If Ryan Seacrest is to be believed, there were only 30K votes separating Scott MacIntyre and Anoop Desai. That’s a thin margin Scott could have bridged if he had stayed behind the piano where he’s most comfortable rather than confusing the audience by wielding an electric guitar that he hardly played or played well.
Anoop Desai should be thanking the guitar gods. They saved his arse.
I wish the judges would just use that damn save. This week featured a bunch of unnecessary drama. Because, even if Paula Abdul and Kara DioGuardi really wanted Scott to stay, and Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson didn’t–that should have been the end of the discussion. The rules are that it takes a unanimous decision to enact the save. That whole exchange, with Simon finally making the decision, looked ridiculously fake. This shiz is not dramatic! It’s hilariously lame and also sad. Watching Scott beg for his life was not entertaining. Yuck.
To Scott’s credit, he never exploited or made a big deal out of his blindness, but it was Paula and Kara who continually patronized him by bringing his “challenges” into their critiques. To be knollish for a minute–I wonder if there was an entire arc mapped out, where the girls were cast as the softies, and that once it was time to kick Scott to the curb, Simon would do it, while the girls continued to soft-pedal the blow in order to prevent a possible audience backlash. Hm.
As if soft-pedaling was even necessary, as Scott had no trouble sticking up for himself and appears to have a very healthy ego. When it comes to his music, Scott isn’t the least bit self-effacing. He keeps repeating for anyone who’ll listen that his performance of “The Search is Over” was “solid”. You’d think with that super-attenuated hearing he has, he’d notice those off-key notes he couldn’t hit.
Scott will be fine. There’s decent money to be made on the motivational speaker circuit–churches, civic groups and corporations could hire him to come talk about how he overcame adversity. He could dove-tail the music stuff into that gig nicely. Plus, there’s an audience out there for the adult contemporary stuff he favors. I’ll bet Delilah has already been in touch.
With Scott gone, and the momentum shifting for several of the contestants still in play, the Top 5 I predicted last week is shot to hell. Let me start again.
Kris Allen gambled on a risky arrangement of “All She Wants to Do is Dance” and lost. His spot in the Top 3 doesn’t look like such a sure thing. But, I wasn’t surprised he avoided the bottom 3 this week. He’s been steadily building a fan base since the finals began. He had enough capital to cushion him through a bad performance. But, he’s going to have to step it up next week. If he gets back on track and stays there, he could still make the Top 3.
Allison Iraheta hit it out of the park, and for once the judges supported her (well, except for Simon who blamed her for seeming “unlikable”). Her exit at mid-pack hardly seems cast in stone now. If she keeps turning in good performances, and if the judges stay on board, she could make the Top 5 and even higher.
Matt Giraud stepped up his game, and the judges liked it. It seems he got the judges’ message and is back in the R&B box where they want him. Last week he got out from behind the piano AND managed not to sound karaoke on a very shop-worn Stevie Wonder song. That’s pretty impressive. Maybe Matt has finally found his groove. The coming week is going to be crucial for him. If he lets loose with another stinker like “You Found Me”, he could be gone next week.
If Matt can keep it up, he might sneak into the Top 5.
The vote splitters, Matt, Anoop and Kris all need to perform at their very best from here on out, because they’re all in a position to steal votes from one another. I think Kris, with several good performances under his belt is in the best shape. Anoop Desai, who has been inconsistent and not pimped by the judges as much as Matt and Kris have been, is in the worst.
If Anoop comes out this week and underperforms again? He’s gone.
That leaves Lil Rounds. Man, she has lost whatever mojo she had and is on a downward spiral. I don’t think she’ll be eliminated next week–I think it will be one of the vote-splitters. But if she doesn’t turn in a decent performance soon, she’ll be out before Top 5. She doesn’t need to knock it out of the park–she just needs to perform well and get some positive feedback from the judges.
Finally, the front runners. Adam Lambert is the clear front runner at the moment. He knows what he’s doing up on that Idol stage, and at this point, I have no advice for him. I think he’s got an excellent shot at winning. But, I would not count out Danny Gokey, who performed first last week, and STILL managed to get a ton of votes. His fanbase is not to be underestimated. And the question is whether he can pick up new fans along the way.
Here’s where I think the Idols stand now:
1 or 2 Adam Lambert
1 or 2 Danny Gokey
3-5 Kris Allen
3-6 Allison Iraheta
4-6 Lil Rounds
5-7 Matt Giraud
5-7 Anoop Desai (I think the 5 position is a long shot)
