Posting daily at 1pm central about all kinds of things. One day it's dating, the next it's TV commercials. I hope you're entertained. Professional photos on SmugMug – https://benwilder.smugmug.com
An old country soul is the best way to describe American Idol contestant Triston Harper, who’s just 15 years old. Someone check his birth certificate! In a recent episode he performed an original song called “H-O-P-E” and I’ve transcribed the lyrics below. I’m a little (a lot) embarrassed by whatever I was doing at 15 years old (sitting on the bench of my school’s JV basketball team).
“H-O-P-E” Triston Harper
Well, I’ve seen the pain and I’ve seen the sorrow. Well, I witness it every single day. It kind of makes me wish that there isn’t a tomorrow. Cause I’ve heard all the lies, back to back. Over and over again.
But it don’t ever end. No, it won’t ever end.
Hope stands for hold on, pain ends. Where’s the joy when you need it? It makes you want to get down on your knees and cry.
But crying don’t make it end. So why do you keep doing it? I’ve asked myself about a hundred thousand times.
He said, How long till you give up, quit, and just lay down and die? Lay down and die Lay down and die Lay down and die.
Hope stands for hold on, pain ends. Where’s the joy when you need it? It makes you want to get down on your knees and cry. But crying don’t make it end. So why do you keep doing it? I’ve asked myself about a hundred thousand times. He said, How long till you give up, quit, and just lay down and die?
Emmy Russell is gaining momentum if YouTube views are any indicator of such a claim. Her latest American Idol performance has over 76K views at the time of this post, only eclipsed by powerhouses McKenna Faith (80K) and Abi Carter (82K). She may be shy and unassuming, but it appears as though voters like her endearing demeanor. She made it into the top 20 (short recap of the episode here) and performed an original song called “Want You.” The lyrics are below, followed by the video. I think Loretta would be proud!
Emmy Russell “Want You”
Don’t want your empty words, your fake diamond dreams. The way you talk about forever, don’t think you know what that means.
Don’t want a grand gesture, just be here with me. You and me, baby, yeah that’s all I need.
I want you to want me like I want you, I want you to need me like I need you. If you’re going to leave me then cut me loose, I want you to want me.
I’m breaking your heart and you’re breaking mine, I say I need space, you say you need time. I don’t even know if we’re keeping score. All that I know is I love you more.
I want you to want me like I want you, I want you to need me like I need you. If you’re going to leave me then cut me loose, I want you to want me, like I want you. You… Like I want you, Like I want you.
The best performance of last night’s episode goes to Abi Carter, performing her version of “Welcome to the Black Parade.” Accompanied only by the piano, I heard the song in such a different way…melodic and heartbreaking in just the right way. It reminded me how much I like when singers completely change a song (ie. Phillip Phillips doing Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”)…
Another singer at the top of the group is Triston Harper. This was definitely his best, most commanding performance all season and I might be coming around to his talent. I’ve sort of thought he’s too country for his target audience (15 to 20 yr olds) and too young for country music fans but maybe I’m wrong. His original song was well-written and more like something you’d hear from someone who’s been touring for years. It was a thrill to watch this one!
And then there’s McKenna. Yikes, she’s good. Her delivery is so professional, her voice so pleasant.
As you know, the top 24 were whittled down to 20 last night. I don’t think it was surprising when we finally found out which 4 contestants are currently in front of the hotel as we speak, waiting for their Uber to the airport. It still ticks me off that Ziggy was left out, a fantastic singer who would’ve done well in the voting rounds. I’m going to keep bringing up this judges’ mistake, I guess. But the 4 who got cut were KBlocks, Elleigh Marie, Blake, and Hailey. Not terribly surprising although my prediction was slightly off. Grrrr!! I thought Roman would be a surprise elimination but I’m happy for him to make it to the next round.
