In a finals show marked by a notable lack of cheese and manipulation, the American Idol Final Four was whittled down to the Triumphant Three. Just before the moment of truth, host Ryan Seacrest, dressed like a banker in a sedate black suit, displayed three slick Marquis Jet passes for private luxury trips home that would go to the three survivors, and a generic coach ticket home for the fourth place finisher.
That ticket went to Anthony Fedorov, the 20 year-old Ukraine native and Philadelphia-area resident, who as an infant required an emergency tracheotomy to keep him alive - an operation his Moscow doctor said might prevent him from talking, let alone reaching the rarefied heights of a national singing competition that began with 100,000 aspirants.
As Seacrest said, Anthony is a "total class act," who grew as the competition progressed from a Clay Aiken-clone into his own man, and who out-sang favorite Carrie Underwood in Tuesday night's performance show in a same-song duel on "If You Don't Know Me By Now." There will be no collective sigh of national relief as there was last week after Scott Savol was finally expunged.
It just came down to numbers and this time it was Anthony's turn in a week where the singing competition was split between Nashville and Sound of Philadelphia soul legends Gamble and Huff, neither notable strengths for the MOR Fedorov. But he surprised all with his relatively soulful rendition of the Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes classic and certainly didn't embarrass himself on the country "I'm Already There."
The finals show was also marked by a look at Bo Bice in Busta Rhymes hair contortions in the obligatory Ford commercial, a quartet performance on the Dolly Parton-Kenny Rogers smash "Islands In the Stream," and a look back at the four's original audition tapes.
Now it's down to three: Bo, Carrie, and Vonzell Solomon.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - ANTHONYFAN
I am soooo mad that Anthony got out. I am crying my heart out right now!
2 - kelvin
Hi anthonyfan,
I can understand your feeling and though I support Carrie, I think anthony is better than vonzell..I am sure anthony will have a great future in singing
3 - LoriKate
It is sad to see Anthony go. The kid has an amazing voice. I hope this isn't the last we hear of him.
4 - america
are you kidding? anthony was horrible, he should have been off weeks ago, he did get stronger near the end, but no american idol.
5 - TylerNewton
THIS IS A TRAVESTY. Anthony OUTSUNG Vonzell, but Vonzell cried to get a sympathy vote KNOWING HOW BAD SHE WOULD F*CK UP A COUNTRY SONG.
HOPEFULLY VONZELL DOES NOT MAKE IT TO THE FINALS. WHy??? Because Bo and Carrie CANNOT win against Vonzell heads up in a final, because it is socially unacceptable in America to openly root for a white person over a black person, even if the white person is better (Bo and Carrie BOTH are better than VONZELL).
PLease everyone, VOTE FOR BO AND CARRIE NEXT WEEK. We NEED to send Vonzell packing!!!
6 - Steve S
I hope to see Bo and Vonzell in the final two. Anthony is a good singer, but not an Idol to me.
7 - chedar88
They should recall Anthony back for another week, since they screw up the post voting for carrie when the vote is suppose to go to Anthony.
Both my wife and I thought Anthony sings better than Celine Dion and the Backstreet Boys. My Wife and i would surely love to buy Anthonys Video or CD once it comes out. More power to you Anthony. You've come a long way from Ukraine young man.
8 - gabrielle
Oh get real! Anthony shouldve been off weeks ago. Granted, he has came a LONG way, but he still shouldnt of lasted this long. I think Vonzell definitly should not last any longer. Bo & Carrie have been in the bottom 3 the fewest (I think Bo's been there 1 time & dont think Carrie has at all) & there is no doubt that they should be the final 2. (And Carrie should win)
9 - Dave Matthews
Anthony is great singer and I was sorry to see him go. I hope that Anthony and Constantine will both sell morre records than the winner of the american idol title. I do have to say that this show has been going down hill fast from season one. I think next year I will just watch nashville star.
10 - zedd
it's not sad, just ironic that both scott and anthony were voted off right after their best nights. nadia, anwar and constantine, who all should've lasted longer than either scott or anthony, all got voted off after their worst performances. which was why they were out before scott or anthony.
as for the final 3, bo should win it because he's been consistently good. carrie sings better than vonzell though vonzell is more versatile and probably easier to sell to the massive mtv crowd.
but neither one beats bo.
11 - Eric Olsen
that sounds about right to me, zedd
12 - Jane
My families feelings about Anthony being cast out were total AWE!!Vonzell should have gone due to the fact that she's aiming for professionalism, and she definitely did NOT exhibit one ounce of that. She will never make it if every time she blows a song, she breaks down and cries. Anthony can sing! Sure- he is better at ballads, but he doesnt' break down and cry, which is NOT going to go over well as a "Professional." Vonzell has a weak voice, always a bit "Pitchy" as they say. I really don't understand the bias the "judges" have always shown toward her, except that she's African-American. Vonzell seems to be a wonderful person, but her voice is not all that. Anthony, on the other hand can SING. I guess they threw Anthony off due to the grenade episode in Russia with Mr. Bush.
13 - Narisha
Anthony was sweet--but sooo over-the-top, amateurish, & BLAND. He really shouldn't have made it that far. But don't worry Anthony fans--he'll have a long career as a singer on cruise ships or at Disney World---and there's always summer stock.
