“American Idol” dropout Mario Vazquez appeared briefly on the CBS “Late Show with David Letterman” Tuesday to give his top 10 reasons for quitting the hit reality TV competition — but he never finished that either.
Poking fun at his own unexpected, and unexplained, weekend departure from Fox television’s hit talent competition, Vazquez took part in Letterman’s signature “Top Ten” segment — a facetious countdown of one-line answers to a selected topic in the news.
Asked to give the give the “reasons I quit ‘American Idol,”’ Vazquez recited the following list:
No. 10: “Well, for starters, I was really, really drunk.
No. 9: “I’ve got my eye on the ultimate prize: ‘Belgium Idol”’
No. 8: “Yeah, my career’s over, but I just saved a bundle on my car insurance.”
No. 7: “After seeing Michael Jackson, maybe I don’t want to be a pop star.”
No. 6: “Ryan Seacrest (the host of ‘American Idol’) is all hands.”
No. 5: “I started liking when Ryan Seacrest was all hands.”
No. 4. “Screw it — I’m quitting this, too.”
Vazquez then abruptly discontinued the countdown and left the show without finishing, playing up his claim to incomplete fame for laughs.
The Bronx-born Vazquez, widely seen as a front-runner in the latest “American Idol” competition, dropped out of the show Sunday, citing “personal reasons,” days after being selected as one of the 12 finalists.
Producers of the show replaced Vazquez by bringing back Nikko Smith, son of baseball great Ozzie Smith, who had been eliminated during last week’s round.
Vazquez, 28, has since given little additional insight into why he suddenly withdrew from the show, saying in various TV interviews that he “had to take care of some business” and “this won’t be the last time you see me.”
Fox and producers of the show have likewise kept mum about the reasons Vazquez gave them for quitting.