'IDOL' ELIMINATION: Another Singer Slashed

LOS ANGELES — "American Idol" finalist Allison Iraheta has a reason to cry.

The flame-haired 17-year-old high school student from Los Angeles, who crooned Janis Joplin's "Cry Baby" for her rock performance this week, was revealed Wednesday to have received the fewest viewer votes, leaving three singers in the popular Fox singing competition.

Iraheta seemed to take her dismissal in stride, belting out an energized "Cry Baby" reprise then razzing the last three dudes standing _ Kris Allen, Danny Gokey and Adam Lambert. Throughout the competition, judge Simon Cowell chided Iraheta for not showing off more of her personality, but she finally lashed back at the acerbic British judge on Tuesday.

"He was asking for it," she said.

Before the results were revealed, the final four were joined by this week's mentor, former Guns 'N Roses guitarist Slash, for a frantic rendition of Alice Cooper's "School's Out." Also taking the "Idol" stage _ for the first time ever! _ was judge Paula Abdul in a smokey pre-taped performance of her new single, "I'm Just Here for the Music."

Tuesday night's pre-show drama didn't seem to linger during the lead-up to Iraheta's elimination. The behemoth "Idol" logo which toppled over was back _ and glowing _ in place above the audience. And that moving staircase was also operational Wednesday after a crew member was sent to the hospital following a reported 20-foot fall from the top Tuesday.

However, Seacrest still seemed a little shaken up following all of the tumultuous tumbling, especially after No Doubt singer Gwen Stefani strutted down the steps, behind the judges' table and through the crowd while belting out "I'm Just a Girl" for an elimination episode performance. Seacrest joked she was making him nervous running around the stage.

"It's been a high-risk place this week," he said.

The finalists left in contest are Lambert, a 27-year-old theater actor from San Diego; Gokey, a 29-year-old church music director from Milwaukee; and Allen, a 23-year-old college student from Conway, Ark.

This week, the three singers will travel to their hometowns before performing two songs next week: one of their choosing, another from the show's judges.

The next "Idol" will be crowned May 20.

___

On the Net:

http://www.americanidol.com/

Comments

[thundermummy]

Allison was the best of the final four, oh well.

[thundermummy]

Adam murdered Led Zepplin. Although it would be hard to hear him ruin Queen, it would be nice for him to cover them just so it would be obvious how much he pales in comparison to Freddie Mercury.

[thundermummy]

Adam is annoying as hell, can him.

[Ohsnap]

Well, I love how people assume that the whole country is only sane if they all vote for the rockers. What next, are they going to tell us how to dress?

[yellowdoggie]

I was sorry to see Allison go. Liked her, liked her voice. But if people think that talent is the only reason people call to vote, I just have two words for you: San Jaya.

[Tagrid]

Lucky Allison - she got booted before the finale! She'll be going on the tour this summer - then hopefully she'll be free of AI and 19 Entertainment's control! Now if only Adam could be so lucky!

DON'T VOTE FOR ADAM! PRAY THAT KRIS OR DANNY WIN!!

Do you think that sounds extreme? Does it sound like I'm an Adam-hater? Think again! I love that boy's amazing talent and I want only the BEST for him! And being the American Idol winner is NOT IT!

Adam may WANT to win this reality show - and I'd love for him to have everything in the WORLD that he so richly DESERVES - but this ain't IT! Read the two links that follow, then ask yourself if our wonderful, talented, gorgeous Adam really deserves this horror story that is an American Idol CONTRACT:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/32573/american_idol_perverting_dreams.html

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/750845/why_american_idol_winners_really_end.html?cat=31

And the worst - a copy of the contract that auditioners have to sign - this is just the first of many:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/488676/American-Idol-Release

For more info Google "American Idol Contract" and "American Idol Contract Terms"

And remember, most agents take a 15-20% commission on their "property's" income - 19 Entertainment (Simon Fuller) takes 25-50% of their income - FOREVER!!!

[CharlottesvilleVA]

Idol has been an outright fraud for several years now. Once they started bringing in professionals - even some who had previously had large recording deals that didn't work out - the show jumped the shark. It's no longer a "talent hunt." The odds are stacked against amateurs, and this season the judges have been blatantly against everybody but the screecher. Adam can do no wrong.

The producers HAD to get rid of Allison - she was the one who could beat Adam and Simon is CONVINCED he will make a mountain of money off of Adam. The two remaining guys have no chance. They are vanilla.

