'He keeps hitting sour notes': 'American Idol' fans slam judges as Oliver Steel advances with 'bad rendition' of '80s classic

'They put Oliver Steele through with that painfully bad rendition of an oldies classic yet Paige Anne didn't make it?' said a viewer
PUBLISHED APR 11, 2023
Oliver Steel earned a spot in Top 24 with a rendition of an '80s classic (YouTube/@americanidol)
Oliver Steel earned a spot in Top 24 with a rendition of an '80s classic (YouTube/@americanidol)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'American Idol Season 21 Showstopper Round 2 kicked off with some amazing performances. However, multiple hopefuls have to return back their homes as the judges are cutting off the hopefuls to advance only the best 24 aspiring singers to the America's Vote round.

Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie returned to the judges' chair to give America the next singing sensation. Oliver Steele, whose father recently had a stroke, performed on 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World' by Tears for Fears and bagged a spot in the Top 24. But viewers were left furious with the judges' choice and felt Oliver's performance wasn't got enough.

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Oliver Steele performs a rendition of '80s classic

Oliver performed a complete reimagining of 'Wants to Rule the World' by Tears for Fears. The aspiring singer took the risk and turned the '80s classic into a jazz-inflected number. However, at the beginning of the competition, Oliver noted that he was unsure at first if people liked what he was putting out there. But soon after his performance, Katy said she thinks when he looked up at the judges during his final performance that he was looking for approval. Katy says, "It can make it a little disconnected, you’re thinking about it too much." Oliver then gets emotional but Katy cheered him up by saying, "You are your own hero. Welcome to the Top 24." Oliver rushed to his musician dad to share the good news.

Was Oliver Steele's '80s classic rendition good enough for Showstoppers?

Oliver tried something different from his usual but it seems like 'American Idol' viewers didn't give approval for his performance. The social media users took to the comment section of Oliver's performance video and noted, "Sorry, but you have to make the song better with an arrangement, not just slower. I didn't feel that and neither did the audience. He was in based on previous performances." Another viewer commented, "This guy has potential but he keeps hitting sour notes. Now I’m going to compare “It factor“ to everyone against Paige. And I wish Katy would stop telling everyone they can win this thing when it’s clear they can’t. Oliver was not good enuf to go through."

Another fan added, "They put Oliver Steele through with that painfully bad rendition of an oldies classic yet Paige Anne didn't make it? That's just odd and forked up. #AmericanIdol." Another person said, "Was it just me that thought there were a lot of pitch issues?" "Unless an absolutely ridiculous song is chosen for him to sing or he looses his voice, and I can't watch anymore," added another person. Another fan wrote, "He hasn’t really had much training as far as staying in pitch. It’s very distracting."

‘American Idol’ Season 21 airs every Sunday and Monday at 8 pm ET on ABC.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.

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