Wednesday, March 04, 2009

American Idol: Semi-finals, week three (results)

Very quick spoilers for tonight's "American Idol" -- and the identities of the wild card contestants for tomorrow night -- coming up real fast so I can get around to watching "Lost"...

So, your finalists from Group Three: Lil Rounds (no surprise), Scott MacIntyre (ditto) and Jorge Nunez (who appears to have beat out Ju'Not, sadly).

As for the wild card: Megan, Anoop, Tatiana, Jesse, Jasmine, Von Smith, Ricky Braddy, and Matt Giraud.

So it's 6/3 male/female, as predicted, and I can't imagine they're going to take more than one additional guy, which means Anoop, Von, Ricky and Matt are fighting for one spot at most. I'd call Megan as close to a lock as there is in the group (the judges all have crushes on her, and I doubt the producers would object to a pretty blonde making it through), I'm sure Tatiana is just there so the show can get her to break down on camera one last time, and I'm certainly pulling for Anoop to get the hoped-for male spot.

Given that they're going to have to squeeze eight performances and alleged judges' deliberations into a one-hour show, I have to think that the judges/producers have already basically decided on the identities of the three wild cards, and the only thing that can change that is if someone is so blatantly terrible or brilliant that it would seem fishy if they did or didn't make it through.

So, what do you think of the first nine finalists, and who are you rooting for tomorrow night?

26 comments:

Brien said...

After Ju'Not barely (at least that's how they made it look) lost out to Jorge, why wouldn't they bring him back for the wild card? I can't believe Von Smith is coming back tomorrow and Ju'Not is going home.

Really disappointing choices for the wild card.

Theresa said...

I've gotta root for Anoop, too, but I wish they would take him along with Matt Giraud. I thought Matt was really great in Hollywood and suffered from poor song choice. I'll probably get a lot of hate for this, but I did not think Megan was that impressive. She didn't blatantly blow it like some people did, but she didn't blow me away, either. Either way, she seems nice and I don't mind that she's pretty much a lock, I just kind of think she's overhyped.

Also, I hope tomorrow night is the last I ever hear of Tatiana Del Toro, with the possible exception of Friday on The Soup.

Anonymous said...

Von? Over Ju'Not? I don't get it. And the sooner we get rid of Tatiana once and for all, the better.

Anonymous said...

Go Anoop -- I'm rooting for him too! I am SHOCKED that Von Smith has another chance. Shocked. Seriously. Ju'not or Felicia should have his spot IMO. Matt Giraud wll have to sing circles around Anoop to overtake his spot.

I agree Megan is a lock, and I think it's deserved. I would LOVBE to see Jessie Langseth make it to the top 12, but the judges LOVE Jasmine -- her looks and commercial-ness, I think she might be in the top 12.

Anonymous said...

Ju'not was arguably better than most of the people voted thru on the male side even before the wild cards. It makes no sense. He was better than the blind guy by so much even the blind guy would be able to see that. Just terrible choices and hopefully the shows pays for it in the ratings.

John said...

Does this mean that Von finished fourth and not Ju'Not? Wasn't Idol supposed to take the 4th place finisher from each group?

I think Megan, Anoop and Langseth should be in the Top 12. (I think the judges are going to put in Jasmine. I don't see it.)

Also, I hope Giraud at least has a chance to out sing Anoop and get the "guy spot."

Adam said...

There was no #4 guarantee -- that early story got shot down.

My theory is that with five white males already in, Anoop's the only guy they'd even consider adding, and the other three are filler. Anoop, Jasmine and Megan are IMHO in unless they sing themselves out tomorrow.

Linda said...

Ju'Not was, to me, a total snooze. I was really glad they didn't put him through. There are people where I just feel like..."That guy ain't winning American Idol." And while he's talented, I felt that way about Ju'Not. Which isn't to say I don't feel that way about other people in the finals, because I do. And especially about people in the wild card round.

Alan Sepinwall said...

There was a #4 guarantee. I was on the conference call when Ken Warwick made that guarantee. They've clearly changed their minds and tried to rewrite history, but that's not the first time Idol has done this, nor will it be the last.

Anonymous said...

Meh, so it's Danny Gokey vs. Lil Rounds for the rest of the season I think. Maybe Jorge and Anoop can bring a few surprises, but the rest of the field is kind of boring or will flame out terribly in the upcoming weeks.

I would have liked Ju'Not in there like everyone else and Tatiana should probably pass out tomorrow to fulfill her performance art disaster piece. I had to watch the show on mute at a restaurant with friends and Tatiana's reactions to getting in was straight out of a silent movie.

Adam said...

Well, Alan, that'll be a fun call for you tomorrow, I suppose.

And I think Linda's right -- Ju'Not may be one of the top twelve singers in the competition, but he has no shot of winning it. Nor do half the people in the final twelve so far -- Kris, Scott, Jorge or Sarver -- but that's just my gut reaction.

Anonymous said...

I'm hoping for Matt, Anoop and Megan...all 3 of them would be strong contenders

Only strongly rooting against Von & Tatianna

Alan Sepinwall said...

Well, Alan, that'll be a fun call for you tomorrow, I suppose.

