The American Idol Results show for week 10 of Season 7 live performances saw the contestants cut by one more and left us with only 5 hopefuls remaining. Andrew Lloyd Webber theme week may have been one of the most difficult weeks any group of Idol hopefuls have ever faced…and it was certainly one of the most boring.
The results this week were surprising to almost everyone, but I’m not going to say they were totally unexpected. With only six contestants remaining in the show, there was a better than average chance that this week’s ousted contestant would be an “upset.”
If you missed the performance show on Tuesday night you can always watch the performance videos and read our recaps right here:
I messed up this week because I picked a bottom three like I’ve been doing completely forgetting that they only do a bottom two at this stage of the competition. I was thinking they didn’t start that until next week. On top of that, I only guess one of the contestants correctly. Just to refresh your memory, I placed the Top 6 performances for April 22, 2008, in this order:
- David Archuleta – Think of Me
- David Cook – Music of the Night
- Syesha Mercado – One Rock And Roll Too Many
- Carly Smithson – All I Ask of You
- Brooke White – You Must Love Me
- Jason Castro – Memory
This week I tried something new and actually predicted that the three performances I named as the worst of the week would be the three performers who would be in the bottom three this week: Carly, Brooke and Jason. I further predicted that Jason Castro would be the one voted out in an upset. Of course, they only did a bottom two.
The actual bottom two ended up being:
- Syesha Mercado
- Carly Smithson
Once again American Idol found a way to shock and surprise everyone. They brought out Brooke and Syesha at the same time. Everyone in the world, including Brooke, just new that Brooke was the one in the bottom two. Of course, knowing American Idol’s penchant for drama we shouldn’t have been surprised when Syesha was named to the bottom two instead of Brooke and Brooke was declared safe. Even the judges are getting used to it.
I thought I might be right about Jason when he and Carly were brought out at the same time, but I should have known that it would be Carly in the bottom two since she is the one that performed well while Jason floundered. Once it was Carly and Syesha I knew immediately that Syesha would be the one who was voted out. I was, of course, wrong again. Carly Smithson was voted out to everyone’s surprise.
Why Syesha Mercado Was In The Bottom Two
Well, someone had to be. Seriously. That’s about as complicated as it gets when it’s this close to the finals. Well, it might be a little more complicated. Syesha actually did a really good job this week. That doesn’t really matter, of course, at this point in the game. All of the contestants have either built up their fan basis or they haven’t. Syesha has struggled and been near the bottom on multiple occasions. It’s obvious that her fan base simply isn’t as large as some of the others. Even when people like Brooke and Jason really screw up their fan basis are big enough to get them the votes. On the flip side of that is the fact that people tend to vote for those who mess up or look like they’re in danger to try to help them while not voting for those who do well because they think everyone else is voting for them. I think this probably happened to Syesha this week. Unfortunately, the time she has left on the show is limited.
Why Carly Smithson Lost American Idol
Some people might argue with me, but I think Carly really had an image problem from the very beginning. American Idol is huge in the South and is a ratings hit with both older and younger audiences. An American Idol who speaks with a heavy Irish accent and is covered with tattoos was always going to be a problem. She simply didn’t do enough, early enough, to downplay those “negatives” and build a following among active voters. She was obviously a talented singer, but she had the above mentioned problem and then she never really was able to bring out a personality that people could connect with. Had she chosen a more conservative (and stylish) wardrobe from the beginning that covered her tattoos and had she done a better job of choosing songs that showcased her personality, she would still be in this competition. She didn’t and she lost.
