Let’s see … let’s see. I picked Hollie Cananagh to get the boot on this elimination episode of American Idol, right? Right. The judges have been ragging on her nine ways to Sunday anyway, so she’s bound to go. But wait …
… she’s in the safe group Ryan Seacrest put at his right?!? How can that be … ?!?
Hokay. It’s a blip on the map. A mere trick of the voting process. Instead, it’s going to be Phillip Phillips. He’s been doing his own thing and not playing nice with either the judges or Jimmy Iovine, all of which say he’s supposed to be playing it differently. He’ll wind up in the Bottom 3 instead of Hollie. Then he’ll get eliminated …
What? He’s in the safe group, too?!? What’s up with that?
Hokay. Skylar Laine, then. I mean, she’s good, but she’s had her hits and misses.
Nope. Her, too? She’s safe already? She was the first one to be called safe?!? Mama! I’m not getting anything right, am I?
Hmmmmmm. Colton Dixon? You never know about him … just not certain about his fan base. You’re kidding … he’s safe as well? Cripes, cripes and cripes!
Well, then … it’s going to be Elise Testone. She’ll make up part of the Bottom 3. And she’ll get clipped. Besides, her performances have been hit and miss — great one week, off the following week. I’ve said that a few times before.
Come on! Not her, too … she’s safe?!?? Well just shoot me, then.
That leaves the two best singers of the competition: Joshua Ledet and Jessica Sanchez. Well … I mean … a lot of people in TVLand think them the best of the bunch.
What’s that you say? Joshua is the last to be called safe leaving Jessica in danger of being shown the door … ?!? How can that possibly be? How can the 16 year-old with the technical skills of someone easily twice her age have gotten the least amount of votes? How can she — the one the judges have been crowing over from Day One — be the last contestant left standing, in jeopardy of leaving the Idol stage for the very last time? Has the world gone mad … !???!?
But that’s exactly what happened, folks. Jessica Sanchez, the amazing vocal talent of the season, not even a generation old, was the hopeful given a microphone to sing for her life in the hope Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson would rescue her from her unimaginable fate.
But it never got that far. As soon as she began singing, the judges clamored onto the stage and halted the proceedings. Randy took the mike. There was no way the three were not going use their one save of the season to keep Jessica performing into next week.
We’ve never seen anything like this on American Idol before. A supposed favorite caught off guard and practically bumrushed off the stage right before our very eyes. Pretty nifty stuff for a regular old Thursday night.
Clacked by Michael Noble 
on Apr 12, 2012 @ 23:09 EST5EDT
It always happens — the presumed favorite doesn’t get the votes because everyone assumes everyone else is voting for them so they throw some sympathy votes to someone who got unmercilessly ragged on by the judges. It happens on every show where the viewers get to be in 100% control of the results. I’ve always felt that the judges (you know, the pros) should have some say in who stays and goes home until the top two finalists. That at least guarantees that the most talented, instead of the most dreamy, has a shot at winning.
*POST AUTHOR*
. . . . .
“That at least guarantees that the most talented, instead of the most dreamy, has a shot at winning.”
But where would the fun be in that, Chuck?
What would we complain about? Where would we direct our whines? What would we have to gripe at during our breaks at the (virtual) water cooler? Seriously: What would we be left doing if common sense got tossed in the mix of reality television?
That’s true. Like when the most hated, but most interesting, person on Survivor is voted out or medically evacuated and we’re just left with a bunch of morons. It’s a lose-lose situation!
*POST AUTHOR*
. . . . .
*hrmph*
……… I about had a friggin’ stroke. I still might.
Jennifer Hudson sings on the American Idol stage for only the second time since she was voted off in 2004; James Durbin as a blond also sings to promote his album; both James and Jennifer were upstaged by the contestant getting the lowest votes trying to choke through the first two measures of her “Save Me!” song; Jessica again attempts to prove she has the voice the world is praising by starting her song again, but instead proves she is a teen-ager with teen-ager emotions; J-Lo cries.
It must be Thursday, and THIS is American Idol!!
I think Jessica Sanchez has a voice that can shoot her to the top of the vocal industry. [Anyone looking for this decade’s Whitney Houston? This gal has the pipes to do it.] I think this week’s performance was a deeper revelation of her “inner” self and more heartfelt than many she has given us. I do not think she has popularized herself and built a fan base that will let her be crowned the 2012 American Idol.
Great use of the save, as was Casey being saved by the judges last year. Now, what are they going to do next week when Joshua is voted off?
I still hate when the judges and Ryan get up there and blame everything on “America”. If they hadn’t been so hard on Hollie, this probably wouldn’t have happened. I thought Hollie was good. The judges for some reason just don’t like her and I don’t get it. Jessica is a sweet girl with a great voice and should be there but the judges need to take some of the blame.