Did you hear that loud whooshing sound Tuesday night?
That was the sigh of relief from tens of thousands of American Idol fans when they found out Tatiana Del Toro did not win a spot in the final 12.
Oh, those sly folks at Fox sure know how to make us worry.
First they credit Tatiana for “turning the night around” in a recap of Tuesday’s performances. Seemed like a bit of an overstatement to me, but a worrisome one nevertheless.
Then they waited until the very end of the show to bring Tatiana center stage to learn her fate. Two contestants were left. One spot in the final 12 needed to be filled.
Would we be stuck with Tatiana in the finals?
OK, I wasn’t too worried. Because the contestant standing beside her was Danny Gokey. And there was no way Idol’s self-proclaimed golden find for 2009 was going home this soon.
So Danny won the spot. And Tatiana cried, but remained far more composed than I think most expected given the situation. Fact is, I almost felt a little sorry for her. Especially when Fox kept turning the cameras away from Danny to show her crying.
Still, that’s a relief.
And now we have three of our 12 finalists — Danny, Alexis Grace and Michael Sarver.
I’d break down the 12 who learned their fate tonight this way:
Deserving: Alexis Grace. She blew us away with her rendition of “I Never Loved a Man” Tuesday night. Asked to sing it again Wednesday, she turned in another stellar performance.
Better get better: Danny Gokey. I don’t know what people were so excited about. His turn on “Hero” was average at best. If it stood out, it was only because Tuesday’s show was filled with lackluster performances. Efforts like that shouldn’t get him far once the finals begin.
Very, very lucky: Michael Sarver. Hey, I like the guy. He was among those I was rooting for in week one. But he was very shaky on that Gavin DeGraw song, and we witnessed it again when he was asked to sing it again Wednesday night.
Robbed: Ricky Braddy. Turned in the best male vocal Tuesday and walked away with nothing to show for it.
Where they belong: Jackie Tohn, Anoop Desai, Casey Carlson, Stevie Wright, Stephen Fowler. They just were not good at all when their moment to shine arrived.
Maybe worth another look: Definitely Ricky Braddy. Maybe Ann Marie Boskovich, Brent Keith and … dare I say, Tatiana … hey, if you’re only judging the singing, she wasn’t all that bad Tuesday night.
That’s right, folks, don’t count Little Miss Drama out. Remember, there’s a wild card round lurking in the future, and we’ve gotten precious few details on how the judges will decide who deserves a wild card chance.
Meanwhile, up next week we have:
Among the gals: Megan Corkrey, Mishavonna Henson, Allison Irehta, Jasmine Murray, Jesse Langseth, Jeanine Vailes
Among the guys: Kris Allen, Matt Breitzke, Matt Giraud, Kai Kalama, Adam Lambert, Nick Mitchell.
Which means in week three, we should have:
Among the gals: Kristen McNamara, Kendall Beard, Arianna Afsar, Felicia Barton, Lil Rounds, Taylor Vaifanua
Among the guys: Von Smith, Nathaniel Marshall, Scott MacIntyre, Ju’Not Joyner, Jorge Nunez-Mendez, Alex Wagner-Trugman.
Should be fun.
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