Like 'Clockwork': Legendary British actor's son mysteriously vanishes from 'American Idol,' in third resignation of Season 21
This week, the American Idol Season 21 contestants performed for the public’s votes for the first time — with the first half of this year’s supersized batch of 26 semifinalists, mentored by singer-songwriter Allen Stone, doing songs of their choice at Disney’s Hawaiian resort Aulani on Sunday, and the second group, mentored by Noah Cyrus, competing Monday. There’s been a lot of fuzzy math this Idol season — the semifinals were supposed to comprise a typical top 24, before the judges made a couple of last-minute decisions that changed all that — so I didn’t even notice last week that only 25 contestants, not 26, had been revealed.
It was only this Monday, when host Ryan Seacrest announced that “alternate” contestant Paige Anne — who’d almost made it, but lost in a deliberation-room sing-off against fellow soul-pop ingenue Megan Danielle — had just received some “life-changing news” and had been invited to the Aulani to compete after all. Ryan didn’t mention who Paige was replacing or why, only saying someone “had to bow out,” but TV fan site MJSBigBlog tipped off fans that the mysterious missing singer was a redheaded, 18-year-old indie-folk troubadour named Beckett Rex. An official top 26 cast photo on ABC’s press site, seen above, confirmed this report, as it showed Beckett standing in the back but still easily visible due to his Sheeran-like ginger hair. In a promotional clip from the Final Judgment episode, featuring judge Katy Perry telling the top 26 they were headed to Hawaii, Beckett could also be spotted reveling with his fellow just-announced semifinalists.
If you’re doing another sort of Idol math, then you know this makes Beckett the third contestant to withdraw from this season — following Sara Beth, a young mother who decided to go home to her kids after one day of Hollywood Week, and Kaya Stewart, daughter of the Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart, who fell ill during Hollywood’s duets round. As it turns out, Beckett is also the son of a British legend: His father is A Clockwork Orange actor Malcolm McDowell, and Malcolm even appeared in Beckett’s music video for “Pale Blue Eyes.” (Interestingly, the singer is billed as “Beckett McDowell” on his official YouTube page.) But unlike second-generation rising star Kaya, or Sara Beth, Beckett was not featured during Idol Season 21 at all — not during the audition episodes, Hollywood Week, or even the Showstoppers round, when he presumably sang well enough to survive a brutally competitive week that saw more than half of the top 55, including several early frontrunners, get cut.
Idol representatives on Monday merely told Yahoo Entertainment that Beckett “chose to leave the competition,” and offered no insight as to why his entire narrative was edited out of the show. Beckett himself also responded to Yahoo’s request for comment, but only with: “Unfortunately all I’m allowed to say is [it’s] because I chose not to go forward.” Later, after Monday's episode aired, he posted the following longer, if still vague, statement in his Instagram stories, accompanied by a photo of him holding his Golden Ticket: “To all of you wondering, yes I was on @americanidol and I made the top 26. I’m not going to say why I didn’t decide to continue in the competition but what I will say is that it was my choice. I am forever grateful to my American idol family and I will always look back at the experience with the utmost gratitude and fondness. Please go vote for my friends now as they continue on in the competition.”
I suspect that with his industry connections — along with having a famous father and receiving People magazine coverage for “Pale Blue Eyes” (not to be confused with the Velvet Underground classic, by the way), he co-wrote another single, “Weirdo,” with Simple Plan’s Pierre Bouvier — Beckett exited Idol to pursue other, better offers. (In a previous Instagram story, he said he quit for “legal reasons.”) Perhaps he didn’t need this career opportunity as much as Paige Anne did, and therefore his resignation was all for the best. Whatever happened, you can check out Beckett’s “Pale Blue Eyes” video starring his dad below, and speculate about what might have been if he’d stayed in the game. And then we can all move on.
OK, moving on. On Monday, the reinstated Paige Anne covered a power ballad by another second-generation singer, Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball,” which Miley’s little sister Noah revealed is her all-time favorite Miley song. And Paige definitely came in like a wrecking ball, knowing she had “a lot to prove.” After her stunning and soulful performance, Katy joked, “I just don’t like being wrong! … You belong here,” and Lionel Richie also admitted, “Maybe we made a mistake.” Luke Bryan told Paige, “Way to seize the moment!” Paige Anne, now the youngest contestant in the top 26, definitely made the most of her second chance, regardless of what happens next.
