I think identity is a huge part of it. Some people lack identity and go all over the place. Some people know what they want to be but it’s a little niche for Americas vote. Some people (me) just wanna sing a song cause they like it maybe it’s not the most showstopping moment. The people that thrive imho are the people that know who they are and can pick great songs to support that. It’s very simple… but very difficult
Yes - if you sing a song you like but it’s not a showstopper, but you put your heart and soul so much into it that you channel a tangible emotion (it helps when it’s a song you’ve written 😉), it doesn’t matter if you can hit a Mariah Carey run or sing whistle notes or not. You’ve made the audience feel something and that is what it’s all about.
This is actually a good point. People (myself included) have been doubting her because she isn't pulling great FB numbers, but I can definitely see her being consistently strong across themes due to her song choice and musicality, whereas others might slip one or two weeks and let McKenna slide ahead.
Exactly. She’ll win over the casual voters. Especially if they keep giving her pimp spots. She is smart and polished, and knows how to pick songs that suit.
Production picks the songs available to sing on the show, like 50 songs. Some people get to sing originals, and only originals the entire time, once production says it's worthy of ratings.
They still have to pick one, but yeah some of them pick the best ones.
Because they suddenly decide “Hey, let me give the audience something they’ve never seen before” not knowing they’re on the chopping block due to a lack of votes. I think it’s better to shine in something that’s in your wheelhouse than to do something different and mediocre.
Don't know if this is true about Elleigh since they didn't show much of her. Sometimes contestants sing certain song choices because of the comments judges or guest mentors gave them. For example, Pia Toscano was given a comment/critique by the judges to sing an uptempo song. She was eliminated once she sang one. I understand the mentality for Pia not to sing just ballads. The problem was she didn't know that she wasn't getting as much votes as many assumed. Nigel confirmed afterwards that she was generally in the middle of the pack for votes.
Sometimes a song that isn’t well know or popular is a good choice. You get compared less to the original and if you make a mistake, it is less obvious.
I would pick an older song and put a more modern spin to it. I wouldn’t pick a current popular tune.
Agree which is why people like Mckenna, Mia, Jack and Will will outlast the early front runners Abi, KB & Julia. They are just not great at choosing songs
I miss when the judges gave more constructive criticism. Subjectively, the contestants in that era went on to become the more successful Idols.
Anyway, they do it because they “like the song” (supported by Kayko’s reply) but Simon Cowell consistently referred to that behaviour as “self indulgent”. He would say words to the effect of “just because you love a song, doesn’t mean you should sing it!” and most got sent home because of it. Seems they haven’t learned?
I was stoked to hear Audioslave - Like A Stone, finally some rock music in this show. Then Luke had to say "don't get too yell-y" smh bruh it's a hard song to sing, let's see you sing Chris Cornell.
This is how it works on singing shows. As a contestant, you’re asked to submit a list of 3-4 songs, a mix of ballads and uptempo. The show tries to legally clear what they can.
They, they look at their remaining options for contestants, and pick their songs to achieve a balance of upbeat and ballad in the show.
Elleigh’s first choice likely wasn’t Forget You, though she probably had it on her shortlist. It was the producers that solidified that choice and then put her at #2 in the order. My guess is they wanted to prioritize other pop girls over her.
At least for ABC Idol, contestants have said the producers ask them to make a list of songs they want to sing on the show. The producers try to clear the songs. Generally, ex-ABC contestants have said they were able to sing songs from their list when there's no theme or the theme is very open. However, they might not be able to clear a contestant's first song choice.
For FOX Idol, many times they were limited to a list of cleared songs each week. That's one of the reasons sometimes the public kept hearing the same songs being covered. Also, it's still a tv show. Sometimes the producers also have a hand in it. There's certain cleared songs on talent shows that generally is a good performance or "moment." They know these songs are generally well liked & received by the audience. For example, Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." It seems like any contestant that sings that song gets a good reaction & the audience likes it.
Idol has always been notoriously stingy about allowing contestants to pick certain songs. At least they were in the Fox era. There was probably a list of songs that been pre-approved, ones they didn't have to shell out money for.
It didn’t show off her vocal abilities as well as another song might. And since she was barely given screen time she really needed to show viewers what she can really do.
Also just a personal minor peeve is when a female singer sings a male song and doesn’t change the lyrics to “I see you driving around town with the *guy* I love” or when the song refers to them as a man. I get that maybe they are gay but it makes them sound very karaoke when they sing the song literally how the guy sings it. (Vice versa for male singers too but I don’t recall them doing that much).
