After more than 10 years, Idol truly baffles me with its inconsistent production.
It followed up a brutal first episode of Group Night in Hollywood, one that featured not a single performance, with two superlative episodes last week.
Then Wednesday night, on what should have been one of the best shows of the season, Idol got it all wrong.
Last year, we saw the Vegas performances first. We saw who shined. We saw who floundered.
It helped build anticipation for the selection of semifinalists.
Would a shaky final performance sink an early favorite?
Would a brilliant Vegas outing put someone who’d been inconsistent to that point over the top?
Well, Idol foolishly decided to try a different approach in Season 11.
It presented us with one contestant at a time, and we started learning moments after Wednesday’s show began who would advance and who would go home.
And it showed us such small snippet of the Vegas performances, it was hard to tell who truly sparkled and who stumbled in the clutch.
Except for poor Caleb Johnson, who’d gotten minimal screen time to this point. Idol made sure to show his Vegas collapse.
The one bit of good news: So far, the judges have been spot on with most of their semifinal selections. Let’s review …
Among the girls …
Made the semifinals (8): Jen Hirsh, Haley Johnsen, Elise Testone, Erika Van Pelt, Chelsea Sorrell, Baylie Brown, Jessica Sanchez, Brielle Von Hugel
Failed to advance (3): Lauren Gray, Blaire Seiber, Naomi Gillies
Fate still undetermined (9): Ariel Sprague, Aubrey Cleland, Hallie Day, Hollie Cavanagh, Lati Lee, Shannon Magrane, Shelby Tweten, Skylar Laine, Wendy Taylor
Among the guys …
Made the semifinals (6): Creighton Fraker, Joshua Ledet, Reed Grimm, Heejun Han, Phillip Phillips, Colton Dixon,
Failed to advance (5): Neco Starr, Clayton Farhat, River St. James, Caleb Johnson, Richie Lawson,
Fate still undetermined (11): Aaron Marcellus, Adam Brock, Adam Decker, Chase Likens, Cortez Shaw, David Leathers Jr., Deandre Brackensick, Eben Franckewitz, Jeremy Rosado, Jermaine Jones, Scott Dangerfield.
Assessments:
For the girls: The worst decision of the night was cutting bluesy singer Lauren Gray and keeping Brielle Von Hugel, who had been short of special on the few occasions we saw her sing. Lauren was absolutely special in her Vegas group performance. And shame on Idol for not showcasing Jessica Sanchez and Chelsea Sorrell more to this point. They enter the semis at a huge disadvantage as a result.
Prediction for tomorrow: One of the remaining four spots should go to young Shannon Magrane. But Skylar Laine might be out of luck because Idol has already put two country darlings — Chelsea and Baylie — through to the semis. Hallie Day is another strong bet to advance.
For the guys: I’m not a Reed Grimm fan and I suspect Heejun is a better TV character than singer, but we saw so little of most of the males that were cut, it’s difficult to disagree with those choices. The exception: Richie Lawson, who stood not one iota of a chance of making the finals, even if he had advanced to the final 24.
Prediction for tomorrow: With six spots left for the remaining 11 guys, I suspect both Eben and David will take their 12-year-old good looks into the top 24. I’m hoping there’s a spot for Jermaine Jones, too, because I think he could develop into a fan favorite.
That’s it for tonight. Check back tomorrow when I’ll be live blogging throughout the rest of the semifinal selection process.
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