha Renae, who I dismissed because I thought Hollywood Week would be extra brutal for the mother of a breastfeeding infant. I was about as far from that truth as I could get. Not only was the human chia pet not overtired, she might have been the most composed contestant on the show. She didn’t crack my top five – she still doesn’t have any range – but I think she will make the live shows.
Other top movers are Tristan McIntosh (61), Avalon Young (48), and Jenn Blosil (39). I expect all three to make it to the live shows now, and Jenn is odds on to make the tour. Many of the middle level contestants, like Shelby Z, Tommy Stringfellow, Kacye Haynes, Manny Torres, Malie Delgado, and Trent Harmon were impressive. Sara Sturm (12) and Jessica Cabral (14) both struggled with their upper range, and would drop a good 15-20 spots in a re-ranking.
From here down are some lists. First, the confirmed ousters, with the number to their left my week three power ranking. The second list is the ‘I dunno’ section. I speculate, but I don’t know for sure so I can’t assume. The third list is the contestants who are confirmed to still be in. The fourth list is the newbies, the aired contestants who weren’t part of the audition rounds. The final list, at the bottom, is my new top five. Given that only two of my original top five are still in the competition the list has changed a little bit.
The Casualties
72: Kyrsti Jewel Chavez, 15. Sweet 16, parents probably took away her cake
68: Ethan Kuntz, 15. Ryan announced he was out at the end of the first show
65: Brook Sample, 28. Aired caterwauling, spelling s-u-c-k-s
64: Daniel Farmer, 24. Cut on group night, I was surprised. I thought he was good
62: Harrison Cohen, 17. Out first night, no word on his love life
52 Joshua Siska. Deep voiced singer shown packing his bags
43: Kerry Courtney, 24. Weird guy cut first night, made classy exit
42: Usen Isong, 23. Also made a classy exit on first night
40: Brian Dale Brown, 27. Out on group night because he can’t dance
27: John Arthur Greene, 27. Out on group night, who told him to wear that hat?
23: Miranda “Poh” Scott, 17. Quit on group night, did Kassy Levels scare her away?
22: Melany Huber, 17. Out first night, I thought she sounded good. Looks healthy
21: Cameron Richard, 15. Out on group night, too young to act like James Brown
15: Jaci Butler, 19. Out on group night, not pop enough for the judges
11: Melanie Tierce, 21. Surprised everyone when she was ousted on first night
10: Jake Dillon, 22. Ryan announced he was out at the end of the first night
4: Brandyn Burnette, 25. Apparently he agreed with my assessment that Idol could damage his brand – he left the show to keep his career on track. He’s pretty dammed good, so don’t be surprised to see him again.
3: Elvie Shane (Payton), 27. He seemed uncomfortable without a guitar
1: Ashley Lilinoe, 20. She’s fantastic, but Idol wasn’t a good fit. She’ll be fine, polluting YouTube with entertaining videos while she slicks up her live performance chops. Or she’ll go nuts, shave her head and adopt 30 or 40 cats.
Missing in Action
71: Ameet Kanon, 18. I think she’s in, there were two groups with a girl that looked like her
66: Rachel Karryn, 20. Most likely long gone
63: Isaac Cole, 15. I think he’s in, he was there for group night
54: Bianca Espinal, 22. She might be in, I think I saw her on group night
53: Jordyne Simone, 15. I think she’s long gone
51: Amber Lynn, 28. I think she was dumped on group night
45: Shevonne Pilidor, 24. There for group night, no idea if she made it through
44: Rhea Raj, 15. Seen day one in audience, not aired either show
41: Lillian Glanton, 15. On stage with a guitar first show, I think they cut her
35: Caroline Byrne, 25. I’m pretty sure she was dumped first show
30: Adam Lasher, 28. Didn’t see him at all
The Survivors
74: Joy Dove, 21. Mostly attitude, and mostly a put-on.
73: Tywan “Tank” Jackson, 29. Hasn’t been aired singing.
70: Amelia Eisenhauer, 15. Love her look, hate her voice.
69: Lee Jean, 15. Soft voice about to get drowned out in the gathering storm.
67: Andrew Nazarbekian, 20. Impressive range but still too Leisure Suit Larry.
61: Tristan McIntosh, 15. Most improved from her audition of anyone.
60: Gianna Isabella, 15. Judges are intimidated by her mother.
