“American Idol” fans spent much of Thursday speculating over executive producer Nigel Lythgoe’s news that there was a “shocking” development planned for the night’s Top 11 results show. Whether or not anything ended up fitting that bill, the hourlong show was definitely one of the more memorable in the show’s history.
The episode included surprise appearances from Stevie Wonder and Hulk Hogan, footage of a mock pro wrestling match at the “Idol” house, performances from Sugarland and Jennifer Hudson and, of course, the result.
While the result would indeed be shocking given the contestant’s perceived status as a frontrunner in the competition, it is worth noting that many online fans speculated this contestant could be in danger. The feeling was that this person had lost spark over the past few weeks, and in performing very early Wednesday, was subject to being forgotten by voters.
That contestant was Casey Abrams, who received the lowest vote total. He had received glowing feedback from the judges this week and has generally been viewed as a favorite, but a lot of message board discussion Thursday revolved around fans souring on the soulful singer who looks like a cross between Seth Rogen and Zach Galifianakis.
Thia Megia and Stefano Langone joined Abrams in the bottom three, with Langone landing in the bottom two.
To no one’s surprise, however, the judges used their one and only “save” to keep Abrams in the competition–they actually cut Abrams off minutes into his “sing for your life” performance to break the news. Abrams’ reaction made for one of the most emotional moments ever on “Idol”–he was completely stunned and shaken over the fact that they would use the save at this point in the competition, and the censors had to go wild cleaning up his reaction.
Next week, the rule calls for two contestants to be eliminated. The good news for all involved, however, is the fact that this year’s “Idol” summer tour will include the eleven remaining contestants.
That was the only fair option–while they just as easily could have said whoever got the absolute lowest number of votes next week would be excluded from the tour, the reality is that the other ten contestants all received more votes than Casey this week. It would, therefore, be unjust to rule that one of them should miss out on the lucrative tour opportunity should they get less votes than Casey next week.