American Idol 5, April 5: Country Roads Take Someone Home

Historically, country night on American Idol has been pretty drab. Sure, there have been some memorable moments (Kimberley Locke's "I Can't Make You Love Me," Fantasia's "You Were Always on My Mind," and Carrie's "Broken Road" to name a few), but for the most part, we tend to forget these performances nearly as quickly as they occur! Quite honestly, other than Taylor, Paris, and Kellie's songs, I have actually forgotten what the rest of them sang. Not a good sign, that's for sure.

I suppose the logic in have a country night is that this tests the contestants’ versatility. I suppose if it's fair to expect Kellie or Bucky to sing Stevie Wonder, it is only fair to expect Paris or Elliott to sing country. All that being said, I don't think that anyone did horribly last night. It's just that there wasn't a lot of energy exuded, and some of them (cough*Taylor*cough) looked as though they would have preferred having a root canal than being on that stage!

I was most impressed with Kellie, Paris, Chris, and Ace, actually. I thought Katharine, Mandisa, and Elliott were just okay. I was less than impressed with Taylor and Bucky. Taylor reminded me of Bo last year on Broadway night. He sang the song because he had to and that was that. As for Bucky, he should have followed Kenny's advice and enunciated more. I could hardly understand a word he sang, and felt that he picked the wrong song for the evening. All this time, Bucky's been up there rockin' country, and then, come country night, he gets all serious and sloppy on us. Didn't work for me.

Bottom three tonight should be Taylor, Mandisa, and Bucky, with Bucky going home. However, I have a sneaking suspicion that a.) Bucky will not go home, b.) Ace will replace Taylor in the bottom three, and c.) either Ace or Mandisa will be sent packing. I would not bet the farm on any of this, however, as we have seen throughout this season (and others) that I am rarely, if ever correct in my predictions!

Ryan welcomes us to the show. He hasn’t lost the beard, I see! He tells us that just under 35 million votes were cast, and then we have a chance to review the “country showdown.” Kellie really was good, wasn’t she! We see snips of Ace and Chris, both of whom “gambled,” according to Ryan.

Kenny Rogers takes the stage and engages in a bit of chit-chat with Ryan. Ryan wonders if there is any way to make Simon like country music, and the camera cuts to Simon’s face, which has registered just the right look of disgust. Kenny calls him on it and tells him that if he would really listen, he might just like it. Simon tries to save himself by saying that he likes Kenny’s music, and that seems to suffice.

Kenny is singing “I Can’t Unlove You” from his new album, Water & Bridges. We’ll watch to see this one zoom up the Billboard charts next week! Actually, the song is really nice. Unfortunately, I am totally distracted by Kenny's face. This happened during the performance show, and now that I am watching him sing, I find myself fascinated once again by how strange he looks. Now I know that Hollywood encourages youth, and that most celebs can't resist an occasional trip to the plastic surgeon when their looks start to fade. I understand that. What I don't understand is someone who gets so much surgery that they no longer bear any resemblance to the person they used to be. I've seen Kenny Rogers' impersonators who look more like Kenny Rogers than he does! Some surgeon's making a bundle off of old Kenny, that's for sure. Enough already.

Travis Tritt is in the audience. He was supposed to do the show this week, but was replaced at the last minute by Kenny. What’s up with that? Once Kenny finishes his song, the kids come out to thank him and they all get hugs. Bucky tells Kenny that he really likes the song. I get a nice, warm, fuzzy feeling from all this love! Kenny was actually a good guest coach. I kind of like this whole idea.

During the break, we have a chance to see this week’s Ford commercial. This time, they are singing “We’ve Got the Look” and pimping Kellie’s ride! The action takes place in a garage and they are all dancing around with welding equipment and such. The car magically turns into a Ford Fusion, and Kellie is thrilled. As usual, they all get a kick out of this, and Ryan can’t help himself, saying, “Does Kellie really think that’s how cars are made?” She looks clueless!

Ryan then tells us that next week, it’s going to be all about Queen! Wow! The gang is taken to a Queen rehearsal, and we have a chance to watch them working it out on the stage with the band. They all look really cool with the band, and I think this might be quite a show after all!

We’ve spent most of the half hour avoiding the issue of the elimination, and the party is about to be over for one of them. Tonight, we are doing something different. Ryan will separate the nine into three groups of three. One of those groups is the bottom three and the other two will be safe. He starts with Taylor, who is told to stand stage right. Mandisa is next, and she is sent to the middle. Paris joins Mandisa, and then Elliott is also called down to join this group. Ace, who looks scared out of his wits, is sent stage left. Kellie joins Taylor, and then Chris completes their group. This leaves Katharine and Bucky, who join Ace.

This is bizarre. None of the groups looks right to me. Ryan wonders out loud who is the bottom three and walks by each group so as to emphasize the strange combinations in each group. Finally, he reveals the first “safe” group, which is Taylor, Kellie, and Chris. I breathe a sigh of relief, but still don’t like this one little bit. Katharine is shaking her head in wonderment. I am thinking that this is the bottom three, though, right? Ace, Katharine, and Bucky. Makes sense to me.

We come back from commercial and Ryan is standing in the center of the two remaining groups. He does a brief reading of the judges’ comments, and then proclaims that Ace, Katharine, and Bucky are safe. “What?” I say out loud. Uh oh. Looks like my secondary prediction just might be coming true. I don’t want to be right this time. Paula looks a little woozy, and Ryan reminds us one more time that this is what we decided. It’s going to be Mandisa. I can feel it in my bones. I realize that I don’t want to see her gone, but I don’t want to lose Paris or Elliott either. This is a tough one.

This just doesn’t seem right, somehow. We go to commercial, again. I’m telling you, this is dramatic. When we return, Ryan tells us that the results have caused a “stir” in the studio. Ryan puts Paris out of her misery by telling her she’s safe, leaving Mandisa and Elliott. Simon says that he thinks Elliott will stay, and sadly, he is right. Mandisa is eliminated in the season’s first real shocker.

I will confess that I burst into tears, no kidding. I really liked Mandisa, and had her at the top of my list early on. Mandisa handles all of this beautifully, though, and thanks us for our prayers. She tells us that this experience will set her up for the rest of her career, and blesses us in the name of Jesus. As I watch her farewell video, I understand what standing up for her beliefs cost her. Some people feel that she should have kept her faith out of this. Perhaps this turned some people off, and may have resulted in her elimination. To her credit, she remained true to herself and I admire her for that.

Mandisa sings us out and is surrounded by her peers, and we are out. I didn’t want to be right about this, but could see this one coming. I think it’s time for me to get serious when it comes to voting, though. No one is safe. No one!

Donna Reynolds is a freelance writer based in Syracuse, New York. While entertainment sustains her emotionally, she earns her daily bread by writing and editing web copy. Check out her new website at www.idolthoughts.net. Donna loves mail, so shoot her an email at foxydonna@earthlink.net.

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