Three more singers earned spots in the final 12 on “American Idol,” and for the second week in a row, there were no major surprises among the selections.
Adam Lambert and Allison Iraheta were the most popular with the judges on Tuesday, and were also among the most popular with the viewers Wednesday. The third finalist was less of a certainty, but Kris Allen got his news in a way that made his selection easy to predict.
Teen has Heart: Allison Iraheta was the first to earn her spot in the finals Wednesday, not a surprise considering the praise she earned for singing Heart’s “Alone.” The 16-year-old was at a loss for words. “I am just so frigging happy right now,” she said, once she finally got to sit on the stool of safety.
Satisfaction: Once again, “Idol” put its most controversial contestant in the final two against the favorite, leaving Nick Mitchell/Norman Gentle standing next to emo-haired Adam Lambert with just one spot in the finals remaining. Lambert was the pick to move forward, and it seemed to be a surprise only to him. “I thought Nick was hilarious, so I didn’t know what would happen up there,” Lambert said.
Who needs Hollywood clips, anyway?: Kris Allen was the most surprising pick to make the finals on Wednesday, especially since he didn’t get much airtime in the earlier rounds. However, once he was onstage Wednesday it was easy to guess that he was one of the lucky ones. Allen was up there with Megan Joy Corkrey, knowing that one of the two had made the finals. Since Irahata had already been picked and some of the women still hadn’t been mentioned yet, odds were pretty good that Allen would be the choice.
Welcome back, I guess: The parade of season seven also-rans continues. Last week, it was Michael Johns and Carly Smithson performing a duet. This week, Brooke White was back to sing her new single. Chikezie and Amanda Overmyer are eagerly waiting by the phone to see if they get called to play on next week’s show. In the meantime, White offered this batch of semifinalists the time-honored advice that’s been passed down in the industry for generations — “Don’t Google yourself.”
Please! Watch the ads!: Right before the first commercial break, Ryan Seacrest warned the TV audience that there was “an unseen audition you don’t want to miss” that would air in the middle of the ads. Ultimately, the new audition clip was just someone singing a crappy version of “It’s in his Kiss” and Kara DioGuardi doing a mock “That’s where it is.” Like the incessant product placements aren’t enough to foil the DVRs? Now the show has to hide footage between the Verizon and Coke commercials?
Sick of the cameras: Simon Cowell had enough of the usual banter with Ryan, asking him “Can it be a little less about me, and more about the show?” For a brief moment, that unexpected plea for less camera time caused the earth to stop spinning on its axis.
The ghosts of finalists past: Alexis Grace, Danny Gokey and Michael Sarver thought they’d have a couple of weeks off after making it to the finals last week. Instead, they had to sit onstage, silently waving to the cameras and waiting for the next trio to join them. It was a little creepy. If they ever make an “American Idol” horror movie, they have some good audition footage for the role of the ghosts, particularly since Grace and Gokey were dressed in white.
A higher power: Simon said Tuesday night that he was praying that Nick Mitchell wouldn’t make it. “I prayed for about 5 or 6 hours nonstop actually last night, and I’m hoping me and God have a good relationship right now,” Simon said. Whether that’s true or not, he got his wish.
Craig Berman is a writer in Washington, D.C.