Quoting Brent:
"[American Idol] is a popularity contest. If they wanted it to be a singing competition, they wouldn't let America vote."
As much as I don't want this to be true, (and overall, I don't think it is) that's exactly what happened last night. If you missed it, the bottom three were Allison, Michael, and Alexis. This shows that my predictive powers of who SHOULD be eliminated is tainted by a Utopic view of American Idol, where the best singer stays and the worst singer leaves. By the end of the seasons, I think America usually gets the winner right, but it is this portion of the competition where people are sent home who shouldn't necessarily be.
First, I want to address how awesome and chill Allison was when she was told she was the first to be in the bottom three. "Ain't no thang!" I believe were her exact words. I like this girl. Since it was between her and Michael, he offered her some consoling words and then had a seat...until Ryan told him that he was ALSO in the bottom 3. Dang, Michael Sarver, you just got PUNKED! And weeeeee doggie, he is a little less than enthused. More like, "Ryan, I want to throw you into an oil pit (because I work on an oil rig, in case you didn't know!)."
The rest of the show goes on with a bland song by Brad Paisley (sad because he actually has some good, entertaining songs), a song by Carrie Underwood (why you cut yo' hair girl?!?! don't matter, you still fine and can SAAAANG) and Randy Travis (I know Carrie is HOT Randy, but stop staring at her like that! CREEPER!!!) and the announcement of the last contestant in the bottom 3.
This was sorta shocking to me, because it was between Adam and Alexis. These are two who I've had in my top 3 all season. I had a feeling that Adam would be in this position since he had what was easily the most "love it or hate it" song of the night, or maybe even Idol history! But he has too large a fan base to be in the bottom 3 this early on. When Alexis was called forward, she rivaled Michael in the "who's got the worst 'i'm pissed' poker face." She rivals, and wins. She looks like a straight up B! This is justifiable though, as she knows she's one of the better singers in the competition. It was just the wrong song to sing, dear.
Allison is sent back to her seat after being deemed safe by Ryan (and I think she threatened him too?? haha). She does a hop, skip, and a jump back to safety. It's now down to Michael and Alexis. I wanted Michael to go home sooooo freaking bad, but Alexis received the lowest amount of votes. DANG YOU, YOU REDNECK HICKS! STOP VOTING FOR HIM! (sorry about that...). This is the part where Andrew correctly predicted that the judges MIGHT use a save for Alexis, but after several botched notes on her final performance, they decide to send her home to her cute lil girl. Peace, Alexis (for all you Cohen fans out there!).
I think that she really deserved to stay on the show longer than this, but she never would have won it. And she COULD have been worthy of a save, but I just don't think she sang well enough last night. I also think people had a hard time connecting with her as a person. She was a good singer, yes, but what else did we like about her. She didn't really have a spectacular personality. I got the "my ish don't stink" vibe from her a lot and never anything that I could grasp on to say "Oh, well she IS interesting after all." She was never her own artist. As soon as Kara said "Dirty it up," she did instead of being herself. She need to do what she do, not conform to what others want to see from her (though she should have conformed to my "Before He Cheats" pick! She'd still be on the show if she had sang that...mark my words).
Anywho, what are your thoughts? Did America get it right (if you say yes I'll probably lash you)? Does it really matter if she was sent home now rather than in 3-4 weeks? Did you take my challenge to relisten to "Ring of Fire?" New thoughts? All things I want to hear about! Comment away folks!
Your American Idol Junkie,
Billy
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16 comments:
Billy, I'm still not won on the Adam song. He just sounded so dirty when he was singing it and I, like Kristen, totally thought a strip show was coming. I was bummed they didnt get rid of Sarver....but hopefully next week, they'll finally get rid of him!
Michael's days are numbered unless he pulls an Anoop and sings his way back into the competition. Just don't know that he has the voice to pull it off. He is lucky to have gone this far. Still, he has a loyal following of people.
Alexis should not have been voted off this soon. Every week you are in front of a national TV audience or the chance to go tour for the summer is important if you are trying to get signed by a label so this cost her. In truth, her performances were uneven and she really only stood out to me one time so it's not a complete shock to see her go, just unjustified.
