Season 7 Top 8 Results – Recap

Michael Johns is eliminated.

Video:

The IGB lines remain open during the show. Donations raised so far: Over 60 million dollars. Six of the IGB iTunes videos are in the Top 10. The opener, “Don’t Stop the Music” is at #1.

There were more than 31 million votes Tuesday night.

Mandisa in the house!

Bottom 3 (these were the last 3 standing):

  • Syesha Mercado
  • Michael Johns
  • Carly Smithson

WTF? !!!??111??!

Forget iTunes, forget TIVO (I can’t believe so many news outlets picked up that shiz) Nigel Lythgoe told us exactly who was going home yesterday morning in an interview on Sirius satellite radio. I even posted a paraphrase of his quote on the blog. But did I listen? No I did not. I went straight into denial mode. I couldn’t imagine the rest of this competition without Michael Johns.

More after the Jump…

The oldest Idol was also the most mature, and the most iconoclastic. His insistence on doing it his way was admirable, but it also is probably what did him in. The strategic move for inspiration week would have been to choose another R&B flavored arrangement. Something like Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready”, for instance, could have brought the house down, brought praise from the judges and secured a better performance spot. Instead, Michael chose a song that he loved, rather than one that could advance him in the competition. It’s too bad. Although he flew under the radar for much of the season, I appreciated his low-key and wry sense of humor. Not to mention his raw, gravelly vocals and sex appeal. When he was on, he was compelling. And in a season that’s bound to again be taken by the teens, I appreciated the fact that he was in every way, a grown up.

I have to add, that I need to redesign the banner a bit and add a disclaimer to the site. You wouldn’t believe the people who mistake me for the official site. I don’t know how anybody could mistake my little purple-bannered dog-and-pony show for the real thing, but they do. I got several emails from distraught fans who vow never to watch the show again, who are now convinced the show is rigged, and think that Ryan Seacrest is one cruel SOB.

I don’t think the show is rigged. If it were ever revealed that the producers were messing with the totals, they would lose the entire franchise. Not worth it, peeps. And anyway, what would they gain by ditching Michael at this point? No. It was a combination of bad song choice, performing first, and people being drawn to the bad (David C, Carly) and the good (Kristy Lee Cook – surprisingly and Jason Castro) rather than Michael’s solid, but dissed-by-the-judges performance of “Dream On”. It’s pretty simple Idol math, peeps.

And that Ryan Seacrest. I don’t know whose idea it was to dangle a reprieve in front of an already devastated Michael (“Last year at this time we didn’t send anyone home, ” Ryan teased) but that was some effed up sh*te right there. I did not enjoy that bit of Reality Show Cruelty. No I did not.

I’ll remember Michael’s fine performances. The underrated “Across the Universe” from the Top 12 is my favorite. “It’s All Wrong, But It’s Alright” is his shining moment on Idol. “We are the Champions” and “Light My Fire” prove Michael could, indeed Rock. Funny, the judges didn’t mind his rocker inclinations so much then. The way they suddenly flipped their opinions regarding what box they thought he should be stuffed into did not help him at all.

Bleh. I’ll shake this one off in a few days. I’m just a little pissed off right here.

The rest of the show: Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown make a sweet couple performing their sweet, infectious hit “No Air”. She’s awarded her Gold award for her album, and two Platinum awards for “Tattoo” and “No Air”. I hope Jordin gets a nice sales bump this week.

The Idols open the show with the evangelical tune “Shout to the Lord”. The word “Jesus” is back in this version. Am I horribly offended? No. Do I smell TPTB pandering to middle America? Why yes. Yes I do. That’s a little irritating.

Idol Gives Back leftovers round out the show. There was a cute vid of celebrities lip syncing to “I’m a Believer” (upcoming mentor Neil Diamond wrote that one). Although, some of the scenery chewing in the bit is a tad annoying. I’m looking at you, Rob Schneider. Forrest Whitaker and his wife visit street kids in Angola, and there are more celebrity pledges from Dr. Phil Ricki Lake, Michael Chiklis and Jim Carrey. The presidential candidates finally have their say. I don’t appreciate the political campaigning. I’ll give John McCain props for trying to be funny, though.

After Michael is eliminated, Simon says that his song choice did him in. Michael shakes his head no. Proud to the end, he performs an emotional “Dream On”. Indeed. Carly Smithson, who must surely know she dodged one big, honking bullet this week, cries as he sings out.

About mj santilli 34833 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!