Tonight, though, it’s a lot more difficult to guess who will be packing their bags to go home. I’ll start with my list of 12 who could be in danger. Then I’ll do my own whittling, thank you very much! Here are those 12…
Odell Bunton Jr. Jennifer Jeffries Jordan Anthony Nya KB Roman Collins Ajii Kayko Kennedy Reid Jayna Elise Mackenzie Sol Quintavious Johnson
To help sort out the list, I’ve grouped Quintavious, Roman, and Odell together. Similar gospel styles. Jordan and Mackenzie might be splitting votes, similar styles and both from outside the U.S. Jayna and Nya might also be similar, which means one will go home sooner or later. So here are the 6 who I believe will be eliminated… in bold.
Odell Bunton Jr. / Roman Collins / Quintavious Johnson Jennifer Jeffries Jordan Anthony / Mackenzie Sol Nya / Jayna Elise KB Ajii Kayko Kennedy Reid
Quintavious doesn’t have the gritty soul displayed by Roman and Odell. Jayna and Nya don’t stand out in a crowd. Jordan is a fine singer but Mackenzie has more to offer vocally and with his stage presence. KB, I’m sorry to say this but she cries too much. Kayko, judges love him but his vocals are kinda boring.
When I shop at Publix, there are definitely moments when I smile. Finding the vanilla almond milk, snatching up a BOGO deal, or seeing the cashiers at the front of the checkout asking if I’m ready. But 83.7% of the time I’m not smiling because I’m I’m busy searching for the things on my grocery list. It’s not that I’m unhappy or angry. It’s just that excessive amounts of smiling is generally relegated to horror movies, dentist commercials, and awkward first dates.
Check out one of Publix’s recent ads and let me know what you notice about the people in it…
I love Publix, but they really need to tone it down with the smiling, right? It’s creepy. I think it was Socrates who said…
Never trust anyone who: 1. adds cereal to their milk 2. can’t drive a stick shift 3. smiles all the time
Pubix, if you’re reading this… I love you. Your vegan sub sandwiches always make me happy. But I don’t smile between every bite. That’s not normal. Another example, I had the best day of triathlon training yesterday. In the morning I went for a long bike ride. The afternoon was spent doing an open water swim. One of the most satisfying and happiest experiences as a new triathlete. Ask me how many times I smiled.
I could also call this post “Who I Want in the Top 20” but I’ll try hard to not just put all my favorites through to the next round. As discussed in previous posts (like this one), there have been great performances this season already. In spite of the judges making the goofy decision to keep Alyssa Raghu instead of her “friend” Julia Davo, who could have been a perfectly quirky addition to the top 24, Alyssa is already gone and along with her a few others who definitely should’ve have had a chance to sing for America’s vote. But alas, the judges do what they want and I’m sure they have their reasons. The top 24 performed last weekend and this weekend (Sunday and Monday night) we’ll all find out together who got enough votes to stick around. Here are the current contestants:
Abi Carter Triston Harper Odell Bunton Jr. Hailey Mia Jennifer Jeffries Jordan Anthony Nya Blake Proehl KB Jack Blocker Roman Collins Mia Matthews McKenna Breinholt Emmy Russell Will Moseley Ajii Kayko Kennedy Reid Elleigh Marie KBlocks Jayna Elise Julia Gagnon Mackenzie Sol Quintavious Johnson
BUT WHO GETS ELIMINATED?
A solid list of entertainers there, don’t you think? But 4 will be sent home in the next two episodes. If I get these right you owe me a 7-11 slushy! Besides one who is clearly out of his or her league, it’s already a difficult thing to send any of these performers home. But rules are rules. Here are my guesses for elimination…
Blake – Seems like a really great guy but there’s too much for him to be taught (last episode he didn’t know how to raise the mic stand) and he’s already severely outmatched vocally.
KBlocks – Quirky, yes. But her fashion does her no favors and her singing voice is not pleasant enough for a large scale career.
Elleigh Marie – Who?
Roman – This will be the biggest surprise elimination. He’s got a soulful voice and he’s an entertainer, but his goofball fans didn’t vote enough!
Out of the Wilderness 