Wednesday's Idol: 'Bye Bye, Curly'
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Episode 25
We're getting used to surprising sights on American Idol, especially after Sanjaya Malakar's notoriously bad hair day on Tuesday. But I hadn't expected Wednesday's Bottom Two to come down to Chris Sligh versus Haley Scarnato: I'd say Chris was consistently the best male vocalist after Blake Lewis, and Haley was – well, stand her against anyone else on the competition, and I'd expect her to be the one to go. I'd even expect her to cough awkwardly, excuse herself and then slip away from the stage of her own volition forever.But Chris went instead, true to Simon's prediction when asked by Ryan Seacrest about who would be the next to go ("Bye bye, curly," he said in true Simon form). A brief explication of this voting result:
1. Chris was never as pretty or leggy as Haley.
2. He was never as tall or lean as Phil Stacey, who joined them in the Bottom Three.
3. And he was probably never pleasant enough – outwardly, musical-personality pleasant, I mean. Instead he was pretty good with a deadpan quip. Ryan Seacrest called him "one of the most clever contestants we've ever had." On Idol, this translates as: "Please step into this crate so we can hammer down the lid and ship you home ASAP."
Meanwhile, Sanjaya stayed on, while Seacrest showed up wearing a "Sanjaya" wig headdress. It was like some bad Johnny Carson sight gag, but it also was part of the strange vindication of a singer who has been reviled. (No, I don't think "reviled" is an overstatement.) Maybe that's why the producers didn't tease out the suspense about whether he'd wind up in the Bottom Three: Maybe they respect him? They fear him? They like him?
On April 11, FOX has announced, the results show will run for an hour, which will mean at least that week's rejectee can sing his or her song in its entirety.
For more from last night, see AOL's Idol coverage.
