The Top 9 Results
Mandisa Says Goodbye
this is the game that moves as you play
Every year I’m foolish enough to make predictions about the show early in the game. And every year I’m reminded how dumb that is. Contestants that seem to be ruling at the start of the Top 24 or the Top 12 can fall out of favor, or not perform up to expectations–while others suddenly bolt unexpectedly out of the starting gate. If you had told me at the start of the Top 12 that Bucky would have outlasted Mandisa, I wouldn’t have believed you. Back then, I predicted Ace as the winner, with Mandisa at least 4 or 5. Since then, Ace has made a couple of trips to the bottom three and Mandisa has been eliminated in 9th place.
Nigel promised another shocker tonight. Really, the only shock would have been the consistent front runners–Taylor, Chris or Kellie in the Bottom 3. Paris’s appearance was slightly shocking, but not really–she didn’t seem to connect with the audience in her usual way this week. Bucky is like the little engine that could. He’s got People, ya’ll. His performances, while maybe not spectacular, are consistent. He seems to be able to pick good songs, and his easy, genuine, charm has helped him gather a loyal fan base. Having the pimp spot helped Bucky too. Elliott didn’t have a great spot in the line up this week. His performance, though good, wasn’t “wow” enough to be noticed. His appearance in the bottom 3 was predictable. Ace and Katharine’s fans worked overtime to keep their favorites safe. And the fact that Ace performed very well, helped to throw some casual votes his way.
Ryan actually announced the vote totals this week (he didn’t mention them last week). Just under 35 million came in.
Kenny Rogers
Eh. Really bad eye job Kenny. He sang a song called, awkwardly, “I can’t unlove you”. I feel like Simon. I have absolutely nothing to say about this song, or his performance. Except, I dunno, Kenny might have been a little pitchy? His performance was underwhelming. A group medley of say, Dolly Parton tunes, would have ruled.
Car-mercial
I liked tonight’s commercial. The sets and costuming were really excellent. The photography was cool–very industrial looking. And the guys looked kind of, uhhhm, good all blue-collared-up. Yeah.
Ryan pimps Kellie afterward with this vaguely insulting crack, “I have a feeling Kellie thinks that’s how cars are really made.” Being mocked because she’s “stupid” is actually going to deliver Kellie more votes. That actually blows my mind.
QUEEN!
I swear kids, I read on TWOP, a very reliable source for news, that Ken Warwick said on Access Hollywood that next week’s theme would be “Rock” rather than “Queen.” I’m not sure what happened, but right now I don’t even care. Because, Ryan tells us that next week’s theme will be the music of Queen! Yippie! To get us all even more ridiculously excited for next week, we see a film clip of the kids hanging out with the band. I haven’t been following Queen, really, since Freddie died. But, Holy Moly, Brian May–like, it’s really really Ok to change your hairstyle once in awhile! I can’t believe he’s still rocking the 80’s mullet-fro there. Who cares, though. May is a great guitarist. Next week should be….interesting. Hee.
3 Groups of 3
The kids will be split up into three different groups. Ryan tells us that “we are going to do this a little differently.” Well, actually, not quite. Season 3 and 4, the Top 9 night were split up this way too. After the kids are split, the audience is invited to take a big gander. Which group could possibly be the Bottom 3? Actually, I guessed it pretty quickly. Taylor is the first one called to the stage. Hey, there’s the Top 3! Chris and Kellie eventually join him. Yup. Mandisa is called to the stage, then Elliott joins her group. Elliott is smiling, cause he knows. The Bottom 3. They hold hands on stage–they both know. Paris joins Mandisa and Elliott. Hmmm. Paris? A little shocking. Katharine and Bucky are called last to stand with Ace. Yep, middle of the pack. Taylor, Kellie and Chris are sent immediately back to the couches. Paula already looks like she’s going to have a meltdown. Katharine is smiling like she knows she dodged the bullet this week.
The Bottom 3
After a break–Bucky, Katharine and Ace are also sent back to the couches. That leaves Mandisa, Elliott and Paris as the Bottom 3. Ryan tells us that each contestant is making their first trip to the Bottom. I guess that’s sorta shocking, but it’s not unprecedented. Paris is quickly sent back to the couches. Note to Paris’s mom: Sit your daughter down and tell her that it really looks assy to just skip back to the couches without even a word to your fellow bottom 3 dwellers who are still in danger of getting the boot.
The Elimination
Mandisa and Elliott are left. This actually is a real cliffhanger–both seemed to be teetering on the edge equally this week. Simon predicts that Elliott will stay based on song selection. And he turns out to be right. When Ryan tells Elliott he’s safe, there’s a shot of Taylor beginning to clap. He awkwardly stops mid-clap when he realizes he’s on camera–sort of weird. The crowd slowly begins to act surprised. I’m imagining Ken or Nigel frantically signalling the crowd to react–it didn’t sound very spontaneous. Ryan hugs Mandisa. She thanks her fans and thanks Jesus. We see her goodbye package and she performs her singout.
Mandisa
Mandisa’s boot seemed predictable for three reasons: 1. The producers have been subtly de-pimping her: Simon has been on record stating strongly that she couldn’t win. She hasn’t gotten a pimp spot or extra camera time in a while. 2. She’s had two mediocre outings in a row accompanied by harsh criticisms–particularly by Simon. 3. The controversy over her association with Christian author Beth Moore probably cost her some votes. While this story didn’t hit the mainstream press in a big way, the Advocate and TV Guide both covered the controversy. It was a hot topic on the message boards. I think it reached enough people to have an impact. If she had a base of Gay voters initially, I imagine many stopped supporting her as the news broke.
At this point, all the contestants left are good singers with strong fan bases. Mandisa has had some poor performances compared to the others, so I don’t think her elimination tonight was unreasonable. She had too much working against her to allow her to survive much longer. She’ll tour with the Idols, and I suspect when the tour is over, she’ll go back to what she was doing before the auditions–working to get her fledgling ministry off the ground. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was her plan all along–exposure on Idol as a way to reach out to people. After Idol, she can use her new celebrity to attract folks to her ministry. I could see how Mandisa might view Idol as one way of doing God’s work.
Have a Bad Day!
Oh, and I’m really really sick of that freaking Daniel Powter song. not howie day, but still freaking annoying. thank you marie for the correction