The American Idol Top 5
- David Archuleta, 17, Murray, UT
- Jason Castro, 20, Rockwall, TX
- David Cook, 25, Tulsa, OK
- Syesha Mercado, 21, Miami, FL
- Brooke White, 24, Van Nuys, CA
Carly Smithson, San Diego, CA(Top 6)Kristy Lee Cook, 24, Selma, OR(Top 7)Michael Johns, 29, Los Angeles, CA(Top 8)Ramiele Malubay, 20, Miramar, FL(Top 9)Chikezie Eze, 22, Inglewood, CA(Top 10)Amanda Overmyer, 23, Mulberry, IN(Top 11)David Hernandez, 24, Glendale, AZ(Top 12)
If you’re keeping score with the little side contest Jeff (from Static ThinkBox) and I have going… Jeff and I both guessed incorrectly once again. This week Jeff went with the “safe” bet and chose Brooke White to be eliminated while I thought Jason Castro would be ousted in an upset. We obviously suck. The current score is below.
For a quick recap from a slightly different perspective, swing by Static ThinkBox and see what Jeff has to say about the ousted contestants.
Idol is rigged. They wont ever share any results… there is NOWAY Carly got voted off this week. None of the 2 worst performers were even in the bottom 2… its a crock, I’ll never watch this show agian…well, until next week at least…
I think that Jason is right – at this point of the competition it is rarely about one performance anymore. We’ve watched these people sing for weeks and have multiple songs to judge them on.
But really at this point, it doesn’t matter to me who goes and who stays – if they’ve done well singing on the show (and they’ve made it to the top 6), they can build a career if they want to… many former Idols have.
I agree and disagree somewhat. Week after week they have to outperform the others. You should not go on each week from your previous merits if you dont get a hit every week and the others do. If thats the case then you should go (cough Jason Castro cough).
What a TRAVISTY!!!
Are you kidding me? Jason and Brooke were not in the bottom two? Unbelievable.
The Trousered Ape’s last blog post..Who was Jesus of Nazareth? Parts 5 thru 10 of 10 with Dr. Craig
Idol viewers down about 7%, its probably because of everyone tired of these types of things…
Well, a #1 show can’t stay on top forever. Of course, Idol was such a monster hit even with the ratings slip it’s still pretty dominant.
True, even the A-team had to lose viewers eventually…
I was surprised that Jason and Brooke were not in the bottom two…I think they were surprised as well when they were told they were safe. Brooke should have gone home. She’s boring every week trying to be like Carol King. It isn’t happening.
What cheeses me off is that Jason Castro has been consistently crappy all season. His voice is thin and lacks any oompfh or even believability. He’s coasting on cuteness, pure & simple. You could tell from his reaction and facial expressions that even Jason knew this was screwed up – he totally expected to go home.
And Brooke has been a consistently poor performer. She has a decent enough voice – altho not great by any means – but she has the perpetual look of a timid, wounded woodland critter.
No way that Carly Smithson shoulda been kicked off if this was based on her recent performances. Her Sir Weber rendition was especially spunky and well-sung.
David Archuleta is only barely passable. His vocals are in tune and sometimes have a little punch, but thin. He desperately needs to be one-fourth of a boy band to round out his weak vocals with some other harmonies.
Freakin’ prepubescent girls are skewing this show all to hell!
Brooke is ok (which isn’t enough to win by any stretch) but should go home because she’s too emotionally fragile to actually have a career. Like Jason, she’s pretty boring. They ought to be the next two.
I’d not say that Carly has a heavy accent though, but it is noticeable. Can’t be letting those furriners win American Idol, now can we? Glad she covered up this week though, because the tattoos were distracting.
No doubt, Carly has needed some wardrobe help and her tattoo was a bit distracting – but only ‘cuz I kept wanting to see it in greater detail.
I’ve gotta admit: that Irish lilt, the kinky black hair (in the publicity shots), the face… ah dawgs, she’s just hot! She’s kind of an Irish version of a young Sarah McLachlan – who, again, was freakin’ hot!
I’m kinda amazed that she never did a Sarah McLachlan song ‘cuz she coulda done that quite well.
@Rob – Ah! So now we know why you are such a Carly fan (the accent, the hair, the face).
America wouldn’t have an American Idol from Ireland, so once they finished reading all of her tattoos she was out.
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