A.I. 2010 - Top 20 elimination round

I'm surprised to be here right now, and I suppose I ought to tell you why. I'd always made it a point to avoid the American Idol results show, because I never felt that they were worth watching.

Before I get any further, I will there isn't much to talk about if I can't mention who gets cut, so be warned, there are SPOILERS here.

Given the time difference between here and the U.S., it's easy to do a quick Google search to reveal who had been eliminated. Heck, with the rise of social networking sites where announcing one's "status" is the way to go, you can get better than even odds that you might accidentally find out if a particularly ardent fan decides to voice his or her anger over their pick getting eliminated.

Secondly, I always find it hard to believe that Idol continues to stick to an hour-long format for the elimination show. I could maybe see its point at this stage of the competition, where four people go each week, but late in the contest, when it's down to maybe 5 or so people, it seems like a pointless exercise chockfull of filler.

I'm not a big fan of the over-produced group numbers either. This week's performance of "I've Got a Feeling," by the Black Eyed Peas definitely proved that point, what with the awkward and awfully busy choreography that included literal sofa-jumping, painful three-way high-fives and a palpable sense of copious auto-tuner use. It didn't help that the song chosen is probably a song that half the contestants would probably never sing except with a gun pointed at his or head.

It's also never fun to watch an eliminated person sing one last time. If they weren't good, then we don't really need affirmation that the people voted out the correct person. If they were good and by some horrible misfortune they got the vote, it's often a tearjerker, turning an already so-so performance into a sobfest with occasional notes and melody. Awkward.

With all my ranting done, let's just instead get to some talking points, little nuggets of conversation you can use at the watercooler or between classes.

#1 How in the wide world does Tim Urban stay on?
Could Tim Urban be a new, plainer looking Sanjaya? An immovable object that crash-landed on the set of Idol that won't budge for a long time? Urban, if you remember, was actually boy singer #13, an alternate put on after another male contestant got into some contractual issues. His first performance was a car crash, his second one an improved piece of work, but still a mess.

Now, it seems to be the consensus that the teeny-bopper, Twilight-reading, Glee-watching audience is what's keeping him alive. It's logical but frustrating, and yet, it's not as if someone particularly awesome had been axed in his stead. But should we wait until someone does? Has someone particularly awesome been shown the door in his place? Will he still be alive after next week's elimination?

#2 How about that girl Haeley?
Lesson learned: never Miley Cyrus, never. Male corollary: never Justin Bieber. That aside, can you remember someone who was pushed so hard before it got to the voting process who got cut so fast? She had a great audition, was glanced over a bit during Hollywood week, but what we saw of it seemed good...and then she just crashes and burns.

I personally believe that it came down to some really poor song choices that resulted in her getting the axe. The Beatles tune was too old, and then there had to be better alternatives to "The Climb," but most importantly, she never did "African-American country." Swap Cyrus with Taylor Swift and maybe things would have been different. Or maybe not. Luckily, we'll never know.

#3 Gokey still has got to go, right?
I was never a fan of the Robert Downey Jr.-lookalike and I always felt my stomach churn whenever he would bring up his departed wife (and boy would he bring her up over and over and over). So now he's back, with a country twist for kicks and he's speaking a mile a minute, almost like a cartoon character on fast-forward. Any faster and he'd be a chipmunk.

The post-song was definitely a pain to watch and to listen to. Between him essentially begging to be on Ellen's show, to yet another tale about his deceased wife, I find it hard to believe that he went as far as he did last season.

#4 No to personality?
I'll say this about Jermaine Sellers, the future onesie spokesperson, he at least was interesting to watch, as he nearly turned the post-song breakdown into a personal music lesson with the judges.

Also, as one of the few Michelle Delamor fans, I feel it necessary to point out that at least her version of "With Arms Wide Open" was interesting and unique. Vocally it may have been "just ok," but at least it wasn't a dirge like "The Scientist" and it wasn't a screechfest like "Lean on Me."

NEXT WEEK: The last of the large-scale eliminations as we cut the group down to 12.

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