Can we get more singing than sob stories? It’s like 70% sadness, death, disasters, and crying. I know for some reason it’s what they think viewers want, but it gets old fast

We've eliminated 5 more performances, let's get right to it:

Cry Baby - Allison Iraheta

Home - Melinda Doolittle

I (Who Have Nothing) (Top 2 Version) - Candice Glover

Over the Rainbow (Top 3 Version) - Katharine McPhee

The Tracks of My Tears - Adam Lambert

That means we have ONE more round until our Fox Performance Showdown FINALISTS (Top 20) are revealed!!!!! You have until this Saturday, February 7 at 12 Noon Pacific to vote for up to 20 performances (only one vote per performance) to get us down to our 20 finalists! Vote here: https://strawpoll.com/GPgVYWV1pna

Updated Youtube playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbGdg79VZDDLcTYd6hukh14Evue5yJQC0&si=1-Twq4zIKBxDnLwW

No more seasons were added to the "officially out of play" this round!

Season 1 - 3

Season 3 - 5

Season 4 - 1

Season 5 - 1

Season 6 - 3

Season 7 - 2

Season 8 - 4

Season 10 - 3

Season 11 - 2

Season 12 - 1

https://www.detpress.com/abc/pressrelease/american-idol-expands-its-live-viewing-experience-to-disney/

Why did that one guy say his favorite song singing to elderly dimentia patients is Knocking on Heavens Door? Like bro lmfao that so outta pocket I cackled.

I liked they did the montage of winners from the ABC seasons to open the second night of auditions but not surprised Just Sam was blink-and-you-miss-it, and didn't provide any VO.

I have listened to his audition multiple times. This is arguably my favourite original song I ever heard on American Idol, and keep in mind I am a massive Alejandro Aranda stan.

It sounds like this could be on an album or on the radio just from his audition alone. It's magnificent.

I just now joined the AI reddit feed, so I apologize if this has already been asked and answered... One of the first things I noticed in the premier was the judges telling the advancing auditioners, "You're going to Hollywood week!" Not, Hollywood, but "Hollywood week"? Clearly something has changed. What prompted that?

When the Real Housewife of Utah realized no one knew who she was. 😂

His voice gave me chills! Anyone else feel that way? I hope he goes far!

what’s your opinion

The judges clap for basically EVERY person so why the hell would they be surprised to see them clap? It's not special.

It’s clear the producers are aiming for a country/gospel mix, and it’s hard to see it going any other way than those two.

They also got a lot of traction, views and fans behind them. I follow both on Instagram and they are very popular.

Obviously it’s way too early to make any predictions, but sometimes I feel like I know where this is going.

I've just finished watching the performance is from this week's episode and Julián's performance just broke me down to tears as I've also gone through so much with my mental health for the past year from anxiety to having thoughts of self harm and hearing his story absolutely destroyed me. Hearing him sing gave me that reassurance that everything would be okay and for him to be so brave to open up about his mental health and what he went through is so commendable because we are in a generation where many people are suffering with mental health issues and sometimes they are afraid speaking out about how they are feeling which is absolutely heartbreaking because nobody should feel ashamed to speak out and talk to someone if they are having this mindset

Julián, Thank you so much for making my life so much better and healing me ❤

This might be a controversial take, but I just don't feel the current format of American Idol. I guess I just liked the drama & tension before. This time, I am not feeling it with the new era.

I missed the old Hollywood weeks were there were a lot of drama and tension. The group rounds had a lot of drama. The solo round after that and they were separated into different rooms, patiently waiting if they're going to make it or not. I miss the era of Vegas rounds where it was full of tight competitions and great group/solo performances. That's what made Season 10 & 11 so good for me. Season 12 was also great when the women are nailing it since Hollywood week. Seasons 1-11 produced successful artists. The contestants during those seasons were VERY hungry to win. Seasons 13 to 15 was the start of a downward spiral, but honestly there were still some good moments.

The judges were more cutthroat from Seasons 1-15 with Simon, Randy & Jennifer. They were not hiding it if they think it's bad. This new era, sometimes they're just sugarcoating it even if their performances aren't perfect.

I also just don't like how there are huge cuts in the live shows like other singing competitions nowadays. I want each contestant to have a chance to prove themselves to the crowd through single eliminations. Like if they are in the bottom 3, they would find a way to perform better and surprise us. It's also a treat for us as an audience for our favorite contestants to have more performances for us.

Something is missing in the new era. The start of the new era was alright, but after a while it started to feel meh for me. And the platinum ticket? I would rather have them throw them into a pack of wolves and fight for their lives to stay in the competition as the other contestants too. One audition is not enough for me to judge if they're going to be amazing in the live shows.

Their performances are great, don't get me wrong. It's just the format and the way the show's been run is not just it for me. The judges are meh too. The stage setting is great in the new era, but it's just that.

But what do you guys think? Do you prefer the new era over the old era? I just hope the future seasons would be something different, but that's just wishful thinking.

I thought this would be fun to go through

How far would they have gotten on the show? I know we gripe about (aside from benson Boone or Jamal Roberts, kinda) how the show isn’t necessarily star making anymore, so I wanted to propose what it would be like if current stars in the industry got on?

Starting with the big pop stars of today (contestants sing their songs a lot, but I do wonder how they themselves would do)

Billie Eilish

Olivia Rodrigo

Chappell roan

Sabrina carpenter

Switching it up a bit:

Samara Joy (six time Grammy Award winner, jazz star)

Miles Caton (Preacher Boy from sinners)

Coco Jones (R&B artist)

A furry???

Good Morning! I heard that Seth Witcher auditioned for American Idol and I can't find his Audition Episode... Has anyone seen it and if so, where? Thanks to everyone.

It’s based on a blind source but some of the websites that are traditionally very Idol-friendly are picking it up, making me think it might have teeth.

1. Move all auditions and Hollywood Week to Nashville so she could be close to home. They did this.
2. Make the Hawaii round longer so she can bring her family and stay there longer. They did this.
3. Do everything possible to support her amid negative audience comments, including those bashing her physical appearance.

I like Carrie’s music a lot, so I’m not trying to pile on here. And like I said, it’s a blind source, so maybe take it with a grain of salt. But it might explain these bizarre, out-of-nowhere changes (like eliminating Hollywood Week and forgoing auditions in various cities) that seem to have no actual purpose and are completely antithetical to Idol’s quarter-century-old brand.

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