The Four premiere: Saeed Renaud (and Diddy) make Fox show instant winner
The premise for the series is pretty simple: Four artists spent the majority of the episode situated in chairs at the top of the stage. They were then challenged throughout the episode by other singers hoping to take their spot. They came out first to try to impress the judges, and if the judges liked them enough, they could put them through to a face-off against one of the four artists.
This premise could’ve been a little bit weaker if we had a panel that was content to just sit there and give everyone faint praise — basically, if it was The Voice. Thankfully, this show is aspiring for something a little more. While we’re not going to sit here and say that all of the criticism was altogether coherent, at least there was criticism. Diddy especially was the start of the show — he was demonstrative, brutally honest, and it seemed at times like he was ready to fight the entire audience all by himself when they decided to boo him.
The biggest star of the night musically was a music veteran by the name of Saeed Renaud, who managed to unseat another talented singer in Blair who had a history of writing some big songs — including “Made in the USA” by Demi Lovato.
Is there an issue with the format?
We’d argue that there is for one reason: The audience, who control the final vote, could ultimately be biased towards the singers who they get to hear twice. Plus, who doesn’t love an underdog story? It was so easy to root for Saeed since we got a chance to really know him through two different performances. (Also, we love that The Four focused more on musical experience and artistry through their packages — it wasn’t about sob stories or gimmicks.)
If you legitimately love music and television that is big, bold, and brash, The Four is the music show for you. It’s the rare singing competition that really sold its intensity. It didn’t feel inauthentic, and we’re certainly interested in seeing what it could bring to the table next week.
What did you think about tonight’s The Four premiere? What did you think about some of the artists? Share in the comments below!