All of us seem to think Matt's sung his last. Are we right?
Ford commercial, group song...
Eww. That cake-fighting montage was just painful. The economy's in the toilet! This is no time to be wasting perfectly good pastry!
Matt is asked to move to the right side of the stage.
Danny is sent to the left side of the stage.
Allison is sent to the left.
Kris goes to the right.
On to Adam. I'm guessing he joins Danny and Allison, and they're the safe ones.
Ryan asks Adam which group he thinks he belongs in.
Adam, for the first time I can remember anyone doing since George Huff got misled in season three, makes a choice: Danny and Allison.
He's half right. Danny and Allison are safe, but Adam, Kris, and Matt are the bottom three.
I'm not actually shocked. Adam's fanbase was in serious danger of getting complacent, and the bottom three now covers 60% of those remaining.
...if he gets booted off, I'll be shocked. But I don't really see that happening.
(But as an aside... choosing was a bad move, Adam. Everybody else who's dodged the question has been entirely right in doing so.)
Natalie Cole sings. It's a good performance. (Not a given; last week's disco-era relics would come to mind if I weren't doing my best to suppress it entirely.)
Taylor Hicks performs, singing and playing electric guitar and harmonica. He's actually not bad at all.
Ryan is sending one person back to safety, and that person is... Kris.
Down to Matt and Adam. It seems worth noting that, as usual, Ryan hasn't actually specified that they're the bottom two, just that they're the two still at risk from the bottom three.
Jamie Foxx sings.
...hmm! Ryan just said that they are the bottom two. Strike what I said before!
And here we go. After a season-high 47 million votes... Adam is safe.
[whew!]
G'bye, Matt!
TeKay picks up 4 points; I get 3; everyone else gets 2.
Rat Pack week! Jamie Foxx is the surprise mentor. Let's see what happens...
It turns out that this year, the top 5 are doing only one song apiece, not the two of years past. Given the issues they had getting done in time with only three judges last year, I suppose that makes sense.
(Am I ever going to write my Kara post? I'm not sure. The short version is that Paula and Simon both remain indispensible. The only judge she's in danger of making redundant is Randy... but if it came down to choosing one, I imagine they'd stick with the original. Especially as she has only a one-year contract.)
Anyway, this did make for a slow-paced show, especially considering that every single one of them choose to do a ballad.
This season has two problems:
Anyway. I'd say Danny had the second-best performance this week, followed by Allison, followed by the other two, but there's not a wide gap between any of them. Let's see what happens.
In this week's predictions, we're split between Anoop and Lil or Allison and Matt going home. Let's see what happens!
Group song choreographed by Paula! Okay, the hype got a bit overblown even before they presented her with a bouquet of flowers, but I do think of her as a choreographer first and foremost. It's nice to see that side of her represented here.
Lil goes to the far side of the stage... and she's going home. Wow, they didn't bother dragging that one out at all.
Her encore performance of "I'm Every Woman" was much better than last night's.
Kris is safe. Adam is safe. Danny is safe. Okay, those were the givens. On to those on the border.
Anoop is in the bottom three. Down to Allison and Matt... Matt is safe. Allison's in the bottom three.
David Archuleta sings. Pretty darn well, too.
Asked to offer a few words of advice to Anoop and Allison, Archie babbles in a manner worthy of Paula.
Over 45 million votes this week... and Anoop is going home.
Mo, Jesse, and I pick up 4.5 points apiece; Pam gets 3.75; Tekay gets 2.25.
Seven will enter! Five will leave! Well, tomorrow night, anyway...
Good call this week, cutting the intro videos in favor of letting all the judges speak.
Danny and Kris were the best of the night. I don't understand what the heck Allison was doing, but I'll grant that it was memorable, even if for all the wrong reasons. I wasn't thrilled with Adam's arrangement this time, but the control was impressive. Matt wasn't great, but -- taken in a vacuum -- Lil and Anoop probably end up at the bottom this time around.
I think Lil leaving is the safe bet; not sure about the other yet. Predictions go below!
Yeah, my internal clock continues to do what it does best. Let's see what happened...
Oh, interesting. Anoop, Lil, and Matt in the bottom three. Matt comes in last, but the judges give him another chance.
Nobody's expressed any opinion on the rule I proposed for this, so I'm gonna go ahead and give it a shot. All outstanding votes for Matt in seventh place get .5 points; next week, predictions placing either of the two people eliminated next week in sixth or seventh place get .75 points, assuming Ryan doesn't specify which got more than the other. (If he does... I'm not really sure. But I doubt he will.)
So for now... Pam picks up 1.5 points; Jesse and I get 1; Mo and TeKay get .5.
Postscript: probably you've all seen this already, but if not... go watch Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent.
Was asleep when this aired... will watch the video clips later. Pool predictions go here!
Sorry about the delay... got roped into attending my landlord's seder last night.
Surprise, surprise, America got this one right. Clearly, I need to readjust my expectations.
Pam and Mo pick up two points apiece; Tekay gets one. As usual, the full spreadsheet's linked to in the sidebar of the front page, or you can see it here.
Running late... currently catching up on the DVR. Will probably add a quick summary after the jump when I'm done. [Have now done so.] Meanwhile, here's the thread for the predictions!
Edited to add: Okay, seriously, it's Adam's season to lose right now, and I don't think he's going to do that. The only real competition is for second place, which is still up for grabs... meanwhile, the bell is tolling for Scott, but I'm not sure his fanbase will let him go just yet. Still mulling that one over.
Spoilers ahoy!
Group number, commercial, contestants imitating one another, etc.
Megan, Matt, and Kris stand up, and are sent across the stage.
Adam, Lil, and Allison are sent to center stage.
That leaves Scott, Danny, and Anoop for the third group.
Ryan, choosing his words carefully, asks the people at home which of these groups could be the bottom three... which stops short of claiming that one of them actually is. I sense a switch in the making.
David Cook performs. And gets a platinum record.
Back to the results!
Kris is safe. Matt is safe. (Slight fakeout by Ryan there.) Megan is not. Yeah, saw that one coming...
So I'm guessing Allison and... hmm. Anoop? Let's say Anoop... will be joining her.
Lil is safe. Allison pledges to wear her hair that way again, and is in the bottom three. Adam is safe.
Danny is safe. Down to Scott and Anoop.
Randy thinks Anoop is heading to the bottom three. Anoop concurs. They're both right.
Lady Gaga performs "Poker Face."
...well, that was fairly atrocious.
Incidentally, Wikipedia's list of honorific titles in popular music claims she's one of ten artists who's been called "Princess of Pop." Paula Abdul is another. Okay, then...
Simon says that of the bottom three, only one would be worth considering for the Judges' Save. I'm guessing that would be Allison.
Allison is, in fact, safe. The bottom two are Megan and Anoop.
For the first time this season, all five members of the Idol Annex pool agree on this week's result: we all think Megan is history. Let's see if we're all right!
We are.
Simon says categorically that no, there's not gonna be a save, and lets Megan do her swan song without having to worry about anything riding on it.
Tekay gets three points; Mo gets two; everyone else gets one.