May. 10, 2007 | 12:05 PM EDT
Wednesday's Idol: What You Didn't See
By Jed Dreben
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Photo by: |
Fantastic Four Meets the Final Four
Jessica Alba was the delight of the night, as she accompanied her
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer costars
Michael Chiklis, Chris Evans and
Ioan Gruffudd to watch
Idol's final four face the music. Just before the start of the show,
Simon Cowell switched seats with
Paula Abdul to get a better look at the star because, as Paula put it, "she's so hot!" And while
Ryan Seacrest was about to introduce the cast and a clip of their movie, Alba, who plays the Invisible Girl, left her seat empty and hid behind the host, tickling his back as he pretended that she had vanished. But having the beautiful actress so close proved too much for Seacrest – he almost fumbled his lines completely.
Gibb Goes Down
After a powerhouse rendition of "To Love Somebody,"
Barry Gibb lingered in the spotlight, blowing kisses to an audience on their feet as the show went into commercial. But just as everyone was saying goodbye to the legend, Gibb tripped while making his way backstage and took a hard tumble, instantly silencing the room. As stagehands ran to his rescue, Gibb beat them to it, springing to his feet, throwing his arms in the air and shouting, "I'm all right!"
Unbreakable Bond
In the final break before learning their fate, the Idols turned toward one another and formed a big group hug that couldn't be broken. Seacrest was already in place when
Blake Lewis was still giving kisses on the cheek to
LaKisha Jones, Jordin Sparks and
Melinda Doolittle. But the Idols wouldn't budge – even after holding the position for almost three minutes during the commercial break. It was only when the cameras came back on that they let go of each other.
Follow the Signs
Wednesday's audience was as loud and aggressive as ever, but it was the fans of Jordin and Blake who made most of the noise. In fact, it was so loud and out of control at times that the stage manager had to police the situation and remind fans that they must keep it down. By the sheer number of Jordin and Blake signs in the audience, there was no question who was favored to survive another week.
It Must Be the Heat
The judges were all laughs last night and were in their chairs (well, Simon was in Paula's) with minutes to spare before the show went live. During just about every commercial break, rather than run off stage, they remained together, chatting and goofing around – even banding together against Ryan by giving him a hard time when asked to comment on the final four. Simon was all over Paula again, constantly touching her, getting behind her seat and putting his arms on the back of her chair, even checking to see if she was okay after Seacrest's street interview where two fans imitated her style of clapping. But Paula had fun regardless – dancing, clapping and even spinning around in her chair at one break – and she seems to love the attention from Cowell.
Politics Aside
Politically Incorrect host
Bill Maher left the politics at home and took a front row seat to watch one of his idols, Barry Gibb, perform live. Maher, known more for controversy, let loose at
American Idol, bobbing his head while mouthing each and every word in unison during Gibb's performance of "To Love Somebody."
Photo by: Frank Micelotta / American Idol / Getty |
LaKisha's Final Bow
Even though the audience couldn't help themselves when they cheered at the announcement that LaKisha was going and their favorite Blake was staying, it was more of a joyous exit than a tearful one. As she gave her final powerhouse performance of the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive," Jordin and Melinda's tears turned to smiles as the single mother celebrated having made it into the final four of
American Idol. Afterward, all the judges took the stage to say their goodbyes, but it was Simon who looked the saddest as he made a whimpering face before giving LaKisha a big hug and one more final smooch!
For more from last night, see
AOL's Idol coverage.
