12. Cecil Ray- Yikes. I always respected Cecil as a person, but this performance was filled with some weird tonal choices, bad pitch problems, and a lack of confidence. This would’ve gotten torn apart by Simon Cowell or Harry Connick Jr. These judges are just way too kind, even in their criticisms. Hey, it’s ABC owned nowadays, so they are trying to make everything very positive and family friendly, I get it. But still, I think these contestants need a tad more constructive criticisms, otherwise, what’s the point of a judge anyway.
11. Alana- I’ll admit, Alana has talent but I don’t remember her much at the end of the night. She just doesn’t scream “star” to me, which is unfortunate because her duet (which I’ll talk about later) was great. Of everyone tonight (even Cecil who I thought was much weaker vocally), she is the one I’ll remember the least.
10. Cassandra Coleman- I’ll be honest, Cassandra had my 2nd favorite audition of anyone (next to Anilee, who we’ll get to in a sec), but she has since gotten a tad weaker in my eyes. While she is finding more confidence, her vocals have been getting a little shakier. They may be nerves, but I really didn’t love this performance as much as her others. I think she has an endearing story, but this performance didn’t win me over, and I’m worried it may not win others over either.
9. Graham DeFranco- I didn’t love Graham’s solo performance. It seemed pitchy at times, and didn’t really stand out from the crowd. I think he knows his style, however, and I appreciate that. His duet was another story, which we’ll get to in the next blog post.
8. Andrea Valles- I liked Andrea’s performance. Didn’t love it, but I did like it. She has a really cool style and stage presence, and I love the use of her culture in the song choice and the vocal she delivered. I worry that she might be a tad forgettable simply because the songs she’s picking aren’t these huge anthems. But we’ll see.
7. Alanis Sophia- Alanis started with some major pitch problems in the first half of her solo. But in the SECOND half, she absolutely killed it. She had some huge belt moments that really showed off her power in both her vocal quality and her range. This was a good performance, especially kicking off the night and overall live shows.
6. Wyatt Pike- Wyatt is an interesting case. He knows his artistry and really sells what he does really well. In comparison to others, he doesn’t necessarily stand out as much, which is my only worry, considering he performed very early in the night. I still think he’ll make it far, but I do really like Wyatt’s style and artistry and hope he makes it through for his uniqueness and stage presence alone.
5. Deshawn Goncalves- I’ve always loved Deshawn. This wasn’t my favorite vocal of his, but it’s still one of the strongest of the night for the sheer voice alone. His voice is incredible, and no matter what song he picks, he will excel. I adore his voice and think he’ll really amaze throughout this competition.
4. Grace Kinstler- Grace is a damn powerhouse, and I think this was a really fun song choice, especially at this stage of the competition where she’s enough of a front-runner to take some cool risks. I don’t know if this will go down as one of her most memorable performances, but she owned and commanded the stage. Her duet was her particular standout of the night, but this was still damn good.
3. Willie Spence- Willie is such a natural that even in a less memorable song choice, he excels. This was great, as expected. No doubt he’ll go deep (potentially even win).
2. Anilee List- I adore Anilee. She was my favorite audition (her inspiring story and pitch perfect runs and vocals absolutely stunned me), and I’m glad she got to belt out this rendition of a Billie Eilish song. This wasn’t my favorite vocal of the night, but it showed just how amazing her stage presence and confidence is. She wasn’t shown much in Hollywood week, but she really proved here why she’s a contender to go far.
1. Alyssa Wray- I adored Alyssa’s solo. I was never head over heels for her in her auditions and Hollywood week performances, but she really proved that she was here to PLAY. This was the strongest solo of the night, and one of the best performances next to some great duets. She’s a contender for sure.
Check out my next blog for the duet rankings and my thoughts on their overall chances of advancing to the top 16.
GROUP ONE SOLOS: