American Idol Season 22's Showstoppers/Final Judgment episode aired Monday, when the top 56 were whittled down to the top 24 who'll be competing for viewers' votes. This was the night that polarizing repeat contestant and accused backstabber Alyssa Raghu faced her final judgment, so to speak. And for outraged fans who felt she should never have made it this far in the first place, revenge was sweet.
Allow me to backtrack, for readers who haven't been keeping up with this season's "Sauce-y" scandal. On Season 22's last night of auditions, an intriguingly eccentric and artsy Brooklynite named Julia Davo showed up in go-go boots, a Lisa Loeb "Stay" dress, an Edgar Winter platinum pageboy, and "rock" and "roll" kneecap tattoos; declared that she wanted to be "our generation's Debbie Harry"; and trilled a cabaret (and actually quite Martian) version of David Bowie's "Life on Mars?" Lionel Richie was wowed and even compared Julia to Lady Gaga, but his co-panelists, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan, weren't quite as convinced. And then, just as the judges were debating Julia's fate, her "best friend" and roommate entered the room to theoretically console her.
That supposed bestie was Alyssa "The Sauce" Raghu — who regular Idol-watchers likely remember from both Season 16, when she made the top 50, and Season 17, when she made it much farther. After reuniting with the judges, who were impressed by her sophisticated glow-up, Alyssa casually volunteered, "just for giggles," to sing a little something for the cast. She then proceeded to cruelly upstage Julia, as she belted a seemingly well-prepared rendition of Mariah Carey's "My All." It appeared that Alyssa had orchestrated this "impromptu" audition all along, right down to her not-so-casual slinky stagewear. (Because who wears a lavender corset top, matching flares, and high heels to hang out in an off-camera waiting room as "moral support" all day?)
And then, the now 21-year-old Alyssa boldly ventured, "I have never competed on the show as an adult, so I don't know if that's out of the question..." It seemed incredibly greedy for her to practically beg for a third try, when she'd gotten all the way to eighth place on her second try. Alyssa had already had her moment. Twice. This was supposed to be Julia's moment. With best friends like this, who needs enemies?
When Alyssa ended up leaving the audition room with a Golden Ticket, while a shocked, rejected Julia left in tears, the backlash among viewers was swift, vicious, and, frankly, deserved. If producers had expected Idol fans to rejoice over Alyssa's surprise return, their tactic backfired. Or, maybe producers had planned to give Alyssa a villain edit all along. She took to social media to claim that her footage with Julia had been manipulated to make it seem like she'd hijacked her BFF's audition, and I certainly wouldn't put it past the show's producers. But regardless, the damage was done. No one (including, I assume, poor Julia herself) was rooting for Alyssa when she headed to Hollywood this week.
So, this brings us to Monday, when Alyssa once again found herself in front of the judging panel, standing next to another talented blonde rival, attempting to grab all the attention for herself. Once again, I think the Idol producers knew exactly what they were doing to create maximum drama. But this time (spoiler alert!), Alyssa would be the one receiving bad news.
Monday's Showstoppers Round featured the top 56 contestants performing songs of their own choosing in front of the judges and a small live audience, and Alyssa did a very actress-y, surface-y, technically proficient but emotionally stunted rendition of Gloria Gaynor's empowerment anthem "I Will Survive." Then teenager Kabrienne "KB" Richins, whose intensely emotional "How Could You" performance had been a breakout moment of Sunday's episode, choked a bit when she rasped through Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man" (perhaps she'd set the bar too high for herself already). For reasons never quite explained, the judges decided there was room for only one of these ladies in the top 24, so they summoned both to the Final Judgment room and ordered them to engage in a sudden-death singoff.
Well, it wasn't that sudden — Alyssa and KB had an hour to prepare, and they could pick between Lady Gaga's "Shallow" or former Idol hopeful Lauren Spencer Smith's "Fingers Crossed." The reluctant duo went with the A Star Is Born song, but only one star was born after all was sung and done. KB was more naturally conversational in the verses and more real and raw in the choruses, sounding like she was living the song and actually going off the deep end. Alyssa started to tear up halfway through KB's performance, but it was unclear if she was crying because she was moved by KB's display or because she realized she would not make the top 24 — let alone the top eight — this time around.
"We think you're going be able to spread your wings without Idol," Luke then diplomatically told Alyssa, as she exited the competition. This is presumably for the last time we will see her on American Idol. But maybe Julia Davo can return next year.
This wasn't Monday's only tense scenario when two singers were forced to sing for a spot in the top 24. British heartthrob Mackenzie Sol and flamboyant former Dutch Idol star Ziggy — whose only common denominators were their foreign passports and fabulous hair — were also inexplicably pitted against each other, after Ziggy gave a brave and moving performance of The Greatest Showman's classic "This Is Me" and Mackenzie surprisingly pulled off the Joe Cocker version of "With a Little Help From My Friends" despite Katy warning him that the song choice was a risk.
After a tense one-hour rehearsal, the boys returned to the Final Judgment room to battle on Labrinth's "Jealous." The ballad seemed better suited for Ziggy, and it was weird that they went with it over their other option, Harry Styles's "Falling," considering that Mackenzie had vowed to never again perform "Jealous" after he and his ex broke up. (Apparently Mackenzie's girlfriend used to sing "Jealous" with him? As some sort of love duet? Odd.) Katy ordered Mackenzie to dig into his pain and sing "Jealous" one final time, and he semi-sloppily powered through it, half-shouting it, with what Katy called a "lot of energy that's a little unbridled." Ziggy's version was also emotional, but much more theatrical and stylized.
