FOR WEEKS NOW, “American Idol” fans have been caught up in the high and low drama surrounding the show’s rigorous process of whittling its 36 semi-finalists down to its 12 official finalists for 2009.
Getting into the final 12 is a big deal for the semi-finalists, because it means weeks of national and international TV exposure, a performance showcase that has spelled stardom, not just for each year’s chosen Idol, but similarly for some runners-up and also-rans, like Clay Aiken and Jennifer Hudson.
So, this year’s 36 semi-finalists gave their performances everything they had, as they competed in three batches of 12, with each batch sending three survivors to the finals, with the remaining three to be chosen by the tilt’s jurors from eight “wild-card” (re-invited) bets.
Three groups
The three groups sent Alexis Grace, Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta, Danny Gokey, Jorge Nuńez, Kris Allen, Lil Rounds, Michael Sarver and Scott MacIntyre to the finals.
What about the wild-card three? Doing their darnedest to make it to the final 12 were eight talented “recalls” who didn’t get enough votes, but had especially impressed the tilt’s jurors.
Our best bets: Since the start of this year’s “AI,” 17-year-old Jasmine Murray has been one of our favorites, so we were rooting for her. Anoop Desai also stood out in our view, so we plugged for him, as well. Our third choice? The lovely and idiosyncratic Megan Joy Corkrey.
But, the other five wild-card bets weren’t about to hand them the three slots in the finals on a silver platter, so our bets had to give their performances their all—and, they did.
Special square-off
So, when the wild-card winners were announced at the end of the special square-off, we were ecstatic when the jurors picked Jasmine and Megan.
But, what about Anoop? Alas, he was one of the last two bets to await the jurors’ decision, and when they finally spoke up, it was in Matt Giraud’s favor.
Poor Anoop! He was about to philosophically shrug his defeat off and sulk away when it was oh, so dramatically revealed that, for the first time in the history of “American Idol,” the jurors had decided to pick 13 finalists, and both Matt and Anoop were in!
We were beyond ecstatic. All of our three bets had made it to the finals, and all was well with the world.
Of course, the road all the way to the 2009 “AI” title will be long and rough, so all 13 finalists will have to give the tilt’s last leg 101 percent of their talent, passion—and smarts.
By this, we mean that, aside from coming up with great and greatly felt performances, the 13 finalists will have to be extra-savvy about making their song choices, looking good and coming across, not just as cool, exciting entertainers, but also as fascinating people whom millions of viewers will dote on, empathize with—and vote for.
Having said that, last Wednesday’s first finals show turned out to be a bummer for Anoop, who was rapped by all four jurors for his bad song choice and “karaoke” performance. And last Thursday’s elimination felled “our” Jasmine and Jorge Nuńez (Anoop barely survived). Oh, that hurts.
But, that’s the way the “AI” cookie crumbles—so, here’s to the really smart cookies out there who can survive all the way to the “final-finals” some 10 weeks from now!
And now, there are 11 . . .
