Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The American Idol Season 19 cast of Ryan Seacrest, Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan with winner Chayce Beckham. (ABC Photo)

American Idol has ended with Chayce Beckham as the Season 19 champ.

The Voice has ended with Cam Anthony as the show’s Season 20 champ.

So it’s time to grade the spring 2021 version of those singing shows.

And, please note, the quality of the cast is only a small part of these grades.

AMERICAN IDOL

The Good

* A talented cast. The judges called it the show’s best ever, as they’re prone to do. But it was a solid cast, and embarrassingly deep when it came to talented young female artists. Remember Alex Miller, Emi Sunshine, Nia Renee and Laila Mach? All 17 or younger, they failed to make the Top 24! And I can’t wait to hear more from Alanis Sophia, Mary Jo Young and Ave August. Note: I have named a Top 10 contestant yet.

* A superior format: On Idol, if you haven’t developed a favorite long before the finale, it wasn’t because you hadn’t heard the contestants sing often enough. Beginning the week of April 4-5, the top singers on Idol performed every week, often more than once per week. The finalists performed 18 times altogether, offering contestants plenty of chances to flash their versatility and take a risk here and there.

* Original songs: Idol judges make clear they’re not just looking for a fine singer, they’re looking for “the total package.” And producers wisely decided a few years back that total package included original music. We were treated to lots of great originals over the course of Season 19. In fact, one of those great originals, Chayce Beckham’s “23” has been sitting at the top of the Apple Music country songs chart for more than a week.

* A celebratory finale: The stars showed up for the American Idol finale. But each time they took the stage, they were accompanied by at least one member of the Season 19 cast. Yep, some of the duets seemed a little rough. But the night had a celebratory mood. And it included touching video clips of the Top 3 enjoying returns to their hometowns. What’s more, Ryan Seacrest announced the winner early enough that fans got to hear Chayce sing his winner’s single again.

The Bad

* The defections: Benson Boone was supposed to make the girls swoon. He swooned right out of the competition. For personal reasons. Wyatt Pike disappeared in the middle of Top 16 Week. For personal reasons. That apparently had little to do with music since he immediately began releasing material. Then Caleb Kennedy got booted from the Top 5 because of a controversial video filmed when he was 12. Has Idol ever lost so many top artists in a season before?

* Semifinals sloppiness: Did anyone tell Laine Hardy why he was being invited on stage during the semifinal show? Because he seemed clueless that he was there to promote his new single. Else he’s not a very good self-promoter. Speaking of which, why didn’t we hear him perform? And Michael Woodyard too? Idol is usually better at supporting past contestants than that. And why did Idol feel the need to meld performances of those original singles with reprise songs that night. Just let me hear a full version of the originals, please. It was a night when Idol could have and should have done much better.

* The comeback twist: After proclaiming the Season 19 cast one of its most talented ever, producers decided to rob one of those contestants a spot in the Top 10. After all, the pandemic robbed the Season 18 cast of the chance to perform on Idol’s big stage. So 10 Season 18 cast members — including runner-up Arthur Gunn — were invited back. The top vote-getter would join the Top 10, bypassing the months of preparation members of the Season 19 cast had put in. How did that work out? Fans were pissed. Season 19 cast members probably were too; they just couldn’t say so. Arthur won the spot. But the twist turned the Season 18 runner-up into a Top 7 finisher in Season 19. And then Arthur refused to show up for his duet with Sheryl Crow in the season finale. That’s called karma, American Idol.

GRADE: C+

The Voice Season 20 cast of Nick Jonas, Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton, Carson Daly and John Legend. (NBC Photo)

THE VOICE

The Good

* The cast: Even after 20 seasons in just 10 years — that’s more than 900 contestants, The Voice casting department delivered what turned out to be a talented and intriguing Top 5. And I’ll also be quite eager to hear post-show music from Savanna Woods, Ryleigh Modig, Gihanna Zoe and Corey Ward, among others. But let’s not kid ourselves. The Voice cast isn’t nearly as deep as it was in the show’s heyday. It’s now older too.

The Bad

* The format: The Voice stretched the pre-taped blind auditions, battle rounds and knockouts from March 1 through the end of April. That meant over the course of two months, viewers got to see the show’s top contestants perform just three times. And one of those was a duet. That’s no way to get viewers attached to a new season of contestants. And nearly everything that followed pointed out a flaw in the show’s format and philosophy.

* The battle round: Rachel Mac and Bradley Sinclair received a standing ovation from the judges after a stirring performance of Elton John’s “Your Song.” The coaches seemed to agree it was the best battle round match of the season. But Bradley was eliminated. Because by the time they performed, all the Season 19 saves and steals had already been doled out. It’s a battle round and knockout round format flaw that’s existed for years The Voice refuses to fix. I mean, isn’t this simple? Shouldn’t coaches be forced to listen to everyone before deciding who they want to save or steal?

* The instant save: On Top 9 results night, five singers sang for an instant save and the last spot in the Season 20 finale. Producers gave the pimp spot to Gihanna Zoe, an indication that they expected her to deliver the best performance. She delivered. Problem was, producers forgot that she’s from California and the instant save occurs on East Coast time. That’s why West Coast almost never win an instant save. Again, The Voice knows this, has for years, but continues to use the instant save.

* The clip show: Even in a 10-year anniversary clip show, producers managed to demonstrate their thoughtlessness when it comes to the show’s contestants. They managed to find a full edited clip of Loren Allred’s unaired Season 3 audition. Let me remind you that this is the same show that continues to montage contestants each season. But that can’t be bothered to do something as simple as putting a full version of those montaged performances online. If they could do it on this occasion for a performance from 2012, I dare producers to explain why they can’t do it for every montaged performance from this point forward.

* That finale: Ugh! Fourteen performances. Just six involved Season 20 contestants. No non-finalists performed. No former contestants performed. In spite of this being the show’s 10th anniversary. In spite of the fact that Season 3 champ Cassadee Pope has a great new single out. In spite of the fact that Season 14 champ Brynn Cartelli does too and is about to release her debut EP. Nope, The Voice would prefer to let singers who have already made it pimp their new music. Or give guest spots to mentors and former coaches. The finale performance lineups screams volumes about the show’s ill-advised priorities. And, as has become Voice tradition, the trophy was shoved into the winner’s hands as the credits rolled, not even allowing time for a final song from Cam.

* The format II: Blake Shelton predicts new winner Cam Anthony will become the first superstar The Voice launches. A little reminder: Cam got to perform just seven times over the three months the show aired. That’s thanks to The Voice’s streamlined format, one that includes just three live shows. His highest charting song hit number 41 on the Apple Music Top 200. Hmm, let’s see. Over on Idol, Chayce Beckham performed 18 times. And hit number one on the same chart with a self-penned original. Given the choice, I know which launching pad I’d prefer. And it ain’t The Voice.

GRADE: F