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Idol Watch: Rage, Rage Against the Dying of the Light

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Photo: Michael Becker / FOX

Photo: Michael Becker / FOX

Spoilers* for last night’s semifinals week-two elimination of American Idol coming up after the break. 

Well, it was fun while it lasted. The combination of the judges’ otherwise-inexplicable praise for Kris Allen and their practically begging America to reject Nick/Norman/Normund was enough to stop the juggernaut of Mr. Gentle, season eight’s brief-lived camp star. (On Wednesday, even Ryan said he didn’t believe Nick Mitchell should survive, which may be the first time I’ve ever heard the host venture an opinion on who should go.) 

So two out of three on my predictions: it’s Kris, Adam and Allison. C’est la guerre. I got a huge kick out of Nick/Gentle’s performances, but if he didn’t show new variations on the act soon, it was going to get old fast. But I was hoping he would inject some interest into this season, about which I am so far very, very worried. We now have half of our final 12, and—although singers have a way of coming out of nowhere on this show—there is so far not a single finalist I really care about or who interests me musically. 

By that, I don’t mean that I’d want to buy an album by them—God knows I don’t expect that much from Idol. I just want someone who doesn’t bore me, who makes me look forward to seeing what they’ll do on stage the next week. I want excitement. Winners like Kelly Clarkson, David Cook and Fantasia Barrino have done that for me; so have out-of-left-field also-rans like Jason Castro and Blake Lewis. 

But this season? I still expect Danny Gokey to take it all, and he’s talented enough, but I feel like I know exactly what I’m going to get from him every week. This week, the women with the more interesting voices—Jesse and Megan the Fontmaker—had off weeks, but I hope we’ll see one or both in the wild-card round. As it is, season 8 threatens to sing me to sleep. Do you have a rooting interest in anyone yet? 

 

*OK, maybe the headline of this post was a spoiler, to Dylan Thomas / Idol fans. (Do not go Gentle into that good night? See what I did?)