“Idol” again took a stab at making us misty-eyed by airing slow-mo clips of the hopefuls crying and whatnot, backed by poignant music. But at least this week’s results show had a bit more meat to it than last week’s.
Let’s get to the good stuff.
After a cheesy Up With People group version of Katy Perry’s “Hot and Cold,” Seacrest surprised no one by quickly announcing Lil Rounds as the first finalist. It was a no-brainer, but it had the other females holding their breath throughout the rest of the show, wondering if there was room for one more girl this week.
Scott MacIntyre’s victory was no surprise either, especially when he was pitted against the likes of Ariana Afsar, Taylor Vaifanua, Alex Wagner-Trugman and Kendall Beard.
And Nathaniel Marshall and Kristen McNamara are no dummies despite their penchants for headbands and purple hair. Even they know that no contestant is going to make it through when there are still four more contestants waiting to learn their fates!
And so it was a “no” for both and Ryan moved on to ...
Von Smith and Felicia Barton. Both gone. The interesting thing here is that despite Barton’s impressive vocal, she did not even garner enough votes to earn third place.
They usually try to make it a nail-biter when it comes down to the results for the last two contestants. Not so this week. With Jorge Nunez going head-to-head against Ju’not Joyner, there was no contest. Nunez sailed through. Hopefully, he’ll sing in his native tongue soon. (Fingers crossed for “The Ketchup Song” by Las Ketchup!)
So it was down to the wild cards.
Despite Simon mentioning last week that the picks would not necessarily be from the Top 36, that was not the case. (Maybe next year, Jamar Rogers!)
Von Smith went from disappointment to elation when he was the first WC announced. Paula warned him not to wear any hats. He, in turn, did not warn her not to wear any more crazy “massive shards of glass” necklaces.
The minute Kara used the phrase “commercial appeal,” there was no doubt about whom she was speaking -- Jasmine Murray. DioGuardi went on to advise that all she had to do to stay in favor was pick the right song and “kill us” with her vocals. No pressure there.
When they mentioned that the next pick was from the first round of semifinals, they HAD to be speaking of Anoop Desai, right? Wrong! The spot went to Ricky freakin’ Braddy.
Simon then announced that the next potential finalist was also from the first show. Anoop? No again! Megan Corkrey went through instead. By the way, Simon, get your facts straight. Corkrey performed on last week’s show, not on the first show. Perhaps he was just trying to torment the Anoop.
Randy made a speech that the show was all about “entertainment, dedication and having a heart.” What we got was a drama queen -- Tatiana del Toro! That one was a no-brainer. She’s one of the few real characters on the show.
Dueling piano player Matt Giraud was next to win a second chance, and then the dark horse Jesse Langseth, whose personality has been overshadowed by others until now. She delivers when she sings, though. In this prepackaged era of pop culture, though, good singing may not be enough to progress.
Oh, “Idol,” you almost gave us a heart attack! Simon described the last pick as “original, likable and talented.” Who else could he be talking about? (especially when half the people on the couch were looking at Anoop and nodding) Yes, the Troop can rest -- at least until it comes time to vote for our favorite little “Slumdog.”
Tonight’s show will be one of the most exciting of the season. While it is disappointing that Nathaniel Marshall and Norman Gentle didn’t make it through, we should have plenty of entertainment in the form of Tatiana and Von Smith. Oh, and please bring the Paula and Kara catfights to the screen!