You know, I already had my titles planned for this post. "The Silencing of the Lamb." "The Lamb Lies Down on 'Idol.'" "Lamb, Chopped." But regardless of which pun I'd ultimately go with, I was convinced that this week's results on "American Idol" would be the same--that Casey James, whose "bleating lamb" vocals were the worst of the bunch on Tuesday's top five Frank Sinatra-themed show, would be cut.
I think even Casey expected that. "Don't take my guitar away from me again, because I think you see how well that goes!" chuckled a chagrined Casey backstage, after his unanimously panned "Blue Skies" performance. But surprisingly, there will be an "again" for Casey, as he didn't receive the fewest votes this week. Instead it was this season's youngest finalist, 17-year-old Aaron Kelly--never my favorite contestant on this show, but someone who even I will admit certainly outperformed and outsung Casey this week--who got the axe.
Perhaps even more surprising was the fact that Aaron was in the bottom two with Michael Lynche. Michael was definitely one of Sinatra Night's standout singers, and certainly the contestant most comfortable with this genre of music--so it was a shock that he actually got fewer votes than Casey, a man who seemed so uncomfortable singing Sinatra, he was uncomfortable to watch.
But anyway, I suppose everyone expected Aaron to go sooner or later, so perhaps the more-exciting segment of Wednesday's results show was the "Alejandro" performance by Lady Gaga (who, as far as I know, has pretty much nothing in common with Sinatra, unless you count her penchant for Nancy Sinatra-inspired vixen boots). In a pretaped performance rumored to coast $250,000, the Lady of the evening--dressed in a black fishnet bodysuit and matching veil and thong--cavorted about on a gothic stage bedecked with nearly naked male dancers, a fire-spewing angel, dry-ice fog, thorny black trees, and park benches crafted from bloody razorblades. It certainly wasn't the typical family-friendly fare usually seen on "Idol," and it just might have been the most controversial "Idol"-related TV performance since Adam Lambert swapped same-sex spit on the American Music Awards. But hey, at least she was interesting. Gaga, along with mentor Harry Connick Jr.'s "And I Love Her" cover (which was superior to most of this season's Lennon & McCartney Night performances), totally saved the show on Wednesday.
Now it remains to be seen what will save Casey James next Tuesday. Parker out.
Attention! I will be having dinner at the "If I Can Dream" house on Friday night with Aaron Kelly and the "If I Can Dream" cast. Follow @ificandream on Twitter for details and updates, and on Friday from 8:15-8:45pm Pacific, tweet your questions for Aaron with the tag #iicdhouse during our live Twitter Q&A session.