58: Mary Williams, 23. Seen singing harmony but no lead, with cello girl.
57: Terrian Bass, 18. She is UNICEF skinny. Free cheese intervention skinny.
55: La’Porsha Renae, 22. Miss Congeniality is already in contention for the Allie.
50: Sonika Said, 20. Let’s see her on the piano.
49: Jeneve Rose Mitchell, 15. Likely to make the live shows now, but still not a singer.
48: Avalon Young, 21. Harry loved her on group night.
47: Jenna Renae. 23. Sounded good in group, can she sing alone without the nerves?
46: Chynna Sherrod, 16. Sweet voice. That’s all I got. Seems nice, I guess.
39: Jenn Blosil, 23. She sucks attention up like a Kirby. Do they still sell those?
38: Tommy Stringfellow, 17. Got a “he’s so good” comment from Melanie.
37: Kayla Mickelson, 18. I hope they are saving her, she’s fun to listen to.
36: Cory Wheeler, 27. I would have cut him, he was shouty and out of tune.
34: Trent Harmon, 24. I’ve had mono – he is going to get progressively weaker.
33: Chris Johnson, 28. Wtf am I supposed to do with three notes? He’s here.
32: Shelbie Z, 23. She could call Baton Rouge from Dallas without a phone.
31: Kayce Haynes, 23. Dude has a seriously weird shaped head.
29: Manny Torres, 20. Creepy, but J-Lo is a sucker for creepy Latino guys.
28: Kassy Levels, 19. Is she being saved, or just mined for drama?
26: Malie Delgado, 20. Preview implied that she lost her voice completely.
25: John Wayne Schulz, 27. Haven’t heard him sing yet.
24: Stephany Negrete, 21. She was in the group that dumped mamma drama girl.
20: Joshua Wicker, 25. Seldom heard, just encouraging words. Is it cloudy?
19: Lindita Halimi, 26. Divamonster always has to do the big, long note at the end.
18: Jordan Sasser, 27. He reminds me of Burt Chance from Raising Hope.
17: Mackenzie Bourg, 23. His jumping around on the stage weirds me out.
16: Emily Brooke, 16. Sometimes teenagers that look like they are 30 do well on Idol.
14: Jessica Cabral, 21. She needs to crap out some upper range, and in a hurry.
13: Jessica Clark, 24. She’s the hipster chick in the black hat they keep showing.
12: Sara Sturm, 17. High note on group night was screechy. She is a longshot now.
9: James Dawson VIII, 27. Not shown singing but was with one of the cool groups.
8: Colette Lush, 19. In group with Avalon, not shown singing but the judges gushed.
Fresh Blood
Kelsey Watts, 24. Purple hair, professional style, and Mariah’s falsetto pop
Bri Ray, 18. Lively voice, a little sloppy in transition
Lynnee Fraye, 21. Comparatively raw but voice is Adele-ish
Ashley Lusk, 16. I was surprised they kept her, she was like a deer in the headlights
Anatalia Villareanda, 15. Her mother is annoying.
Marcio Donaldson, 
26. He is better uptempo than doing ballads, could be fun
Jon Klassen, 17. Awful songwriter, but creative otherwise and he 
has a good voice
Kylle Thomasson, 22. Eddie Grant style but his voice might be too clean to pull it off
Dana Ordway, 24. Patty Labelle sound (think Lady Marmalade)
Jessica Paige, 27. I’m pretty sure that’s Jessica Furney, she’s been on the show a few times
Jess Kellner, 24. She was on the Voice in season 4, some power but voice isn’t special
Jessica Baker, 26. I can’t find her on YouTube, but I like her anyway
Thomas Muglia, 17. Looks like Barry Manilow, seems awfully mellow
Marshall Cunningham, 22. I think he’s more flash than bang
Tonie Starr, 27. Likeable but not as polished as she might need to be
Marlena Johnson, 24. She better blow ’em away next time, she got the pity pass.
My New Top Five
(5) … 6: Laurel Wright, 19. Tone amazing, forgot her words on group night
(4) … 2: Zach Person, 18. We get to see him with his guitar next week
(3) … New: Christian Eason, 21. Wait til you hear him play the piano.. Good not great singer
(2) … 7: D
alton Rapattoni, 19. Preview foretells guitar crisis, 
brain lock next week
(1) … 5: Olivia Rox (Hill), 16. She is scary good, so good, please let me not jinx her.
