SkimIt
jeIt's no surprise that since the trio of American Idol's Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez have been at the judges table, their comments have mostly leaned toward the positive. Even when they criticize, they put a positive/optimistic spin on it.
The following five contestants seemed to always garner the judges praise -- yet were booted early or always seem to be on the verge of going home. So why didn't they, or don't they, connect with viewers?
Deandre Brackensick
The Season 11 contestant made it to the top 8 known for as the falsetto R&B crooner. Maybe it was his head of curls the judges couldn't look beyond, but they all sang their praises to Deandre. The only source of reality was Jimmy Iovine, who's quickly taken on the role of Simon Cowell, the one who will be brutally honest to the point of being mean, which may rub you the wrong way first before you realize everything he says is right.
The night Deandre was eliminated, Jennifer Lopez said she was outnumbered by the other two in using their only save of the season on Deandre. I never thought I'd say Steven Tyler has more practical sense than Jennifer because hello! There's no way Deandre would've won the show anyway! When he didn't sing in his falsetto range, he was just another average singer. But how many songs/weeks can he survive with JUST falsetto? Now we know: Eight.
The Season 10 power ballad singer made it to the top 9. Ryan Seacrest announced her ouster as a shock, Jennifer Lopez was in tears, Randy Jackson said he was "gutted" and Steven Tyler called it unforgivable.
But she likely didn't click with viewers because of her lack of stage presence -- she was stiff a lot of the times, which the judges even pointed out. She also unfortunately performed one too many ballads instead of showing a more easygoing, fun side to her that the viewers would've related to. But there is no denying how great of a vocalist she is, and in fact, was considered one of the favorites to win it all.
This just goes to show you that in this show, talent alone won't necessarily get you by each round.
Jeremy Rosado
Jennifer Lopez seemed to be the only one who saw serious superstar potential in Jeremy, who was the first of the finalists in Season 11 to be eliminated. She constantly praised him and (successfully pushed to have him brought back in the wild-card round.
He just wasn't that good -- period. One could argue that at that point, based on vocals alone, he was ahead of Heejun Han, but Heejun at least had the humor and the personality that made viewers want to keep him around. Jeremy was known as the sensitive teddy bear -- who really wants to see a guy literally crying at every turn?
Disclaimer: Jeremy technically wasn't booted by America's vote. At the time, the judges had the power of sending the bottom two home, and they picked Jeremy.
Elise Testone
She's the only one in this group who's still competing on the show. But she's constantly in the bottom three. I mean, it's got to be a record by now. Some bottom three's she deserved, others not so much. For whatever reason, I think she just doesn't have hardcore fans that others might have, or doesn't have more of them compared to the other contestants. I think the judges have realized this as well, as they really have pushed the viewers to get them to vote for her.
But her style of singing is kind of take it or leave it. My biggest problem with her is that she doesn't seem to know how to control her voice. Her "Let's Get It On" was a complete mess with runs everywhere. She didn't know when to pull back or when to milk a note. In short: It seems like she tries way too hard.
Stefano Langone
A favorite of Jennifer Lopez, he finished in the top 7 in Season 10. She pushed him into the wild card round, and always was optimistic with him, seeing the glass as half full. She also definitely even flirted with him! At one point, she told him he should "sing to her more" and look into her eyes during his performances. Can we say awkward? And when he was eliminated, she was in tears.
He wasn't as refined a singer as the other contestants of his season, having a lot of pitch issues. Once performance even included a dance break. Basically, it was like he didn't know "what kind of artist he wanted to be," to use an overly used show phrase. Or, perhaps he didn't connect with viewers because a lot of the times, he sang with his eyes closed.