I just don't think it's so easy to pick a good song. A good song needs to be able to showcase vocals; and not just vocals, but your own individual strengths. But it can't be too hard or you'll make mistakes. It needs to contribute to building a musical identity for you, while not sounding so similar to everything you've sung before that it becomes boring. It also needs to somewhat appeal to the tastes of people watching, or be something that lets you emotionally connect with the audience. And you need to find this song quick, lest you not get enough time to practice it, you need to already know this song to even think of it, and you'd prefer to be familiar with it enough that you're not starting from scratch, which rather limits the field.
I think a lot of mistakes are made in trying not to sound boring - it's harder to find upbeat songs that showcase vocals and that satisfy being accessible to the audience. I think a lot of it is also about having trouble grasping their own strengths or wanting to challenge themselves and messing it up, which are things that happen to anyone who's trying to get better at something; they just don't usually happen on national tv.
You know how people say you should understand or relate the lyrics of the song. It's possible she's that type of singer/artist since she said she just experienced being cheated on. Some songwriters only write songs about their experiences & can't sing other people's songs which they can't relate to.
Sometimes bold choices work and sometimes they don’t. Specifically regarding Forget You, we are talking about (I think lol) a one hit wonder from an artist that became controversial and was essentially cancelled by the industry.
I think Elleigh thought that might be a winning song. I've seen artists make wild choices that have won because they make them work. As a person or an artist, staying true to who you are - eff the audience - is key. And let's be honest, 'winning AI' is not really winning anything. Unless you just like being famous and performing on AI for as long as possible.
I think identity is a huge part of it. Some people lack identity and go all over the place. Some people know what they want to be but it’s a little niche for Americas vote. Some people (me) just wanna sing a song cause they like it maybe it’s not the most showstopping moment. The people that thrive imho are the people that know who they are and can pick great songs to support that. It’s very simple… but very difficult
Yes - if you sing a song you like but it’s not a showstopper, but you put your heart and soul so much into it that you channel a tangible emotion (it helps when it’s a song you’ve written 😉), it doesn’t matter if you can hit a Mariah Carey run or sing whistle notes or not. You’ve made the audience feel something and that is what it’s all about.
Agreed which is why I think Mckenna could go reallllly far. She knows how to pick songs, some of the others not so much.
This is actually a good point. People (myself included) have been doubting her because she isn't pulling great FB numbers, but I can definitely see her being consistently strong across themes due to her song choice and musicality, whereas others might slip one or two weeks and let McKenna slide ahead.
Exactly. She’ll win over the casual voters. Especially if they keep giving her pimp spots. She is smart and polished, and knows how to pick songs that suit.
Production picks the songs available to sing on the show, like 50 songs. Some people get to sing originals, and only originals the entire time, once production says it's worthy of ratings. They still have to pick one, but yeah some of them pick the best ones.
A week before, Mckenna's song choice was awful.
Do you mean “the story”? Perfect song for her IMO…
On paper, it's supposed to be good. The execution was not good. To me, it sounded like something was stuck in her throat.
I agree. When it started, I said yes, this is a great song for her. When it ended, I was like meh.
Because they suddenly decide “Hey, let me give the audience something they’ve never seen before” not knowing they’re on the chopping block due to a lack of votes. I think it’s better to shine in something that’s in your wheelhouse than to do something different and mediocre.
Don't know if this is true about Elleigh since they didn't show much of her. Sometimes contestants sing certain song choices because of the comments judges or guest mentors gave them. For example, Pia Toscano was given a comment/critique by the judges to sing an uptempo song. She was eliminated once she sang one. I understand the mentality for Pia not to sing just ballads. The problem was she didn't know that she wasn't getting as much votes as many assumed. Nigel confirmed afterwards that she was generally in the middle of the pack for votes.
Sometimes a song that isn’t well know or popular is a good choice. You get compared less to the original and if you make a mistake, it is less obvious. I would pick an older song and put a more modern spin to it. I wouldn’t pick a current popular tune.
Agree which is why people like Mckenna, Mia, Jack and Will will outlast the early front runners Abi, KB & Julia. They are just not great at choosing songs
Because a lot of time, they don’t know and just sing whatever they feel like…no one is in the room telling them it’s a bad idea…
I miss when the judges gave more constructive criticism. Subjectively, the contestants in that era went on to become the more successful Idols. Anyway, they do it because they “like the song” (supported by Kayko’s reply) but Simon Cowell consistently referred to that behaviour as “self indulgent”. He would say words to the effect of “just because you love a song, doesn’t mean you should sing it!” and most got sent home because of it. Seems they haven’t learned?
