As we head into American Idol 2016 Top 8 Week (yes, there will be a double elimination this week), it’s time to take a look at who is standing out the most and who we can expect to be moving on after eliminations.
After last week’s judging, which included American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson, we have a pretty good idea how the judges feel about the contestants, but as we know, their job is mostly done, considering their influence on voting is minimal. So we’ll be looking at a lot of factors here to decide the Power Rankings list. So let’s get to it.
American Idol 2016 Top 10 Power Rankings
1. La’Porsha Renae. She has a number of things going for her this week. She was one of the judges’ four picks for the Top 10, Kelly Clarkson told her she was going to win American Idol and fans love her. How much do fans love her? She came in second in our performances poll, garnering 22.5 percent of the vote and has right around 15,000 twitter followers. But watch out, La’Porsha, because fans are trying to push our No. 2 spot into No. 1.
2. Trent Harmon. Like I just said, fans are all ready to push Trent into the top spot, despite what judges thought last week. Not only is he also, one of the judges’ four picks, he also had a strong showing last week on stage and in our poll. He is actually in the No. 1 spot with a whopping 29.8 percent of the vote. And over on Twitter, he’s at 15.3K followers. I have a feeling this season’s big battle won’t be between Trent and La’Porsha, however, but between Trent and Dalton, who comes in at No. 3.
3. Dalton Rapattoni. Dalton has a lot of fan power behind him, which we know is what really matters, but if we’re looking at all the factors, he’s not as good a performer as Trent and La’Porsha. He was included in the judges’ Top 10 picks, which helps him here as well. But the biggest thing to note about Dalton is the fact that he has over 115,000 Twitter followers and he gets a lot of favorites and retweets, so that means that while some of those followers are surely purchased and spam, the dude has a lot of fans. Not all of those fans are here with us, however, because while he did finish third in our poll, he only got 13.23 percent of the vote.
4. MacKenzie Bourg. MacKenzie wasn’t among the four contestants the judges picked, but he comes with a built-in fanbase from his time on The Voice, so he gets boosted a bit. And of course, his performances are always very solid and polished, so he’s doing well all around. He came in 6th in our poll, but with 110,000 Twitter followers, he’s got more support than some of the others.
5. Lee Jean. I think a lot of people are recognizing how talented Lee is despite his iffy stage presence. I don’t know how much he has in him this season, but right now he’s ranking right in the middle of our formula. As I said, he’s very talented and his performances speak for themselves. And he has developed a decent following. On Twitter he’s at 16,500 followers and in our poll he came in fifth.
6. Sonika Vaid. I wish I could rank Sonika higher since she’s one of my favorites this season, but she’s not quite registering with fans yet. She did come in fourth in our poll, but that’s only 11 percent of the vote. And on Twitter she’s pretty low with 9,449 followers, so it’s probably safe to say the majority of her voters aren’t on Twitter. I think she has it in her to shoot up in the rankings if she sings the right song this week.
7. Tristan McIntosh. Something about Tristan seems to be registering with fans. She’s at 20,000 Twitter followers and came in 7th in our poll. That’s not a great showing in our poll, but our poll is very trustworthy, and that ranking would mean she’s probably safe this week. I’m not a fan of her performances, but she does have a good look and some star power to consider.
8. Olivia Rox. Olivia was one of the four contestants the judges picked, so she’s still got that going for her, but she really flopped in our poll, coming in 8th place. And in this poll, 7-10 are all really close, so anything can happen. When you factor in that Olivia only has 9,221 Twitter followers, it becomes clear the public isn’t seeing what the judges saw. And that’s a shame, because Olivia really is a great performer.
9. Avalon Young. Avalon has been pretty hit and miss, but I think it’s safe to say her days are numbered. If she doesn’t go this week, she’ll go soon. She ranks 9th in our poll and even though she has 16,000 Twitter followers, I don’t think she has enough of a fanbase to keep her going very long.
10. Gianna Isabella. I can finally say I don’t think I’m alone when it comes to my distaste for Gianna. Actually, distaste is kind of a harsh word. It’s more like I’m neither here nor there on her. But since she comes in last in our poll and has the lowest Twitter following, she ranks last in our rankings. Did her once-famous mother get her the votes she needs to stay? I don’t think so. Only Idol producers seem to care about her mom.