American Idol: Episode 25 of Season Nine--The Top 10

Television Review

American Idol: Episode 25 of Season Nine

And Then There Were 10

By our guest blogger, Catherine Fuentes

The only thing shocking about Wednesday’s result shows was that my votes for Andrew Garcia saved him from a spot in the bottom three. I know, I said I couldn’t use “Straight Up” to pull him through anymore, but I felt a need to save him. So Andrew Garcia, you’re welcome. I was glad to help. See--that’s why voting for your favorites matters.

For anyone who watched Tuesday’s performance episode, the person who would be eliminated was not only a clear choice, it was an inevitable one. Paige Miles performed abysmally, and she became the next "Idol" cast member to (terribly) sing her swan song.

Unfortunately for Paige, she won’t be joining the rest of her cast members on the " Idol" tour, which is why I knew Tim would be safe and Paige wouldn’t. On top of Paige being hands down the worst of the night, Tim’s got the girl factor set and they want to see him live in the flesh.

Wednesday’s bottom three included Paige, Tim and, shockingly enough, Katie Stevens. The one time I liked the girl, she found a way into the bottom three, even though she only spent about half a minute there. When Andrew and Katie Stevens were left vying for the remaining free spot, I was convinced, like probably most at-home viewers, that Andrew would be joining the two in the bottom, although I knew that whoever it was would be the first one saved. It’s very surprising, considering during the auditions, the judges were prematurely touting Andrew and Katie as the surefire bets for winner of the whole season, and now they’re both fighting for survival.

In true Simon tough-but-fair criticism fashion, before Paige even had the chance to attempt to sing for her safety, he burst her bubble that there’s no way she’s getting saved. I can’t say I’m surprised. As I said before, that reward will be saved for much later into the competition, unless Crystal Bowersox fails at R&B night and all her fans somehow lose phone service.

You’re right--all of that probably took five minutes to announce, yet the episode was one hour. Filling up the rest of the space were cast videos and Ryan Seacrest’s increasingly surly banter.  Also, there were performances from mentor Miley Cyrus, and newly official teen couple, Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato--you  know, to rub salt in the open wounds of the talented contestants fearing for their safety who have to watch people who wouldn’t survive this far into "American Idol" perform on stage and gush about their successes.

Next week the Top 10 will be singing R&B and soul hits, under the tutelage of their new mentor, Usher. Hopefully having a true musician will help the 10, since they’re still plagued by ridiculously poor song choices and weak performances. (Oh, you say there’s laryngitis circulating the cast, I guess that might explain it… Or maybe not).

I feel that next week should go smoothly, but then again, who knows anymore? One would’ve guessed that a task as open as #1 hits would’ve been a slam dunk and it wasn’t. Michael Lynche and Siobhan Magnus, and probably even Katie Stevens and Lee DeWyze, should perform exceptionally well. This is the type of music that suits them.  True, Lee may be a stretch, but the guy certainly has more soul in him than any of the other guys left standing. If Andrew Garcia (a contestant who was told this week that he “sucked the soul” out of his song) picks a wise song and leaves the soul in place, he might be safe--but with Andrew, that’s easier said than done and he’s fighting a tough battle. This will be the first week that may prove to be a bit of a challenge for Crystal Bowersox, but being the consummate musician of the group, I think she’ll be just fine.