Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Ryan Seacrest said the Idol judges made history Wednesday night.

Well, okay, if you want to classify a moment of Idol idiocy as historic.

I mean, using that precious one-and-only save on Matt Giraud? After the performance he turned in Tuesday night? Are you kidding me?

Simon was on the right track. As the judges were weighing the save, Simon told Matt the truth: He has no chance of being the next Idol.

So, Simon, why bow to the Paula-Kara-Randy pressure and agree to the save?

I mean, while Paula and Kara were dancing around, acting as gaga over Giraud as they are gaga over Gokey, did they ever consider …

1. Next week, two contestants will be eliminated. Someone like Allison Iraheta — in other words, someone really deserving — might wind up in the bottom two. And that precious save will have already been used.

2. Next week, Idol is now stuck with the same problem it faced this week: How do you stuff seven performances and feedback from four judges in a one-hour show? This week’s solution — each performer gets critiqued by just two judges — was blatantly unfair. Anyone who missed out on a Simon Cowell critique got a huge break. Are we stuck with the same next week?

3. Last night was Matt Giraud’s third straight trip to the stools that represent the bottom three. He’s going to be there again, likely next week. So what was accomplished by using that save?

Oh, well, if the goal was to stir up more controversy, Idol accomplished that this week. On to the recap on a week when no one went home …

Deserved his fate: Matt Giraud was standing precisely where he belonged Tuesday night. He’s gone about as far as he can go in this competition, turning in performances that usually fall in the middle of the pack or lower. Weren’t the judges listening when he screeched his way through the high notes again Tuesday night.

Very, very lucky: We’ve already covered that, right?

Stock rising: Hmm, is it just my imagination, or are the judges doing their best to give Allison a well-deserved boost. First, she got better reviews than she deserved for a shouty performance of an Aerosmith song Tuesday night. Then, a week after Simon told her she needed to be more chatty, Wednesday’s show gave her plenty of opportunities to chat about life on Idol. Hey, I’m not complaining. Allison has been a bright spot, a pleasant surprise in season eight. And, don’t forget, she’s only 16. She’s so composed, it’s easy to forget.

Stock sinking: The news that two contestants are going home next week can’t be good news for Lil Rounds, who has found herself in the bottom three two straight weeks. Simon has made it blatantly clear: if Allison has been the pleasant surprise of the competition; Lil has been the biggest disappointment.

On the bubble: Anoop Desai landed in the bottom three despite a very strong performance Tuesday night. He’ll need another solid performance next week to hang around. It’s pretty clear that Anoop, Matt and Lil are likely to be the next three contestants to leave this competition. Kris Allen, Danny Gokey and Adam Lambert have yet to visit the bottom three.

Coming tomorrow: Well, typically the media gets to interview the contestant who’s leaving Idol. I have no idea what the Idol p.r. folks will have lined up now. An interview with the first contestant ever to be saved? An interview with the judges who saved him? Nah. I can’t imagine they’d subject themselves to that.

I can promise this. Tomorrow I’ll be posting a very entertaining interview with Kristen McNamara — a semifinalist who should have been in the finals. She talks about her time on Idol, her future, and that drama-filled group episode from Hollywood Week. So stay tuned for that.