Last night on American Idol 2018, the judges cut the Top 50 down to the Top 24 following the Showcase Round.
We saw some surprising eliminations and some new standouts emerge. But did the judges make the right decisions? That’s a question we ask every season, and of course the answer is subjective, but we have some opinions on the matter as do many of you.
Immediately following last night’s episode, we saw our social media light up with angry posts over a some of the eliminations. Two in particular kept coming up: Laine Hardy and Thaddeus Johnson. And we hear you. And we completely agree.
Laine has been one my favorites thorough the process so far, and I was surprised he didn’t make it. I’m not sure why they thought it had to be Laine or Garrett. Why couldn’t it have been both of them?
Another fan favorite elimination that we disagree with is Maddie Zahm. She would have been such a refreshing contestant to root for. She has such a great soul and her talent is above many of the other girls who made it through.
Trevor Holmes is another that a lot of people are up in arms over. His audition videos on YouTube had some of the highest hits out of any of the contestants. Of course these cuts were made before the judges and producers knew how America would react to any of the contestants. But since they knew Trevor wasn’t making the cut, why didn’t they edit the episodes differently? Why force someone into almost every episode, giving them all that exposure and storyline and then cut them? There are other ways to achieve dramatic TV results.
And speaking of ignoring what America wants, they cut Britney Holmes, who was literally chosen by America to be added to the Hollywood Week roster. For a show hoping to rebuild its fanbase, they aren’t doing the best job at making those viewers happy.
A few other contestants that we would have loved to see make it through to the Top 24 were Lee Vasi, Harper Grace and Noah Davis.
It’s clear that a lot of people were cut because there was one other person too similar, but who cares about that? Pick the best singers and then let America decide. America is just going to vote for the favorite white dude with a guitar like they always have anyway.
What do you think of the American Idol Top 24? Did the judges make the right decisions? Who do you think should have made it?