Don't You Forget About Me

This is Part 1 of this three-part American Idol Season 10 Recap. This will be about the season summary. If you're tired of reading what you have already watched this year, click the links to skip to Parts 2 and 3:

Part 2 - Finale Retro-Diary
Part 3 - Other Highlights

Credit: American Idol

At this point in time last year, I thought I had watched the last “American Idol” episode ever. I was so pissed at how the voting favored the tweens and the midwives. We could not have the most deserving contestant to win it all and the voting outcomes were more a result of who the female hormones want than actual talent appreciation. At this point in time last year, I thought that I am fully quitting this addicting show because Simon Cowell is leaving. There were just a lot of question marks surrounding “American Idol.”

I am sure a lot of people shared the same sentiment. We were left with Randy Jackson and Ellen DeGeneres (who eventually quitted). The show got its third white guy with a guitar winner (Lee DeWyze). The ratings plummeted.

But, that was last year. Things change. People move on. From that span of time, these were what happened: LeBron is not anymore a Cavalier. He is not deemed as the NBA’s main protagonist anymore. We have another singing competition battling “American Idol” and it is not even Simon Cowell’s “X-Factor.” Osama Bin Laden is dead. America’s most popular sport is on a lockout. We may have seen the last Phil Jackson game. Several earthquakes and a tremendous tsunami destroyed a big part of Japan. Steve Carell is not anymore in “The Office.” After all, it’s 2011 now.

A lot of things happen. Several things changed. And that included my opinion on “American Idol.” If you ask me, the moves “American Idol” did in improving its show were actually bad on paper. Not only was Simon leaving, they fired the only judge remaining who actually made sense (if her hormones are not going gaga like the show’s avid voters). The only judge left was Randy Effin’ Jackson – the judge that I loathed the most. The new judges were not compelling either. Jennifer Lopez is a has-been who I never appreciated her musical sense. I am an Aerosmith fan but the Steven Tyler signing initially felt horrible for me. “American Idol” seemed like the Has-Been Show.

The only thing that I did not notice was that “Idol” re-signed Nigel Lythgoe. I may have been pissed at how he manipulates the show but I have to admit that Nigel knows how to get the job done.

As “American Idol” began showing on air, my “Idol” addiction tendencies started to kick in. Because there was nothing good to watch on TV, I ended watching America’s most-loved (and probably, most-hated) show. However, I had to prepare myself for some factors before I decided to tune in:

1)    Guys will always dominate the competition even if they are musically inferior.
2)    I will try my best not to get invested on any contestant.

There were two compelling contestants from the Hollywood Rounds for me (simply because I did not watch the Audition Rounds).Pia Toscano impressed me when she sang Bruno Mars’ “Grenade.”  She had the Didi Benami effect on me (I was not paying attention then her singing suddenly amazes me). The other contestant was Casey Abrams. He was pretty much the main frontrunner going to the Top 24.

When the Top 24 were shown, I was surprised by the number of diverse talents that they have. Pia and Casey were for real as they owned that week. Jacob rode his momentum with a fantastic performance. James was surprisingly great because he tapped my love for rock music. No offense to Adam and his fans, James’ scream is more raw and edgy. It was a shout-out to the heavy metal greats. No offense to James and his fans, Adam was the better singer overall. Lauren Alaina was a natural talent when she sang “Turn On the Radio.” Lastly, I was surprised on how good Scotty McCreery was. His deep voice is not my preference but I appreciated his style.

I was ecstatic about the talent and the fact that Pia, despite being a sexy woman, is the main frontrunner of the competition. I knew she won’t win but at least she will go far.

As the voting rounds went on, the season unfolded as I expected. I predicted the elimination order and I had four girls getting eliminated first. I lurked forums then and I noticed that a lot of people were outraged that Haley made it while Lauren Turner and Kendra Chantelle did not. However, I felt that Haley was Kristy Lee Cook/Megan Joy-esque. I had her going in the Top 11 instead of Top 12 or 13. It seemed headed that way because she consistently belonged in the Bottom Three in the first two weeks. However, things changed in Top 11 Week. Not only was Haley able to dodge the Bottom Three, she sang the best performance of the night at the pimp spot position on the following week. Instead of rooting for her to get the boot, I gave her half of my Facebook votes. My vote split became part of the millions of reasons why Pia Toscano got shockingly eliminated.

