Top 9 Results Show: Another Elimination Shocker!

Article first published as American Idol: Elimination Shocker on Technorati.

It was another high drama elimination show on Idol.  I’m not sure that my frail constitution can take any more of this!  The first thing I notice is that J.Lo looks as if she was also styled by Gwen Stefani this week – she’s dressed like MC Hammer.  After the judges’ intro, they kick things off with an Idol medley comprised of several songs we should now be glad they didn’t choose to sing last night.

Then, we’re treated to a video package of Russell Brand as this week’s “charisma coach”.  They should consider adding him as a judge for Season 11 – he’d really ring a lot to the group.  However, the Idols performances on Wednesday night didn’t suggest that they listened to him much.

Ok, right to results; Stefano, Lauren and Casey are called to center stage. Ok, I know I’ve said this before, but tonight, Stefano is definitely wearing a Members’ Only Jacket.  Bold choice.  Lauren is declared safe, as is Casey.  Stefano is the first in the bottom three. 

We get a break from the suspense of the results while Constantin Maroulis, the original Idol Rocker, performs “Unchained Melody.”  He does is like he’s doing Eddie Vedder doing “Unchained Melody.”  Maybe something is wrong with the sound because I can barely hear the first part of the song.  Then again, maybe my husband just turned down the sound to save himself – we’ll never know.  Once again, I’m grieving the loss of Simon, because we all know this is his all time favorite song, and I’d pay money for his take on this version.  There’s a bit of witty banter with Seacrest and then they show us Gwen Stefani’s time with the Idols this week.  This segment answers a lot of questions from last night – it would have been good to see it then, right? She looks great but somehow manages to make all the idols look like bad 80’s throwbacks.  Haley might be an exception – she actually looked good on the performance show.

Back to results; we get Paul, Scotty, and Pia back to center stage.  First, Scotty is sent back to the safety seats.  And wait, another surprise – Paul is sent back to safety and Pia is in the bottom three.  I almost dropped my wine!  Wow.  Looks like we’re in for a wild ride.

Next, the Idols get some media training from a true expert….Harvey Levin of TMZ!  This really is great TV.  There I actually a twisted wisdom to this bit and I love how the one TMZ guy calls Stefano out for being boring, even on his Twitter page.  If you are on one of America’s Top Rated Primetime shows and you can’t find 140 characters worth of something interesting to say once or twice a week, you have a problem.  I’m just sayin’.  My favorite line of that night may be wen Harvey asks he Idols who they are dating, and Casey says, without missing a beat, “Your Mom.”  I love that kid.

Back to business- we’re down to James, Haley and Jacob.  One of them will round out the bottom three.  We learn that it is Jacob!  Wow – this is a night of many surprises!  Jacob, really?  Am I dreaming?   Jennifer seriously looks like she is going to cry.  It’s ok Ms. Lopez, they cannot send both Jacob and Pia home.

Next came what was definitely the highlight of the night for me, if not the season. Ryan warns us that “we might not be ready for this.”  Boy, truer words were never spoken.  Out pops a shirtless Iggy Pop, making even Steven Tyler look youthful.  I didn’t see that coming.  I’m embarrassed for him, but I do want t know what kind of flat iron he uses.  That’s some smooth hair.  Seriously, at what point do rock stars need to figure out that we don’t want to see their saggy used-to-be-six-packs?  His very high-energy performance tests the judges’ poker faces to the limits.  He actually sits down in the middle of he song to catch his breath! It’s just beyond awesome.

Ryan reminds us of Jacob’s self-righteous prediction last night about singing “man In the Mirror”, but sends him back to safety anyway.  We’re stunned to learn that Pia is going home and the Stefano, the luckiest man in America, is safe.  Pia is barely holding back tears; Jennifer is not controlling her emotions nearly as well and looks visibly shaken, and “shocked and angry”.  Randy is “incensed”, even “gutted”.  Tyler accuses the voting public of a lack of passion.  Ryan chastises us again for not voting enough to save Pia.  I think they are as genuinely shocked as I am.

What a night of surprises.  I like Pia.  She wasn’t my favorite contestant.  I think she sings too many ballads and I cannot really see myself downloading a bunch of her songs, but her vocal range and talent are undeniable.  Plus, she’s gorgeous right?  She’s near perfect pop-star material.   I really saw her in the final 3.  I think she got robbed, going home before Stefano and Paul, but what do I know? What do you think?  Did you see that one coming?