Top 24 Eliminations!

Our first elimination show and we already have a little bit of drama!  Sheesh! 

First, let's talk the performances.  Allison Iraheta didn't do herself justice last night.  I actually have her album and it has MUCH better tracks on it than "Scars".  When I listened to the album I was shocked to hear some songs I actually really liked.  She sounds like a combination of Kelly Clarkson and Pink... but this performance didn't show that at all!  I think she sounded worse than some of the girls that are in the competition right now... and she's had a whole year to get her act together.  Oh... and Allison... Thanks for reminding us why you are so awkward on stage.  When Ryan was interviewing her, I felt like we were watching a combination of a 13 year old girl going through puberty and a 47 year old crack addict.  She was awkward and unfocused.  Just odd.

Now Kris on the other hand... he was pretty great!  At least I thought he was.  "Let It Be" fit his voice... and on the contrary to Allison, Kris reminded us what a male contestant on Idol should sound like (which in turn proved how horrible the guys were last night).  Plus... I mean, he's already so darn likable that its hard to not like him even more when they show footage of him visiting Haiti, and the fact that 100% of the proceeds from the saled of "Let It Be" will be donated to charities for Haiti.  Kris is doing well at maintaining his wholesome, midwest, do-gooder appeal.  Props!

In other Idol news... Ryan announces that after a small hiatus, "Idol Gives Back" will be returning.  I think this is a smart move on the producers part.  When you have this pop culture machine, why not use it to do some good.  I also understand why they didn't have it last year, with the economy in the hole and everything.  It's a great political move to bring it back this year and donate funds to Haiti and other well-deserving places. 


So on to the eliminations... girls first.  According to my predictions, I went 1 for 2 last night.  Ashley Rodriguez was sort of a given, I thought.  And after her reaction last night, I am very glad to see her go!  Did anyone else catch that bitchiness??!  Ryan was trying to interview her and she just had a pissy look on her face and all she would say is "I've got to sing now".  Maybe she was continuing to say that because she was trying to hold it together and not emotionally breakdown on stage.  Whatever her tactic was, it was piss-poor because there is no way I would every even contemplate purchasing music from this girl now.  I did find it kind of fitting (and funny) that she had to sing "Happy" again... with the lyrics "so what if it hurts me?  so what if I break down?  so what if the world just throws me off the edge..."  For some reason I just find it poetic when people sing after being eliminated and the song is talking about how much their world sucks.  :-)

As for the second girls elimination, I was actually pretty surprised.  When it came down to Janell Wheeler and Katie Stevens, it was a given.  There was NO WAY Katie was going home during the first round.  With her backstory...and performing in the pimp spot... it just wasn't going to happen.  Keep in mind, Ryan never said that they were in a "bottom two" or anything.  For all we know, Katie could have had the most votes of the night!  The producers just like to play with our fickle hearts.

But on to Janell. I was quite surprised with her elimination. I really liked her Hollywood Week performance of "American Boy" and I'm surprised that didn't buy her a little more time.  I think she had a lot more in her than we saw with "What About Love" on Tuesday night.  She definitely has talent... and its hard to see someone like her go home without seeing her full potential.  There are other girls that I am bored with already and would have liked to see go home in her place.  But... with the "characters" that we have in the girls group (Crystal, Haeley, Siobhan) you really have to stand out to get votes and I think Janell just blended into the background.  Personally, I would have rather seen Lacey or Paige go home this week.  But oh well... I should have voted. 

Oh... one more thing:

Dear Ashely Rodriguez,
Take a lesson from Janell on how to exit gracefully.  She thanked everyone for the opportunity, thanked the band, thanked the judges.  She talked about how honored she was to be part of this show.  If you need a piece of humble pie, I'm sure Janell Wheeler can bake it for you.
Love, Matt


On to the boys... I was 1 for 2 with my predictions here as well.  Unfortunately, my prediction for Joe Munoz was correct.  He wasn't the worst singer on Wednesday... but his personality and backstory just weren't enough in comparison to some of the others.  I think when he sang the song the second time, it was better than the first.  Maybe because his nerves weren't there this time around.  Too sad for Joe... But on the bright side, not many teenagers can say they went through that experience!  Pretty cool!

The second elimination was definitely more interesting.  Looking at the bottom row of contestants (Alex, Tyler, Casey, Lee, Jermaine and Andrew) I thought it HAD to be Jermaine.  Then... Ryan announced Jermaine is safe.  Really America?  After that performance of "Get Here", more of you voted for him than Joe?  Wow... I am surprised.

It comes down to Alex and Tyler.  Even at this point, I was sure that it was Alex going home and not Tyler.  Let me clarify... not because I wanted that to happen... but it just wasn't what I expected.  When it is annoucned that Alex is safe, I was about as surprised as he was!  By the look on his face, Alex thought he was going home too.

So its Tyler... which I agree with.  I didn't think he vocals were good at all... and his whole schtick is a little overdone.  I think Tyler could also eat a piece of humble pie... blaming his elimination on the judges not giving him any constructive criticism during Hollywood Week.  Lame.


Well we made it through week one!  Here's a photo illustration of my personal rankings of the semi-finalists thus far: