I should’ve known something was up at about 6:45, when my phone started blowing up with texts from the East Coast. A sampling: “Idol Shocker!”; “I am done”; and the always-classy “WTF?!” I am usually not an advocate of spoilers, but I almost wish someone had told me the results so that I wouldn’t have been so shocked. (On that note, spoiler alert! “Avatar” is lame ... You’re welcome.)
When Seacrest mentioned at the top of the show that “we could be in for a surprise or two,” I was thinking that maybe the Idols would actually be singing their group number live or -- I don’t know -- in tune.
Oh, how naive I was back then! You know, last night before 8 pm.
Idol Shocker, indeed! The folks eliminated this week were Katelyn Epperly, Todrick Hall, Alex Lambert and Lilly Scott. America, you got it wrong -- insultingly, appallingly wrong. So many have called this the worst season ever and getting rid of some of the strongest performers just doesn’t make sense.
Katelyn was the first to go, amid bewildered expressions from the other contestants. She held it together for her swan song, but as soon as it ended, she was heard sobbing into her lavalier mic. (Seriously, producers, give these kids some privacy!)
Epperly had been growing on me more and more each week. Yes, her choice of wardrobe on Tuesday was very “Romper Room” and the stand-up keyboard added a whole ‘nother layer of cheese, but the girl’s got talent. Even during the saccharine-filled group numbers, her energy made her stand out; I couldn’t take my eyes off her. This is even more impressive seeing as how she doesn’t quite seem like show choir type. There were at least three ladies in my opinion who should’ve gone home before Katelyn: Paige Miles, Katie Stevens and Lacey Brown.
Although Paige is the best female singer in the group according to Simon, there is nothing about her that screams “star!” In fact, everything about her says “snore.” She is all over the place as far as her song choices go and the most interesting thing we know about her is that she likes to color and that she’s still really, really, really bummed about the death of Michael Jackson. For her sake, I hope she develops a personality for next week’s interview package.
I do feel that Lacey bought herself another week after her (first) strong performance on Tuesday, but she shouldn’t have outlasted Katelyn. Both she and Paige seemed to sense that they were on borrowed time and looked guiltier than Sandra Bullock accepting an Oscar for a trite football movie.
As for little Katie Stevens, I think that she is benefitting from being a high-school student in a small town. I can just see the posters all over school: “Vote 4 Katie 2-Nite on Idol!” Gag. There is nothing remotely interesting or unique about this girl, but America still seems to like her.
