American Idol voters never fail to surprise and last night they nearly sent Michael Lynche — the most talented singer of the bunch — home. Thankfully the judges used their one and only save of the season to keep him around, but it shouldn't have come that close.
This is what makes the show so frustrating — people like Tim Urban and Katie Stevens stick around while Michael Lynche has to “sing for his life.” It makes no sense. Michael outshines them in talent and performance, and yet he almost left. This is only the second time that the save's ever been used in American Idol.
I blame the teen vote. Who else would keep Tim Urban and the “oh so pitchy” Katie Stevens alive? Every time Tim Urban steps up to sing, girls scream — he could be completely in-genuine and cheesy, or off key, it doesn’t matter. To them, he’s hot and therefore worthy of a full night of text voting.
As far as Katie goes, I have no words. Aside from the teen effect, I think she must be getting the compassion vote. The worst thing about the compassion vote, is it takes away voting from people who are actually talented and performing well — like Michael Lynche.
Another aspect working against Michael is that the majority of his voting audience doesn’t hear him live. I can tell the man’s got a powerful voice and probably chills a live audience to the bone. Unfortunately, TV doesn’t capture that. What gets transported over the airwaves is whatever the microphone picks up.
That is severely less than what he’s delivering.
The good news is, I suspect his fans will kick in and start voting for him more since he nearly got sent home. I just hope it’s enough to get him to the final three.
Legendary rockers Styx and Kevin Cronin, lead singer of REO Speedwagon, will team up to co-headline the “Brotherhood of Rock” tour in 2025, which will include a stop at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands on Friday, June 6.
The large, 40-city tour will take place over three months, starting in Greenville, South Carolina on May 28, and wrapping up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 24.
In addition to Houston, the tour will go to Austin on June 4 and Dallas on August 1. It will include special guest Don Felder, former lead guitarist for the Eagles, at all dates.
Fans can expect some of the greatest rock anthems of all time, including “Renegade,” “Keep On Loving You,” “Come Sail Away,” “Can't Fight This Feeling,” and “Hotel California.”
Styx and Cronin (as part of REO Speedwagon) first toured together in 2000 and in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks, coming together to form the Rock to the Rescue 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. This will mark their sixth time joining forces on the road.
2022 was the 50th anniversary of Styx's self-titled debut album, but they have yet to slow down. The band released their 17th album, Crash of the Crown, in 2021. Of course, not everyone is a fan, as this classic clip from The Simpsons illustrates.
REO Speedwagon's recording days appear to be done, with their last album coming out in 2009, but the main group of five has been together since 1989. On this tour, Cronin will be joined by REO's lead guitarist Dave Amato and drummer Bryan Hitt.
General tickets for the tour will go on sale starting on Friday, December 13 at 10 am at LiveNation.com.
Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets in the U.S. beginning on December 9 at 10 am through the Citi Entertainment program.
Styx and Kevin Cronin will be offering VIP packages via their own exclusive pre-sales beginning on Tuesday, December 10 at 10 am, as well as at LiveNation.com.
