“American Idol” is no longer buzzworthy enough to generate massive headlines for its results, but fans of the show still have their jaws dropped after the first truly-shocking result of the season.
Presumed frontrunner Jessica Sanchez and judge favorite Joshua Ledet, despite receiving another dose of rave reviews for their performances Wednesday, found themselves in the bottom three this week.
And though they were alongside Elise Testone, the less popular contestant who most felt belonged in the bottom three, it was Jessica–not Elise–who found herself in danger of elimination. Of course, no drama was to be had at that point–prior to the final results reveal, judge Steven Tyler had already given away the fact that they were going to use the save on any of this week’s bottom three contestants. They did so for Jessica, keeping her in the running and setting up a double elimination next week.
But for as shocking as Sanchez’s vote total was, the bigger shock came via Randy Jackson’s mouth. The veteran “Idol” judge portrayed this week’s bottom three as the biggest travesty in the eleven-season history of the show.
The problem? There is not a single “Idol” fan or analyst on the planet who would rank the shock of this week’s bottom three, which actually included an expected bottom-dweller in Elise, within the same stratosphere as that created by the infamous “Three Divas” bottom three during season three’s Movie Week.
That group included Fantasia Barrino, Jennifer Hudson and La Toya London, all of whom delivered stunning performances the prior night (Fantasia’s “Summertime” is consistently viewed as one of the best performances in “American Idol” history). Hudson, who was eliminated, ended up becoming one of the show’s most successful alumni.
