There are no surprises on Idol

There's a funny post from our fellow-Idol blogger, the L.A. Times' Richard Rushfield, where in over-the-top style he laments:

Rarely in the history of competitive singing has the cruel, inexplicable hand of fate struck so mighty and unexpected a blow as it did last night when in one remorseless swoop, it removed both Alaina Whitaker and Alexandrea Lushington from our lives forevermore. ...

But on stage we saw last night that bitter shock as the room realized, with the beheading of Alaina, that on any night, anyone could go. Last week's dismissals were uniformly warranted and not unexpected, their pain thus muted (to all but Ramiele). But to lose two such promising, seemingly sure contenders at once, and so early, seems almost too cruel a blow for an "Idol" connoisseur to bear.

Leaving aside Rushfield's unique way of expressing himself, others on the blogosphere seem genuinely shocked that Alaina was cut--you could even hear Alaina wail on the show last night, "But I can sing!"

Uh... since when did being able to sing prevent someone from getting cut on Idol?

Wasn't Alaina watching the night Jennifer Hudson got the axe, leaving such vocal stalwarts as Jasmine Trias and John Stevens on stage?

Or how about when Mandisa was cut even though Ace Young and Kellie Pickler were still hanging around?

Not that Alaina's in the same class as those two, despite what she--and her mom, did anyone else notice how she was glaring the entire time?!--might think.

If nothing else, American Idol teaches us that being really good at one thing isn't enough in this 21st century world of ours. You need the sizzle as well as the steak to succeed.

And, if you're gonna depend on the whims of the voting public, you should accept there's gonna be some random/seemingly illogical decisions (maybe someone should explain to Alaina about George W. Bush/Al Gore/Florida).

But we put up with it... because sometimes the voting public sees things even brilliant experts don't, and those surprises are the sweetest. Just ask Taylor Hicks... or Barack Obama.

And honestly, I wasn't surprised when Alaina got cut--she's a decent singer, but she's not that good, and there's nothing compelling whatsoever about her.

When it comes to personality, I'm with Eileen--there's something very interesting about Kady, maybe that she's so obviously struggling between being herself and being her version of what a pop star is.

I'd much rather keep her around and see if she can pull out of her slump; like Simon, I think she has the potential to win it all, or at least be there at the end.

Whereas Alaina struck me as just another not-bad young singer.

It's the end for Britney's ex

So, I am now 4 for 6. Not too bad.

So, we're back to the results again - girls go first this time around. Ryan tells the front row to stand up - Carly Smithson, Alaina Whitaker, Ramiele Malubay, Syesha Mercado and Kady Malloy. He calls on Carly first and tells her she is safe. Then he turns to Ramiele and tells her to sit down, she is safe too. Syesha is also safe and it's down to the girls I had chosen to go home tonight - Kady Malloy and Alaina Whitaker. I'd say between the two of them, it should probably be Kady, but let's see what America said.

America disagrees, apparently. They voted Alaina Whitaker out. She and Kady both seem stunned, like they both expected it to go the other way. But the news sets in and Alaina starts crying and says she can't sing her song again. How cheesy - they bring all the girls out to give her moral support. She keeps saying that it's going to be horrible and she's right - it's almost worse than last night.

So, it looks like "Idol Gives Back" is coming back this year - mark your calendars - it will air April 9. Brad Pitt will be involved with the show, as will Miley Cyrus, Reese Witherspoon, Mariah Carey, Snoop Dogg, Chris Daughtry and Carrie Underwood. Also, for the first time ever, The John Lennon-Paul McCartney songbook has been made available to "Idol" contestants and top 12 contestant will be singing Beatles song on March 11. I'm so flippin' excited about that - I had heard the news yesterday, I think, but to have it confirmed is just awesome - finally, we'll have the best music ever made on this show.

Well, we're down to our last elimination of the night. Ryan tells the front row to stand up - Luke Menard, David Hernandez, Robbie Carrico, David Cook and David Archuleta. He tells Luke and Robbie to come to the center of the stage and tells the rest of the guys to sit down, that they are safe.

Wow... Didn't see this coming. Robbie Carrico is sent home - along with his wig.

So, not too bad for me... I'm 5 out of 8.

Couple of close calls

Well, it looks like people are beginning to tune it - almost 31 million people voted this week. Seems kind of crazy to me since the theme this week was the 70s - certainly not as appealing as 60s, I don't think.

The group song today is a medley of 70s songs and it's OK - not really my cup of tea, but they sound all right. The really crazy thing for me is how fast people seem to have lost their minds over David Archuleta. It's only week 2 of real competition and already you hear girls screaming their heads off anytime he's on camera. It's really cute, but I hope it doesn't backfire on him, with people assuming he's safe and not voting for him.

Oh is that Brooke White with her hair straightened? It looks adorable - I mean I like the craziness of her curls, but she looks so cute with it straight. She should wear it that way more often.

So, we're heading into results now. The guys are up first and they show clips from last night. It's tough - the guys are so much better than the girls this season - it seems unfair hat we have to lose two of each - why not all girls this week instead?

OK, Ryan tells the back row to stand up. In the back row are Jason Yeager, Danny Noriega, Chikezie Eze, Jason Castro and Michael Johns. He then tells Michael to sit down, he is safe. Next, he tells Chikezie to site down - he is safe. Jason is next and Ryan gives me a heart attack because he tells Jason that he has bad news for him and then says the bad news is he'll have to chat with him more next week because he, too, is safe. Phew... I got scared there for a minute.

But now Jason Yeager and Danny Noriega are left and I'm terrified because I know Jason Yeager should go home, but do any of you follow dialidol.com? I usually check the site after I've made my guesses, just to see where I stand, and according to that site, Jason Yeager is nowhere near the bottom of the list. So, if the site is right, between the two of them, it would be Danny going home, and he doesn't deserve to go just yet.


But they're wrong tonight because it's Jason Yeager who goes home first.


OK, we're moving right along - on to the girls now. He tells the back row to stand up - in the back row are Kristy Lee Cook, Amanda Overmyer, Alexandrea Lushington, Brooke White and Asia'h Epperson. Wow - none of my picks is the back row. I'm intrigued - who could it be? He tells Kristy that she's safe, then Asia'h, then Brooke, so it's between Alexandrea and Amanda.

Now do any of you follow votefortheworst.com? Well, they chose Amanda Overmyer as the worst for this week, and according to dialidol.com, she was in the top spot for the girls, so I'll be surprised if she goes home. I kind of hope it's Alexandrea, just because her 9/11 thing really bothered me.

And it is Alexandrea Lushington that goes home next.