American Idol 2026

[ShortCutie7]

Caught this tonight… haven’t seen a season premier of AI in its entirety in years so maybe my expectations were different, but here are some of my thoughts (of course potential spoilers if you haven’t watched tonight’s eposode):

-Both music teachers were great!

-The banana ball guy had noticeable pitch issues and did not deserve to go through (side note: I hadn’t even heard of the banana league until about a month ago and now I see them everywhere).

-The young man with the stutter was phenomenal and could very well win.

-They didn’t let the guy who sang “Sherrie” through because they thought he wouldn’t fit stylistically (and they didn’t ask him for another song), but they went crazy over the guy with red hair who sang with almost identical registration?

-It was so heartwarming when they showed the songwriter hearing the teenaged contestant sing her song! But they are now saying “no” to people for being too young when they have had finalists that age? But then they let through the girl who wrote the touching song who was the same age and “mature” but (IMO) not nearly as strong vocally?

-On that note, did it seem like almost everyone they showed got a yes? And where were the really bad/funny contestants? Were they just replaced by the gimmicks like the fake contestant and shower singer/proposal (who could also make it far)?

Anyway, lots of inconsistencies but an enjoyable episode!