Which round is most important in determining a season's frontrunners/winners?

[TeamAudra]

I would honestly say blinds. I don't think knockouts are as important as people are making them seem. At least not for winners. Front runners maybe. I just don't think you can bomb in the knockouts and then go on to do well. Your performance just has to be passable.

 

Chloe is the only winner who I would argue won with their knockout. Majority had it from the blinds I think. The knockouts can help establish other front runners though.

 

We can often look back on their journey and see an inflection point sometime after the blind audition, or if we’re paying close attention, we can see it in real time. Chloe’s KO was just the most obvious one, but I don’t think she had it wrapped up until the top 11 performance.

Edited December 14, 2019 by TeamAudra

[echoap]

We can often look back on their journey and see an inflection point sometime after the blind audition, or if we’re paying close attention, we can see it in real time. Chloe’s KO was just the most obvious one, but I don’t think she had it wrapped up until the top 11 performance.

Yes. Chloe’s KO provided her visibility. Her top 11 performance gave her frontrunner status.

[season1]

The result might be the same. Still not convinced Katie's running away with it. They might be tied for all we know.

 

Ricky's the only TB finalists I ever stanned (I preferred Addison over Chloe, and Amanda/Melanie over Cass.) But until top 8, he mostly had non competition-friendly songs--imo anyway--and only really showed his talent as a guitarist starting in the top 10. Which makes me wonder if Blake didn't originally bet on Kat who ended up not catching on with casuals, even though she had very vocal online fans.

 

Nah, it's always been Ricky for Team Blake's #1. Blake always mentioned that Ricky is his only 4 chair turn, and he's been Blake's bet since he picked Blake unexpectedly. Kat is Blake's sentimental favorite and the only one with a Team Balke waders.

 

The casuals would have loved Kat if she was given great songs, play the piano at least once (her pre-lives on the piano were great) and performed in a favorable slot.

 

In the past, Blake could have helped both go to the Finale (songs, performance slots), but I suspect since he had 3 finalists last season, they don't want more than 1 TB finalist this season. (Maybe it's also Blake's plan to minimize vote splitting.) So Kat had to be "weakened" through songs and performance slots (and no more piano) to make sure she does not reach the finale.

 

I hope Blake follows through with his promise to help Kat post-show. :sorcerer:

 

EDIT:

Blake's speech to Kat after her instant save performance somewhat confirmed that Blake does not want Kat in the finale. He gave her the goodbye speech on Monday, and a similar speech after instant save, and Blake didn't ask people to save Kat.

Edited December 15, 2019 by season1

[Rodney]

From that point, TPTB just accepted it, and worked to try to line up finale spots for the other coaches’ TCOs, which proved to be challenging.

Well, one coach made it challenging, and then impossible. . . .

[QueenMae16]

Well, one coach made it challenging, and then impossible. . . .

 

Ah... the good old ROBE fiasco

 

Now THAT was good TV, we need more moments like that.

Edited December 15, 2019 by QueenMae16

[+Naira]

Blake's speech to Kat after her instant save performance somewhat confirmed that Blake does not want Kat in the finale. He gave her the goodbye speech on Monday, and a similar speech after instant save, and Blake didn't ask people to save Kat.

Don't forget Rose was competing for the IS as well. It's not hard to imagine Blake wanted Gwen to have a finalist. Maybe he didn't want to sleep on the couch either. :flowers:

[QueenMae16]

I'm honestly pissed Kat was sidelined and I noticed Blake's enthusiasm for Ricky was meh. Kat was obviously bae, but TPTB had a word with him to not seem excited for her as for Ricky.

 

Its obvious they want all coaches in the finals as much as possible, but Kat didn't deserve to get thrown under the bus while someone who isn't even better than her gets pimp treatment.

 

 

[Someone648]

I have a genuine question for people who think Kat got robbed/unfairly treated/etc:

 

During what round did it appear that Kat performed in a manner that warranted her being treated "better" than Ricky. I agree, Blake demonstrated much more enthusiasm when talking about Kat than with Ricky (although I don't think he at all downplayed his love for Ricky), so that definitely bolstered her votes. Each week though, Ricky performed better than Kat and thus, the producers gave him better slots than many other contestants. I think besides the Shania song as a potential bus (just because it was so risky), Kat's failure to get into the finale is a combination of her competing on a tough season, and simply never really giving a performance that stood out or warranted her being given one of the slots in the second hour by the producers.

