Idol Chatter & Voice Views

If you stayed up late after the Oscars to watch the special audition episode of American Idol, you’re probably wondering why.

It was an absolutely dismal show — not in terms of talent — but in terms of presentation.

Idol cut the episode to one hour. They trimmed the introductions to the contestants.

They cut up the performance by Sage and Ava Maybee so much, I couldn’t really appreciate them.

But they seemed to keep all the commercials they’d cram into a two-hour episode.

I’m sure the featured contestants appreciated the fact that they didn’t entirely wind up on the cuttin room floor.

But I’m sure hoping tonight’s Hollywood episode does a better job of showcasing Idol’s Season 20 talent without making us watch 20 commercials per performance.

Here are my picks for the show’s Top 3 performances.

1. Yoli Mayor, 26, Miami, Fla.: She auditioned with an original called “Beautiful Broken Things,” delivering an emotional and soulful performance. Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie showed her with compliments, but Katy Perry voted against advancing her to Hollywood. No idea what she was listening to. Yoli deserved that golden ticket.

2. Scarlet Ayliz, 18, Hartford, Con.: She also auditioned with an original called “Bleeding.” Luke Bryan says she has a super, super commercial sounding voice. And he’s correct. If she wrote the song, she’s a pretty good songwriter too. Scarlet got a golden ticket last year, but said she dropped out of the competition because she needed to focus on her studies.

3. Brooks Kidd, 19, London, Ken.: He’s struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts, partly the result of bullying when he was overweight. He says music “is the reason I’m alive and the reason I live.” He delivered a heartfelt version of “Mad World.” The judges sent him to Hollywood unanimously.

Also earning golden tickets were Katyrah Love, Danielle Clavell, Sage McNeely, Maurice and Ava Maybee.