Speaking of bland, this seems to be the problem with A.I., & its owner & CEO, Simon Cowell, may have something to do with it. Simon likes cute & bland--especially if you're female. Carrie embodies this. If anyone else had turned in a 2nd performance like hers on Tuesday night, Simon would've destroyed them. But because it was pretty, vanilla Carrie--he blamed it on the band!
Perhaps this is the same reason why he chose Paula as a judge. She's cute but knows nothing about singing, massages the male egos around her, giggles A LOT, & brings nothing new or original to the table. It's hard to believe that she's a WOMAN in her 40's & not the ingenue she portrays. Now because of this scandal, she's bringing more publicity to his show than ever before. Simon must be doing cartwheels. The bottomline, however, is that she broke the rules in a big way. So, will she get the boot? Doubtful. It's one thing for a contestant to break the rules. They're disposable--but Paula? Nah...Simon needs this sexy, vapid, cheerleader to make HIM look good. In the end, it's all about The Man...it's all about the patriarchy...& Paula knows just how to play into this.
I hope America will think for itself & vote for either Vonzell or Bo. Both are talented & original in their own ways. But if you ask me, Bo has always been on a higher level than the other performers. No one can mold him. He knows who he is & owns his authority. He's different & soulful. Not at all your typical Idol. Tuesday night he blew everyone off that stage!
American Idol is what it is--a shadow of its creator...a money making machine that launches safe, moldable, non-threatening, good looking but empty pop confections into the marketplace for mass consumption. Somehow, Bo slipped under the radar & gave us all a taste of humanity combined with real talent.
Let's hope that Americans have the eyes to see this & the guts to think for themselves.
14 - Eric Olsen
Carrie can be bland but she has also shown some real fire at times - all of the remaining three are very strong as far as I'm concerned, nad I like Anthony too, though his style is not among my favorite types of music
15 - Becky
"Speaking of bland, this seems to be the problem with A.I., & its owner & CEO, Simon Cowell..."
While I agree that Simon Cowell definitely influences voters, just for clarification, he is not the owner and CEO of American Idol. Its owner and creator is Simon Fuller, who is also the creator and executive producer of Pop Idol and New Zealand Idol. Simon Cowell is a sucessful music producer and was a judge on Pop Idol and now American Idol, but is not the owner of the franchise.
16 - JMcW
Um, Simon Fuller is the brains behind AI.
17 - Narisha
O.k., kiddies, I stand corrected.
Simon Fuller/Simon Cowell, tomato/to-mah-to...my point, however, remains. Cowell is Fuller's main attraction (sorry contestants, unfortunately, it was never about YOU). He made Idol a success in England & is doing the same here. It's all about The Men (BOTH Simons) & it's all about the benjamins.
My preference is that both Carrie & Paula get the boot--but, as I stated in my previous rant, they won't. Vapid, bland, sexy GIRLS make those men look too damn good...& keep those benjamins rolling in. So much for originality & REAL talent. But with American Idol, that was ALWAYS an after thought.
18 - Kelly
Yeah, I see your point..Fantasia was oh so vapid and bland. And take Reuban Studdard... How much more of a vapid, bland sexy girl could one person be?
19 - Narisha
Touche, Kelly...but even the anti-Christ recognized Mother Teresa when she slapped him in the face. Fantasia & Ruben were no-brainers. This leads me to my next point...
Cowell is that lowest of life forms: the music executive. Like Clive Davis, he is a music appreciator with an uncanny ability to zero in on commercial gold as well as ,on occasion, artistic gold. The ultimate dream is when the 2 meet--as evidenced by Alicia Keys. Chalk one up for Clive.
But make no mistake, Cowell is an executive FIRST & a human being second. This season, I've seen more of the former & less of the latter.
20 - Eric Olsen
I believe the point is, while the producers do have their preferences -- I'm certain they didn't want Scott to go as far as he did, and certainly no farther -- it really is the fans who decide. The fans picked Kelly, Ruben, Fantasia, and Clay after the fact, and they will pick the winner this time. You cannot say there has been a "type" so far: they are all over the map
21 - Becky
I agree Eric. Kelly, Ruben, Fantasia and Clay are all very different people, and none of them are bland. And if my favorite, Bo, wins the title this year, he is definitely not bland either! :)
22 - Narisha
I LOVE Bo! Hey Eric, I just gave you a shout under Sticker's article on Paula yesterday.
23 - TylerNewton
"I'm certain they didn't want Scott to go as far as he did, and certainly no farther"
I think you are mistaken. Scott was a controversy, and controversy = ratings.
If FOX wanted the show to be predictable (And thus boring), they would have vote people OFF. Voting people to stay ON leads to the unpredictable nature, which leads to controversy, and thus higher ratings.
I really don't think the producers care who wins AI 4. The only time they cared was AI 2, when they rigged the voting to allow Ruben to beat Clay.
24 - Natalie Davis
Because you just KNOW everyone is biased in favor of the darkies, right, Mr. Newton?
25 - Eric Olsen
yes, I don't get that line of reasoning at all - who says "they" biased the voting in favor of Ruben and why would "they" do that?
I agree that unpredictability and controversy are good for the show in terms of ratings and can see how voting "on" vs voting "off" would encourage that, but the wrong kind of bad publicity could also kill the show, ie a rigging scandal