She DID It Again… America Did It Again: American Idol Shockers

…And I did it again! Here is my weekly American Idol power rankings. This week was just too good to pass up so I will be discussing it (that and I have nothing to do on a Saturday midnight).

Let us start with discussing what went with the performances this week:

Ladies’ Night

Girls have been pegged as better than their male counterparts by judges, pundits and columnists this season. I evaluated them to be better than the boys for the past two weeks. This was primarily because there was too much talent on the girls’ side (Crystal, Siobhan, Lilly, Didi, Katelyn and Michelle all had at least one decent performance). We can even say that Lacey was slightly above average last week. If you compare them to the guys, only Lee, Alex, Casey, Andrew and Michael can hold a candle. The best performances all came from the girls prior to this week (except for Andrew Garcia’s Hollywood performance and Lee Dewyze’s Lips of an Angel).

But, did the girls continue with their momentum before the Finals?

Top 8 Girls began with Katie. This kid has not improved through the semi-finals. It was another boring and forgettable performance. Siobhan performed next and she was still good. I was not astounded after I heard it initially. Maybe, it was because it felt that her voice did not fit her in that performance. I actually understood Simon when he gave her bad reviews. It was still good but I did not mind Simon nitpicking it (so that Siobhan does not get overpimped). Lacey was surprisingly decent as well. I actually thought she had the best performance then (so much for picking Siobhan as my favorite… I practically threw all my bias on her). Way to go, Hot Chick # 1! I actually wanted Lacey to be part of the Top 12 because I think she did better than Katie and Paige in the past two weeks. Her terrible rendition of Landslide stayed with people’s minds that I think no one gave Lacey the chance.

Katelyn a.k.a. “the not so likable contestant because she refuses to acknowledge other artists’ renditions” Epperly followed Lacey and she sucked to Simon’s critique by playing a not-so-corny-but-was-boring song. Uh oh… wrong move. I think she deserves to be in the Top 12 but I could see her going home especially if Didi improves this week (since Lacey looks like a sureshot in the Top 12 after her marked improvement). And, speaking of Didi Benami…

Didi was the first person on the Top 1 of my American Idol Power Rankings. This was because she had the amazing version of Kara DioGuardi’s Terrified. Neither Kara’s version nor Katharine’s version came close to Didi’s version. It was because she has that thin indie voice that is unique yet soothing to the ear. Unfortunately, she lost all the Hollywood round hype because of her inconsistency. She sang The Way I Am and even if it was actually good, Simon heavily criticized it to the point that fans could have doubted Didi. I thought she hammered the nail to her coffin by singing Lean On Me last week but she survived it. By the way, I thought Didi and Lacey were the ones to go last week but fortunately they stayed. Their looks would probably be the reason. That is why Didi is Hot Chick # 2.

I lost all confidence on Didi last week to the point that I removed her from my weekly power rankings. She had no momentum on her side. However, I mentioned that if Didi sings very well this week, she will have a place in the power rankings again. Also, I think that if Didi sings well, she automatically becomes a legit dark horse. The timing is just right.

You know what? She DID It! I was having serious doubts about her but her rendition of Rhiannon was simply awesome. I was nervous at the start but once she sang the middle parts, I found myself smiling and swaying left and right in my seat. It was a beautiful song all throughout (without the need of glory notes). I was saying to myself, “Shit! Didi is back! Shit! Shit! Shit!” (Translation: Oh yeah! I can’t believe it… Didi is having her moment again!) Thank God, the judges stopped killing her with terrible comments. Suddenly, Didi Benami becomes a strong contender because of her under-the-radar status. Welcome back, Hot Chick # 2!

Up next, Paige Miles continues to murder another song. I don’t know if it is becoming a trend, but is there a Glee curse? I was actually gave Paige a chance this week but she continued to disappoint. I was glad when Simon said that she is in trouble. The judges have been spot on thus far. (Unfortunately, VFTW picks Paige as they continue to become the killjoy of this season. Honestly, I do not know what that site wants. I thought they hate boring contestants. I thought they hate TPTB… They just made American Idol richer because of the black “diva”.) Crystal performed next and she continues to have a superb performance. I actually appreciated this week’s performance than last week’s overpimped performance. Easily the second best of the night. Lilly finishes it strong at the pimp spot. At the end of the day, I thought Paige and Katelyn/Katie were in danger. I thought that Katelyn has a higher chance of getting the boot than Katie because of her fanbase and the fact that she was forgettable.

