American Idol-Top 7 Results

Is this show predictable or what?

It's a day after the latest Results Show, so I may forget several of the thoughts I had after first watching.

Who should have been eliminated: Lil Rounds

Who I predicted would receive the lowest number of votes: Matt Giraud

Who received the lowest number of votes: Matt Giraud

The judges "save" Matt Giraud. No elimination this week.

I just knew that the save would come into play this week. I think it was a foregone conclusion and I think that there are script meetings involving the producers, the judges, and Seacrest that basically resemble professional wrestling scripting segments.

Even my musing last week about how Matt would have to sing for his life, and the crowd would be yelling to save him, and the other three judges would be pleading with Simon came true, just a week late, and the fact that they actually saved him. I do not think it mattered how poorly Matt might have sung "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman" for a second time, he was going to be saved no matter what. If you ask me, he had the same sort of bad notes on his second attempt (this time without the piano) than he did the night before, especially on the bridge. I think Matt is a very talented musician, and has some potential for a future Idol career, but it's sort of a tough argument to say that the particular week he had was enough to save him. Even Simon pointed out that he is unlikely to ever win the competition. Matt really is lucky though to be saved, especially since the judges already saved him once before, when they brought him back as a wild card.

It all made for enthralling television though, and Matt should definitely love a couple of women named Paula and Kara who seemed to be enjoying the performance without maybe really listening to it. For what it is worth, I did think Matt sounded pretty good on "Maniac", the group number.

My bottom two, both in terms of ranking and predictions, Matt and Lil Rounds, were the bottom two this week. Unfortunately for Anoop Desai, who I thought was the best of the evening, it was a third straight trip to the Bottom Three, although he was only the third lowest vote getter this week. I expected it would be the previously vulnerable Allison Iraheta who would be in the bottom three, but she managed to escape that, and now I am really getting the sense that Idol is starting to "pimp" her chances a bit. It's a good sign for Allison that even with an off-night, she can avoid the bottom three. There are also good signs for Kris Allen, who despite being at the very bottom of Dial Idol the last two weeks, has yet to make a trip to the dreaded silver stools. He must really be cleaning up with the text message voters.

Looking ahead, I am sort of dreading "Disco Week." There could be multiple train wrecks on performance night, but the results show should really be interesting as now two contestants are guaranteed to be voted off. I really have mixed feelings on the whole "save rule" thing and the aftermath of it, but mostly, I think the show was fine without it. The show almost had to use it though to prove it's relevance. How ironic on the night that a pre-taped performance from a former seventh place finisher Jennifer Hudson aired, that Matt Giraud was the first ever Idol to be saved and escaped (for now) a seventh place finish of his own. Also, it took place on the night the Chicago Bulls got stuck with the 7th seed for the Eastern Conference playoffs, wasting away a golden opportunity to be number 6 instead....

But anyways, perhaps things would be more fair with this save rule if even the votes from the previous week carried over for everyone. That way, the five who got the most votes would at least have some advantage. The way things stand, they are all starting from scratch. The kids all seemed to be genuinely thrilled that their friend Matt was saved, perhaps because they look forward to all being together for another week, but they may have different thoughts after next Wednesday if two of them, who are not Matt, are voted off. If that happens, not only would Matt outlast them in the competition, even though they all received more votes than him the previous week, there is also the possibility if Matt is the second lowest vote getter next week and still leaves, he is then still number 6 instead of number 7 and I believe would make more money on the tour.

So now, it will once again be Disco week, over thirty years after a bunch of drunken White Sox fans thought they had demolished the genre for good. Kris Allen would probably be smart to do an acoustic version of a well-known disco song, Danny Gokey should try to avoid as much creepy dancing as possible, Anoop Desai should be careful with his facial expressions, and front-runner Adam Lambert should perhaps think twice about attempting "It's Raining Men" or anything by The Village People.

Who will be the unlucky two who will wind up making the media rounds together? Well, if she has anything less than a jaw-droppingly great performance, I think Lil Rounds is very likely to not be the lowest vote getter necessarily, but the second lowest. This is going to be a very tough week for her to survive for reasons that have been discussed on this blog before. Since Adam, Danny, and Kris have never made the bottom three, they have to feel pretty good about lasting at least once more (but wouldn't it be a kick in the face to the Idol Powers if one of their Chosen Ones gets voted off and they can no longer save them?). Allison may not truly be safe, but she has started to demonstrate some strength in the voting the last two weeks and may now have Simon and Company behind her to an extent.

Therefore, either Matt or Anoop are very likely to have the lowest number of votes next week (or second lowest) and be voted off. The two of them are continuing to split votes with each other (and with Kris) and their two respective fan bases really are going to need to outperform the other. It will be sort of a curious dynamic to see what happens with Matt, irregardless of the kind of performance he gives. Is he going to be looked upon as the "hero" who got saved in a moment of glory? The lovable underdog? Will his fans be extra-motivated to vote for him now? Perhaps, but even more likely, a lot of casual voters may think he got his lucky break for a week, and now should really go.

A week from now, five Idols will be Stayin' Alive and perhaps should Knock on Wood while two others will be thrown into the Disco Inferno.