Sunday on American Idol, the top 10 sang songs from the years they were respectively born, and then two went home after 21 million real-time nationwide votes were cast. Two of the weakest contestants, in my opinion, were country songbirds Emmy Russell and Mia Matthews. But I suspected that on a night when Shania Twain was the guest mentor, two female country singers would not go home at once.
However, as host Ryan Seacrest read off the results and the final three standing were Mia, Emmy, and pop-rocker Kayko, it was unfathomable that Kayko would not advance. While there hasn't been an obvious frontrunner this season (Luke Bryan even mentioned that the votes so far have been "neck-and-neck"), if I had made a finale prediction this week, I would've given it to Kayko.
And apparently, the judges agreed with me. "You keep foolin' around, my friend, and I tell you, you're gonna win this thing," Lionel Richie told Kayko Sunday. "Sometimes the turtles do win," added Katy Perry, marveling at how far Kayko had made it when he'd never intended to audition for Idol in the first place. Once it came down to Mia, Emmy, and Kayko, and Ryan announced that there was only room for one more contestant, the studio audience was loudly shouting Kayko's name.
And then... Kayko went home. How did this happen?
Let's review Mia and Emmy's performances first. Mia, a self-described Shania superfan, picked Shania's own "No One Needs to Know" before she knew who this week's guest mentor was. It's unclear why this 19-year-old was singing a song that came out in 1996 (it was a bit of a cheat to do a track that was included on a 2004 greatest-hits compilation), but regardless, she was clearly spooked once she had to sing it right in front of Shania during rehearsal. Shania kept pushing Mia to sing the song higher, assuring her she could handle it. But Shania was wrong. Mia could not handle it. She psyched herself out, looking terrified and lost from the moment she got onstage, and eventually messed up the lyrics. The frustration and defeat was all over her face. Luke praised Mia's "commercial-bility" and "Kelsea Ballerini vibes" and blithely forgave Mia for "forgetting the words of couple of times," while Katy and Lionel were actually angry that Luke had pointed out Mia's mistake (as if it hadn't been obvious). Only Lionel was mildly critical, telling Mia he could see she was "thinking" during her performance and admitting that there were "some awkward moments." (Simon Cowell would not have been this lenient if he were still on the panel.)
Emmy, a shy country crooner and the granddaughter of Loretta Lynn, had a terrible week last week covering Selena Gomez, and when she made it through anyway, beating out two Black singers who were undeniably in better form that night, there was outrage all over social media. Emmy only excels when she does her own material, so it's too bad she wasn't some infant prodigy who wrote a song during her first year of life that would qualify for this week's theme. In all seriousness, though, this week's outside-the-box cover of Blink-182's "All the Small Things" worked better than I'd expected, with the yodeling Emmy transforming the jokey pop/punk TRL classic into something plaintive and pretty. If she recorded it, it'd probably be a hit. But Emmy's growth has been so much slower than anyone else in the top 10, and I just don't think she can catch up in time to become Idol champion material.
And then, there was Kayko. After last week's rock-star tour de force that closed the top 12 show in a blur of pyro and guyliner, he planned to really go for it this week with an admittedly "weird as heck," "sink-or-swim" remake of "'Oops!... I Did It Again' in the style of 'Bohemian Rhapsody.'" It would have either been totally epic or just an epic fail, and I don't know if it would've ultimately made any difference in tonight's results if he'd stuck with that wacky original plan. But I am sure it would have been great TV. Anyway, he changed his song at the last minute after a skeptical Shania expressed her doubts, instead going with an alt-rock hit that's been having a meme moment on TikTok as of late, Wheatus's "Teenage Dirtbag." And in my opinion, he still rocked it. I loved everything about this — the Huxtable sweater, the casual lean against the piano graffiti-spraypainted with his name, the air-punching, everything. This performance felt current and cool. Shania even chimed in via FaceTime to approve, telling Kayko, "You are a rock star!"
I'm completely shocked that this rock star didn't rock his way into the top eight after this, but he seemed way less upset about his premature elimination than I was, screaming and jumping for joy as he congratulated Emmy. Since Idol was never Kayko's dream anyway (he "accidentally" made it onto the show after accompanying his friend to her audition), I'm sure he has greater things in store. He has already written 494 songs, after all! That means there likely won't be room for any covers on his future albums, but I'd be delighted if one of his future bonus tracks was "'Oops!...I Did It Again' in the style of 'Bohemian Rhapsody.'" Just sayin'.
So, now we have our top eight who will return for Monday's Judges' Song Contest, after which, there will be a top six. But before all that, let's look at the rest of Sunday's successful singers.
