American Idol - Wild Card Show
Published March 09, 2004
Elizabeth LeTendre, who delivered an entirely adequate version of The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, was up next. While all three judges thought she did a good job, she again managed to do nothing to make herself stand out. It's hard to imagine voters putting her through on the strength of this performance, and all three judges have other favorites that they'll go for. She could still slide in, but it's doubtful.
Katie Webber didn't disappoint her fans (all pre-pubescent boys) by showing up in her best slutty outfit--low-cut black top and electric-blue miniskirt. Her performance of I Get So Emotional was forgettable, but no one is voting for her on the strength of her voice anyway. Simon correctly predicted that she will get the most votes from the male audience tonight, though she did her best to look confused through his comments. Also, it remains an open question how many men actually watch the show, much less vote. Nonetheless, the Top 12 needs a blond bimbo, and at this point, it's between Katie and Elizabeth.
George Huff sang his heart out with a star-making rendition of Lean On Me. Despite the fact that he looks too old to be in this competition and smiles way too much, people do want him to do well. While he started out shaky, as he's done in his previous performances, he got into the groove quickly and stuck with it through the end of the song. His odd vocal exercises not withstanding, it will be shocking if he doesn't make it further in the competition.
Suzy Vulaca pulled off arguably the best performance of the night with a spot on version of I Will Survive. As difficult as this song is to sing, she nailed it. By taming her hair back, laying off the eye shadow, and picking a great outfit that fit the song and her personality, she was firing on all cylinders tonight. Her giddy reaction to Simon's praise was endearing, as was her sprint back to the red room to bask in additional praise. She's unique enough that adding her to the mix could shake up the finals quite a bit.
Matt Metzger has certainly got the looks. Despite his abnormally large forehead, gusts of wind likely caused a hurricane somewhere on the other side of the world tonight as ten-thousand pre-teen girls sighed simultaneously when he came onstage. But this isn't a beauty pageant, and his rendition of When I See You Smile fell completely flat. There's an outside chance that he could be the voters' choice, but it's clear the judges don't see him as finalist material.
Leah LaBelle wore a dress and blue jeans tonight, which was odd enough. The flower in her hair was even more curious--perhaps she's hoping some of Jasmine Trias' magic rubs off on her. Her Let's Stay Together was good, but certainly not great. Like Elizabeth, she just tends to get lost in the mix. With less than five minutes devoted to each singer any given night, they have to make an effort to stand out in order to be remembered by the viewers. After two such chances, the only thing most of the audience remembers Leah for was tearing up after not making it into the finals on her first try. She'll get another shot to show us the waterworks tomorrow night when she doesn't make it for a second time.
- American Idol - Wild Card Show
- Published: March 09, 2004
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- Section: Video
- Filed Under: Video: Music, Video: Performing Arts, Video: Television
- Writer: Scott Pepper
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I think the point is that the judges watched rehearsals in order to make up their minds on which eight would compete. Yes, they dragged it out, but it might have been more odd to have the people come back and rehearse for a week and then go home quietly without ever being mentioned, no?
Plus, they want to do *something* new every year. It works for Survivor.
While it was a change from last year, this is the only instance I can recall of the show ever having contestants prepare and rehearse a song and then not even get a chance to perform. Really very shoddy, especially consider that at least one of those not selected had a very real shot of being voted into the finals.
I love Simon's british accent.
And I agree, the way they eliminated contestants last night was cruel.
Out of all these reality competition tv thingies...the most cruel was The Littlest Groom, a painful- to- watch exploitation of a disability.
Sheri-
I didn't see "The Littlest Groom" -- what was so bad about it?
Scott, it had a group of "little women", otherwise known as midgets, compete for the affections of a "little man". So far , so good maybe, until they brought in three beautiful normal sized women. Watching these little women...two of them with twisted arm features...standing on the stage next to the normal women, made me cringe and I felt horrible for them. I just felt it was blatant exploitataion.
I am still shocked not to see Lisa perform and I didn't like that we didn't see 12 performances.
My wife pointed something interesting out to me:
She noticed the judges say there were 4 people they really wanted to perform, and the rest were a toss-up.
She speculates (and I believe this) that people like Lisa were left out because the judges knew the fans would vote her into the finals, and thus would servekeeping out one of the judges favorites from the finals (Remember that the fans pick one, and then each judge selects one).
Thus she speculates that the judges kept Lisa out, and put in her place James Van Der Beek ERR Matthew Metzger.
I'm very glad your prediction was off about John's performance landing him nowhere near the top 4. It's great to see that everyone doesn't have to be cookiecutter to get through this thing.
I couldn't be more happy about being wrong either. Jon Peter is a great addition to the Top 12.
I'm surprised they didn't bring in some tie-in to another Fox show to help with voting off those four contestants from getting the final chance. Mean, yes, but not entirely suprising to squeeze another half hour and lead into a new series.
With that said, if the word Fox comes up then "cruelty" should be expected with shows like My Big Fat Fiance, Joe Millionaire, The Chamber (probably my favorite game show ever).
Jon-peter is a toughie. I think he definetly entertained us all..so yea, he's good in my bOOK
I see the Jon Peter vote as purely a "screw you" from the audience, which it periodically engages in just to show the judges who's boss and to deflate their self-importance, to say "entertainmetn isn't only about talent." He will probably be the first one voted out of the finals.
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I thought wasting 20 minutes on telling us who was going to get to perform was preposterous and, as you said, cruel. If there wasn't room for 12 to perform, then don't tell 12 people they are going to get another chance. God, that pissed me off. The show is compelling enough on its merits and doesn't have to do this stupid, mean shit.