Over the years, American Idol‘s contestants have skewed younger and younger. Lowering its audition age to 15 following the Bieber craze, while still keeping its age cap at 29, we’ve seen plenty of questionable choices make it this far. Its biggest competitor, NBC’s The Voice (in its seemingly 20th season), has gotten so popular because it capitalized on that void and always produces fun to watch acts groomed through years of performing experience.
The lack of experience has never been more evident than this season. While few of the contestants stood out before now, the live shows are usually their chance to break out and get votes. But instead, all we’ve gotten is a bunch of kids garbling and warbling through poorly chosen songs. It’s created a highly visible rift between those who ready, and those we won’t want to watch later on.