Blunderbuss

American Idol: Top 11

(crossposted at flaring muzzle)

It's too bad Melissa left so soon. She wasn't the very best, but she was a very good and certainly much better than some of the remaining contestants. Still, this was probably an easier way to go than it could have been. The lyric flub and the sore throat allow her the dignity of having an excuse for going home this early.

The big news of the results show last week for me was that Bucky not only survived but survived in fine style--not even in the bottom three! GO BUCKY!!! And not only that, but we were treated to what can only be described as the most hilarious face-off in Idol Results Show History: Prettyboy Ace versus ubergeek Kevin. Oh, the look on Ace's face when Ryan told him that he was in the bottom three. The ranking was preposterous, of course. Ace is a far superior candidate to fill the role of "Idol" than Kevin. But I would be lying if I said that there wasn't a petty, sadistic part of me that didn't thoroughly relish this primetime "revenge of the nerds." Clearly the Idol producers were delighted as well, orchestrating things so that poor Ace had to squirm at center-stage for nearly the entire show. Classic.

Also interesting was Lisa's presence in the bottom three. This was a surprise to me at first, but in retrospect I can see why she hasn't connected with viewers. Her performance last week was the first performance of hers that I actually didn't enjoy that much--I didn't feel the confidence from her performance that I usually do. Hopefully she'll be able to return to her comfort zone next week.

One final point: this was one of the most fascinating and enjoyable results-shows I can ever remember seeing on AI because, aside from Melissa's departure, its results were truly surprising and yet felt like they were a perceptive reflection of the performances. Simon was right when he said that he'd done a good job of training US audiences to be good judges. (Of course, many no doubt didn't need Simon's training!)

posted by albatross @ 10:36 AM