u/MarionCotesworthHaye

Joshua released this song today on SoundCloud.

We’re creating one centralized thread for discussion regarding concerning public posts from season 11 contestant Joshua Ledet.

The goal here is not mockery or “tea.” The goal is to keep discussion contained to one place, reduce repetitive posts across the subreddit, and approach the situation with some compassion and responsibility.

Many users have noticed behavior that suggests the possibility of a serious situation unfolding, along with public posts containing threatening or alarming statements. Because of that, we want to keep discussion focused and respectful.

Please do not use this thread to mock, dox, harass, or treat this issue as entertainment. Thoughtful discussion, documentation of public posts, and expressions of concern, care, and support are welcome here. Speculation is understandable, but please avoid presenting speculation as fact.

If you know someone who may be able to help, prioritize real support over public speculation. If legitimate safety concerns exist, reporting through appropriate channels is more helpful than Reddit speculation.

Please keep all discussion related to this situation here so members who do not wish to engage with it can avoid it, and so the subreddit can remain responsible in how it handles a sensitive situation.

https://preview.redd.it/c6uvpm2tnk0h1.jpg?width=607&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=155ec3a7bef0ed0cc5bfdda45a4fe366f20e556f

https://preview.redd.it/qd10e5aljk0h1.jpg?width=2664&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6813045f9ffd29c321b9afdb91a1a192367fc640

It’s all come down to…this.

After the Live Chat visit The Post-Show, a separate post for discussing the episode after it airs.

Here are all the ways to vote.

For best results, sort comments by NEW during the live chat and BEST after it.

Kieran, dim the lights… this is (sorta) American Idol.

https://preview.redd.it/fzeat40ugj0h1.jpg?width=225&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2754e2ed5ee58e6ac72c56c9825412ff492f1cc3

Hello! Tonight we crown the 24th American Idol. A few things:

Important Show Info

• The three-hour episode airs live from 8pm-11pm Eastern.
• The Live Chat will open at 7pm for pre-show banter, if you choose to banter. After the episode ends, the Live Chat gets locked and conversations go to The Post-Show post. 
• Voting begins at the start of the show. The third place finalist is typically eliminated in the first hour, so vote quickly.
• Unless something has changed, if your favorite contestant is eliminated in third place, you can vote again and reallocate your votes to one of the remaining finalists.
• This sub operates in real time, meaning the results will be posted about in real time. If you don’t want to be spoiled, click the three dots in the upper right corner on mobile or desktop and click “Mute r/americanidol”. This will prevent the sub from showing up in your feed. When you’re ready to see everything again, go back and click “Unmute”.

 

Finale Poll

After last week’s episode we conducted a poll of what order the sub thinks the Top 3 WILL finish in and SHOULD finish in. 1299 votes were cast and here are the results: 

Who do you think WILL finish in first, second, and third place?

1st: Hannah

2nd: Jordan

3rd: Keyla

Who do you think SHOULD finish in first, second, and third place?

1st: Jordan

2nd: Hannah

3rd: Keyla

Ephemera

• Most Viewed Post of the Season: “Randy are you ok?” 
• Most Viewed Live Chat of the Season: “Songs of Faith” 
• Over the past 30 days, the sub received 834,000 unique views, an increase of 195,000 from the previous month.
• Over the past 12 months, the sub received 3.8 million unique views, an increase of 431,000 from the previous year.

Looking Back at Auditions

I thought it’d be fun to go back and look at the post from three months ago that asked everyone to rank every audition that had aired. Here is the sub’s initial ranking of the Top 25 auditions, in order of how they were ranked right after all auditions finished airing:

1. Brooks
2. Braden 
3. Kyndal
4. Chris
5. Bella Emry
6. Jesse
7. Bartly
8. Hannah
9. Julian
10. Trew the Star
11. Keyla
12. Madison
13. Rae
14. Chloe Lauren
15. Mor
16. Jake
17. Abayomi
18. Mary Jo Young
19. Genevieve
20. Makiyah
21. Kutter
22. Ruby Rae
23. Jordan
24. Lainey Grace
25. Tinayeshe Manyika

Of the others who made the Top 20 on Idol, Daniel Stallworth came in at #28 on our rankings, Philmon at #31, and Lucas at #34.

The Finale and Your Emotional Well Being

Tonight is supposed to be fun. For the 9 years we’ve been doing this, on finale night this sub gets a flood of first-time posters, drive-by commenters, angry fans, and people who've been waiting all season to type “this show is rigged” in all caps. Emotions run high, opinions get stronger, many declare they’re never watching the show again (see you next season), and everyone (me included!) becomes a statistician, music critic, and cultural commentator all at once. So before we get there, a reminder: no matter who wins tonight, somebody will be upset. That is not new. That is literally how American Idol works.

Hannah and Keyla

Based on social media chatter, online views, gambling markets, and other things, Hannah is heavily predicted to win. People will say it was the “mom vote,” the “Facebook vote,” or that America only rewarded her because she is a stay-at-home mom with a popular backstory. Maybe that's true. But some people will inevitably turn that into a much larger argument about bias and what Idol voters value. Some of those conversations will be thoughtful, while others will be written simply to start arguments. Understand that people come into these discussions with different perspectives and different agendas. 

Competition, criticism, and playing favorites are the bedrock of the show. People can say they think someone won for their backstory and not their talent. They can say they think someone oversings loudly. They can say Hannah connects with songs better for them. They can say Keyla’s style is not their thing. This is normal discussion. What is less cool is turning contestants into political symbols, reducing someone to their race, gender, or genre, mocking Hannah or Keyla's motherhood, or making assumptions about voters’ intent.  

Winning vs. Not Winning 

Winning Idol is not some magical guarantee of stardom, and losing Idol is not a career death sentence. Some winners disappear. Some non-winners have huge careers. Benson Boone, the biggest star to come out of ABC Idol by any metric, only had his audition air. Tori Kelly and Cameron Whitcomb, both of whom are performing tonight, prove the same point. American Idol is a platform, not a promise.

So tonight, try to treat this like what it is: a hopefully fun, occasionally ridiculous, and always chaotic television finale. Nobody is ever fully happy with the result. Every season some people swear the wrong person won. Every season life goes on, and most contestants end up doing just fine no matter where they place. 

See you tonight!

View Poll

View Poll

View Poll

View Poll

View Poll

View Poll