Jack Blocker, "Believe"
Another Idol outlier, Adam Lambert, had a big moment when he covered this Cher smash on Idol and later at the Kennedy Center Honors. Suffice to say, Jack's interpretation was very different — and awesome in its own way. I actually wonder if it was inspired by the version by another reality TV icon, RuPaul's Drag Race star and Americana recording artist Trixie Mattel. "It's totally outside of the wheelhouse of what I usually like to sing... but I got excited about the challenge," Jack explained, and Shania told him, "It's so much more of a story when you do it, so I really applaud you for that." This was a risk that, like Emmy's and unlike Kayko's, paid off (like most of Jack's risks). Lionel said, "You are Mr. Magic Man. ... You have managed to carve out a sound — your sound." With Kayko (and before him, Jennifer Jeffries and KBlocks) now sadly out of the running, I hope I am not cursing Jack by declaring him my new Season 22 favorite.
McKenna Faith Breinholt, "Iris"
After a strong start to this season and even getting compared to Joni Mitchell by Lionel, McKenna has battled some sort of illness in recent weeks. She even had to sit out last week's in-person mentoring sessions with Gene Simmons and Meghan Trainor. To her credit, and as a testament to her raw talent, McKenna been a trooper and a total pro. But this week, especially in the low parts of this Goo Goo Dolls ballad, she sounded like she was far from over her cold. However, she made it work, because even a sick McKenna performance is a sick one. "You are queen of smoky voice. ... I love how you navigate that hoarseness," Lionel said. Katy called the performance "magic," and this week, Luke compared McKenna to Miley Cyrus. McKenna isn't going anywhere any time soon, especially if the vociferous fan representation in Sunday's studio audience is any indication. But there's no telling how far she can go once she's back to full strength.
Triston Harper, "She's Country"
Shania, who like Triston had a hardscrabble, poverty-stricken childhood, seemed to really bond with 15-going-on-50 country singer, and I think that boosted his confidence. I would not have expected a barnstormin', Stagecoach-headliner party anthem like this to work for Triston, especially after last week's performance was so wooden and stiff, but it worked! "That was a big, big star performance. You incorporated the notes from last week. Thank you for being a student of this game," Katy told Triston. Lionel praised that "Triston strut," and then Luke and Triston competed against each other in some sort of impromptu gyrating contest that I can't unsee. I don't know who won that round, but Triston was one of the overall winners of this night.
Abi Carter, "Clocks"
Last week, Luke advised Abi to step away from the comfort zone of her piano, so it was interesting that she chose to do so while covering a song with one of the most recognizable circular piano riffs of the last two decades. I am still processing how I feel about this artistic departure. On the positive side, I applaud Abi for taking a risk, and there were Alanis-esque moments here when she stomped the stage in her leather boots and gave herself fully and freely to her hair- and freak-flag-flying performance. But there was just something that felt a bit try-hard and inauthentic to me. Abi is not a rocker at heart; she just plays one on TV. This experiment didn't quite work, and even though Lionel thought Abi was "on fire" and Katy actually admitted that Luke's advice had been correct. I'd personally like to see Abi back on the piano bench next week.
Julia Gagnon, "Here I Am"
Julia has a deep childhood connection to this Bryan Adams tune, but I still think it was a dreadful and puzzling choice. It's not one of Bryan's more iconic cuts (which obviously weren't options, since, well, Julia wasn't born in the '80s), and it was a just a bland, meh, midtempo pick. Julia did what she could with it, heeding Shania's instructions to show more dynamics (cautionary advice she has received from the judges and mentors all season long), and Katy even compared Julia to original Idol Kelly Clarkson. But there was only so much dynamism that Julia could bring to this number. It's a testament to her pure vocal talent that she rose above the material and survived.
Will Moseley, "Modern Day Bonnie & Clyde"
Season 10 winner Scotty McCreery, who performed on American Idol tonight, just became a member of the Grand Ole Opry — and I could see Will, who Katy affectionately nicknamed "Big Mo," receiving that honor one day. He's such a natural, it's impossible to believe that he's only been doing this for four years and has only really focused on music professionally for less than a year. "Perfect song, perfect performance, and that big note at the end was probably the best thing I've heard you do all season," Luke told Big Mo.
Kaibrienne, "Here Without You"
KB dedicated 3 Doors Down's heartland-rock power ballad to a friend who recently died unexpectedly, and it was a smart choice — tapping into all that raw emotion that she brings to her best performances ("Kaibrienne wears her emotions on her sleeve in a really beautiful way," Shania observed), bringing out her signature gravel and grit, and showcasing her rocker side that seems to resonate with Idol's core demographic. She did her friend proud tonight. "You have a cry that I could listen to all night long," Lionel said, no pun intended, while Katy told KB, "You really have a pot of gold in your voice."
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