These were the other 12 performances from Monday’s part two Hawaiian semifinals:
Elijah McCormick, “Good Vibes”
Elijah said he picked this happy Chris Janson anthem to celebrate his new lease on life after surviving a near-fatal car accident. But it seemed mainly chosen to set the mood for the night’s fun vacation resort concert and please the daiquiri-sipping Aulani audience, rather than impress America’s landlocked voters with his actual vocal ability (which has sounded more impressive during this Platinum Ticket recipient’s more challenging and serious past performances). “Were you having fun or what? That’s the way to start a show,” exclaimed Lionel. “You started this whole show. You knew what the audience wanted. They wanted to have a good time — we’re in Hawaii!” said Katy. I do wonder if viewers in Arkansas and Iowa liked this quite as much, though.
Marybeth Byrd, “Heart Like a Truck”
Marybeth admitted that she was “scared” this week, after she “went a little bit overboard” during her Showstoppers performance and, according to Luke, got a little “yell-y.” This week she dialed it back and sounded much better on this Lainey Wilson hit… but she may have dialed it too back. She wasn’t yell-y this week, but I felt a bit yawn-y after watching her mellow performance. Luke got a “little lost at the end” but still considered Marybeth a “country star in the making,” and Lionel assured her, “There is a solid place for you.” Katy told her, “You don’t have to do vocal gymnastics,” so if Marybeth survives this week’s vote, maybe she’ll eventually find that sweet spot between doing too little and doing too much.
Wé Ani, “Edge of Midnight”
Singing the second Miley song of the night, Wé actually packed a double-diva punch by doing Miley and Stevie Nicks’s “Midnight Sky”/“Edge of Seventeen” mashup. It was an inspired choice. I had no idea this girl was such a rock star! Wé really wailed on this one, and she had all three stunned judges on their feet before the barnstorming performance’s end. “Everybody loves a surprise factor,” said Katy, while Luke praised Wé’s “command of the moment.” Said Lionel: “You, my dear, are star quality, and I am in love with what you do.”
Michael Williams, “Tuesdays”
Michael dedicated this Jake Scott wedding ballad to his parents, who were celebrating their 40th anniversary in Hawaii that week. I appreciated that sweet sentiment, and the result was much better, technically and vocally, than Michael’s pitchy Showstoppers debacle (which I frankly thought should’ve gotten him eliminated from the top 55). But it was still a little too bland and boy-band for my tastes. However, Katy “had chillbumps all over” and insisted that “people all over America are falling in love” with Michael, and Luke called this the supposed Season 21 heartthrob’s “defining moment.”
Dawson Wayne, “Copycat”
This self-described “sad-boy singer” with a “soft, pretty voice” admitted that he couldn’t compete with this season’s “other big voices,” so I am glad that he didn’t even try, instead staying in his singularly quirky indie lane. That being said, he did totally ramp it up and take a risk this week, and I loved the theater he delivered during this dark, trippy Billie Eliish cover. And he even hit some high Jeff Buckley/Matt Bellamy notes I didn’t know he had in him! Luke didn’t seem all that impressed by “the new Dawson’s” ditching of his signature “tender thing,” but Katy raved, “All of sudden I am freaking out… and I love it!” Lionel told Dawson, “What you did was actually brilliant,” but Lionel also urged America to “VOTE!” — indicating that he feared viewers might agree more with the spooked Luke. I hope not, because this was the most unique, edgy, and relevant moment of this whole season so far, and this season would be a lot less exciting without Dawson.
Hannah Nicolaisen, “Glitter in the Air”
This ex-volleyball player did not come to play when she tackled this tricky Pink song. This was a serve! Even with some residual hoarseness from being “very sick” all week, Hannah sounded like a pro. I actually even kind of liked the roughness. “Way to fight through it,” Lionel said encouragingly, while Katy said Hannah still “picked the right song” and “did it such justice.” If Hannah can sound like this when she’s not at 100%, I think she could win the whole show once she fully recovers.