Guys’ Night

Guys’ Night started with Lee singing Fireflies. It was actually an OK rendition. Lee’s voice continues to be one of the best but his overall performance still paled in comparison to the original version. Alex Lambert followed and had a decent performance. This kid’s voice is definitely good. Unfortunately, he really looks shy even if he uses his crutch, er , guitar. The judges did not give him rave reviews. Simon asked him to think of Randy in a bikini. WTF?! Can we vote off a judge? I say let’s vote off Randy so that we will never see him in a bikini. Tim Urban was next and he sang Hallelujah. He was shaky at the start and it forced me my first Tim Urban cringe of the night. Fortunately for Tim, I did not cringe after it. It was actually a decent version. But since his past two performances were horrible, any decent performance from Tim becomes awesome to the eyes of the judges. Ellen overpimped him by hugging him. WTF?! I thought Ellen improved as a judge this week but she did a Paula there. Oh wait, that was worse. Ellen did an Ellen there. It was good but it was not stellar – that was blatant overpimping.

I actually forgot the order but I think Andrew went next. It was actually a good rendition of Genie In A Bottle but the judges were relentless in pounding poor Andrew. Casey James had an OK performance but it was forgettable. But since, he gets some votes from crazy girls, he is safe. Aaron Kelly followed it with a subpar performance but the judges continue to overhype this kid. At the rate they were going, I thought that someone who gets a bad review is in danger. All of them suddenly became Paula (although the guys were actually above average at this point).Todrick also got rave reviews from a Queen song. Thus, I thought that Alex could be in danger because he was the only one who did not get a very positive review. Since there was just one performance left, I say that the pimp spot always gets the votes.

Michael Lynche had the pimp spot and he performed a la Boyz II Men. It was actually great. He has some showmanship even if he has one of the weakest voices in the competition. It was a good way to end the show until the judges overpraised him. Kara DioGuardi cried while Randy Jackson proclaimed it the best of the live shows. Am I watching the same thing? The performance was great but it was not a WOW! Performance. Simon’s overpimping of Crystal paled in comparison to the judges’ reaction on Big Mike.

Two splendid nights. One wow performance and most were great. Boys beat the girls this time. However, Didi Benami had the best performance this week. After several replays, I realized that Siobhan’s performance was actually great. This was my ranking for this week’s performances:

1.    Didi Benami
2.    Crystal Bowersox
3.    Michael Lynche
4.    Siobhan Magnus
5.    Lilly Scott
6.    Alex Lambert
7.    Andrew Garcia

Most horrible performances were Paige’s, Katie’s and Katelyn’s.

Elimination Night

America did it again…

I think the world knows what happened in elimination night. The ones deserving of a Top 12 spot were eliminated. I actually missed Ryan Seacrest’s initial message that there were possibly two shockers that night (the first person I watched being eliminated was Todrick). Thus, I was shocked with everything that happened in elimination night. For those who missed it, Lilly Scott (3rd best performer this season), Alex Lambert (potentially the best male performer), Katelyn Epperly (a sureshot in the Top 12) and Todrick Hall (who actually had a decent performance in the Top 16 and is the most original contestant) were eliminated. Mary Powers must be having an orgasm after seeing Alex Lambert cry in national TV.

Todrick’s elimination could be easily justified because he sucked the past two weeks. But Lilly, Alex and Katelyn? Seriously, America?! I remember ranting last year when Alexis Grace got the boot while subpar performers like Megan Joy, Michael Sarver, Anoop Desai and Scott MacIntyre were still in the competition, but I think this week’s shocker eliminations were 100% worse. I could probably understand one of the three leaving but all of them were eliminated in just one night. That was just plain awful. Again, the tween power voters beat the voters with musical taste. This just goes to show that fans should never be complacent. Either that or American Idol got richer with the ratings it got.

