Casey, Aaron and Andrew were asked to stand up. Andrew’s body language belied that he knew that this was it. He shuffled uncomfortably back and forth, probably self-talking himself to be cool, and not say anything embarrassing. Ryan, after some small preamble, sent Andrew home. Lee, who is very close to Andrew, was shown looking downcast but not shocked. The other two were sent to safety.
Man, listen to Andrew. Once the pressure was off, his voice relaxed and soared. I don’t know what his future will be. His voice is radio friendly, and he is such a nice, cool guy. I am guessing that he will get some chances, and he is very capable, with the right song as a vehicle, of denting the charts. He was very, very gracious in defeat. The competition moves on, and all but the final two will have to make this exit. While his run on the show was a mixed bag and mostly a disappointment, Andrew himself has been classy and cheerful the entire time. I’ll root for him, and I think that he will be fine. He could end up being a hidden gem on the tour, singing without the pressure and just having fun.
All six remaining contestants came to the middle of the stage. Ryan discussed last night for each performer. Crystal was sent to safety first, and she played a tiny harmonica all the way to the soft seats. Siobhan was sent to safety next. She was obviously relieved, but they cut away from her early so I didn’t see more than the clutching of her hands, and her “thank you, I am so relieved” bow to the audience. Lee was sent to safety next, leaving the rest as the bottom three.
Tim, Michael and Katie are the bottom three. Tim and Katie were at the bottom of the DialIdol rankings but Mike was at the top, and by a large margin. This is surprising, and it is very troubling for Mike’s future. He should have cruised this week, with his voting bloc motivated.
Adam Lambert gave a wink and a bow to his status as a former contestant during his performance, and he changed up his arrangement of the song to fit Idol’s vibe. He added a long, drawn out, dramatic out of tempo intro, and he added several to the rafters high notes and plaintive screams that are not part of the actual album cut. Adam set up the light show, too. It’s what he does, and it was pretty amazing.
Ryan sent Tim to safety first. Ryan said that the one who is safe wasn’t in the bottom three this week. Katie knew right then that she was toast, since the Idol contestants all look at DialIdol (or have the results told to them, whether they like it or not). Her face totally changed, from confidence, to hope, to chagrin, to worry, and finally to acceptance just before Ryan made it official.
I noticed early in the show that Katie looked completely confident, and not at all worried about being voted off. By contrast, Siobhan looked like she was preparing her exit interview. Katie’s expression changed like time-lapse photography over the second half of the show. By the end she knew, but she didn’t have very much time to process it with her 17 year old mind. It showed in her performance. She was sloppy and all over the place, sharp as hell, and holding back some huge tears the entire time. I am guessing that the last thing in the world that she wanted to be doing right then was singing in front of millions of people.
Power Rankings-
7: Tim Urban– He was the last man standing in the voting this week, after universal praise from the judges. I have been wrong forever, but I do expect that next week will be the end for this likeable kid who’s been overmatched for several weeks.
6: Aaron Kelly- He has no extra gear, and the voters are showing that they are done with the preamble and they want to get on with the competition.
5: Siobhan Magnus– She will be in danger every week from now on. If she can regain her mojo she is still a contender for the finale, but I am very skeptical that she can. She seems broken by the pressure, while she keeps saying that she isn’t. I hope that I am wrong. She is very capable of blowing the stage up if she can just relax and create. She is about as relaxed, right now, as a new prison inmate at a high security prison who has a tattoo of a target on his backside.
4: Casey James- I could toss a hand towel over the next three. Mike’s voters exploded this week and Lee seems to be Simon’s pet right now, so Casey is slightly behind them at the moment.
3: Mike Lynche– I would not be shocked if Mike left next week, actually, but he has survived a couple of very tough themes with the highest vote total this week. Will his voting bloc stay on the ball?
2: Lee Dewyze– I am amazed that Lee is now the solid second choice. He has come a long way from where he began the journey. I loved his audition, but even I would never have expected him to get this far with so little stage personality.
1: Crystal Bowersox– Adam was in this position last year, the prohibitive favorite. Only the male bias from the voters can keep her from the title.
Bob Gregory's Gallery of Renown 