And so it goes, Karen Rodriguez was eliminated from American Idol this week.
Not shocking in the least. And she did herself absolutely no favors by singing Mariah Carey’s “Hero” as her swansong, and then pleading to the judges for “The Save.” Ooh…girl. That save is reserved for Lauren Alaina, Pia Toscano, and possibly Casey Abrams.
In my eyes, Karen was booted for her hot mess of a performance from last week. I think sometimes when contestants have a bad performance, the audience’s opinion of them carries over into voting the following week. Not saying that it’s fact, just that it could be the case for Karen’s dismissal this week.
Let’s talk about the other two contestants that found themselves alongside Karen in the bottom three this week, Haley Reinhart and Naima Adedapo.
I figured that Haley would find her way back to the bottom three just based on the judges comments from the night before. The judges definitely can sway the vote, and if they are consistently giving a contestant a hard time, I think that translates to the audience as, “Vote for Lauren Alaina.” Ha ha, I’m kidding. But, I do think that their comments combined with her lackluster performance is why Haley found herself back in the bottom three this week.
I was legitimately disappointed when Ryan Seacrest announced that Naima was headed to the bottom three. I think the judges gave her too much of a hard time in their critiques. Her performance was nowhere near as bad as they made it out to be. She is one of the more polarizing contestants this season, and it would be a shame to see her before she reaches her full potential on the show. I think Naima is keeping the show fresh and bringing something new to the table. If she’s eliminated in the next few weeks, I feel like it could be a devastating blow to the season.
I wanted to touch on this week’s group song, which was a mash-up of Steppenwolf's “Born to Be Wild” and Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.” First off, good on Idol for a live group performance! Nigel Lythgoe tweeted last week that the group performance was live, which I’m still not sure I entirely buy, but it is what it is. I felt like this week’s mic issues were done purposely to show that the contestants were singing live. You got your point across, Nigel.
Article comments
1 - Jill Asher
I really thought Naima was going... Surprised to see Karen leave last night, but it was just a matter of time.
My early prediction is that James or Casey will win.
2 - Inspireluv
I would luv to see Kris allen spotlighted on idol!!! I was disappointed in lee's performance! Gw weened awkward, uncomfortable & pitchy!
3 - Lauren
I saw Kris perform that mash-up when he came thru town with Lifehouse. It was amazing. He made alot of new fans that night.
4 - Lori
Lee's performance on Idol was great. He is such an emotional singer and he just infused heart and soul into it. This is something that's sorely missing from most of the Season 10 contestants, especially the girls. BTW, I too was hoping for Me & My Jealousy as the follow up single and I hold out hope that it will be the third single. Beautiful Like You sold well as an individual download when Live It Up was released and Lee has said many times he loves the song. I think it will do well on radio.
Also love Kris's mashup of EWTRTW/TWYMMF. I had the privilege of seeing/hearing it done acoustically and he just killed it. That's artistry. Jimmy Iovine can't teach the S10ers artistry. Aside from Casey and James, that's what is missing from their performances. I appreciate artistry more than perfect technical notes sung robotically (I'm looking at your Pia and Thia).
5 - Hope F. LeSane
Just because someone has a good voice, doth not an artist make. Although these singers in this season have good voices, it appears, that at this point, they don't understant, as Lori said, artistry. Jimmy Iovine, IMO, is a detriment to them because he's not allowing them to grow or so it seems. I have no idea who will win, but I think it will be another male. Top 5 will be (in no particular order) Pia, Paul, James, Casey and Stefano. I wouldn't be surprised if the "underdog" won and there is an "underdog" in this bunch. As for the mashups...boy Kirsten...you sure got that right. They should take lessons from Kris Allen who is the best at mashups. As a matter of fact, if they got rid of Jimmy I. and hired Kris, these kids would be that much better.
6 - kate
I completely agree about Kris' ability to arrange/rearrange music & create new mashups! He's brilliant at it, and he's a very underrated artist. He's more than just a good voice -- he's a real musician.
7 - handyguy
Motown songs are just good, traditional pop songs with an r&b spin [or if you prefer, r&b songs with the edges softened for pop audiences]. They shouldn't be too much of a stretch for these 11 singers. And they may actually help someone like Scotty or James or Thia show some range.