Thursday, March 10. The weekly chip-off began tonight. Over 30 million votes came in and we were there to see who would be going home. Host Ryan Seacrest announced that Casey Abrams was once again back in the hospital and wasn’t amongst the Top 13 that night.
The remaining contestants did a medley of Michael Jackson hits “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin,’” “Rock With You,” “Black Or White,” and “Man In the Mirror.” This is always a great opportunity to hear all of the singers back-to-back to see how they sound compared to each other. Some of them blended so seamlessly into the other that you thought it was still the same person. And then there was Ashton Jones who stood out like a sore thumb when contributing her part to the second hit. She was clearly the weakest singer on stage.
We were “treated” to the obligatory music video plugging Ford, one of the show’s sponsors. All I remember was a clever bit where the singers appeared to be tearing off pieces of paper and scenery at the same time and a camera that kept shifting left and right with quick MTV-styled edits that gave me a headache.
If that wasn’t enough—or the fact that Fox makes about half a million dollars for every 30 second spot it airs—they had to pimp a movie which is opening tomorrow--Red Riding Hood (because so many recorders skip over commercials, advertisers constantly look for new ways to force their product into the shows themselves, and this is one of the ways “Idol” has milked even more money from corporate sponsors over the years). Star Amanda Seyfried was sitting in the audience looking and acting like an annoying, flaky teenager. We saw how the Top 13 went to the red carpet premiere and got to talk to some of the film’s stars. Then we were “forced” to see scenes in the theatre and the singers’ reactions.
Just for that, as most of us did when they imposed Mike Myers and The Love Guru upon us three years ago, I hope this movie flops. The only thing that wasn’t predictable about this “within a show plug” was that it wasn’t made by 20th Century Fox, the film counterpart to Fox Television, but Warner Brothers.
Finally, Seacrest did the death march drill, calling up three contestants at a time and reviewing some of the comments their performances elicited last night from the judges. First up: Jacob Lusk, Stefano Langone, and Karen Rodriguez. Right away, I knew Rodriguez was in the bottom three for her terrible version of Selena’s “I Could Fall In Love” (she claims she had technical problems and couldn’t hear herself well). Yep. She was in the bottom three.
Season 8 Idol runner-up Adam Lambert performed an unplugged version of a song he co-wrote, “Aftermath.” He sang sitting on a stool backed up by three musicians: one on tom toms, another on acoustic guitar, and another what looked like a bass. He behaved himself, refraining from making out with any of them. Forgettable song and performance. Seacrest told the audience he’d played the dance remix on his radio show, and Lambert reported that proceeds from it were going to the Trevor Project, part of the “It Gets Better” campaign which supports bullied gays.
The next three singers to walk the plank were Lauren Alaina, Haley Reinhart, and Ashton Jones. Lauren said that after hearing back her performance of Shania Twain’s “Any Man Of Mine” last night, she agreed with the judges: “I sucked… They were right—it wasn’t good. It was bad, and I’m sorry.” It was one of the few moments this brassy 15 year old showed some vunerability, and I actually felt for her as she teared up and audience tried to support her. Just in the nick of time, Seacrest said he wasn’t going to draw it out any longer and told her she was safe. Then she started crying.
Judge Randy Jackson pointed out that when Reinhart sings Alicia Keys one week and LeAnn Rimes another, it makes for a confusing musical identity. Ashton admitted that the judges were right: she should’ve chosen a Diana Ross song that people actually knew (duh!) but that she wanted to show her soft side.
Seacrest revealed that Ashton was in the bottom three… then added that Haley was also there.
Meaning that the rest of the contestants sitting on the bleachers were safe. This was the fastest Seacrest has ever revealed the fate of the contestants, not even bothering to call half of them on stage before announcing the results!
Which means I guessed the entire bottom three correctly (see last night’s blog).
There was more “entertainment” from Dirty-Diddy Money, the latest concoction of Puff Daddy/P. Diddy. “Coming Home” began with a female singer at the piano sounding like a cross between Dido and Sarah McLachlan with a cackle in her voice. Then Diddy went and ruined it all by talking—er, rapping. He finished it up with support from two back-up singers. Boring. Of course, judge Steven Tyler, who seems to like everything, gave them a standing ovation. Please.
Seacrest called up the bottom three and announced that Ashton Jones received the lowest number of votes. She got to sing one last time in the hope that the judges would use their veto power and save her (they can use it on any singer--but only once--and before they reach the Top Five). Even though she already explained why it was a bad choice, she again did that Diana Ross ballad that nobody knows! As she struggled through it, I thought about how the judges could’ve picked Clint Jun Gamboa as one of their “wild card” choices instead of this amateur. As I expected, it wasn’t good enough. Jennifer Lopez sadly told her the verdict was unanimous: “Not this time, baby. Sorry.”
We saw a montage of her Ashton’s journey with the new “Idol” exit song, David Cook’s version of Simple Minds’ “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” playing in the background.
Although I’d predicted Karen Rodriguez was going home, I asserted in March 4’s blog that Ashton Jones’ time on the show was extremely limited: “Just watch: Jones will be ‘voted out’ by the audience within two weeks anyway. She’s simply too ordinary.” Thanks for maintaining my faith in you, voters!
I didn't much of these contestants in their group performance. I also think Lambert was invited only if he stayed put on his chair and didn't move any body parts.blah.
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