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American Idol S18 Power Rankings (Finals)

Jul 16, 2020 by PowerRankings101

Well, finale night came and went. Why the West Coast didn’t get to watch the performances before voting, I’ll never know, and felt like the results should’ve been on a different night…I didn’t LOVE the winner decision, but East Coast America spoke, and there you have it. Yes, I know the West Coast still got to vote, but having them air the show AFTER the winner was announced shows that the west coast votes are primarily who they like, not based on any of these performances. If it was based on tonight alone, I think we may had seen a different winner, and perhaps even Jonny sneaking into the top two. But alas, this is how the votes came in, with less than a two hour window. I’m Happy Just Sam gets to see the dream of her life come true, and I’m happy Arthur at least placed second, even if he didn’t take home the prize. He joins the Alejandro, Adam Lambert, Katherine McPhee club of “Second place is the actual winner” club, and I’m sure he’ll have the most success of anyone this season. Jonny West really came to play in this final episode, and sang beautifully as well. Dillon was great this season, as was Julia, and several other top 20 contestants left their marks positively as well. I’m just happy we got American Idol in some capacity, even if it was cut short and rushed by the COVID outbreak. Let’s rank the final five’s last two performances of the season, even if there are no predictions.

10. Francisco Martin (1st Song)- “I have never been a huge Francisco fan” has been my motto all season, and I do feel bad about it, and apologize if I was a tad harsh. But this was leagues weaker than the rest of the performances of the night. The background was fun and flashy, but the vocals were pitchy, and a bit all over the place. I couldn’t help but wish Julia was getting this slot.

9. Francisco Martin (2nd Song)- I’ll give Francisco credit that this second song was much better than his first. That being said, I still feel like he’s weaker than the rest of the pack. But this performance didn’t make me too upset. Fine way for him to end his journey, and I’m glad he got a chance to share his story.

8. Just Sam (1st Song)- Just Sam has been inspiring all season, and had lots of great momentum going into the start of the “live” shows. I think she lost a bit of steam by the end of the competition, in my opinion, and think there were others who outsang her in the end. This one particularly felt pitchy and held back. That being said, I still love her passion and her message, and everything she stands for. I’m not surprised she won, though I do think it had lots to do with her previous performances, as this specific performances was a tad weaker than some of her previous ones.

7. Dillon James (1st Song)- I love Dillon and think he definitely has some true artistry. Going first and singing something that was a little more mellow probably hurt him in the end, as this isn’t the most memorable tune at the end of the day. But I still like the message behind it, and think Dillon has some great longevity in the real world, and his career will surely flourish.

6. Arthur Gunn (1st Song)- Arthur’s first song was lots of fun. I don’t think it was necessarily a great “finale” effort, as I didn’t feel it showed off all of Arthur’s true chops and artistry. But it was still pretty dang great, and despite being one of his weakest efforts, it was still one of the stronger performances of the night in comparison to some of his competition’s.

5. Just Sam (2nd Song)- This was a great song for Sam to end the season on. Much better pitch than the first song, and even if I think three others outshined her overall, this justified her win just fine. She has such a unique quality to her voice, and while I do think her story outweighed her actual talents, there was still something so compelling about her journey this season, and her Hawaii performance is still an all time great. Congrats Just Sam, I hope you continue to make beautiful music.

4. Jonny West (1st Song)- Jonny won Round One for me. This was such a good song for his style and unique quality. It was entertaining enough to excite, while cool and collected enough to match Jonny’s aura. This was jazzy, playful, soulful, and everything we’ve come to love about Jonny this season. I wish he placed in the top 2 with Arthur.

3. Dillon James (2nd Song)- This was my favorite song of Dillon’s all season. It was truly beautiful, and I think his rendition on the Bob Dylan classic is absolutely delightful. Sharing the same name as Dillon (I spell it differently) has made me feel connected to his music all season, and I’m happy he went out on his personal best.

2. Jonny West (2nd Song)- Jonny singing an original was a bold move, and totally won me over. While my heart and hopes were with Arthur, I think Jonny probably had the most impressive finale overall, and I was honestly thinking he’d take it all. The song is so cool, so distinct, and so in tune with what he wants to do as an artist. His actual star power may be lacking a tad, but for his genre, his body language works. The speed talking was absolutely epic. If Arthur’s second song was the best performance of the season, THIS was an easy second. Absolutely phenomenal.

1. Arthur Gunn (2nd Song)- This is one of my favorite twists of a song ever. I love when an artist can put their own spin on a classic. Arthur nailed it, and because of this performance, I would’ve handed him the title then and there. It was flawless, epic, exciting, fresh, chilling. Everything you want from an Idol winner, even if the results didn’t pan out that way. Best performance of the season? Very likely.

Good season, great talent, fine winner, amazing runner-up. I will be an Arthur, Dillon, Jonny, and Julia fan for life. Cheers to Idol! Now let’s heal this nation so we can have live shows for season 19. We desperately need it.

WHO WON?

Winner- Just Sam

Second Place- Arthur Gunn

Third-Fifth Place- Dillon James, Francisco Martin, Jonny West

Sixth-Seventh Place- Julia Gargano and Louis Knight

#casting
#americanidol

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I apologize for the long delay. This was sitting on my desktop and i totally forgot to publish it

Sent by PowerRankings101,Jul 16, 2020

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American Idol S18 Power Rankings (Finals)

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