They were never going to please everybody, but American Idol judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan seriously messed up on their decisions of who they want to advance to the Top 14. America was given the task of whittling the cast down from 20 to 10, and the three judges had the opportunity to add four more contestants to the group.

The judges save once had a crucial role in the competition, serving as a failsafe in case America dropped the ball in voting for a contestant who is an obvious frontrunner — think Jennifer Hudson or Chris Daughtry. But as the format has been reimagined over the years, especially since the show's revival and move to ABC, the experimentations with the judges' power hasn't always paid dividends. At the Top 24 stage, the control of who goes through to the next round is supposed to fall to America. It is one part of the show that makes it stand out after all these years over similar singing competitions, of which there are many.

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On Monday, the judges saved four contestants who did not receive enough of the fan vote: Allegra Miles, Jay Copeland, Mike Parker and Tristen Gressett. Save for Jay, arguably the most talented singer in the competition, the judges' choices were head-scratchers. Allegra's vocals were strong but paled in comparison to some of the better singers remaining. Mike struggled to put together a solid performance for weeks, and, with a John Legend-esque quality to his voice, he always seemed out of his element in the country genre despite the judges cringe-ily insisting "it's time" (Yes, the country genre needs much more diversity. Mike is not a country singer.). Tristen has proven to be a memorable week-to-week but he's an unexceptional singer.

Notably, there were a handful of singers who outshone Allegra, Mike and Tristen who deserved another chance. Katy told Jacob Moran he was the best singer in the competition after his last performance, but somehow he didn't get another chance to show what he's capable of doing. Cameron Whitcomb brought an incomparable energy to the stage and had a voice that was intriguing enough to warrant another shot (maybe the judges were just tired of the backflips?). Sage had one of the strongest performances of the Top 20 and Cadence Baker was starting to come into her own as a potential frontrunner.

It's no secret the judges make decisions based on what they think will result in good TV ratings, rather than judging on talent alone. To that end, making the decision to push Tristen, instead of, say, Cameron, through to the next round seems like a misfire. Moreover, the judges save needs to either be eliminated entirely or go back to its original iteration when it was only used once a season. When the judges are allowed to keep a bunch of contestants they like, only for many of them to get eliminated in the weeks to come, it makes for uninspired television. Twenty seasons in, American Idol still has a product that works. The show should be careful not to mess with the format so much that it starts to feel like a crapshoot between who makes it to the end and who leaves way too early.

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American Idol airs Sundays and Mondays on ABC.