American Idol Top 4 (Results)

So my "Dream Top 3" has been ruined by none other than Danny Gokey. Allison Iraheta was (wrongfully) voted off last night =( and for the first time in Idol history, we have an ALL MALE top 3: Kris Allen, Adam Lambert and Danny Gokey.

Photo from: rickey.org

So rather than writing up a whole recap of the results show last night, I thought I would share excerpts from an article by one of my favorite Idol experts, EW's Michael Slezak, that perfectly sums up my thoughts:

"I don't understand how Simon (with an assist from Ryan) can bash Kris for his humble expression of surprise about making the final four, and yet give a round of applause to a guy who thinks it's a hilarious joke to perform so poorly that his glory note has become a comedy ringtone."
....
"Brace yourselves for the uphill battle Kris faces next week because the producers have edited his footage in such a way that we know very little about his life, and because the judges cannot or will not give credit to an understated vocalist who has never aspired to participate in (as Jamie Foxx would call it) the ''throat Olympics.' "

This couldn't have been stated any better. I think it's complete bull crap that Allison and Kris have constantly been nailed with non-singing related critiques: Kris for "being too humble" (aka not being a conceited, showboat) and Allison for pretty much everything from her song choice to her fashion sense to her personality. Meanwhile after weeks of mediocre, unoriginal performances, Danny Gokey gets praised by the judges or receives sugarcoated negative criticisms.

I will truly miss Allison when watching the Top 3 perform next week...but at the same time, I am confident that she will achieve a successful career outside of Idol. Last night's results show was validation that 4th place rockers can still go quadruple platinum. WOW.

Despite last week's scare of Adam (aka "Glambert") in the bottom two, I am still very certain that we will be seeing him in the finals in two weeks. So the real battle is between Danny and Kris. Due to the addition of Kara and the fact that the judges talk way too much, the Top 3 will only be performing two songs each next week: judges' choice and finalist's choice (in previous seasons, there was a 3rd song chosen by the producers).

Even if you haven't been watching Idol at all this season, I highly suggest checking out the performances next week. [Unfortunately I will be missing the performances on Tuesday night because I have a final exam...BUT I will be cheering on Kris in spirit and hopefully watching the show / voting for him after my exam!]

And finally, in spirit of saying goodbye to Allison...I will share a video of my personal favorite Allison performance: "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" (Top 10: Motown Week)