April 8, 2004 - Good-bye, Yellow Brick Road

In the top three this week were Jennifer Hudson, LaToya London and George Huff. This represents a heck of a comeback for Jennifer Hudson, who last week was in the bottom three. But if this roller-coaster trend continues, she could be back in the bottom three next week.

The middle three vote-getters were a bit of a surprise: John Stevens, Jon Peter Lewis and Fantasia Barrino. This was a surprise because both John and JPL gave mediocre performances the previous night.

Apparently, the fans pulled through for them.

In the bottom three were Camile Velasco, Jasmine Trias and Diana DeGarmo. When asked if the correct three people were in that group, the judges agreed that voters are making selection based on personality more than performance.

As it turns out, both Jasmine and Diana had laryngitis the previous night, a fact that was only obliquely referred to by Paula when she said she could tell Diana was under the weather.

But they also both have problems that could prove fatal to their competition hopes unless they pull off a miracle.

They both need to make the audience love them as much or more as John and Jon. Unfortunately, this is next to impossible to do overnight. The only way that both Jasmine and Diana will survive another week is if John or Jon do something unforgivable.

Interestingly, dividing the contestants into groups confirmed my beliefs about the top four slots in the competition: George Huff, LaToya London, Jennifer Hudson and Fantasia Barrino.

A couple weeks ago, I would have guessed LaToya London was a shoe-in, but it's now beginning to look like George or Fantasia could pull it out, because of their winning personalities as well as their talent.

Neither John nor Jon has a chance of winning it. To even get into the top three would practically take a miracle.

Paula and Randy had a little advice for Camile on her way out. They both said that, since she has talent, she should work on developing it. Paula suggested getting in the studio and learning the ropes.

This advice sounds reasonable. It probably also wouldn't hurt if she took voice lessons and hired a manager to help her shape her image. Doing more public performances would probably help her perfect her stage presentation.

But no matter where she performs next, she should breathe easy. Simon Cowell won't be there to critique it.

Other Musings by Alyce on American Idol:

American Idol Index

Moral:
When your all isn't good enough, move on and make new plans.