All the ‘Idol’ buzz for this week has centered around the departure of Mario Vazquez, an early favorite who abruptly left the show for that apparently aren’t pressing enough to keep him from going on any talk show that will have him and coyly refusing to actually talk about it.
The producers decided that the best way to acknowledge his departure while keeping the focus on the singers still in the competition was to do a little sleight-of-hand trick. Ryan Seacrest began Wednesday’s show with a little bit of dry humor, describing how everyone was calling him and asking for the inside scoop: “Why? What was the reason ... (dramatic pause) that the judges were so hard on the contestants last night?”
That was one of the only bits of drama in a show that was eminently predictable. The buzz throughout the semifinal rounds were that all the men were really good and some of the women were just average. This week was the first time the genders have competed head to head, and the audience sent a strong signal that the men are indeed safe for a while and the bottom tier of women shouldn’t be sending out their dry-cleaning to anywhere but a same-day establishment.
Lindsey Cardinale was in obvious trouble after struggling in the semifinals and again on Tuesday night, and became the first finalist eliminated. But in what had to be great news for the six men in the competition, Cardinale was joined in the bottom three by the only two teenage women left in the game, Mikalah Gordon and Jessica Sierra.
Gordon was no surprise, since she’s struggling to rediscover the magic she showed in earlier stages. But when Sierra — who two weeks ago gave what Simon called “without question the best female performance we’ve heard so far” — winds up ranked below a guy who’s already been voted off once, it says that the young ladies haven’t done a great job of selling themselves to the audience.
Teenage sensations like Avril Lavigne and Ashlee Simpson manage to sell millions of records. Evidently, however, either their fans don’t watch American Idol, or if they do, they recognize that this year’s young Britney wannabes are a long way from having that kind of a presence.
Even though the American Idol contestants had been winnowed for the 100,000-odd hopefuls to 12 finalists before this week, not all of the remaining contestants fill the same role. All the singers who remain are good, and all are capable of winning, but some have a much harder road to travel.
For some lucky few, these early weeks are about avoiding the upset while staking a claim to the coveted role of “favorite.” Bo Bice, Constantine Maroulis and Nadia Turner are (comparatively) old pros who have been through the wringer before and have already done enough to escape the judges’ bite before the end of April. For them, the real competition won’t start for another few weeks.
Put Carrie Underwood and Anwar Robinson in that group as well. They’re both talented and sweethearts, and who but the most coldhearted of grinches could avoid calling their 1-866-IDOLS number a couple of times? Heck, Simon even said Robinson and Paula Abdul should get married and have children, which was a good sign for the contender even if it was a little weird.
Pressure's off for someWhat all of the above share in common is a lot less pressure to perform. They’re striving to build a strong and loyal fan base that will carry them through to the finish, not to wow enough casual viewers just to call and save them from Ryan Seacrest’s axe for another week.
Of course, all of the above were painlessly spared a spot in the bottom three this week. So was Anthony Fedorov, who was dreadful on Tuesday, but listened to Seacrest’s retelling of the judges’ criticisms with the bored smile of someone who knows his fate’s already secure. It was, and he survived as well.
The Clay Aiken following has proven to be very strong, and Fedorov is the only guy left who fits that mold. He’s safe until that fan base finds something else to watch on Tuesday nights.
At this stage of the game, the goal for everyone else is to stave off elimination as long as possible. The dream is to join that top group of contenders, but day-to-day survival is the more immediate concern.
To the finalists' credit, they seem to know it. Gordon didn’t look surprised at all to be in the bottom three, and has patented the thousand-yard stare when Ryan gets around to discussing her. Nikko Smith, sitting with Sierra and Vonzell Solomon after Gordon and Cardinale had already been named to the bottom three, seemed to expect that he’d be joining the women on stage instead of Sierra.
Having been voted off the show last week, before being reinstated after Vazquez’s departure over the weekend, it wouldn’t have been a surprise to see Smith in danger this week. Nor would it be a shock to see Solomon there next week; though she’s put together a couple of strong performances in a row, she’ll have to do something to set her apart from the pack.
That leaves Scott Savol, who spent the whole time he was under the microscope staring at the sky and praying. He’s 28 years old, he knows what his strengths and weaknesses are, realizes better than anyone that his odds of winning aren’t great.
Still, he’s the one finalist who seems to take what the judges say to heart. Each week, he goes out there with the attitude that he’ll be going home if he doesn’t come up with a big performance, and every week he delivers. He’s surprised the judges and the audience with how well he’s been able to adapt. That’s a skill some of the women could use.
Craig Berman is a writer in Washington, D.C.