Wednesday's American Idol [1] finally brought out the first big prize of the season: the 10 spots up for grabs on the summer tour. As I said a while back, getting to the top 12 is nice and all — but finding out you'll have a job as a working singer for at least a few months must feel like such a dream come true.
So who's not heading out to stadiums with the Idol hopefuls this year? To find out and talk about it, just .
Amanda, Ms. Rock-n-Roll Nurse, was sent home Wednesday — a decision that probably wasn't terribly surprising, given how divisive she can be (witness: my feelings about her vs. Pop's [2]!). She wasn't going to win. But I'm still bummed that she won't be on the tour, and I'm going to miss her on the show. She truly did bring something different to Idol: a voice and a persona that were highly unusual, especially on the female side. For those reasons, I would have preferred to see Kristy go; poor girl's got to know her days are numbered.
The night also brought what I think was the first real surprise of the season: Carly ending up in the bottom three, which neither Pop nor I (nor DialIdol [3], for that matter) saw coming. Seacrest slipped it in so quickly that I almost thought it was a joke. Do you think her fans just got complacent? Or is she not as loved as we've been led to believe?
Some other thoughts on the show:
- So far in this season's finals, only one guy has been in the bottom three. Just thought that was interesting.
- Three revelations from the group sing: First, the five guys' voices sounded surprisingly awesome blended together. Second, all 11 of them sounded pretty decent together, too. And finally, Amanda can carry a tune! Even if it was just for a second.
- Michael Johns on his work in the Ford music video: "A Susan Lucci type of performance." Also, that behind-the-scenes segment went on forever, but I do love me some cheesy Ford videos.
- "Simon said you looked a little smug last night. How do you react to that?" Smugly, that's how.
- Simon has no ego? Ha. Ha. Hahahahahaha.
- Best of the night: "We have time to get to second base right now." You know, every so often, Seacrest busts one out that actually makes me laugh.
- Kellie Pickler: "A contestant who's grown in so many ways since she left us." Heh.
Did the right person go home? And who really needs to step it up next week?
Photos courtesy of Fox [4]