Jimmy Iovine called the Devin Velez-Lazaro Arbos-Burnell Taylor trio “Wrong Direction” after their group performance on Wednesday. It turns out that it’s more like the overarching theme for the guys in season 12.
For the second time in three weeks, the bottom three was an all-male affair, and for the third week in a row it was a guy who got shown the door. This time the bell tolled for Devin, though the judges sold the possibility of a save for all they were worth, as though the “A Girl Must Win” season 12 storyline would allow for that sort of shenanigans. The crowd chanted, the judges appeared to be glancing at each other like it was actually under consideration … but Randy Jackson was the Grinch who Stole “Idol” and Devin went home.
No big shock. Devin was better this week, but as Jimmy noted that was in comparison to his previous efforts, not in relation to how everyone else did. His farewell performance featured the English-Spanish mix that impressed Nicki Minaj so much back in the day, but it was all for naught.
Even worse news for those who were betting on the "Idol" men this season -- Lazaro was in the bottom two. He’s the guy who could do no wrong with the voters despite subpar performances, so the fact that he was in the danger zone after a much better solo effort this week doesn’t bode well for the guys. It’s the rare time when a group performance could prove to be a game-changer -- he was so terrible when paired with the other guys that it might have closed a few eyes, or shut down a few phone lines.
As for Burnell, he was the first guy sent to safety, which this season is akin to Jack Dawson winning that last seat on the Titanic. He’s now the odds-on favorite to finish sixth.
It was also a bad night for those who like their results shows to feature actual results. It was a full 47 minutes before anyone heard their fate, by which point we’d heard Colton Dixon, Katharine McPhee and One Republic, and Keith Urban perform live, the “Idol” contestants do another brutal group number and mentor young children in how to sing like season 11 champion Phillip Phillips, and Jimmy give his detailed thought on every Wednesday performance, including the group acts. “Idol” continues its groundbreaking efforts to kill time and sell commercials, but I do not think the phrase “results show” means what Fox thinks it means.
It was a banner night for the girls, particularly Kree Harrison, who got the patented Voicemail of Praise from Aretha Franklin. Sure, Jimmy said that Angie Miller maybe shouldn’t pick her own songs any more and was off-track, but she still was among the top five vote-getters.
That all ends next week, however. It’s a sure bet that one of the women will be among the three contestants with the fewest votes.
Because there are only two guys left.
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