IdolHeadEd.com - Idol Did Me Wrong and Didn't Even Buy Me Dinner

Idolista writes
I was too angry to write this article on Wednesday night. I felt shamelessly used and abused and needed to calm down. How about the rest of you?

After what is nearly 9 years now of analyzing every last bit of this crazy obsessive show, I tend to think of myself as an informed viewer. I’ve watched lots of Idol’s plots and tricks and misdirection and seen right through it all. But not last night. It took me at least an hour after the show was over to realize how I’d been manipulated. And the more I thought about it, the more irritated it made me.

I think everyone knew it was a foregone conclusion that Matt Giraud would leave this week. There was a smidgeon of a chance it could be Allison, and an even smaller smidgeon that it could be Kris, but America just hadn’t embraced Matt in the way they have some of the other contestants. So when Matt and Danny Gokey were sent to opposite sides of the stage, it was pretty evident that Danny’s group would be the ‘ins’ and Matt’s group the ‘outs’.

There was some surprise when Allison Iraheta was sent to Danny’s group and Kris Allen to Matt’s, but somebody had to be #3, right? And it was Kris who had sung first in the spot of doom.

When it came Adam Lambert’s turn, he was made to choose the group he felt he belonged in, just as Idol has tried to force contestants in the past. Rather than politely demurring, confident Adam took a spot with Danny and Allison. “WRONG!” says Ryan, “Adam, you’re in the bottom three tonight!”. SHOCK reverberates through the crowd…..how can it be that ADAM is in the BOTTOM THREE????

Oh yes, I fell for it. I bit. I sat slack-jawed with the rest of America. Even though I hadn’t been a fan of Adam’s performance this week, I, like almost everyone, assumed he’d keep his spot at the top of the heap. Then, to everyone’s further shock, KRIS was sent to safety, with Ryan carefully avoiding any mention of whether or not that was because Kris came in third in the vote tally. Adam in the bottom two??? (although that was never actually stated) How could this possibly be? Were we going to get another Daughtry shocker?? Of course, it wasn’t Adam who left the show, so all was still right with the world, and the collective sigh of relief of millions of viewers was audible.

Later, as I was loading the dishwasher, that little light bulb lit up over my head and I realized how badly we (the audience) had been duped. For one, Idol NEVER has a bottom three on top 5 week. It’s pointless to do so, really. For another, Adam was absolutely right, no matter which group he chose! Clearly he was the #3 vote getter this week. He was as much in the top 3 as he was in the bottom 3!. There was absolutely no reason for Idol to have put Adam in the bottom three except to artificially generate drama! As Jodi Sweetin used to say in “Full House”….How Rude!!!!!

It was at this point that I replayed the tape of the show and realized how carefully Ryan had avoided mentioning any sort of order among his ‘bottom three’. Kris was returned to safety, not because he was the #3 vote getter, but because it was far more dramatic to show Adam as up for elimination.

I’ve always tried to give Idol the benefit of the doubt and to assume that they don’t manipulate the results in order to give some contestants an advantage over others. Now I’m not so sure. Because they never have, and have stated they never will, reveal any vote totals, they lay themselves open to suspicions of manipulation. And after this week’s shameless example of exactly that, I’m no longer willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. So Idol, be warned. I will be watching, and listening, carefully to what is not said or stated, every bit as much as to what is said or stated. Trust once lost is not easily regained.

Now that I’ve got that off my chest, I have a few more comments about the show.

It was good to see Natalie Cole performing even though she’s been so ill. For those who may not know, Natalie is suffering from potentially terminal kidney failure caused by damage from Hepatitis C. Natalie has openly admitted to being addicted to heroin in the ‘80s and believes she caught Hep C from sharing needles. So while she’s definitely lost a step vocally, it can probably be attributed to her illness. But full credit to her for soldiering on and performing.

Taylor Hicks looks good with a little less weight. His new song is very much in the style he’s most comfortable with, but I somehow doubt it’s going to increase his fanbase much beyond those who already follow him. I happen to like that bluesy/Cajuny thing he does, so it worked for me. But like departing Matt, Taylor’s style isn’t something America really embraces.

Next week we get to rock out. This should be excellent news for Allison and Adam, maybe not so much for Kris or Danny, but we shall see. I still stand by my previous statement that any one of these kids would be a worthy winner. Hopefully next week they’ll once again prove me right.

Idolista, in Denver with her head in the clouds