Last night just proves my point. The people dialing into vote on this showly rarely do so because of merit. They vote because this person went to the same school as them, because they come from the same hometown, they like the person's story, or for something totally unrelated. Winston Churchill famously said, "The best argument against democracy is spending five minutes with the average voter." That is definitely true of the AI voter. With this many guys in the competition, you cannot overestimate the effect of the "I think he's hot" teeny-bopper vote. This is the most important factor in who will win this competition in my opinion.
Something I didn't think about while posting earlier...
Yesterday there was a "source" from American Idol who spoke to any newspaper that would listen to her, saying that "The top 4 are fixed: Adam, Danny, Lil' and Alexis."
Now, this might not be something you think about, but I am a huge believer in the producers pulling strings in the show. I do believe that it was proven that Sanjaya should have been kicked off much earlier than he really was in Season 6. The producers kept him around for ratings. Tatiana anyone, but that was less obvious. Could the producers have been trying to save face and not appear like it's already rigged? Alexis would have been the first of those four to have gone anyway probably. Thoughts?
Alexis would have been gone in a week or two anyway and it would have been a wasted save this early, especially if Alison makes a too-early exit like it appeared she might. Who keeps voting for Michael? Do we think that Adam had the 4th lowest votes?
Excellent anaylsis.
1. Great application of my "save" theory. Alexis would have been saved had she not botched her last song. Unfortunately, that chance was doomed from the point that she picked that song. Alexis was competitive because she had a Christina Ag. vibe (hence Kara's push for naughtiness), but yes Billy, she came up short because she was never her own artist and that bit her hard when her song choice failed. Had she sung "Before He Cheats" she would still be on the show.
2. I also wish that Sarver was going home.
3. My bracket had Corkery going this week. I'm still not drinking her Kool Aid and think she got through on sympathy votes this week. We'll see what happens when she gets healthy.
4. I wonder if Adam will take the following lesson from this week: "So my talent and uncompromising personality/attitude get me some votes, but I'm going to have to appeal to some more people with my song/composition selection if I want to go futher." -OR- Maybe he's thinking "I'm on the tour now. I'm definitely getting a record deal. So I'm going to keep doing whatever the heck I want."
Andrew. comment #4 is good. I think he wants to win.
brent. good analysis. I appreciate your ability to use quotes and build a legitimate argument. Can you teach kris before he post on any blog again?
i'm excited to see how the next few weeks go. I feel like from now on it really does matter how you sing. except for a few people (mostly danny). that is what happened this week. i think michael is leaving soon if everyone else can just sing OK/not bad. but after that i think it is all about how you sing that week.
Favorite line from your post:
"And weeeeee doggie..."
haha
I do think they got it wrong last night, though I don't think she would've lasted much longer. I do find it a little odd that the way they decide if a person stays is by listening to them sing the song that got them in the bottom three. In Alexis' case, I didn't think she sang the song poorly - it just wasn't the best song for her to sing. How she can turn a bad song choice into a last minute redemption I don't know.
I'm glad they didn't save her. Anoop did great this week, but should he screw up again, hopefully they'll have something around to save him. Hopefully that's not the case.
(and Carrie...oh, Carrie.)
Did anyone else notice that when the judges told Ryan that they were considering saving one of them (this was before we knew whether it was Michael or Alexis being eliminated), Alexis got this smirk on her face all of a sudden?! (I have proof saved on TiVo). Of course, you expect them to be hopeful, and possibly a little relieved, when they hear that they may be rescued by the judge's save should they be eliminated...BUT I feel like her face said "oh good, I know they're talking about me." Maybe it's just my general annoyance with Alexis that made me think I saw this...did anyone else notice it?
Like Billy, I think she has a little bit of an attitude (the "my ish don't stink" as Billy so eloquently put it), so maybe I was just looking for things to yell about.
AJ, I agree with you about Anoop. I love him because he's a tar heel, but he does not need to have a bad week next week or he may be out...but at least they still have the judge's save left (but, it may be reserved for someone like Adam, Lil, Danny, or....my tender dog Kris?)
I thought Carrie Underwood did great and that she has an amazing voice. She did better in her live performance, I think, than Brad Paisley did in his, and he is a pretty seasoned performer (I love him too by the way...so darling!). I think Carrie Underwood is one of the best singers out there because she is one of the few people who can sing a song live and it actually sounds pretty dang close to the recorded version (unlike um...most other really famous Top 40/pop singers). Her performance gives all the current contestants something to aspire too. I'm clearly not a music connoisseur/talented singer like some of your on here, this is just my layman's opinion!