Adam isn't that great, but he's got a lot more stage presence than his remaining competitors. Unless Fox News gets out the anti-gay vote (and don't underestimate that - they're pros at ratcheting up the fear factor when it comes to homosexuals, Democrats, and African-Americans), Adam wins, and goes on to have the career in musical theater he was en route to having before Idol. Now he'll get better contracts. He'll never be a recording star. They lost the only one of the final four who will be last night.

I like to look to see which singers improve during the course of the show. Of the final 4, only Kris and Allison improved. Adam is no better or worse than he was in the beginning, and Danny has obviously regressed. He hasn't really had a good week in a month or so.

[JohnDewey]

I have two words for you - Freddie Mercury.

Mercury was theatrical, flamboyant, over-the-top and as a rock star, he kicked a$$ - no contradiction. From his biography:

"Regarded as one of the greatest vocalists and frontmen in the history of music, Mercury's vocal range spanned three octaves in full voice, from F2[1] to F5[1], with an additional octave up to E6 in falsetto[2]."

also:

"Another one of Mercury's favourite performers was singer and actress Liza Minnelli. He once explained: "One of my early inspirations came from Cabaret. I absolutely adore Liza Minnelli. The way she delivers her songs—the sheer energy."

Lambert went to AI directly from musical theater, so that's the style & training he's going to display. It's a good thing too, because that training is his best weapon against the vocal nodes that are so common among rock vocalists. Once he's free of the restraints that AI places on contestants, I wouldn't be surprised to see him become more popular as he re-expands his stage persona to show off his aesthetic more openly. He'd only be the latest in a long line of glamorous, theatrical rock stars.

[Aimleft]

Two more words: David Bowie.

[KayDGee]

I was disappointed that Allison got the boot. With Adam and Allison in the finale, we would have been treated to some fine performances. The other two look like deer in the headlights... they might as well concede. Doesn't matter now WHO O'Reily wants folks to vote for - Everyone who appreciates a really fine talent just needs to pile on for Lambert. There's an audio of his performance in Brigadoon several years ago - He's one helluva Irish tenor. (Search Adam Lambert Brigadoon)

[tjskimt]

Does anyone honestly think winning this thing actually matters for the final five? They all win at this point. And none of them "suck." You may prefer one over the other but there is no arguing personal preference. Everyone is entitled to that.

It's not a national disgrace if your favorite doesn't win in the voting. The real "winners" will be the ones that remain standing years from now. That could come from most anybody who was in the top 10. Didn't Jennifer Hudson get bounced around # 8? She's enjoyed a little success since then. ;-)

[WRPrintz]

Well said.

A wild idea would be that they do away with voting, and reflect only SALES of records each week, after getting the top 8 or so. Long term, cash is king in the music business- but am not sure that would be fair either.

[KarenT]

Bill O'R*eilly has been on a campaign with his viewers/listeners to vote for Chris (I guess it has something to do with his reli*gion?) and not vote for Adam (ga*yness). This started a couple of weeks ago when Adam ended up in the bottom two. I haven't been watching this season but when I heard that, I watched this week and felt Chris and Danny were the weakest Tuesday night. I voted like crazy for Adam initially because of O'Reilly but I became aware that he is by far the best singer/performer on the show. For those that care, please continue to watch and vote for Adam!

[KarenT]

I just read someone's post below that said it's Danny that O'R*eilly is trying to get everyone to vote for? Does anyone know if it's Chris or Danny?

[DeAnnaClaudette]

Danny is the open and out there "Christian." Kris may be a Christian, but he doesn't wear it on his sleeves. Danny is the one who got the most exposure early on. He's still there because half of his fan base picked him as their favorite long before we got to hear anyone else in the top 13 sing.

[tallturtle]

As far as I'm concerned, there are 36 winners each year. Being able to sing in in front of 10,000,000 people is precious and valuable. And Ms. Irahata has done it 10 times! She's not a loser.
I've enjoyed when they have the "guest mentor" perform because its rare when the pro can sing as well, technically, as the contestants.
And don't doubt that there are thousands of people who could qualify to be in the top 36. If Jameer had been selected, I have little doubt that he would still be around.

[CheshireCat2]

Wifey and I were disappointed about Jameer. We thought he had a great voice. He got robbed!

