American Idol Season 10, Episode 33: And Then There Were Four

American Idol Season 10, Episode 33: And Then There Were Four

Television News

By our guest blogger, Catherine Fuentes

I’m not at all shocked by tonight’s outcome of American Idol. In fact, I’ve been calling for Jacob’s elimination for quite some time, and given the fact that he performed the worst on both songs on Wednesday night, now was as good a time as any for Jacob’s elimination.

I’ve always thought Jacob has a beautiful voice, and I still believe that, but I don’t feel he’s performed consistently well on a show that should demand that. I haven’t been a big fan of his song choices recently, or the way he’s performed them. And while I’ve found myself growing more attached to some contestants, like Haley, who I never would’ve guessed to be a strong contender for the title, I’ve also found myself growing less attached to Jacob. I respect his positivity throughout the entire season and especially tonight, and do agree with him that he can and will make a record reminiscent of Luther Vandross, and hopefully, when he is focusing entirely on songs that he wants to be singing, the amazing Jacob that blew me away in January will return.

What I’m not a fan of is the way Ryan Seacrest brings the contestants to the point of nervous breakdown leading up to their judgment. I think it was inappropriate to ask Scotty to choose which duo – Lauren and Jacob or Haley and James – were in the bottom. And seeing Lauren Alaina overcome with sheer terror and sobbing for half the episode was incredibly difficult for me to watch. I’m sorry, Ryan Seacrest, but I derive absolutely zero pleasure from watching a seventeen-year-old girl bawl her eyes out for half an hour.

Lauren’s fear was incredibly present tonight, and I think Jimmy is right when he offers her some criticism that an inability to conquer her fears and finally believe in herself will cost her a chance of winning a title that she actually can win. I’ve always believed that Lauren Alaina has the best voice of the competition, hands down, but while other contestants – again, Haley immediately comes to mind – develop and grow, we see moments of brilliance from Lauren, and more moments of apprehension and nerves. I’m not very surprised by this. It’s an emotionally overwhelming and draining show, and she is the youngest person up there at this point. I just really hope that this week’s stint in the Bottom Two is the motivation Lauren needs to come out of her shell and blow everyone away like I know she can. Unfortunately, I can see it also having the opposite effect.

Tonight’s drawn out results show also marked Jennifer Lopez’s big performance of her song “On the Floor.” It was everything I imagined it to be--over the top, flashy, filled with great dancing and distracting backup dancers. Jennifer’s reemergence into the musical world makes me wish for two things for her: for her to stick to judging American Idol, and for her to get back to making guilty pleasure romantic comedies (because I will never not love a Jennifer Lopez movie).