Was "American Idol" elimination hypocritical?
(CBS NEWS) After what was reviewed - aka hyped- as the most exciting show in "American Idol" history, how could Thursday's results show possibly incite a standing ovation?
Might it instead incite a riot? Or at least some rotten-tomato tossing? This would surely have been the hope of at least some of the producers. For some normal people, Thursday night's elimination of Heejun Han would seem unfair.
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But first we had to enjoy the unfair hype of the first Aerosmith tour for eight years. Some may have missed them. Some may not even remember them, However, Steven Tyler promised to dress as a lion tamer and whip the front row. Which, given Tyler's sense of accuracy on "Idol," might encourage many to book row 27.
To offer a contrast, we were then shown footage of the contestants moving into their new Hollywood house. By the end of the evening, one of them would have to move straight out again. That is the extent of "Idol" generosity, unless the judges offered the magnanimous gesture of a save.
To underline the sense of business, we were again treated to the platitude-free opinions of Jimmy Iovine on the previous night's performances.
"Elise did herself and 'American Idol' a lot of good," said Jimmy the Greek Chorus. He called her "transporting." Phillip Phillips was "flawless." Of Hollie Cavanagh, he said: "What she lacks is experience." He added this sageful thought: "What she's doing is technically right, but emotionally behind the pack." He felt she didn't have the soul of Jessica Sanchez.
Stunningly, it was Cavanagh who was sent to the stools. Equally stunningly, Testone was not.
To give the audience pause for thought, Ryan Seacrest introduced Nicki Minaj, who is a shy little thing. She seemed to mime her way through at least part of her performance, but this left her free to, well, not be emotionally behind the pack. The pack was full of crotch-grabbing boys and girls in beachwear.
Seacrest described parts as "a little high risk."
Talking of risk, Seacrest was back with more results. And more Iovine.
Colton Dixon was "good, but not good enough." He felt Dixon had lost his poise and this was uncannily accurate. Dixon is feeding off hype. A reality check might soon ensue.
Iovine felt that Joshua Ledet delivered "85 percent" of Nilsson's "Without You." But then emotion got the better of him. When it came to Heejun Han, Iovine was prophetically brutal: "I don't think he sings as well as the other eight contestants."
Naturally, when the lights were dimmed, it was Han who was tossed into purgatory.
Talking of purgatory, we then were asked to enjoy last year's winner, Scotty McCreery. There might be some, if they could retain their objectivity, who might feel that he doesn't sing quite as well as all nine of the contestants left in this year's show. His voice is a little thin, a little weak. But he offers every contestant hope. With a suitable image and some suitable songs, you can be suitably successful.
Soon we were back to Iovine's judgment of the "Idol" performances. "Skylar always gives me something that makes me want to vote for her," began Iovine. There was a big "but" coming: Iovine felt that "Gunpowder and Lead" was a character song and didn't have enough "song" to it.
Deandre Brackensick, Iovine felt, needs a lot more experience. His falsetto can be "polarizing." It can also be frightfully shrill.
Jessica Sanchez may be 16, but, in Iovine's view, she is more vocally sophisticated than singers with 20 years' experience.
The 12 mathematicians who might have been watching last night's show would have realized that one of these last three was actually in the bottom three. It couldn't have been Sanchez. It should have been Brackensick. It was, in fact, Laine.
When the lights were dimmed once more after several very bright commercials, Han was told that he had been rejected by the voters. He would have to sing for his life. Would he sing "Hey, Jude"? He would not. Instead, he reprised "A Song For You"-- a Leon Russell song-- from the previous night.
The judges wore a disinterested scowl from the moment he began. They would make him pay for disrespecting the "process" in previous weeks. They would punish him for his sense of humor. Half way through, they were shown having a supposedly deep chat.
Lopez had tears in her eyes - tears of pity.
"You knew this was coming yourself. You saw it come last week," said Tyler, who the previous week, had given Han stern words of admonishment.
"We're going to have to let you go, man," concluded the man who, during the Hollywood rounds, had taken the show so seriously that he stripped down to his undies and jumped into the pool.
Han had not been the worst performer of the night. He had simply been the one who had declared in previous times that he was singing for the kids he taught, rather than the desperate need to become a star.
Some, who had bought the show's hype of the previous night, might have wondered about the hypocrisy of the judges. They had given Han a standing ovation for his performance. Now, they told him he wasn't good enough. That said more about their ovation, than about Han.
How sad that he would be missing out on next week's '80s Week. That just might have been something.
