I have a confession to make. I cannot watch American Idol without my DVR. I often reserve it for the production numbers, which are excruciating. They were harder to watch when Scott McIntyre was still one of the finalists and American Idol producers walked on eggshells trying to figure out how to make it work.This week, Paula Abdul choreographed the contestants, and I thought it was worth giving it a looksee. You know, it wasn't half-bad. Taking into account, the weird sunglasses and the obvious lip-synching, I thought the group showed that they could groove, even if it was to moves folks haven't done for about 30 years. It wasn't the dancing that caught my attention, however. What really struck me was that, in their comfort zone, all of these finalists can sing.
Look at it this way. If you can say that of the 7, Lil Rounds is the weakest vocalist, that is saying a lot. The guys, in particular, handled a difficult Jacksons song (originally performed by Michael and his brothers) really well. So what if it was lip-synched. there were some good vocals tonight.
Next up...product placement time. Especially morbid on a night with a double elimination, the Ford commercial was performed to "I'm Good, I'm Gone." That certainly puts a cheery spin to the night, doesn't it?
And...master of giving cringe-worthy results, Ryan Seacrest gets the ball rolling. Let's see how bad he can make the finalists feel this week. How many will he deke out, announcing who's safe and who is not so good and gone?
First up, Lil Rounds. Bottom 3. Any other result would have been one of the greatest shocks of the season. But, right off the bat...her elimination is announced. This is the result everyone expected. Rounds performs "I'm Every Woman" and it actually isn't as annoying as it was the night before. It was the best she sounded since the semi-finals. Where was this person hiding? Maybe because the pressure is over, she could just let it out. Good for her.
I should say that, in posting on forums on the net, I had predicted her to get the definite boot. I also thought the other person to go would be either Anoop, Matt, or....(drumroll) Danny. Danny would be a stretch, but I thought he might have a chance to make the bottom 3. From what I could see on the various forums, his fan support seems to be slipping.
It's disco medley time...ouch...Freda Payne sings "Band Of Gold." She forgets, at one point, that if you put the mic down, your voice disappears. I guess this isn't lip-synched. Thelma Houston is up next and doesn't know when to start singing and leaves out the first words of the song, starting mid-verse. Harry "KC" Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine Band is next and...oh my...this is looking more and more like a Saturday Night Live routine. At one point, in the early 80s, he had a bad car accident, leading to a pinched-nerve, partial paralysis (for 6 months) and massive weight gain. He did not look totally comfortable, even surrounded by 4 backup singers, and he was the most off vocally of the bunch. But, I will say, the end was better than the beginning.
Yes, it was nice to see it come to an end. There are some still top-notch disco performers that might have sounded better tonight. Donna Summer has been on Idol in the past, but she is in especially good voice these days. So is Gloria Gaynor and France Joli, to name just a couple of others. But, alas, they did not apparently get the call.
When you stretch the results show to an hour, there is a lot of filler time. See why I like the DVR?! It helps me get past the Simon/Paula craziness and Simon/Ryan nastiness.
Back to the results...Kris Allen, my favorite contestant this season, is safe. Adam Lambert, the overall favorite to win, who I also like (just not as much as Kris) is...also safe. No kidding.
It's Danny...will he be a 'surprise' in the bottom 3? After Simon makes an unnecessarily nasty comment to Ryan, Danny is told he may be clumsy, but he is safe.
Anoop is next...short and sweet...bottom 3. But now, the surprise of the show...Matt is in the top 4, and, a real surprise, Allison is in the bottom 3. Man, she does not deserve to be there. Dial Idol had her at the bottom, based on the busy signal, but they also had her with the biggest number of votes, having increased substantially over the week before. On the Vote Number 1 website, which is a more accurate predictor (over 6 million unique votes...no excess voting...Allison was a solid 3rd). If Anoop does not get the boot, I will be very surprised. Although, having a 16-year old sing "Hot Stuff" while dressed in something out of the Frederick's of Hollywood dominatrix line might have unsettled some socially conservative voters.
While we wait to see if it becomes the '5 guys' competition...my favorite finalist from last year, David Archuletta, is back to perform. His latest single is "Touch My Hand." It starts out a bit weak, but has a nice hook. Not as good as his first hit, "Crush," but Archuletta shows a strong falsetto in this one, doing a decent job. Funny, but at the end he closed his eyes...which he got razzed about all last season.
After the song, Ryan walks Archie to the 'L' corner to give advice to Allison and Anoop. He was very classy and complimentary and told them that, even if it ends now, the doors are open for them. He's right. Just think of Jennifer Hudson, or Chris Daughtry. Neither of them made the top 3 (Hudson didn't even make it to the top 5).
Finally, the other shoe...the second elimination...Anoop. They must be running late, because the judges don't get to say anything to him. Who said life was fair? At least, Simon doesn't say something to rub salt in the wound. Anoop was in (almost) great voice. Once again, his last note eluded him, but otherwise, a really nice job.
The show ends with the double goodbye footage and we get a sense that this group of finalists is especially close with each other. Nice to close the show that way.
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