Both contestants received standing ovations and, as Lionel noted, "both made it their song," so I was totally prepared for the "undecided" judges to announce that this season, in an exciting twist, would feature a top 25. But then Katy told Mackenzie, "We could tell that you didn't want to do it, but you did it. And it almost broke you. But... it got you into the top 24." From a mainstream casting perspective, I could see how Mackenzie would have wider appeal and draw more votes. And I can't say Mackenzie didn't earn his spot. He fought for it. But Season 22 will be a lot less colorful, literally and figuratively, without Ziggy in the mix.
As for the other contestants who got the chop — without their Showstoppers songs being shown at all, so the reasons for their respective eliminations remain unclear — were former X Factor U.K. imports Scarlett Lee and Michael Rice, Santa Barbara busker and early favorite Micaela McCall, and powerhouse Justice Murphy. The latter cut made no sense, because just one night earlier, Justice's passionate take on The Color Purple's "I'm Here" had Lionel calling for an "emergency meeting with the ABC network" because this season was too packed with talent. Justice for justice, I say! There were also many contestants who, like Micaela, had given memorable auditions but were never given any significant screentime again, like sparkly Southern star Reagan Mills, Lionel lookalike Garrison Bennett, young mother and singer-songwriter Cate Gartner, likable big sisters Athena Jett and Deida Judy, makeover success story Dave Fio, "Lemonz" showman Alto Moon, and even Amari, the jazzy trans woman who beautifully auditioned with Sara Bareilles's "She to Be Mine" and then, puzzlingly, wasn't shown again during the week of International Transgender Visibility Day.
But once again, this all proves that Season 22 is just too stacked with talent; even a former top eight American Idol finalist or Dutch Idol veteran didn't stand a chance of moving forward. And even some of the contestants who did move forward to the top 24, like church singers Kennedy Reid and Quintavious, "accidental auditioner" Kayko, and military-kid songbird Elleigh Marie, didn't have their Showstoppers performances air Monday.
Of my favorite top 24 performances that did make it to the air, 28-year-old Nya's "Get Ready," with the high-kicking diva resplendent in black leather and wild Tina Turner curls, really got the Showstoppers episode started. And on the other end of the age spectrum, the wise-beyond-his-15-years Triston Harper showcased a ton of previously unseen depth and maturity on "By Your Grace" and seemed just as ready for prime time.
And then there was Jack Blocker — who only got a Golden Ticket after the Idol crew staged a "coup" and demanded that the doubting judges reconsider their no vote — proving all of the judges wrong with a delightful, vanity- and pretense-free performance of Nathaniel Rateliff's "You Should've Seen the Other Guy." His fun performance had Lionel admitting, "We didn't know jack, Jack!" In a cute television moment, the "disruptors" or "Jack Blocker Fan Club" — aka, the crew members who had advocated for Jack — were the ones who happily told him he'd made the top 24.
My favorite two Monday contestants — and my two new favorites overall — however, were true originals KBlocks and Jennifer Jefferies. KBlocks was vamping, scatting, toasting, and practically speaking in tongues while covering Bishop Briggs's "River," with Lionel saying she always seemed fascinatingly "on the edge" and telling her, "You made us pay attention to you." Jennifer's husky, haunted version of Noah Kahan's "Northern Attitude" had Luke declaring her an "Alejandro Aranda-type star," and Katy told her, "By the time we're finished with you, you ain't gonna be rough. You're just gonna be the diamond." I do worry that America won't quite get either quirky girl; KBlocks and Jennifer may be cool, but they're also potentially polarizing. But without Ziggy, we need mavericks like these two to keep things interesting.
Also making the top 24 were handsome Australian balladeer Jordan Anthony, second generation former pro football player Blake Proehl, soulful showman Roman Collins, Jamey Johnson-esque country everyman Will Moseley, smoky piano chanteuse McKenna Faith Breinholt, returning contestant Jayna Elise (someone who actually deserved another shot), affable and vibey Bronx belter Ajii, power-singer Hailey Mia, Worth the Wait's sister-act-gone-solo Mia Matthews, and Loretta Lynn's granddaughter, Emmy Russell. Once again, I have no doubt that producers knew exactly what they were doing when they slotted nervous Emmy's Showstoppers performance right after Mia had covered Loretta Lynn's own "You Ain't Woman Enough," which threw Emmy for a loop. But Emmy proved she was woman enough on her own and rose to the challenge.
And finally, all three Platinum Ticket recipients unsurprisingly sailed through, despite Abi Carter underperforming due to bronchitis and self-described "bundle of nerves" Julia Gagnon doing way too much during her manic performance of "And I Am Telling You." (Lionel told Julia she has a "tendency to overshoot" and doesn't need to do that much with her "incredible gift.") Of the three Platinum Ticket contestants, only Odell Bunton Jr. fully impressed with the Nina Simone version of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," but hopefully none of these three peaked too early and they'll be able to live up to their legacies in Hawaii.
Yes, that's right. Next week, the top 24 will land in Hawaii (with Jelly Roll and Season 9 Idol alumnus Tori Kelly mentor and guest-judging, which sounds like one helluva fun spring break) and after they compete, the voting power will land in America's hands. See you then!
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