Idol Chatter & Voice Views

So, this time when Nigel Lythgoe and Ryan Seacrest said there would be a shock on Idol tonight, we should have believed it.

Casey Abrams forced to sing for his life?

And the judges interrupting his possible farewell song to declare they’d use their save on him, even before he’d finished?

I’m sure plenty of people at home were shocked.

And I thought poor Casey might be headed back to the hospital based on his reaction.

He admitted he didn’t think the judges would use their save this early in the season.

I wrote as much last night. And I doubt they would have used it on Thia Megia or Stefano Langone, the other two contestants in the bottom three tonight.

But on Casey Abrams … wise move, judges. That’s the best save Idol judges have made in the three years it has existed.

Season 10 of Idol needs performers who can entertain and sing. Casey is one of the few who’s proven he can do both.

Meanwhile, Idol should send a big thank you note to its crazed voters, who put guys in the bottom three for the first time this season, just when everything was looking very predictable.

A show like that will add a lot more uncertainty to the outcome in future weeks.

On with the recap:

Deserved her fate: Poor Thia Megia sings two boring ballads and avoids the bottom three. She follows the judges’ advice and goes up-tempo to sing “Heat Wave,” and gets decent reviews. Only to land in the bottom three. What to do next? Here’s what you should have done, Thia. Waited a couple more years to try out for American Idol.

Very, very lucky: Look at Haley Reinhart. She’s heading out on the summer tour. Way to go. I predicted she’d be heading home tonight. Had she landed in the bottom spot, I’m pretty sure the judges would not have used the save. Instead, she avoided the bottom three for the first time. Hey, maybe I was wrong about the growl. Though I’m still a bit perplexed by that Wednesday night performance, especially the hunchbacked stance early in your number.

Stock rising: Naima Adedapo also avoided the bottom three and seems to have won over some fans with her dance moves during Wednesday’s performance of “Dancing in the Streets.” I’m still not convinced Naima’s a threat to win this thing. But there’s no doubting Wednesday was her best performance yet in the finals. And one she might be able to build on.

Stock sinking:  Stefano Langone went from hero to near elimination in one week. Clearly, voters were not nearly as impressed with Stefano the balladeer as they were with Stefano the pop singer. Truth be told, the performance of “Hello” wasn’t very special. But after watching Tim Urban in season nine, I figured Stefano would skate through to the top eight or so on looks and smile alone. Maybe not.

On the bubble: Apparently, anyone who sings first. That’s long be rumored to be the danger spot on Idol, especially during a two-hour show. By the time voting begins, who even remembers that first performance? Casey sang there Wednesday night, turned in what I thought was the best performance of the night, and look where he landed.

Personally, though, I think it was more a case of Casey fans relaxing because they thought there was no way he would be eliminated. And some voters shifting support to singers they’d prefer to keep around but thought might be in danger — like Haley and Naima.

Here’s betting Casey isn’t in the bottom three next week.

Oh, yeah, that’s the curse of the save folks.

Next week Idol sends two contestants packing.

And there are no more saves to be had.