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Idol Watch: Spending the Save

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Michael Becker / FOX

Michael Becker / FOX

Quick, I’m-still-on-vacation thoughts about last night’s Idol results round after the jump:

As Simon said, Matt Giraud has no realistic chance of winning this season of American Idol. He added that his sing-for-your-life performance was worse than the original that landed him at the bottom of the voting list. Simon could have added, but didn’t, that Matt has for whatever reason, not connected with voters, who simply don’t seem to find him memorable enough to dial his number. 

So naturally, the judges saved him last night. Wha—? 

The only explanation I can offer: unless I have miscounted, or the producers silently changed the rules again, next week would have been the last that the judges could have used the save. The save was meant to keep potential top contestants from getting the boot, but this year the fans have upset expectations by not upsetting expectations.

If the judges didn’t use the save at all, the rule would be deemed a bust. If they used it next week, and not on a top Idol star, it would have been even more obvious that they were simply using the rules for its own sake. Hence: today, Matt Giraud is the luckiest man in America. 

The native Michigander in me is happy to see someone from my home state catch a break. But I can’t otherwise justify the call, since Matt had as much reason to go home as anyone else eliminated so far, and probably more than some.

Is anybody else out there hoping that Adam Lambert or Danny Gokey ends up in the bottom two next week, just to ensure that the gimmick blows up in the producers’ faces? Cross your fingers with me, America.