[DeAnnaClaudette]

I liked Jamar too. They didn't want him to overshadow Danny, his best friend. So, they didn't put him through. He had a much more interesting voice. Danny sounds like any other singer out there with a raspy voice. And he's just not that good with it.

I also thought Ju'not was robbed.

[mcantwell]

Based on Tuesday evening's performances, Alison should have stayed. Danny's version of 'Dream On" was horrible!

Last years hottie contestant Michael John's version of 'Dream On' was the bomb! See for yourself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3aTpwJYH5c

[CheshireCat2]

I really thought Danny was gone. He is a great singer with a great voice, but he hasn't shown the growth and improvement that some of the other contestants have, of those Alison and Chris have come a long way.

[masha2008]

agree. and the judges almost always panned michael johns' performances. johns is so much better than gokey. he was also good on david foster's show in vegas last year. hope foster gives him a hand up as well.

idol judges/producers seem to already know who they want to push to reach the finals. they couldnt even get themselves to face the reality that danny was awful.

[libwingoflibwing]

I love Michel John. His version of "Dream On" was the bomb compared to Danny.

But I tell you. Once I was on you tube and listened to it, I had to listen to the guys themselves. The difference between Steven and Michael is even greater than between Michael and Danny. There's really no one who can compare to Aerosmith. Oh well

[yellowdoggie]

I guess that's why Steven Tyler is rich and famous, huh.

[Artos]

If who does win is dependent on the young girls crowd then Kris is probably going to be their choice, even though Adam is by far the best. These young girls tend to have this fantasy that they will have a chance with the guy or can at least dream that might happen. With Adam they already know that that will never happen. If Talent were really key my money would be on Adam regardless of his sexual orientation. Allison was good for her age and will only get better with maturity. She needs some experience in life and that will help her music.

[bugsbonzai]

You'd be surprised how many girls look at a hot gay guy and think they can "change" him. More thank you'd think.

[yellowdoggie]

This may be true. But I'm curious as to how you know this.

[DeAnnaClaudette]

And Kris is married, so you'd think that that would make them face reality.

[Artos]

DeAnnaClaudette,

Have you ever known marriage to stop either men or women from stepping out if that is what they have their mind to do? I'm sure plenty of groupies have found their way into the beds of other singers or bandmembers in the past and didn't let a little thing like a wedding band stand in the way.

[Steamboater]

Bottom line for Idol is that the show is set up for cheating. When you have someone able to vote more than once without computers used to check the telehone number from one household so as to stop more than one vote from that hosuehold, there's something wrong. They should just have professional singers as judges or songwriters or music producers and that would be fair. As it is, too much gets thrown into the mix e.g., politics, religion, physical characteristics, age, gender and sexuality.

[Tagrid]

I agree - one call per household would be ideal. But the ideal is often (usually) overpowered by cold hard cash - as is the case here.

American Idol, and by extension Fox, gets a percentage of the $$$ generated by the charges on all those calls and texts. The 866 number costs us for each call we make - unlike 800 numbers. And cell phone users who text their vote pay for that service too. So American Idol wants as many calls and texts as possible to be made (and completed), for every contestant - which is why they offer two numbers once they're down to 5 or 6 contestants.

They don't call that cheating - they call it the Bottom Line!

BTW - Idol also gets a percentage of every iTune download. They make BIG BUCKS off of these kids even before the finale! I wish any of them luck trying to get out of those Idol contracts - tho I understand Clay Aiken did it.

[Steamboater]

Whoaaa! I thought 866 numbers were toll free. I even called At&T and they said that 866, 800 and 888 were free??????

[JohnDewey]

I think I read somewhere that Faryl Smith, from Britain's Got Talent, opted out of the Simon Cowell indentured servitude.

[JohnDewey]

Sure, but American Idol is only marginally a singing competition - it's a national-scale high school popularity contest. The audition section gives fans a chance to laugh at the unpopular "losers," while the viewer voting section allows fans to identify with & cheer for a potential winner - not unlike being a loyal fan of a pro sports team.

The popularity contest aspect of the show is what brings in the huge ratings & advertising revenues (not to mention those lucrative phone/text surcharges). Older talent shows that didn't use viewer votes, like Star Search, were well-known & popular (in a cheesy way), but nothing compared to American Idol.

[NYCMami]

Alison was ROBBED!

Kris and *gags* Danny?

Puh-leeze