That was a busy week, that third & final week of semifinal AI:8 action, wasn’t it? We got both the 3rd flight of semifinalists and the judges’ choice wild-card soiree, back-to-back. Lucky us!
First, the 3rd semifinal flight. Overall, I think this group acquitted itself better than the first two groups did; however, I fear that’s damning it with faint praise. Lil Rounds making it to the Finals was about as sure a thing as the sun coming up in the morning – it was going to happen, and it was right that it happened. Barring any major meltdowns, Lil is slotted for the top half of the Finals, and I’d likely put her in the top 4…
Second in, as the top vote-getting guy, was Scott MacIntyre. Again, this was pretty much a given, what with his backstory & his reasonably-slightly-above-average vocal abilities. I honestly don’t know how deep he’ll go in the competition, because I could easily see his fan-base getting splintered & siphoned off in other directions. Or not. You just don’t know sometimes…
Third, and last, in was Jorge making it in over Ju’Not. I was mildly surprised/disappointed, but not majorly so. Frankly, Jorge makes pretty good sense from a “casting” point-of-view – he’ll make for some good TV until the time he’s eliminated, some time in the bottom half of the Finals.
So, with America’s job done, and 9 slots of the Finals filled, we moved on to the Wild Card round, where the judges got to “fix” things and ensure that America wasn’t allowed to totally mess things up by keeping out a truly “deserving” talent. And, oh yeah, maybe even get some good TV by, say, having someone like Tatiana back on again…
Ultimately, I don’t have a problem with anyone they brought back (although I must say that I would’ve liked to have seen Nick/Normund again!), even Tatiana. Heck, I even think the judges were pretty up front about what they were trying to do in terms of “casting”.
I will, however, say this: I think the judges pretty much knew exactly who was going through into the Finals (including that there would 13 instead of just 12) well before the wild card show even started. Those 8 wild card performances were just pro forma ways to get some more ad revenue.
In the end, Jasmine getting through was not a shock at all – that was going to happen as soon as she blew her shot in the semis by not choosing the right song. Megan made it through because Simon & Kara like her look (even though her sound isn’t that great). Matt earned it by singing his butt off (and by being a favorite of the judges), and Anoop seems to have gotten in because the judges plain wanted him there. Frankly, if it had been up to me, I would’ve kept Megan & Anoop out, and put in either Jesse and/or Nick/Normund…
As for Tatiana, well, it was fun to watch the judges call her out on various things, like the accent, the acting, the personalities, and singing the same song three times.
Now we begin the endgame — the 11 week march to the Finale. Hopefully we’ll make it with our interest and our sanity intact…
AI:8 – SemiWildThoughts
That was a busy week, that third & final week of semifinal AI:8 action, wasn’t it? We got both the 3rd flight of semifinalists and the judges’ choice wild-card soiree, back-to-back. Lucky us!
First, the 3rd semifinal flight. Overall, I think this group acquitted itself better than the first two groups did; however, I fear that’s damning it with faint praise. Lil Rounds making it to the Finals was about as sure a thing as the sun coming up in the morning – it was going to happen, and it was right that it happened. Barring any major meltdowns, Lil is slotted for the top half of the Finals, and I’d likely put her in the top 4…
Second in, as the top vote-getting guy, was Scott MacIntyre. Again, this was pretty much a given, what with his backstory & his reasonably-slightly-above-average vocal abilities. I honestly don’t know how deep he’ll go in the competition, because I could easily see his fan-base getting splintered & siphoned off in other directions. Or not. You just don’t know sometimes…
Third, and last, in was Jorge making it in over Ju’Not. I was mildly surprised/disappointed, but not majorly so. Frankly, Jorge makes pretty good sense from a “casting” point-of-view – he’ll make for some good TV until the time he’s eliminated, some time in the bottom half of the Finals.
So, with America’s job done, and 9 slots of the Finals filled, we moved on to the Wild Card round, where the judges got to “fix” things and ensure that America wasn’t allowed to totally mess things up by keeping out a truly “deserving” talent. And, oh yeah, maybe even get some good TV by, say, having someone like Tatiana back on again…
Ultimately, I don’t have a problem with anyone they brought back (although I must say that I would’ve liked to have seen Nick/Normund again!), even Tatiana. Heck, I even think the judges were pretty up front about what they were trying to do in terms of “casting”.
I will, however, say this: I think the judges pretty much knew exactly who was going through into the Finals (including that there would 13 instead of just 12) well before the wild card show even started. Those 8 wild card performances were just pro forma ways to get some more ad revenue.
In the end, Jasmine getting through was not a shock at all – that was going to happen as soon as she blew her shot in the semis by not choosing the right song. Megan made it through because Simon & Kara like her look (even though her sound isn’t that great). Matt earned it by singing his butt off (and by being a favorite of the judges), and Anoop seems to have gotten in because the judges plain wanted him there. Frankly, if it had been up to me, I would’ve kept Megan & Anoop out, and put in either Jesse and/or Nick/Normund…
As for Tatiana, well, it was fun to watch the judges call her out on various things, like the accent, the acting, the personalities, and singing the same song three times.
Now we begin the endgame — the 11 week march to the Finale. Hopefully we’ll make it with our interest and our sanity intact…
-ghp