Pia Toscano when she was a kid | Credit: American Idol

Things change. Pia was the frontrunner but she ended up getting eliminated very early – the same position where Didi Benami went last year. My conservative prediction of having four girls leave became inaccurate. I thought that the “Idol” voting has turned worse. But because the remaining contestants were still compelling, I tuned in. After all, I already expected the females to leave early. I did not even have a female in my Top 3 prediction. I was prepared for a sausage fest season because the males are actually better singers this year.

Then, things unfolded differently. Paul McDonald got eliminated. Stefano followed. I thought that Haley would soon follow in Top 6 week. However, she dodged it at the expense of Casey. In the next two weeks, she delivered ‘moments’ that ensued standing ovations from the judges. At that point, she was dominating every contestant on the Momentous Songs Leaderboard. Jacob Lusk went. Shockingly, the fast-declining James Durbin also got the boot.

Remember, my prediction of a female-free Top 3? Haley Reinhart says, “eat your heart out, Jeff. We are for real.” We had two females and one male in the Top 3. How did that happen? After all, it is 2011 now.

We all know what happened next. Haley finally got eliminated, thus leaving an all-teen finale. But, it was interesting as to how she survived five elimination weeks. Here is my analysis:

1)    Haley Reinhart blossomed to become the best performer. There were times when she was shining brighter than Casey, who was the judges’ favorite.
2)    Haley is an underdog. America loves underdogs.
3)    She picked up most of the fallen contestants’ voters. This is an integral quality if you want to survive in “American Idol.” Here were the fallen contestants: Naima (versatility/risk-taking), Thia (voice tone), Pia (beauty/ability to belt high notes), Paul (rasp), and Casey (growl/artistry).
4)    She was always in the bottom three. This created a constant sense of urgency to her fans to vote harder.
5)    Most of the celebrities and past Idols praised her. Heck, Tom Hanks (the guy who said that he was quitting “Idol” after Pia’s ouster) even said that he voted for the first time.
6)    She is the critics’ darling. 90% of the Web sites I have read talked about how good she was.
7)    Her growl is polarizing but she consistently sings on pitch.

Lauren has several fans? Why are there so many empty bleachers? (see the encircled portion)

Scotty and Lauren meeting at the finale seemed to be handpicked by the producers at the very start. They did it in a well-calculated method. They learned the previous year that country kids have a tendency to overstay (case in point: Aaron Kelly and Katie Stevens). They just needed to find more consistent versions of Aaron and Katie, and have them advertised early on. “American Idol” has been desperate finding their next Carrie Underwood that was why they had to get Scotty and Lauren. To further improve their chances, we had the most diverse group of contestants. It led to more fans but it also made switching allegiances a less likely circumstance. Fans usually like contestants that fall near their genre. We have fewer similarities this year (Scotty and Lauren; Haley and Casey).

This is how plenty Scotty's fans are!!!

The last interesting story of the season was Scotty and Lauren (I know, it is boring to most viewers but I watched it to the end). It was Scotty versus Lauren and the blatant producer pimping. Sorry, Lauren fans. I actually wanted her to shine for several weeks because I want a girl to win. But, she did not take any risks. She never had moments. But still, the judges and producers put her over as if she was the real underdog and should be the deserving winner. I do not want to enumerate the subtle and blatant pimping that they did but what bugged me the most was when a report about Haley rehearsing because Lauren might not be able to perform was released. It shrieks publicity and desperation to get ratings at the expense of Haley. It was not like Lauren was the first “Idol” contestant who lost her voice during the finale. Of course, the producers topped it by featuring a mini-segment at the start of the performance night by showing the doctor. Come on! The other ones who lost their voice never had this pity pimping. Thank God, America did the right thing and voted for who deserved to win more. I want a girl to win but it has to be the deserving girl.

Don’t get me wrong, though. I do not hate Lauren. Heck, the most-played Idol song in my iPod last month was her rendition of “Candle In The Wind.” I think Lauren is a good singer. She has a beautiful tone and her vibrato is awesome. She just did not take some risks considering that she has the opportunity to do so as she already had the frontrunner advantage.

To be continued...

PART 2 | PART 3