 

She never hit the bottom once, so I don't think any song choice or performance slot at all counted as throwing her under the bus. The producers simply saw no reason to give her a more memorable placement because she didn't stand out or earn the better placement. At least that's what I see from her situation.

 

I know this comes from someone who's stated that they're not a Kat fan, so I'll say this: I don't think a single one of Kat's performances was awful or anything. My position on Kat is that she never did anything to elevate her performances or do anything special. She gave solid, boring 7's throughout her run, while Ricky consistently gave solid 8's and 9's that showed skill, range, and were simply more interesting.

[Rodney]

I have a genuine question for people who think Kat got robbed/unfairly treated/etc:

 

During what round did it appear that Kat performed in a manner that warranted her being treated "better" than Ricky. I agree, Blake demonstrated much more enthusiasm when talking about Kat than with Ricky (although I don't think he at all downplayed his love for Ricky), so that definitely bolstered her votes.

I'd say her Knockout was the only round in which Kat performed better than Ricky (at least IMO). Though if I want to be generous, then I'd say maybe her Top 13 performance, as well, was better than his. Other than that, Ricky all but mopped the floor with her.

 

 

Granted, I was no fan of hers, either. But I did like those two performances better than Ricky's in those rounds.

[ATX29]

I have a genuine question for people who think Kat got robbed/unfairly treated/etc:

 

During what round did it appear that Kat performed in a manner that warranted her being treated "better" than Ricky. I agree, Blake demonstrated much more enthusiasm when talking about Kat than with Ricky (although I don't think he at all downplayed his love for Ricky), so that definitely bolstered her votes. Each week though, Ricky performed better than Kat and thus, the producers gave him better slots than many other contestants. I think besides the Shania song as a potential bus (just because it was so risky), Kat's failure to get into the finale is a combination of her competing on a tough season, and simply never really giving a performance that stood out or warranted her being given one of the slots in the second hour by the producers.

 

She never hit the bottom once, so I don't think any song choice or performance slot at all counted as throwing her under the bus. The producers simply saw no reason to give her a more memorable placement because she didn't stand out or earn the better placement. At least that's what I see from her situation.

 

I know this comes from someone who's stated that they're not a Kat fan, so I'll say this: I don't think a single one of Kat's performances was awful or anything. My position on Kat is that she never did anything to elevate her performances or do anything special. She gave solid, boring 7's throughout her run, while Ricky consistently gave solid 8's and 9's that showed skill, range, and were simply more interesting.

 

As someone who started as Kat fan and gradually morphed into a Ricky fan I would say this is spot on.

[joe14]

I have a genuine question for people who think Kat got robbed/unfairly treated/etc:

 

During what round did it appear that Kat performed in a manner that warranted her being treated "better" than Ricky. I agree, Blake demonstrated much more enthusiasm when talking about Kat than with Ricky (although I don't think he at all downplayed his love for Ricky), so that definitely bolstered her votes. Each week though, Ricky performed better than Kat and thus, the producers gave him better slots than many other contestants. I think besides the Shania song as a potential bus (just because it was so risky), Kat's failure to get into the finale is a combination of her competing on a tough season, and simply never really giving a performance that stood out or warranted her being given one of the slots in the second hour by the producers.

This is why I can never muster up any feelings for her supposed treatment on the show. She failed to convince me that she deserved anything more than what the producers gave her. She was just so below average the entire time. I don't think they actively bussed her. They just kinda did nothing with her every week. They kinda let her hang herself basically. Same with Marybeth. I think they started off pimping Marybeth but quickly dropped her when she wasn't meeting expectations. I feel like people use the word bus to loosely. Kyla (season 14 finale) is one of the only clear example of a successful bus to me. I have never really been angry about treatment on the show. This is probably because I've accepted winning doesn't really lead to this great career tbh. I was more invested during earlier seasons of idol.

