Music Blogs

There was much Idol-centric watercooler chit-chat this morning, as there is every morning after an American Idol episode, particularly at this stage in the game when it's down to the finals. But today the Idol chatter wasn't just about last night's performances, but also about this mysterious, ballyhooed change to the rules, a switch-up announced tonight that would apparently change the show forever.

Forever!

I had my own semi-educated guesses about what this big announcement might be. My prediction was the elimination process would be changed to be more like how it is on So You Think You Can Dance or America's Best Dance Crew, shows on which the outcome is determined by a combo of viewers' votes and judges' expertise. On those shows the public does get its say, but the professionals possess ultimate veto power--and therefore can rescue any of the undeserving bottom three (who "perform for their lives" to escape elimination) on those nights when America gets it wrong.

Some fans were angered by such a possible rule revision on Idol, but I actualy thought it would be the right way to go. The only thing fans should be angered about, in my opinion, is the fact that such a policy didn't exist in past seasons, when promising contenders like Michael Johns and Chris Daughtry slipped through the cracks.

Of course, the "big twist" everyone was talking about today wasn't quite that big or twisty. Instead, at the beginning of tonight's double-elimination results show, Ryan Seacrest announced, and explained in mind-numbing detail, a new rule this season called the "Judges' Save." One time--and ONLY one time--the judges will be able to save one contestant that they think deserves to escape elimination. It's sort of like a Get Out Of Jail Free card for the judges. They can only use it once; the week they save that one contestant, no one will go home, but two singers will go home the following week; the decision to implement the Judges' Save must be unanimous among all four judges; and finally, it can only be used up until the top five.

OK, got all that? Good.

Well, I don't know exactly how this will affect the overall outcome of this season. I suppose, if a frontrunner like Adam Lambert or Danny Gokey somehow winds up in the bottom, it could make a huge difference. After all, if the Judges' Save had existed in season 5, Chris Daughtry probably would have won in the end, instead of Taylor Hicks. (Not that that matters so much now; most people would agree that Chris really did win that season in the long run, if they compare Chris and Taylor's sales figures.) All I can say is, between the reinstatement of the wild-card policy and this new rule, it seems like the producers are doing everything they possibly can to minimize the power of Vote For The Worst and prevent another Taylor Hicks type winning or another Sanjaya-style controversy.

This of course will ensure that a marketable (i.e. "commercial"), and more importantly talented, singer will probably win that BMG record contract. That's a good thing, I suppose. But it might also mean that this season will be really, really dull. Because aren't the controversial shocker eliminations part of all the Idol fun? Every season has at least one such shocker, and it's just that sort of suspense that keeps people tuning in (and keeps people voting, actually, out of fear of future unjust eliminations). Will the voting process seem as important, and will the show be as interesting and unpredictable, now that the judges are working with a safety net?

Anyway, with that big, or medium-sized, announcement out of the way, along with a painful group performance of the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" that made me consider bringing NONE of the contestants back for another week, Ryan got on with the other big news of the night: this week's two ousted contestants. After informing Michael Sarver (boo!), Allison Iraheta (yay!), Matt Giraud (yay!), and Kris Allen (eh) that they were all safe, Ryan called Megan Corkrey and Jasmine Murray to the stage, doomfully declaring that one of them would go home tonight (unless the judges used their one-time veto power this evening...yeah, right).

I predicted it as such, in last night's blog: Yes, I was wrong about Kris, but I did correctly forecast that Jasmine would be in the bottom and Megan would be "in trouble." And that's exactly how it panned out: Megan rebounded from her decidedly non-rockin' cover of "Rockin' Robin," and Jasmine got the ax.

Jasmine was then forced to go through the motions reprising her losing song, "I'll Be There," while the judges supposedly deliberated over whether or not they wanted to use their one Get Out Of Jail Free card this early to save Jasmine. The judges mimed their way through a fake discussion while Jasmine did nothing to convince them with an off-key performance that was even worse than last night's limp version.

"Jasmine, we discussed it," Randy Jackson told her (LIAR!). "And sorry, baby, you're headed home."

I guess Jasmine WON'T be there, after all. She exited the stage to the strains of Carrie Underwood covering Motley Crue's "Home Sweet Home" (really!), and then it was all over.

Kanye West "sang" next, in a way that belonged more on a bad-audition blooper reel than a top 13 show and probably could make even William Hung cringe (man, I need to write a whole separate blog in this 'Ye performance). Then no-brainer audience favorites Adam Lambert, Danny Gokey, Lil' Rounds, Scott McIntyre, and Alexis Grace sailed through.

That left...Anoop Desai and Jorge Nunez.

Last week, I would have never guessed that these two would have been in the bottom, especially so early in the season. Both put on great performances last week that made them seen like real possibilities for the top five. But oh, what a difference a week--and a couple of really weak Michael Jackson covers--can make. Both Anoop and Jorge were bad last night (and I DON'T mean Michael-Jackson-bad), and both deserved to be up for elimination based on those performances alone.

But before Ryan announced tonight's final cut, out bounded Kelly Clarkson, surely not coincidentally only a day after her fourth album, All I Ever Wanted, hit stores. She described the album as a mix of "dance to urban to a little bit of country"--conspicuously failing to mention "rock 'n' roll" in her description, lest anyone mistake this new effort for another dark and edgy creation a la My December. (I personally really liked My December, but apparently it put some people off, especially Clive Davis at her label, who launched a vicious and somewhat successful smear campaign against it.)

Kelly then sang her poppy number-one hit "My Life Would Suck Without You" (she told Ryan the song was about no one in particular, but I guessed it just might be about Clive), and showed everyone how it's really done. No one in this season's top 13--except Adam Lambert, of course--sings as awesomely as Kelly. Period.

And then finally, Ryan announced that Anoop Dogg was out of the doghouse and Jorge was the other eliminated singer this week. Jorge unenthusiastically sang bad again--and by that, I mean he reprised "Never Can Say Goodbye," in an attempt to win that Get Out Of Jail Free card. But it was no use, of course. And Simon was (surprise!) not quite as nice as Randy was to Jasmine when delivering this news.

"Are you going to save Jorge?" Ryan asked. "NO," Simon answered, without missing a beat or cracking a smile. Well, I guess Jorge CAN say goodbye, after all .

And so, now it's down to 11. Although I didn't correctly predict Jorge's defeat like I did Jasmine's, I can't say I'm surprised. If he'd gotten cut last week it would have been a curveball, but not after his fumble last night.

So tune in next week to see if Megan and Anoop rebound, if Adam and Danny continue their winning streak...and if that all-important Judges' Save card gets utilized. Seacrest out!