‘American Idol XIV’ rankings: Nick Fradiani, Clark Beckham, Rayvon Owen among our top 8 guys
It’s “American Idol” rankings season! Finally, we feel like we have seen and heard enough about the singers to start handing down our personal picks for favorite to win it all, and favorite to “win” a ticket back home. We do always enjoy this time so much more than the auditions.
With the new structure of the show this year, we’re doing things a little bit different. For example, we’ve ranked below who we think should be the two eight guys, and that leaves four out who performed on this past episode of the show. Apologies to Daniel Seavey, Trevor Douglas, Marc Andrew, and Adam Ezegelian. We’re sure at least one or two of you will make it forward, but not in our own rankings (which are based on performance quality, screen time, perceived popularity, and more).
8. Michael Simeon – We didn’t love what he did last week, but his overall body of work should be just enough to overtake the some of the duller or more inexperienced singers (sorry, Daniel and Trevor) who don’t seem ready for this just yet.
7. Qaasim Middleton – The funny thing with Qaasim is that we don’t think we’ve seen anywhere near his best yet. There’s a ton of potential here, and the challenge is finding a way for it to come out.
6. Savion Wright – We’ve always loved Savion, and to be honest, we’re surprised we don’t have him ranked higher. We just cannot do it yet based on the quality of performances everyone is delivering as a whole right now. Maybe that’ll change soon?
5. Riley Bria – It always helps to be a country singer, and Riley has both that and being one of the youngest contestants of the season on his side. He’ll appeal to all audiences, and he may not even need a big “moment” to make it far.
4. Quentin Alexander – We don’t necessarily think that he is among the top four best singers, but he is definitely one of the best entertainers. We always give extra props to those who realize that this is not just a talent show.
3. Rayvon Owen – A gorgeous voice. He’s got one of the best that we’ve seen on the show over the past couple of years, really. He does need to pick the right song that suits it, though, since his group performance was probably a tad overrated.
2. Clark Beckham – Let’s face it: On many other seasons, Clark would be #1. The talent this year for the men is stacked. He’s got great musicianship, and we can see him coming up with some cool interpretations.
1. Nick Fradiani – He’s yet to give a bad performance, and while it used to be that you wanted the show’s teen-girl vote, this is a different show than it was three or four years ago. The average viewer is older, and many of them should find Nick’s talent and humility appealing. He’s yet to give a bad performance, let alone hit a bad note.
Who is at the top of your own personal rankings? Share right now with a comment, and head over here if you’re interested in getting some further TV news worth singing about via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: Fox.)