Once referred to as hump day, Wednesday is now known as elimination day. Tonight’s elimination show kicked off with the Lucky 7 Idols singing their version of the Mariah Carey/Boyz II Men classic, “One Sweet Day”. I must admit they sounded pretty good—could it be that the producers are doing a better job of selecting group songs or are ther Idols just getting better each week?
Query aside, the rest of the elimination night unfolded with few surprises, but there were some definite highlights like a live performance by Mariah herself as well as a visit from one of my favorite Idol contestants of all the time, Elliott Yamin.
Housekeeping—aka the usual plugs to start the show
- A reminder about the song writing contest for those interested in penning the first song that THE American Idol will record upon donning the crown
- Recap of the previous night’s performances—the high points (the Davids) and the low ones (Brooke and Carly)
Couch or Stool?
As has been the custom this season, the Idols are brought out to center stage one by one where they learn how America voted—at least whether they are safe or in the bottom three. Well tonight’s elimination process was a bit more convoluted. Read on to see what I mean…
- First out was Jason Castro who was sent to neither the couch or the stools—but rather asked by Ryan to start a group on the left.
- With the crowd oohing an aahing, David Cook came out and was sent to Ryan’s right—to which the crowd seemed caught between a boo and a cheer
- Before finding out which side of the stage she was being sent, Carly Smithson turned to Simon and said “you’ve been a bit hard on me”—to which Simon said he sees tremendous potential and just wants to push her a bit more…then she was asked to join Jason
- Kristy Lee Cook came out next and was asked about Simon’s comments about her performance. She said most of the time she agrees with him, but then again he can be “a butt-head” sometimes…OUCH! Simon seemed to take it in stride and then Kristy joined David C.
So with Carly and Jason on the right and the Cooks (David and Kristy Lee) on the left, we were made to wonder what the producers had in store for us this week. Would it be another shocking elimination? Were the three Idols left back stage in the bottom three? Do these pants made my butt look big?
Answers to those questions and a whole lot more would have to wait because Idol has a commitment to Ford where they make a silly commercial starring the Idols each week and we had to watch it before heading back to the stage.
And when we returned, we were treated to Elliott Yamin singing “Free” from his self-titled album. Looking quite cool with his curly mop of hair and wonderful new smile, dressed in a purple crushed velvet blazer and white scarf, Elliott showed that you don’t have to win Idol to do well in the music industry. The crowd loved his funky white boy sound like they did when he was a contestant during Season 5. As he ended his song, he showed his palm on which he had written “We Miss You Mom”—a memorial to his mother who passed away a few days ago. It was quite touching especially given his humble nature.
Back to the drama of what fate awaits the final three Idols?
- Syesha sauntered out and was asked to join Jason and Carly. Curious…as I predicted that the bottom three would include Syesha and Carly…we’ll just have to wait and see which group is safe and which one is in trouble
- Brooke came out next and was told to join the Cook’s—so we have Brooke and the Cooks! Clever, eh?!
So that leaves David Archuleta—the early season favorite who stumbled several weeks ago, has been consistent the past few performances, and was anointed the front runner after his during last night’s show by Simon.
But before finding out to which side David A. is going to be sent, we took a few calls from Idol fans—don’t they have anything better to do than call Idol? I mean, get a life—it’s TV J
And when the silliness was finally over, Mariah Carey took to the stage to show the Idols how it’s done. Mariah sand “Bye Bye” off her new album, E=MC2. The thing I love about Mariah is that she is so demure in everything she does from the six-inch heels to the diamond-encrusted microphone/stand. Look up Mariah Carey in the dictionary and you’re likely to see a reference to wall flower.
On the other hand, it was refreshing to see her add some bling to her get up—and by bling I mean a Hello Kitty band-aid that adorned her right hand and was in full view as she directed her back up singers as well as showed the audience which way her voice was going next.
BTW: For all of you wondering how Mariah stays in such great shape, you came to right place to find out. According to OK magazine, she does it with water aerobics which, according to Mariah, provides her three times the workout…of what we’re not sure, she didn’t say in the article.
And when Mariah was finished singing her song, she tried to leave the stage, but couldn’t because Ryan was totally crushin’ on her—it was kind of disturbing because Ryan only came up to about her elbow. But Mariah was a good sport about it and played along with Ryan’s not-so-clever banter.
Back to the business of eliminating our sixth contestant
- The final Idol, David Archuleta, was welcomed on stage and, before Ryan told him where to stand, he was told he was safe and then Ryan asked David to pick the side he thought was also safe—the old Lucky 7 trick, of course…who would have guessed? I mean they do it just about every year at this time.
But before Ryan gave David A. the go ahead to pick a side, he asked David Cook to swap places with Syesha…and then David A. took a seat on center stage—just like Bo Bice did during Season 5. Then Ryan started motioning young David to move toward the group with Carly, Jason, and David C.
In case you didn’t follow that, let me recap: The Davids, the Irish girl, and Dr. Dreads are all safe; The blondes and Syesha made up the bottom three.
To recap even further: I predicted a bottom three of Syesha, KLC, and Carly…and I missed by one. And I also predicted that Carly would be eliminated—missed that one too.
Sent to safety…
As the three girls stood together looking like a trio of deer in the headlights, Ryan sent Syesha to the couch. And then Ryan asked for the judge’s predictions on who is going home: Randy and Paula, of course, skirted the question while Simon said KLC’s time was up—to which everyone in the auditorium objected, but he turned out to be accurate in his prediction.
It’s the end of the road for KLC and now her mission in life is to get the horse back that she sold to get to her audition in
So we say goodbye to KLC and hello to ALW—as in Andrew Lloyd Webber who is scheduled to be next week’s guest mentor for the remaining six Idols.
The show ended with KLC seated upon the judge’s table and singing directly to a visibly uncomfortable Simon. She eventually made her way back to the stage where the surviving Idols engulfed her in cheers and support. And then Fox cut her off…
So goes another Idol elimination. Tune in next Tuesday to see what Andrew does with the Final 6—it’s anyone’s guess as to what Broadway songs the Idols will pick, we’ll just have to watch and see.
Until then, I will continue watching TV so you don’t have to…
Charlie
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