I'm not going to lie. I am not a huge fan of alexis. i mean sure she can sing but something bothers me about her. I wish Sarver would have been sent home though.
Also, Randy Travis WAS creepin me out staring at carrie like that. I guess it's a blonde thing ;-) lol (jk!)
Some comments for todays posts...
Kris- I do not think that Adam was the 4th lowest vote getter. I think that the producers knew that his performance caused a fairly substantial shockwave of "WTF did I just witness" by their viewers, so they thought they'd up the "suspense" a little by having it between those two. I think that Adam's fanbase is far too large and committed for him to be in the bottom 4 this early. Now, he might be in danger of losing some of those votes if he continues to perform renditions of songs that a majority of people just don't understand/appreciate/like, but I think that most of his fans are willing to give him a mulligan on this one, even though it was still awesome! America just doesn't understand creativity and expression anymore.
Andrew- Interesting point #4. I actually think it's a combination of the two. I think that he is true to himself as an artist. If he wasn't, he never would have done "Ring of Fire" the way he did. I don't think he's willing to be placed in a box that will stifle his creativity. That being said, I also think he is smart and knows how to play this game. Right now was the perfect time for him to pull off a performance like he did this week. He probably had a good idea that he was safe no matter what he did after being predicted to go to the finals by Paula last week. He was able to use that liberty to test the waters. It gave him a feel for how far he could go before he starts weirding people out. I think we'll see a toned down version of Adam, but I still think he will be more interesting/daring than any other contestant on the show.
Kristen- Yes I noticed her smirk as well. I don't like when people think of themselves all high and mightily like that. It's probably better that she left before the tour because you KNOW none of the other contests wanted to deal with her 'tude all summer long. Carrie Underwood would have KILLED the girls this season. And she also would have given Adam a run for his money in the "who wears the most makeup" category!
I hope you all like the new layout. I know it's not perfect, but I was getting tired of all black, so I made a new one. Better ones will be in the works for the future! Keep up the posts! And keep telling your friends to join in...I don't have to know them for them to come and have some fun! This blog is blowing up, like Michael Jackson...maybe bigger! (watch this if you don't know what I'm talking about- I know you do Kristen! RAWR!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApyCGwajKiQ
Haha, I love Eccentric, the most exciting entertainer on Planet Earth.
Billy, I can't see anything with this new style. Everything is white. I have to highlight everything to see the words.
Obviously, based on earlier comments, you all know my feelings on Alexis. Let's be real.
Prior to the Top 13 she was great. But for some reason I didn't like her last week and thus expected her to be voted off early. Whether she was good or not prior to Tuesday night, Jolene was awful. When it gets to this point in the competition, every week is important. Her performance Tuesday was pitchy, her phrasing was terrible and she lacked emotion. America got it right. She was the weakest performance of the week. At this point, all of the contestants can sing. It's just a question of who can unleash the star power and poise.
Um... okay, now that I posted the above comment, I can see the background. Maybe my Mac is wack.
Well said, Laurie, though I still think Michael was worse. The background has been giving me fits...sometimes working, sometimes not...not your macs fault.
I don't think Alexis should have been the one who went home this week (and I, personally, believe that there is NO way Scott should not have been in the bottom of the barrel), but honestly, I could care less about her...I'm kind of tired watching her because in her interviews/performances her face/tone seem so emotionless...her attempt to be saved was one of the first times I've really seen her showing emotion and she sang terribly...so...oh well!
I really wanted Megan to go home...I cannot tell you enough how much I do NOT like her :/ Slash, I totally agree with Andrew's point #3 on her
oh well! can't wait for next week!
did someone hire the summit guy to update their web site?
Michael should have gone, but Alexis wouldn't have stayed much longer. But you're right, its at the point of the competition where its all about popularity, which unfortunately means that some of the better ones get voted off before the bad ones. Same thing with Dancing with the Stars (Belinda Carlyle should NOT have been voted off first).
If I were Alexis, I'd be pissed. If I were Belinda, I'd be pissed to. Seriously, Jackass and Happy Apple Computers guy got more votes? Ouch.
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