Megan Danielle, “The Chain”
Shy Megan, who turned 21 in Hawaii, confessed that she’s “afraid of showing who I am,” which is why she keeps her eyes closed so often when performing. That’s a shame, because I don’t think she even knows just how good she really is. Hopefully Noah’s eye-contact coaching, plus a standing ovation from the judges, helped boost her confidence this week. “Your voice just stood out from a lot of the other contestants tonight,” Katy told Megan, while Luke assured her, “I think the more you realize that you have this crazy, unique-sounding instrument, we’re gonna see you walk out and own the stage a little more.”
Malik Heard, “Ain’t It Fun”
I did not expect an R&B-ified cover of Paramore’s bubbly, ‘80s-retro hit, but here we are! And it was definitely fun. Heeding Noah’s feedback to do fewer runs, practice more restraint, and “be a little more chill” and “save his tricks” until his knee-drop at the end, Malik delivered a superhumanly confident, professional pop performance — “by far” his best yet, according to Luke, which “lit the whole island up.” Lionel described this as “Stage Presence 101.” And “Dark Horse” singer Katy called Malik Season 21’s dark horse, even hinting that he could win. That sure would be fun, but regardless, I do hope this guy sticks around for a while. Malik Heard needs to be heard.
Olivia Soli, “Emotions”
“Taking on one of the biggest voices in music,” former Idol judge Mariah Carey, Olivia started off already in full classic diva mode — no “saving the tricks till the end” for this dynamite lady! And the judges were immediately wowed. Lionel was wearing his “what-the-heck face” the entire time, and Luke said, “You embodied Mariah’s way of doing it, but then it was your deal too. … You’re probably a couple of steps above a lot of people in this competition.” And Katy said Mariah’s figurative stilettos may have been “big shoes to fill,” but told Olivia, “Gurl, you strutted all over that stage.”
Colin Stough, “Midnight Train to Memphis”
Colin sort of occupies the same lane as Sunday’s blues-rock contestant Warren Peay, and while there’s hopefully room for both of them in the competition, I think if it comes down to it, the looser and goofier Colin — who Noah said reminded her of her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus — might have the edge. He is not seasoned or super-confident, and he seems very young, but he’s just straight-up likable, which is key on Idol — and the natural talent is there. “You really deserve to be here,” Luke assured Colin, even though Luke and the other judges mildly criticized his youthful bad habits. Colin just needs a little time to grow.
Tyson Venegas, “It Will Rain”
Tyson has “a lot of nerves” despite — or maybe because of — his Platinum Ticket status, so there was a lack of focus to his Bruno Mars cover. He almost seemed to be overcompensating by focusing on playing to the crowd, rather than on his vocals. However, Tyson finally got into a groove and turned into what Noah called “a little star” about halfway through, when Lionel noticed he “connected.” It was almost like Tyson was realizing, in real time, right there on the stage, how good he really is. This was an inconsistent effort, but as Katy humbly noted, Tyson is “a tremendous talent” that “can sing circles around all of us.” He just needs to remember that.
Nutsa, “Paris (Ooh La La)”
My one gripe with Nutsa, all season, has been she tends to be all sass and surface, with not enough substance. She’s always been more of a showboater than a storyteller, and that didn’t really change this week, despite Noah’s good advice. She “glitter-bombed the stage” (as Katy put it) and “left it all on the floor” (according to Luke) — there was even a “spontaneous” back-bend on that stage floor! — but I don’t think she connected to the Grace Potter lyrics in the deeper way that Noah had recommended. I also wonder if this performance was just a bit too sexy for the largely conservative Idol viewership (Luke make a joke about ushering kids out of the living room while she was onscreen). But there’s no doubt that Nutsa entertained and was the right diva to close the two-hour show with a big splash.
This coming Sunday, on a splashy, three-hour TV special revealing the top 20, six contestants — three from each of this week’s episodes — will be eliminated via the public vote. So, who from Monday’s group is most at risk? I’d say Nutsa, Olivia, Michael, Dawson, and Malik should probably be the most worried, although I’m really hoping that the latter two survive. But, contrary to Luke’s insistence that “America usually gets it right,” we all know from two decades of controversial Idol upsets that that’s totally not the case, so anything could happen. See you Sunday.
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