Without question the most discussed American Idol 6 contestant this past week has not been LaKisha or Melinda, who both delivered stellar performances on Tuesday, but Sanjaya Malakar. How is he still in the competition? Who is voting to keep him alive? Is it the teenagers? Is VotefortheWorst saving him? Is it his hair?
I, for one, am not shocked that he is still around -- after all, this is the show that has given us a multitude of painful performances from the likes of Jim Verraros, AJ Gil, Nikki McKibbin, Carmen Rasmussen, Matt Rogers, John Stevens, Mikalah Gordon, Scott Savol, and Kevin Covais. The question I am most interested in is...
When will he go??
Now, two things could happen this week...
A. He could get the boot, as his fanbase has lost steam.
or
B. His fans, having seen him in the Bottom 2 last week, could rally, saving him yet again.
So which will it be?
To attempt to answer this query I think it would be helpful once again to delve into American Idol history. Let's look at what happened to some of the questionably talented contestants I listed above, and see how long they hung around in the competition.
- Jim Verraros and AJ Gil were the 2nd and 3rd contestants to fall in Season 1 -- an appropriate finish for both.
- Nikki McKibbin spent most of the Top 10 in Season 1 in the Bottom 3, but still ended up a third place finisher.
- Carmen Rasmussen managed to steer clear of the Bottom 3 for the first few weeks, slipped into the Top 2 the week Corey Clark was kicked off the show for allegedly beating his sister, and was eventually sent packing after the Top 6.
- Mikalah Gordon was in the Bottom 2 during the first week of Season 4, and was then shown the door the next week.
- Matt Rogers in Season 3 and Kevin Covais in Season 5 both avoided a Bottom 3 showing their first week out, but both were the lowest votegetters in the Top 11.
- John Stevens (Season 3) and Scott Savol (Season 4) didn't face the Bottom 3 for the first several weeks, but Stevens eventually bowed out at #6, Savol at #5.
So what does all of this tell us? Will Sanjaya be a Mikalah (meaning we will see the last of him and his luscious locks this Tuesday), or will he have the longevity of a John Stevens?
Considering neither Savol or Stevens, or, for that matter, Rogers, Rasmussen, or McKibbin, was in the Bottom 2 during the Top 12 week like Sanjaya, I'm going to guess the "Sanjaya machine" has lost its mojo, and, like Mikalah, we'll be seeing a Sanjaya exit this Wednesday night. Of course, there's always the chance his fans are strategizing for one last-ditch effort to keep their boy alive, and, of courrse, it will depend on song choice and performance order...
But at least we can hope.
Posts
4 comments:
We have very similar favorites this season based on your great posts. I too have wanted Sanjaya to get booted pretty consistently since hollywood week was over and, alas, it hasn't happened.
I wanted to comment on VFTW - I think that they lost any claim to fame with the double booting of Head and the demon girl (their choices for worst two). With the number of forgettable/bad contestants (Haley and Phil come to mind) available in that week of voting it should have been quite easy for them to impact the ranking, but they failed.
I do not think Sanjaya will go this week because he has caught some peoples' heartstrings (remember Diana Ross' gushings?).
Instead I would look for the overly forgettable (and terrible) Haley to make an exit this week, even though she wasn't in the bottom three.
Other people who will likely exit before Sanjaya: Phil Stacey of the wavering lower register and Stephanie Edwards who is now floundering as the 4th diva.
Please don't misinterpret this as me liking Sanjaya in any way, he should have went weeks ago (Sundance Head should be in, even though he really dropped the ball for a few weeks). Sanjaya is horrific and people voting for him exemplify the idea of AI being purely a popularity contest and not a singing one.
You wrote - "Considering neither Savol or Stevens, or, for that matter, Rogers, Rasmussen, or McKibbin, was in the Bottom 2 during the Top 12 week like Sanjaya"
You are assuming Sanjaya was in the Bottom 2. That may not be the case. Just because they told Phil he was safe first does not meant he had more votes than the remaining two. It simply means he was safe. It is very possible Sanjaya had the 3rd lowest votes. AI is very vague when referring to vote totals/order for those remaining in the competition. Just because they were the last two standing, doesn't mean anything. Quite frankly, having Sanjaya there, whether it was legit or not, made for better TV and that is what Idol is all about.
I think it will depend on some factors- his performance and what Simon says to him. If he gives a decent performance, I see him staying in- if Cowell over-bashes him, he could see a surge in voting. If he does really bad, even his fans will not vote for him as much, though- so it's really up to him if he wants to be in the TOP 10 tour- I don't see him going much further than 10, though.
How DARE you imply that Mikalah Gordon was bad. I'm kinda embarrassed to admit how much I loved her.
Post a Comment