‘American Song Contest’ episode 7 semi-finalists ranked: All 11 songs and performances from worst to best
“American Song Contest” continued its premiere season with Episode 7 on Monday, May 2. Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg host the NBC reality TV competition that showcased 11 semi-finalists hoping to continue on to the finale. So which state or region outshined the rest? Below, read our rankings for Season 1 Episode 7 from worst to best.
SEE Everything to know about ‘American Song Contest’
Representatives from each of the 50 states, five US territories (American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands) and the District of Columbia took part in this round-robin tournament to find the best original song in America.
Each locale showcased an original song that was performed by a home-grown talent, be it a solo singer, duet or band. The competition consists of three rounds: the first five weeks were qualifiers followed by two semi-finals and the final. Voting will be by both fans and “a jury of music industry professional.”
With only the finale left on the horizon, “American Song Contest” had its best episode yet. Before I get to that, let’s do some brief housekeeping, shall we? Going to the finale from last week are Alabama, Kentucky, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Washington. I predicted most of those and warned you all not to sleep on Colorado! Here are my rankings for the second semi-final:
11) New York (Enisa – “Green Light”): While I appreciate the shoutout to the fans, it became abundantly clear that Enisa had zero intentions of improving upon the first performance. The only real change was the color of her outfit. From one New York native to another, that was not enough to get to the next round, Enisa. The redemption artist is much like a judges’ save on “American Idol” in the past three seasons, it will not get you to the end but it will get one more performance on national television. So there is the silver lining I guess.
10) North Carolina (John Morgan – “Right in the Middle”): Jason Aldean’s appearance surprised me, but I am not quite sure if it will net John Morgan the votes to advance. It’s not that the performance was not good, but the first performance of the song weeks ago was much better than this one. Great to see him get rid of the hat, which allowed him to show off those luscious locks. #Hairgoals. The hook remains great though, and I truly believe he has a decent shot of advancing to the finale since social media loved him.
9) Kansas (Broderick Jones – “Tell Me): This particular performance was not without its merits, but to put it lightly, the second performance of “Tell Me” was not nearly as good as the initial one. The whole design of the performance with Broderick walking amongst clouds was a nice touch and was the only aspect of the entire performance that stood out to me. Saying that, there is something captivating about the artist that makes him a diamond in the rough, ripe for the picking for record labels to turn into a superstar. In a weird way he reminds me of Walker Hayes mixed with Usher.
8) American Samoa (Tenelle – “Full Circle”): “Full Circle” is a song that has grown on me since I first heard it. Mostly because I can think of all the commercials and movie trailers that could net Tenelle a lot of bank. Seriously, think about all the Hallmark movies that it could work in! Her positivity is incredible, as is her voice. The song still strikes me as being too sugary sweet but social media’s reaction was huge for her so something tells me that she has a great shot at advancing anyway.
7) North Dakota (Chloe Fredericks – “Can’t Make You Love Me”): I really had hopes that the second performance of this amazing song would catapult North Dakota into the top three, but in the end it was yet another example of the reprise not being as memorable. There were no major changes, which was simultaneously a blessing and a curse for the performance since there is so much that works, but so much that can be done. Just imagine this song on a huge stage like the Grammy Awards. You just want more! Saying that, I truly believe that this song stands a great chance of advancing to the finale since it was a huge fan favorite on social media, especially Facebook.
6) Georgia (Stela Cole – “DIY”): There is something about the second performance of this song that it has in common with its California competitor. There was a whole new level of confidence on display that was lacking in the initial performance. A star was born on Monday. This song may not be the best in the entire competition, but Stela might be the contestant having the best time besides Christian Pagán. It also occurred to me that this song would work great in a remix with “Bye Bye Bye” from NSYNC. So anyone who knows how to do that, there’s a freebie for you. Just send me the final result so I can have it on my Ipod!
5) Tennessee (Tyler Braden – “Seventeen”): Changing absolutely nothing but his marital status since his last performance, Tyler Braden just seemingly decided that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” would more than suffice. Again, he sounded great and gave a somewhat memorable performance. Then I looked at social media and saw something quite unexpected. People love this song and Tyler. He stands a very good shot at advancing based on the voters alone. The jury apparently agreed and he advanced based on that vote. So, I guess you can say that he might be a frontrunner to win this competition. I wonder how many of those social media fans actually vote though?
4) Texas (Grant Knoche – “Mr. Independent”): If any song in this competition can handle multiple performance aspects, it is this one. Saying that, the performance was left predominantly unaltered with only a wardrobe change. If there is any doubt that Grant is no longer synonymous with a certain kid’s music brand that shall remain nameless, he has squashed it with his two performances of this song. I just hope that this is not the last we see of him in the competition since he could be the next Justin Timberlake.
3) California (Sweet Taboo – “Keys to the Kingdom”): There were a few minor alterations to the performance the second time around. Lighting changes and darker toned wardrobe did not change the end result though since the song is not memorable to me, but this performance was big time. There was a sense of confidence that was not present in the first performance. Here is the big question though: Was it enough to advance in the eyes of the viewers? I sure hope so since I want to see more of this new confidence.
2) Puerto Rico (Christian Pagán – “Loko”): Christian Pagán watched his last performance and thought “What can I add?” Every single alteration made the performance stand out even more. From the motorcycle to the amazing red jacket to the new colors, everything just added to the atmosphere of this party song of the season. “Loko” is just intoxicating and is radio ready right now. Since we only have the finale left, I finally realized who he reminds of…Ricky Martin. He might be hard to beat in the end.
1) Connecticut (Michael Bolton – “Beautiful World”): In some cases, repetition can be equally as impressive as adding aspects…not a lot of the time though. If anyone was expecting the Grammy winning icon to move around the stage more, let’s just remember his stint on “Dancing with the Stars” and that jive. His power is when it is just him and an incredible song. Let’s throw in the inspiration for the song partnered with his legions of fans and we could have more votes headed his way than expected. I still think he is the one to beat.
SEE ‘American Song Contest’ 2022: Meet the 56 participants for Season 1