Friday, April 29, 2011

American Idol Top 6 Results

Who should have been eliminated: Casey Abrams
Who I predicted would be eliminated: Jacob Lusk
Who was eliminated: Casey Abrams

It's been a day since I watched the Results Show, but I will offer some brief thoughts nonethetless.

On Thursday, the "Bottom Three" was interestingly enough not revealed, but Casey Abrams was sent home, and I have to not be too upset about that. It was a huge shock when he was the lowest vote-getter several weeks back, only to get saved. He managed to hold on since, while other contestants, including a major surprise, were eliminated instead. Based on overall merit, I was glad to see Casey go, though Jacob's time is definitely approaching.

Now, you have to feel that at least things have naturally taken their course, and the remaining contestants will never have to wonder "what might have been" if not for Casey being saved. Of course, the fact that he was saved at all, only to finish in 6th place is an argument for getting rid of the save. In the three years it has been in use, it was used earlier on Casey than anybody else, but he would go on to be eliminated again earlier than the others had been.

Casey's Idol journey was an interesting one, filled with ups and downs. When we first saw him audition, his unconventional looks led many to think he would be just a "joke auditioner" , but he was actually very good, in a Taylor Hicks sort of way. The more we saw of him in Hollywood and then in the semifinals, made him my early prediction of perhaps an eventual winner.

He then spent some time in the hospital, and had he had to leave for that reason, it would have been unfortunate for the entire television show this season. I suppose we will hear more about that whole circumstance (plus his "showmance" with Haley Reinhart) as he goes about a media tour this upcoming week. His medical situation was apparently serious, but Casey never looked unhealthy during his screen time (except I suppose for the immediate aftermath of when he was "saved."

The former resident of Wilmette, Illinois would go on in the Finals to have uneven performances. Few can deny his obvious musical knowledge and talents. He delivered credibly on some very diverse kinds of music. Many though were turned off by his faces, growling, and somewhat unkempt appearance. I believe he had something to prove and bounced back strongly after his save, but after a few weeks, he sort of resorted to the things that got him in trouble before, and this week, he paid the price. My sense though is that he was not totally surprised to be leaving when he did. Passover may not be over, but the Idol Angel of Elimination would not pass over the last remaining Season 10 Jew.

As I have mentioned on this blog before, I do not see Casey having any sort of a major pop career. He could make a name for himself in the jazz genre, or perhaps using his talent and passion for music in the production direction. Of course, he also could enter the film world as Seth Rogen's younger brother.

Casey's sing out performance of "I Put a Spell On You" was perhaps one of the craziest things ever to occur in such a circumstance. The booted singer was having a great time as he ran around the studio kissing people, sometimes almost violently. It is a good thing for him that he did not cause whiplash to occur to some young lady in the first row. His fellow contestants will probably miss him. I also do not believe for a second that Scotty McCreery was in the Bottom Three this week, as he was the one the producers had standing next to Casey, as they announced the week's big loser. There may be all sort of motivating factors behind that.

The whole sing-out and other things seen from and said by Casey throughout the season have given me an impression on him. He seems like a genuine, fun guy with a good heart. However, I also think that as the only child of affluent, likely permissive liberal parents, he just does not really have much of a sense of boundaries. He's gotten away with that sort of thing his whole life, and maybe in the free-wheeling music world, he can continue to do so, but I think it would be a shame if his newly found fame, however fleeting, would wind up leading him down any sort of dangerous path.

Anyways, that's enough amateur psychology. Next week, the remaining five will thankfully get to sing two solo songs each; one from the 1960's and one "modern."

Finally, I was struck during Thursday's results show how Seacrest, for whatever reason, did not allow Crystal Bowersox to speak at all after her performance, but just had her hug this season's contestants instead. Maybe she had nothing to say.

Also, during the pre-recorded Bruno Mars performance, I was fixated on the large dog that was laying on a couch in the background the whole time. The dog was looking different directions, so there was a whole lot of editing between takes to put this performance together.

Since we have had so many interesting props and things on stage this year, it leads to me think; could someone ask for an actual dog? Perhaps a whole bunch live of puppies, as part of their performance?

What would Randy Jackson say? "Dog, you were a little pitchy, but I loved the dog?" This needs to happen! Nobody who sings with an actual dog with them is likely to get voted off, would they? It could be Jacob's last hope.