I think the call tomorrow is just with the three finalists. And besides, my patience for "Idol" calls is pretty much at an end. All they do is lie anyway, so unless I'm desperate for a story (and have room in the paper for one), my time's better spent on virtually anything else.

Anonymous said...

My favorite is Braddy. Here's hoping his great voice wins out over his modest charisma.

Anonymous said...

Quick question to anyone who still has it DVR'd...

At the end does the redhead wildcard girl who is standing next to Anoop drop an "F" bomb? It looked to me like she said no "f'n way" or something to that extent.

Didn't tape the results since they were known out here hours ago...


Thanks for the help!

Anonymous said...

"That guy isn't winning AI": I've never been on board with this argument. Obviously, it's something that the judges have occasionally said, but I always see it as an excuse rather than a serious reason for dismissing someone. A show like AI should want winners who aren't immediately obvious; the 20-year long process means that AI should want "developmental arcs" for the eventual winner, such as "he wasn't that good at the start, but he has really grown." That makes for good TV. (Believe it or not, I think Top Model understands this lesson best.) Indeed, with the arguable exception of Fantasia and perhaps Carrie and Reuben, very few of the winners were true front runners from the start. Did we think Elliot Yamin would go to the Top 3? No, and it made good TV. Did Melinda Doolittle deserve to win? yes, but it was more "exciting" to see Jordin emerge. For that reason, I myself always hesitate to echo the judges' dismissive "you were never going to win anyway" rhetoric.

Jefferson Burns said...

Okay, maybe someone knows the answer to this. Now, math hasn't always been my strong subject, but when they had all the potential wild cards in the couch area, I only counted 20 people standing there. Factor that, with the 9 already chosen finalists, that's only 29. Where were the other 7 to round out the top 36? Not that I know these people enough to see who wasn't there (as I practically skipped by their intro packages and the judges comments (except Simon)), but what's the story with that? Thoughts? Anyone in the 'know'? Did 7 not bother showing up? Did 7 know they stood no chance? We 7 collectively washing their hair?

Anonymous said...

Oh wow...I did not notice that all of the remaining contestants were not there -- who was missing?

kchertu said...

Last night's selections make me never want to watch AI again. I will, but I'm going to be harbouring ill will for the next few weeks.

Scott is NOT A GOOD SINGER. Ju'Not is WAY better than Scott. He got through because he's blind. PERIOD. And you know what, that's fine because it's the public voting, so whatever... but the wild card selections completely blew my mind. I don't understand where they were coming from at all. Von? Tatianna? Jasmine? Seriously? WTF!? Not giving another shot to Mishovanna (where was she?) or Ju'Not or Kristen is an outrage. Jasmine was horrendous in her semifinal round and completely forgettable. So forgettable I didn't even remember she sang by the end of that show. Von, well he's annoying and I keep thinking the entire set along with the audience are going to be sucked into that blackhole of a mouth of his every time he opens it to sing. But what comes out of him is pretty good, but nowhere near as pleasing as Ju'Not.

Tatianna was picked 100% in the hopes that she'll provide her long-anticipated breakdown, and that makes me sick. I thought that kind of BS was reserved for the first month of shows when we get to see people stride into the audition rooms as a giant iPod. Her being picked to come back for another "chance" is a disservice to us, her, and most of all the other singers who deserved that spot.

American Idol, last night you made me feel like I was watching Mad TV, and I'm not laughing!

Anonymous said...

Tatiana? Why? I mean, I know why, but cripes. I recorded last night's show, so I was able to fast forward through her ranting/meltdown/ whatever happened when she got on stage. I'm not sure I can take too many weeks of her.

Unknown said...

jasmine is a terrible singer. matt giraud should've been arrested for the crime that was his assault on coldplay. von is terrible as well. ju'not, ja'mar (Danny's friend who inexplicably didn't make it) Kristen and felicia all way more deserving of wild card spots.

Hal Incandenza said...

Are we at all clear on why they didn't bother making the WC round its own separate week? Given that Idol's the #1 show on TV, it seems strange that they wouldn't stretch it out. Why bother packing 8 singers into an hour when you could do 12 over 2? It's not like they couldn't find four more people worthy of a second chance (Ju'Not, for instance).

Alan Sepinwall said...

Hal, for the season to run from January through the end of the official Nielsen season, it can only last X number of weeks. Making the wild card its own week would cut into the number of audition episodes they could show, and those tend to be higher-rated than the actual competition episodes (save the finale).

Lily White said...

some thoughts - Agree that it is seriously disappointing that Ju'Not is out and Von and Tatiana are in. Is anyone else seriously concerned about whether she has the mental fortitude to accept rejection? Cos I'm seriously hoping she will not make the final, but I am not convinced she'll cope well.

Secondly, while watching the group choreography last night, which was obviously staged to accomodate Scott, I had a rather sick thought. (which I hope does not offend, none is intended) but is anyone else looking forward to seeing him drive the car in the Ford commercials?

John said...

Lily, I had the same thought! Does that make us bad people?

(Lord, I do hate those Ford commercials. DVR is really the only way to watch this show...)

Hal Incandenza said...

Ah, that makes sense, Alan. Thanks for explaining (though, even if that's the case, I still think a two-hour ep makes sense tonight, if only to replace the increasingly dreadful Hell's Kitchen).