Edited December 16, 2019 by joe14

[holinessss]

Don't forget Rose was competing for the IS as well. It's not hard to imagine Blake wanted Gwen to have a finalist. Maybe he didn't want to sleep on the couch either. :flowers:

nothing blake could have done/said/danced/pointed would have made a difference...lliterally - maybe bump down rose's total votes from 51% to 50% lol

 

I have a genuine question for people who think Kat got robbed/unfairly treated/etc:

 

During what round did it appear that Kat performed in a manner that warranted her being treated "better" than Ricky. I agree, Blake demonstrated much more enthusiasm when talking about Kat than with Ricky (although I don't think he at all downplayed his love for Ricky), so that definitely bolstered her votes. Each week though, Ricky performed better than Kat and thus, the producers gave him better slots than many other contestants. I think besides the Shania song as a potential bus (just because it was so risky), Kat's failure to get into the finale is a combination of her competing on a tough season, and simply never really giving a performance that stood out or warranted her being given one of the slots in the second hour by the producers.

 

She never hit the bottom once, so I don't think any song choice or performance slot at all counted as throwing her under the bus. The producers simply saw no reason to give her a more memorable placement because she didn't stand out or earn the better placement. At least that's what I see from her situation.

 

I know this comes from someone who's stated that they're not a Kat fan, so I'll say this: I don't think a single one of Kat's performances was awful or anything. My position on Kat is that she never did anything to elevate her performances or do anything special. She gave solid, boring 7's throughout her run, while Ricky consistently gave solid 8's and 9's that showed skill, range, and were simply more interesting.

stopppp, they're not ready for this conversation!!

 

[+Naira]

nothing blake could have done/said/danced/pointed would have made a difference...lliterally - maybe bump down rose's total votes from 51% to 50% lol

Kat had zero chance, and Blake knew it. That's why it was totally useless for him to piss off Gwen on top of it lol.

 

[echoap]

Bump.

 

I'm guessing all our theories are correct, but like Djsoke said, the same rules don't apply to WGWG.

[ATX29]

Imo Jake's best performance was his KO. The same can arguably said for Chloe, Brynn, and Chevel. If you count Maelyn's cross battle as a KO, then Mad World is certainly up there with her best.

 

Knockouts def seem like at least a launching spot for the winner's run lately.

[Rodney]

Knockouts def seem like at least a launching spot for the winner's run lately.

Ah, but season six didn't have a Knockout round. They just had two Battle rounds. So where did Josh possibly take off?

[ATX29]

Ah, but season six didn't have a Knockout round. They just had two Battle rounds. So where did Josh possibly take off?

 

I don't know her.

[QueenMae16]

I don't know her.

 

LMAO!

[xfactor22]

Heres my take. The most important rounds are auditions, playoffs, and live shows. Auditions because, with a strong enough audition you easily garner enough of a fan base to take you far if the coaches advance you to the lives(ex. Chris Blue, Jordan Smith, Sawyer Fredericks (from what I heard.) Playoffs because you’re trying to be the best of your team , and if you don’t get voted in by the America public, your fate in the top 13 is in the coaches’ hands. The other live shows are important because their America actually gets to vote , and it’s also whe. TPTB manipulation becomes evident. If TPTB isn’t on your side, you better hope America is. If you’re genre or tone isn’t America’s preference, you need to deliver every week to get America on your side. Even if your a front runner and your genre isn’t America’s preferred genre, you need the right combo of song choice, performance slot, and performance to secure a spot in the finale.

[HelenaHandbasket]

The most important rounds are auditions, playoffs,

I agree with this.

Blinds are where the hype train begins for most front runners.

The (Live) Playoffs are where we separate the real talents from those that depend on production to sound decent.

[TeamAudra]

Since they’re headed into the KO round, I thought I’d bump this, for those who missed it, or in case any of the new people want to weigh in. 
 

Thunderstorm’s frontrunner status has been driven by his blind. We’ll see who joins him over the next two weeks. 

Edited April 12, 2020 by TeamAudra

[joe14]

3 hours ago, TeamAudra said:

Since they’re headed into the KO round, I thought I’d bump this, for those who missed it, or in case any of the new people want to weigh in. 
 

Thunderstorm’s frontrunner status has been driven by his blind. We’ll see who joins him over the next two weeks. 

Just as I suspected. Not that Thunderstorm is winning or anything (I think he is...lol), but blinds is the most important imo. He just has to show up and not completely botch it. The knockouts will help bring out some frontrunners who might have not garnered the most attention from the blinds, who were kind of forgotten, or on the edge of frontrunner status (Rose Short comes to mind). The battle rounds is just filler honestly.