Let me preface my post with the fact that I haven't tuned in to a single episode of American Idol since Season 7 when David Cook won, but I will watch highlights of the farewell season!
I just caught up on YouTube real quick and they weren't kidding when they said that the pool for male contestants this year is super weak. I don't even see any of them making it into the Top 5. I personally liked
Kory or even maybe Manny the most, but I think that Mackenzie or James will progress the furthest. Everyone else was forgettable. Dalton is awful.
As for the ladies, they have quite a unique pool this year. I think Stephany is already a ready-made package (could work for or against her since audiences love transformations). Tristan seems like another Jordin Sparks situation. Depends on her development. This will probably be an unpopular opinion, but I don't think La'Porsha will do much. While talented, she the run-of-the-mill 'park-and-bark' that's popular on these shows. Does anyone else think that Gianna is a carbon-copy of Alessia Cara?!
My favorite so far is
Sonika. Her tone is incredible. She almost sounds like an Ariana Grande that enunciates. Plus, it'd be great for the industry to finally have an Indian representative.
I picked Fifth Harmony and Samantha Jade to win through their seasons of X-Factor, so here's hoping I'm somewhat right!
she literally looks like a star 
she's so much better than that. I blame it on the song choice. She was out of tune most of the time. And her voice was so damn shaky.
and her personality is amazing! But this performance was not it. She sounded ok. But not stellar. Maybe it was the key the song was in. But her stage presence tho >>>>
dddd why are the judges praising him? 
