Though the final set of semifinal eliminations perturbed “American Idol” voters, much of the season–and all three previous weeks of the finals–have produced predictable results. Week one of the finals brought an end to the run of Lacey Brown, who had struggled to emerge as memorable in a pool of talented females. Paige Miles, who offered one of the worst performances of the season during Top 11 night, was predictably sent home that week. And last week’s Didi Benami elimination was hardly a shocker.
This week, however, America showed it is absolutely not on the same page as the producers and judges, surprisingly providing the lowest number of votes to the heavily-‘pimped’ Michael “Big Mike” Lynche. While Lynche has struggled to gain traction with online diehards, who typically label him a “poor man’s Ruben Studdard,” all indications were that he was clicking with the casual “Idol” voter. His big personality and audition/Hollywood hype gave him serious momentum, and he had never appeared in danger of elimination prior to this week.
But that world came crashing down when his R&B version of “Eleanor Rigby” turned off voters. The performance was not raved about, but it simultaneously did not appear to be the worst. Of the four judges, only Simon refrained from giving it rave reviews–and he was not excessively negative in his disapproval. Few Internet critics ranked him below Aaron Kelly and Andrew Garcia this week.
Ultimately, though, Michael was the bottom portion of a bottom three that included Kelly and a bottom two that included Garcia.
Thankfully for his fans, Lynche was saved after a passionate reprise of “This Woman’s Work,” but one now has to dismiss the idea that he is a clear frontrunner. His shock elimination should produce enough voter reaction to keep him in the competition next week (which will feature two eliminations), but he hardly appears locked for the top five. If he could not eclipse the aforementioned contestants, along with bottom three regulars Katie Stevens and Tim Urban, does he have a real shot of winning?