American Idol 4, March 2: The Sweet Sixteen

After last week’s debacle, I am approaching this show very cautiously. Even though it’s only a half-hour, they can still pull some nonsense. I’ve made my picks, but I am constantly amazed at how some people are able to skate by, while others more worthy are eliminated. I’ll say one thing, it’s too bad that two guys have to go. I would rather see them cut four of the girls after last night’s poor performances. But enough of what I think. Let’s get to it.

Ryan welcomes us, saying that they’ve done all they can to win our vote, but four people have to go home. The gang is standing behind him, and he tells us that it is tight tonight, so we have to keep moving. He introduces the judges, and then tells us 42 million votes were cast.

The ladies are up first and seated on the couches. We see some clips of last night’s performances. Some were hits, and some were misses. Ryan asks Randy about his criticism of Carrie’s selection of a Janis Joplin song when actually it was Faith Hill’s country version. Randy fluffs through it. Paula suggests that they pick a popular male vocalist rather than a female. Simon, who doesn’t like country music, points out that there are good country songs and bad country songs, and it doesn’t really matter what song they pick as long as it is a good performance.

Ryan asks Celena Rae to join him center stage, and just like that, he tells her that she has gotten the lowest amount of votes and will be leaving American Idol. Boom. No fuss, no muss. She doesn’t seem at all surprised, and says that she was prepared. Randy tells her to keep her dreams alive, and Paula urges her to keep going forward. Simon tells Celena that the odds are stacked against her, but that she’s just performed in front of 30 million people. No swan song for Celena and no emotional hugs either. One down, three to go.

Back from the break, Ryan recaps what just happened in case anyone forgot, and the girls are still seated on the couches, waiting. Ryan talks about the dress rehearsal, and asks what happened when they went live. Nadia says she was anxious. She says it wasn’t God’s will! Now we are looking for the girl who pulled the second lowest number of votes.

The girls remain seated, and Ryan reads from his cards. Jessica and Amanda are safe, as is Carrie. Nadia is also safe, but then we get to Janay. She is safe! Whatever. Lindsey and Mikalah are both safe. Ryan calls Aloha and Vonzell to the stage. He points out that Aloha made a last minute change in her song. She says that her song had changed four times and she was very uncomfortable the whole time she was performing last night. She thinks that last week, people were pretty surprised with her performance. Vonzell says that her dress rehearsal went better than the live performance, but hopes she will have a chance to redeem herself.

Then, without further ado, Ryan tells Vonzell that she is safe, and Aloha is going home. Paula doesn’t think Aloha should be leaving, and neither does Randy. Simon agrees, and thinks she should have had another shot. Aloha tells Ryan that this is what she is supposed to do, and that she learned a lot. She leaves with a lot of style and grace. Good for you. I start to tear up.

Now for the guys. Of course, we have to have a recap of the performances. All this serves to remind me how great the guys were, and how absolutely irritating it is that two of them have to leave. Get over it, right! And then there was Bo. That still amazes me.

Constantine, Nikko, Bo, Anthony, and Anwar are safe. Ryan hesitates at Scott, who is looking down. But he is also safe. Hallelujah. Ryan calls Joe, Mario, David, and Travis to center stage. One of these guys has the lowest number of votes, and another has the second lowest. Of course, there is a break here. We need a little drama, right?

Back from the break, four guys remain on the stage. Ryan congratulates Mario. He is safe. Then Ryan takes a deep breath, and reminds them all what they sang. He looks at Travis and tells him he can stay. Joe and David remain, and are obviously going home. Joe got the lowest number of votes and David the second lowest.

Joe says that he is very proud of himself, and makes a comment about not having a lot of airtime. This might have been true for Melinda, but Joe has had two chances to perform, so this excuse doesn’t really cut it with me anymore. David just smiles. Ryan wonders what went wrong with him, and David shrugs. Paula comments that they haven’t seen the magical spark from him, and looks very, very sad. Mikalah is sobbing and seems inconsolable. It’s going to get a lot tougher, honey. And that’s it. Everyone gets a chance to say goodbye, and we are out.

This show was originally booked for the entire hour, and the change was made within the last week, after the listings were published. They did listen to us, and for that I say, “Thank you.” No elimination show is fun, but at least this was short, to the point, and as painless as possible. Ryan seemed sympathetic, and it was much easier for the people who were eliminated. We’ll be back again on Monday to do it all over again. I’ll have plenty to mull over in the meantime.

Donna Reynolds is an Assistant Editor for the RealityNewsOnline family of websites and a freelance writer based in Syracuse, NY. She is also the creator of "That's Entertainment," a weblog on syracuse.com. Whether you agree or disagree, Donna welcomes your comments, and you can email her at foxydonna@earthlink.net.

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