American Idol 2020 surprised the contestants on Sunday night with the news that the dreaded group rounds were a thing of the past! Instead, they would be breaking off into pairs to perform duets.
The judges were thrilled with this new Hollywood Week format, and viewers probably would have loved it too, but instead of full performances, we got little snippets and a bunch of talking head inserts from the judges. That was just some really lame editing, and made it impossible for us to recap. Of course, that’s a lot like how the group rounds were, so I guess this new format didn’t help us bloggers out at all!
So the best we can do for tonight’s recap is let you know some of the names of those who made it through to the solo performances, and some of those who didn’t.
Moving On
- Louis Knight
- Francisco Martin
- Franklin Boone
- Lauren Mascitti
- Cameron Havens
- Grace Leer
- Jimmy Levy
- Nick Merico
- Olivia Ximines
- Isa Pena
- Peyton Aldridge
- Madison Paige
- YZthasinger
- Aliana Jester
- Faith Becnel
- Jovin Webb
- Landen Starkman
- Perrin York
- Genavieve Linkowski
- Travis Findlay
- Jeb Vonder Bruegge
- Jonny West
- Margie Mays
- Makayla Phillips
- Cyniah Elise
- Elyjuh Rene
- Kimmy Gabriela
- Evan Kuriga
- Dillon James
- Lauren Spencer
- Makayla Brownlee
- Robert Taylor
- Just Sam
- Sheniel Maisonet
Eliminated
- Jordan Moyes
- Leon Majcen
- Ren Patrick
- Hannah Prestridge
- Zack Dobbins
- Courtney Timmons
- Alyssa Fair
- Tito Rey
As you can see from all the names of contestants who made it through, the judges were a lot more forgiving in the duets than they were in groups. I think that’s because they could actually hear both singers, and each person got to really show what they’re made of. Group rounds were always a little bit unfair because people were put with people who they had nothing in common and so often, people were left out to dry and send packing because of the groups they landed it. That definitely eliminated some of that tonight. Though, not in all cases. Like for Zack Dobbins and Courtney Timmons. Those two never should have been paired together, and for all the pushing Courtney did to perform that Ariana Grande song, even she flopped on it. It wasn’t the right song for either of them.
What did you think of the new American Idol 2020 duet round? Who do you think are the standouts so far? Who did you not want to see eliminated already?