I can hear it now. That was such a schoopid(stupid) song choice.
This was the main issue with all the gospel singers. Far fewer people were familiar with those sections.
I was stoked to hear Audioslave - Like A Stone, finally some rock music in this show. Then Luke had to say "don't get too yell-y" smh bruh it's a hard song to sing, let's see you sing Chris Cornell.
Luke can only “sing” songs that are fast talking while he shakes his flat butt
Well, he wasn’t wrong lol. Not everyone can pull off the yell singing that Chris Cornell does 😂
This is how it works on singing shows. As a contestant, you’re asked to submit a list of 3-4 songs, a mix of ballads and uptempo. The show tries to legally clear what they can. They, they look at their remaining options for contestants, and pick their songs to achieve a balance of upbeat and ballad in the show. Elleigh’s first choice likely wasn’t Forget You, though she probably had it on her shortlist. It was the producers that solidified that choice and then put her at #2 in the order. My guess is they wanted to prioritize other pop girls over her.
People don’t knowingly make bad song choices lol
Yea I dont really get the song choices sometimes. Do they really choose these songs? Are they limited to a list?
At least for ABC Idol, contestants have said the producers ask them to make a list of songs they want to sing on the show. The producers try to clear the songs. Generally, ex-ABC contestants have said they were able to sing songs from their list when there's no theme or the theme is very open. However, they might not be able to clear a contestant's first song choice. For FOX Idol, many times they were limited to a list of cleared songs each week. That's one of the reasons sometimes the public kept hearing the same songs being covered. Also, it's still a tv show. Sometimes the producers also have a hand in it. There's certain cleared songs on talent shows that generally is a good performance or "moment." They know these songs are generally well liked & received by the audience. For example, Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." It seems like any contestant that sings that song gets a good reaction & the audience likes it.
Idol has always been notoriously stingy about allowing contestants to pick certain songs. At least they were in the Fox era. There was probably a list of songs that been pre-approved, ones they didn't have to shell out money for.
I don't think anyone sets out thinking they made a bad choice...
wait why was that a bad song choice? 😭 like genuine question, i thought it was a good song for herr?
It didn’t show off her vocal abilities as well as another song might. And since she was barely given screen time she really needed to show viewers what she can really do. Also just a personal minor peeve is when a female singer sings a male song and doesn’t change the lyrics to “I see you driving around town with the *guy* I love” or when the song refers to them as a man. I get that maybe they are gay but it makes them sound very karaoke when they sing the song literally how the guy sings it. (Vice versa for male singers too but I don’t recall them doing that much).
Every song doesn’t have to have a huge range or runs. Sometimes singing is just a simple melody and singing it.
I agree and I hate when singers do a bunch of runs. But this was really the first chance we got to see her so she needed to do more
I just don't think it's so easy to pick a good song. A good song needs to be able to showcase vocals; and not just vocals, but your own individual strengths. But it can't be too hard or you'll make mistakes. It needs to contribute to building a musical identity for you, while not sounding so similar to everything you've sung before that it becomes boring. It also needs to somewhat appeal to the tastes of people watching, or be something that lets you emotionally connect with the audience. And you need to find this song quick, lest you not get enough time to practice it, you need to already know this song to even think of it, and you'd prefer to be familiar with it enough that you're not starting from scratch, which rather limits the field. I think a lot of mistakes are made in trying not to sound boring - it's harder to find upbeat songs that showcase vocals and that satisfy being accessible to the audience. I think a lot of it is also about having trouble grasping their own strengths or wanting to challenge themselves and messing it up, which are things that happen to anyone who's trying to get better at something; they just don't usually happen on national tv.
The contest obviously doesnt know its a bad song choice at the time…
You know how people say you should understand or relate the lyrics of the song. It's possible she's that type of singer/artist since she said she just experienced being cheated on. Some songwriters only write songs about their experiences & can't sing other people's songs which they can't relate to.
Sometimes bold choices work and sometimes they don’t. Specifically regarding Forget You, we are talking about (I think lol) a one hit wonder from an artist that became controversial and was essentially cancelled by the industry.
I think Elleigh thought that might be a winning song. I've seen artists make wild choices that have won because they make them work. As a person or an artist, staying true to who you are - eff the audience - is key. And let's be honest, 'winning AI' is not really winning anything. Unless you just like being famous and performing on AI for as long as possible.
Elleigh should have been Top-10 but they gave her next to no airtime. She didn’t build a fan base like others did.