ABC Noah Thompson on "American Idol"
Some fans of ABC’s “American Idol” are upset with the show for the way that the Hollywood Week Genre Challenge episode, which aired on March 29, 2022, was edited as well as with how much backstory of contestants was included.
The Hollywood Week Genre Challenge episode was the first after the auditions, meaning it was the first time judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Lionel Richie were cutting down the number of contestants from those that made it through auditions.
Fans Were Upset About the Editing on the Show
Some viewers who discussed the show live on the Reddit live discussion thread talked about the editing of the show and the inclusion of the backstories of some of the contestants.
“Respectfully, I don’t need more of these contestants’ stories right now. Just a really quick audition reminder and then move onto the mentors/performance,” one person wrote.
Another wrote, “I miss singing shows… these mini Lifetime movies are too much.”
“I haaaaaate how this episode is being edited,” one reply reads. “I’d love to hear at least a TINY snippet of everyone in each line?”
Some went as far as to call for different editors.
“STOP CUTTING BACK, AND JUST SHOW THE SINGING!” one person wrote. “Editors need to be fired.”
Some people are annoyed with the way the season is playing out in general.
“They’re making it seem so predictable now, and as if anyone makes it through auditions,” one person wrote. “Because they only showed the auditions of people who were going to make it through this round! I keep saying ‘yep, remember his audition so he’s definitely through’…annoyed!”
Another wrote, “Oh we doing the sappy stuff during Hollywood week too?”
Some Want the Judges to Be Nicer
Some people who watched the episode called out the way that the judges told some contestants they were going through and others that they were not going through.
“Can I be honest with y’all?” one person wrote. “The judges need to stop faking everybody out. There are people’s lives on the f***ing line.”
One person replied to that, “For me, the problem is that these judges pretend to be all nice and supportive, but then pull these stunts.”
“That was dumb and mean,” another person wrote.
Others just thought the way they delivered the news was unnecessary.
“these fake outs are so predictable,” one reply reads. “I knew lionel was gonna say something corny like ‘you’re not ready…to go home!'”
Other criticisms of the show had to do with the number of country singers, the lack of performances shown by people who did not make it through, and some stand-out contestants from auditions not being highlighted.
Next up is the Hollywood Week Duets Challenge where contestants will be paired up with another contestant to perform a duet. Then, they will be judged by Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie before moving on to the next round of the competition.
All the spoilers for which contestants make it through Hollywood Week are available here.
“American Idol” airs on Sundays and Mondays at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time on ABC.
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