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American Idol S17 Power Rankings (Top 6)

May 12, 2019 by PowerRankings101

I am absolutely floored at the idea of Jeremiah losing to Madison, Laci, or Wade. Maybe even Laine for that matter. Alejandro? MAYBE. He was that good. To see him out in 6th place feels unfathomable to me. Alas, the judges made their call, and decided to save Laci. Surely, as we saw with the wild cards, if you’re on the bottom with America one week, you’re probably on the bottom the next. So I expect Laci to be leaving next, but who will join her? Here’s a list of the rankings for last episode, and predictions for who joins Laci for elimination this week.

12. Wade Cota (2nd Song)- Wade’s second song, “Through the Valley” was the messiest of the night in my opinion. I like Wade’s first song, which I’ll get to later, so don’t hate. Wade just always ends up hit or miss for me. If he hits, he’s actually great. But he misses more often than not, and the fact that he’s still here is a bit unfathomable.

11. Laci Kaye Booth (1st Song)- Laci got the save tonight after having probably the worst combination of two songs of the night. Now, neither song was bad, but compared to what we’ve seen from her in the past, she’s probably plateaued if you ask me. Her first song was so unmemorable, I couldn’t tell you what it was.

10. Laine Hardy (1st Song)- Laine is a solid performer, but he’s now found his comfort zone, and sometimes, he relies on it too much that he sometimes lets the vocals slip. Not that the vocals suck, but they seem very mediocre in comparison to Laine’s actual capability. Not his best song…not his worst, but definitely too safe in my book.

9. Madison VanDenburg (1st Song)- Madison’s first song sure was powerful in volume and tone, but it was also so so pitchy. She really needs to fix these pitch issues, or she’s going to have a seriously tough time getting through the next few weeks (if she does survive this week). Janis Joplin had some rasp. That’s not the issue. It’s the pitch, and Madison sure was pitchy.

8. Laci Kaye Booth (2nd Song)- Laci’s second song was her best tonight, but still paled in comparison to most of the rest of the night’s music. “Open Arms” is one of my favorite songs, so I loved hearing it. I just think Laci’s voice isn’t meant to sing a song that isn’t 100% folky. There were some notes that she had to reach for. I do think that it was fine, but Laci peaked early on in the competition, and I just don’t see why the save was used on her when Jeremiah gave better vocals all season, and is continuing to grow.

7. Alejandro Aranda (1st Song)- “White Rabbit” was a PERFECT choice for Alejandro. A little more stage presence, and this would have won the first half of the night for me. I really like Alejandro, and think he has so much potential, and this showed that he isn’t just an original song guy (but, his original songs are banger and we’ll talk about that later).

6. Madison VanDenburg (2nd Song)- Madison’s show stopper was really good. I’ll admit, this is her comfort zone. Pop ballad. But then again, is she just a one trick pony? I think this was her strongest vocal since Moana, and I’d love to see if she can do this more often.

5. Jeremiah Lloyd Hamon (1st Song)- His “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” didn’t seem like it was going to work on paper (and honestly, maybe that’s why he didn’t get votes) for it’s not the popular choice or the one audiences cling to. But Jeremiah made it his own and made it beautiful in his own right, and it was one of the stronger songs of the night.

4. Wade Cota (1st Song)- I can’t believe Wade is as high as he is on this list, but his first song just proves that he still has it. It’s all about song choice, and Wade actually WON round one in my book for that. He lost round two though. It’s just interesting to see how much it matters to pick a song in your wheelhouse. It was totally in his wheel house and will probably go down as his best all season.

3. Laine Hardy (2nd Song)- Now THIS is what I’m talking about for Laine. This is the peak he needs to reach if he really wants people to take him as more than an entertainer and a pretty face. His vocals actually stood out this time, and if he wants to win (which he very well can and may), he’ll need to do stuff like this. Bad ass.

2. Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon (2nd Song)- Not the best of the night, but damn close to it. Jeremiah’s “Somewhere” reached peaks of vocal perfection, and emotional depth like no other. The first line of music was shaky, but then he blossomed. It’s a shame we won’t be able to hear his voice more, and I really loved getting to hear him so much this season. I hope he has a killer career wow.

1. Alejandro Aranda (2nd Song)- Alejandro has been a contender from the start because of an original song at auditions. It’s still my favorite performance of the season. THE SEASON. This song just showed yet again how great Alejandro is on his own. Perfection in the simplest way possible. He is unique and special. I hope he continues down this path, as I’ll admit, his covers have started to become a tad shaky at times. But when he’s spot on, it’s very impressive, and this was the most spot on he’s been since his audition.

Alejandro is now the number one contender again, but I feel like Laine is right on his tail. With Jeremiah going home, it’s very possible we could lose either one this time, but I really do think it’s been their competition to lose from the start. Laci is definitely headed home for a lackluster week this past week, as well as having to be saved by the judges. Wade is always on my prediction for elimination, and he NEVER gets eliminated, which just means he probably has a bigger following than I expected. For that, I’m going to actually predict his safety this week, and predict Madison as the shocking boot (not that shocking to me, but considering her track record with the competition, she’s never been in danger of elimination). I hope I’m wrong and that Wade goes, but Jeremiah’s elimination just shook things up and showed me that the obvious boot isn’t always the one that happens.

PREDICTIONS:

Advancing to Top 3- Alejandro Aranda, Laine Hardy, and Wade Cota

Going Home- Laci Kaye Booth and Madison VanDenberg

#casting

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American Idol S17 Power Rankings (Top 6)

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