The producers should thank VotefortheWorst for every shocker elimination. As long as the chosen ones are still in the competition, every VFTW victory is a TPTB victory. Hmmm… although VFTW folks make the show’s producers richer already because of their votes. Great job, VFTW for making your enemy richer. Seriously, VFTW can just mess things up once we get in the latter stages of the competition (since their main goal is to have the winner that the producers do not want). For the first eight to ten weeks, VFTW just makes American Idol more controversial. Controversy = Cash. Idol may lose the hardcore fans of Alex, Lilly and Katelyn but the triple shocking elimination just added buzz to the show. More casual fans will watch it to see the mediocre contestants crash and burn. Remember Sanjaya? Based on Sanjaya’s Wikipedia page, American Idol’s ratings dropped by 9% after his elimination. This is why the producers should be thanking VotefortheWorst at this stage of the contest. VFTW can take pride with every VFTW victory but the truth is, the producers are having the last laugh.

Forums suddenly got filled with rants on how their favorites were eliminated. Eliminated American Idol contestants became trending Twitter topics (Thank God, I did not open my Twitter that day or I would have been spoiled). It was bound to happen. The supposed-to-be dark horses were eliminated.

Nevertheless, I understand why the good contestants were eliminated. It was a matter of fanbase for Lilly and Katelyn. The matter of fact that Lilly had the pimp spot but was still eliminated just goes to prove that she has no chance of winning the competition. If I am not mistaken, Katelyn is from Chicago. It is a large city but Katelyn does not have the rabid small hometown support. She does not have a large Internet community following. Internet communities support Siobhan and Crystal. Since Didi and Lacey were not eliminated last week, I assumed that they really have strong fanbases. After all, they are hot chicks. Paige gets the minority and VFTW vote while Katie gets the tweeners. With regard to Alex, he suffered from fan complacency and judges’ overpimping on Guys’ Night. Lee and Casey appear to have huge fanbases. Tweens power vote on Aaron and Tim (who also has VFTW on his side). Andrew has a huge following as well. Mike owns the minorities and the casual fan votes. Alex was also on a dead spot (#2) so I understood why he got the insufficient votes. However, the main culprits of his downfall would be his complacent voters.

Amidst the elimination shockers, I still have my favorites intact so I guess it is time for the power rankings.

On the Cusp: Michael Lynche and Andrew Garcia. Big Mike finally appears in my power rankings after two good weeks. Yup, he deserves it even if he continues to annoy me with his cocky attitude and the judges’ blatant overpimping. Andrew returns to this list with a decent performance this week.

5. Lee Dewyze. Lee slips from #2 to #5 this week with his average performance of Fireflies. He continues to be pitchy as well. Nevertheless, he continues to be my male bet this season.
4. Lilly Scott. She maybe eliminated but she deserves this spot before going home. Lilly has been consistent week after week. America did not appreciate her but I did. Thus, I will retire her in the 4th spot this week.
3. Crystal Bowersox. Crystal continues to be the frontrunner this season. She even improved this week. Nevertheless, I think the next two girls were better than her.
2. Didi Benami. Welcome back, Didi! From being unranked to #2 seems extreme but I think she deserves it after an awesome performance this week. Her Rhiannon is very close to her Terrified performance. Quoting Kara, “(Rhiannon is) one of my favorite moments of the show so far this season.” Thanks to Didi for doing justice to one of my favorite bands’ (Fleetwood Mac) song. With the ouster of Katelyn and Lilly, Didi suddenly becomes the legit dark horse in the competition. She suddenly becomes the third best female with all the fodders in the competition and because she is the most attractive of the bunch, I think she is poised to steal the American Idol title from the frontrunners.
1. Siobhan Magnus. Siobhan is just deadly consistent week in and week out. Her vocal range and versatility are the bests this season.

After the semi-finals, all I can say is I was mildly disappointed. There was a dearth of splendid performances. So far, these are the best ones in my opinion:

10. Lee Dewyze – Lips Of An Angel / Crystal Bowersox – Hand In My Pocket
9. Crystal Bowersox – Give Me One Reason
8. Siobhan Magnus – Think
7. Andrew Garcia – Straight Up (Hollywood Week)
6. Crystal Bowersox – Natural Woman (Hollywood Week)
5. Siobhan Magnus – Wicked Games
4. Lilly Scott – Fixing A Hole
3. Didi Benami – Rhiannon
2. Siobhan Magnus – Living For The City (Hollywood Week)
1. Didi Benami – Terrified (Hollywood Week)

Best Technical Singer: Siobhan Magnus
Best Voice: Didi Benami/Alex Lambert
Best Performer: Siobhan Magnus/Michael Lynche