Carly Smithson is eliminated tonight…
Bottom 2
- Syesha Mercado
- Carly Smithson
Videos
- Group sing – “All I Ask of You”
- Andrew Lloyd Webber talks about the Idols
- “Tainted Love” – Ford Commercial
- Leona Lewis Performs “Bleeding Love”
- Brooke and Syesha
- Carly Smithson is eliminated
Stay Tuned: Next week Brooke White’s head explodes on the Idol stage! Seriously, I wish her fans would take Brooke’s mental health into consideration and stop voting for her. The poor girl appears to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Her major meltdown on Tuesday night was not a pretty thing to watch. But somehow, her vulnerability is appealing to the voters. Perhaps more appealing than Carly Smithson’s intense need to please and succeed.
Recap and Photos After the Jump…
After Carly dodged a few bullets earlier in the season, I thought she had the potential to go deep in the competition. A David/David/Carly Top 3 seemed reasonable to me. On the other hand, it’s really not surprising she was eliminated this week.
To those who think Jason Castro should have been eliminated instead, I say this: Not only has Jason Castro had more truly memorable moments on the Idol stage than Carly, it’s important to have a strong musical identity on the Idol stage. Whether you appreciate Jason or not is one thing–but he does have a musical style that’s all his own. Carly doesn’t seem to have a clue who she is. From one week to the next, she’s a different artist. She introduces herself to the Idol audience during 60’s week as Shirley Bassey, next she’s Ann Wilson from Heart and then Celine Dione with tattoos. She’s a cipher with a huge voice. And that huge voice sounds best in her velvety lower register, rather than the screechy high notes she loves to belt. And I have to say, I wasn’t that impressed with her performance this week. Her vegas-ized take on “Jesus Christ Superstar” left me a bit cold.
The last thing, she always seemed way more interested in pleasing the judges–particularly Simon Cowell–than the viewing audience. Her need to be liked by the judges reeked of desperation. It was a turn off. She never connected with the viewing audience. She never even tried.
So there you go. My predication at this point: Brooke White and Jason Castro will be eliminated in the next two weeks, leaving a David Archuleta/David Cook/Syesha Mercado Top 3…
An hour long results show with only 6 contestants = lots and lots of time to waste. The group numbers have been really disappointing lately. Tonight’s song, “All I Ask of You” with Andrew Lloyd Webber on piano, was totally lame. When was the last time we had a really goofy cheestatstic group number featuring horrible choreography? It seems like ages. There better be a Neil Diamond medley featuring his most hacktastic songs. It’s been too long.
After the re-cap of last night’s performances, Ryan sits down to chat with ALW. He sticks up for Brooke White’s decision to start and stop her song, and adds that her performance in dress rehearsal was flawless. He says that Jason Castro wouldn’t have taken his advice no matter what, and that his song choice was “the most curious I’ve ever known in my career.” He agreed with Simon that he didn’t seem happy singing it. Whoa, throw Jason under the bus! Nevertheless, ALW is candid and charming–an excellent mentor.
The Ford commercial this week is a good one. It’s a take off of 80’s videos, complete with a-ha style rotoscoping. Cool! The song is “Tainted Love”
A video of President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush wastes a few more minutes. What did they say? Big props to IGB for raising over 65 million dollars. Now–off my Tee Vee please.
This week, with only 6 contestants we’ve got a Bottom 2. Ryan is now suddenly referring to the couches as “the safety zone”. The Davids–David Archuleta and David Cook–are called out first, and of course they are safe, safe safe. No surprise there. Jason Castro yawns backstage while he awaits his fate.
After a video clip featuring Clay Aiken and Tamyra Gray on Broadway–and a shout out to Lakisha Jones who is in the audience–Ryan introduces Simon’s protege Leona Lewis. She’s wearing a pretty gold dress, and she’s got a pretty voice. Wow, she sings those runs, and they don’t make my ears bleed. Idolers take note.
After Leona, Ryan brings Brooke White and Syesha Mercado out onto center stage. Guess who is safe and who is not? Brooke White is safe. She looks shocked. Syesha smiles and clutches her hair. Brooke apologizes to Syesha. She pulls away and puts her hand over her mouth. Paula explains all about ginormous fan bases. Thanks for adding a little levity to a tense situation Paula! As the show goes to break, Brooke has her head in her hands. She’s ready to go home people!
After the break, Ryan brings out Carly Smithson and Jason Castro. Jason looks like he’s going to throw up. Unlike Brooke, Jason is not ready to go home. He says, “I really don’t want to sing right now.” Carly says she plans to have more fun going forward. Hm. That fun might have to take place off the Idol stage. Ryan breaks the news–Jason is SAFE. His eyes grow wide. Carly smiles. Simon tells Brooke he’s not surprised she’s safe because she made herself human the night before. He tells Jason he wasn’t very good, but he was charming. Yes people, connecting to the audience is the most important thing in this competition.
Ryan informs the Bottom 2 that they both have to sing their song. He hands the mic to Carly and she belts her way through it, smiling. Next, Syesha performs. Carly and Ryan have an animated conversation off to the side. I wonder what that’s about. Meanwhile, Syesha sashays past the judges to perform on the catwalk. Well, if she’s eliminated she goes out on a high note.
But it’s Carly that’s eliminated. She and Syesha hug for a really long time. Carly takes it well, she’s all smiles. During her goodbye video, the other Idols have joined her on stage. Simon tells Carly she can leave with her head held high. Carly says she’s proud of herself and really happy. Big hugs all around, and we’re out. Next week: Neil Diamond.
