It’s true, I ignore the recap shows, but this is Ed’s area (well Ed and Murtz’ area), and he’s having some internet issues, so here’s his recap:
Four say good-bye.
Ben starts off the show by reminding us that this is the first results show of the season. Whew! Aren’t we glad for that? For a minute I thought I missed one. Ben gets right to it and well he should because the way they read the names off on Idol it could take the full 30 minutes (really more like 20 without the commercials) to do just that.
Ben looks at Nathan and tells him…he is the first one in the bottom 4 tonight. That kind of caught me by surprise, not because of who it was but when it was. Usually if you’re the first on the bench you just know you’re stayin’ put.
Now the head roll call:
Greg… safe (No Brainer)
Craig… safe
Brandon… safe
Rob… sa… uh… bottom 4. (The old “You had your chance” backlash, plus he wasn’t that good.)
Keith… Safe
Chad… Safe
Sheldon… on the seal buddy.
Tyler… Safe
Chris… safe…Huh? Oh well.
And that leaves Koztstantine I mean Koz heading down to join the other bottom feeders.
Ben then moves to the girls.
Eva… Safe… No chance the first one would go twice. Actually there was no chance Eva would go period.
Sarah… Safe
Steffi… Not so safe. I’ll bet she sings something with a little less age on it next week should she survive.
Valerie… Follow Steffi please.
Ashley Coles… Safe? Safe.
Ashley Coulter… Safe. Well at least one more week with two Ashley C’s.
Nancy… Saferman. I just had to do that.
Alyssa… Please join your friends on the floor and stop looking for your boyfriend. He got booted weeks ago.
At this point Ben goes “Anna-Belle you are our last bottom 4 contestant. Kati and Alisha you are safe” Hmmmm. That was different.
Ben then tells us let’s see who the judges think will be going. I always liked this part on AI. I don’t know why they stopped. Oh yes I do. It was politically incorrect. Anyway…
Zack: Of the guys Sheldon and Koz. Of the girls, Ashley Coles and Alyssa.
Jake: Guys: Sheldon and Rob. Girls: Ashley Coles and Alyssa.
Sass: Guys: Sheldon and Nathan. Girls: Alyssa and Anna-Belle.
Farley: wait! Farley wasn’t even here last night. So I’ll pick his girls: Ashley Coles and Ashley Coles. See Five of us picked her. His guy picks were Let me guess Sheldon. Whoa I got that right! And Rob.
Ben then turns to the girls and sends Steffi Di–O, back to the bench. Then he turns to the guys and sends Sheldon “We all thought he was toast” Elter back to the sofa. You know that had to put some starch in the rest of the guy’s pants.
After the break Ben turns to the guys again and tells Rob to go sit down. If I was Rob I wouldn’t save a damn thing next week. I would sing like it was my life was on the line. And Sheldon, I think you already have.
Ben turns to the girls and tells Alyssa she’s safe to the surprise of everyone but mostly her self. With a stunned look on her face she stammers “Are you serious?!” Wouldn’t that have been a hoot if Ben said “No I’m just kidding. You are really going home”.
Ben then asks Zack if he’s surprised about this bottom 4.
He says “Not really. You come from where you come from (that’s a real Zackism) and you try to represent that when you step up and sing that on stage and I think all four people made those choices.. But it’s about motivating people to vote who watch this show and that’s the bottom line.” Well said Zack. I think.
Ben turns to Farley and asks if he thought the level of singing was at the level he expected.
Farley: “To be honest, I keep harping on how smart these 22 kids are. My only issue with some was song selection. The performances had the integrity that I would have hoped to have seen, but song selection was the issue for me.”
Ben then asks Sass if she had any advice for the 4 up there.
Sass: “You’re talented and amazing people. You knew what you were getting into when you got on this show and this is an opportunity and you went for it, you grabbed it. You’ve got 50 million more opportunities (a slight exaggeration wouldn’t you say. If a talent like Melissa O’Neil has a tough time making it… well you can do the math) and I’d say go for it the same way you went for this.
Jake then adds “It’s been mentioned before by other judges (and even more importantly the Idolhead) you’ve got to pick the right songs for your voice. You got a chance this time (first round) to show us who you are. Now show us another side of you. But you gotta pick the right songs. It’s all about song selection”. Well said Jake and I’m glad you read my columns.
Ben sends us out reminding us that there are 18 singers left and says Mary Jo we love you. Huh? (Kevin: A shout out to Mary Jo Eustace?)
