Allison Cut: American Idol Now A Boys' Club
Last night on American Idol, Simon Cowell predicted that Allison Iraheta's smokin' "Slow Ride" duet with Adam Lambert would save her in this competition. Usually, Simon is right. But sadly, this time he got it wrong.
Yes, Allison was axed tonight, ironically during Rock 'N' Roll Week, which should have been her strongest week yet. Since I'm an Allison fan who until this evening was still dreaming of an Adam/Allison finale in just two weeks' time, this news, of course, did not rock my world.
Tonight's Rock 'N' Roll results show actually kicked off quite rockingly, with perhaps the only group singalong number that I didn't find unbearably cruise-shippy this entire season, because a) it featured Slash!!!!; b) it featured an Alice Cooper song!!!!; and c) it offered some more Adam-on-Allison duet action!!!! (in the G-rated sense, of course).
But then, when my predicted eliminated contestant, Kris Allen, was the first to be sent to safety by Ryan Seacrest (the look on his face indicated that he was as shocked as I was), my heart sank for the little redheaded girl.
And then, when Adam made it through, I was filled with mixed emotions: I was absolutely elated, naturally, that there'd be no near-elimination scare for Adam like there was last week, but fearful that it was just down to Allison and Danny Gokey in the bottom two.
Danny of course deserved to go home based on last night's laughably shrieky mangling of a perfectly good Aerosmith song and his narcolepsy-inducingly boring Styx duet with Kris. But since he'd never been in the bottom before, while Allison had landed there more times than anyone in the remaining final four, it didn't look so good for her. Still, I clung to my rock 'n' roll fantasy that she would once again be safe.
Well, after 64 million votes--the highest vote tally outside of an Idol finale--Allison was cut, despite her solid "Crybaby" performance last night. I guess 64 million people CAN be wrong. And I was the one who was the crybaby upon learning these results. I will truly miss her girl power in this competition. American Idol is now officially a boys' club, as this is the first season in which the final three have all been male. Boo!
I honestly don't know why the Idol audience never really connected with Allison. She had the vocal chops, that was undeniable. And being the only teenager in the top 10, she should have had the tween demographic all sewn up. Just being the sole female in the top four should have been enough to give her some edge over Danny and Kris. She was the only person of color in the final four, too. That should have helped as well, but it did not.
So what was it? Was it her Manic-Panic'd hair? Because her tresses looked better than ever last night, thanks to her sleek new extensions. Was it her shy demeanor? Because she sure wasn't shy when she sassed back to Simon last night. I just don't know. All I know is, America got it wrong here. I truly believe that.
I only hope that Allison follows in the platinum-plated footsteps of fellow fourth-placer Chris Daughtry. Daughtry, one of the most successful AmIdol alums ever, performed his new single "No Surprise" on tonight's results show, and he proved once again that sometimes when a contestant comes in fourth, that contestant actually wins.
So I am rooting that Allison has a Daughtry-esque career path ahead of her, because she's still a winner in my book.
So, to all you who got angry that I said Scott was nice but could not sing, that Lil was just an average singer, that Matt was "the invisible man" because no one could even remember his name or what he sang, that Alison would go home as #4, etc., etc. What can I say? I was 100% correct.
By the way, remember ... Adam goes home next week.
Final two - Danny and Kris.
It's hard to be humble.
I am sorry to see Allison go. She rocked it last night in her final performance.