There were a lot of shocking things on Idol this week. Aside from the amazingly good performances this week, there were two other major surprises that we learned about: first was Michael Lynche being saved from elimination, and the identity of next week’s mentor: Adam Lambert.
Last-Minute Reprieve… Or Was It?: The talk of the Idolsphere was Michael Lynche being saved by the judges this week. However, the shocker isn’t so much that Big Mike was saved; it’s more that it was he was at risk in the first place.
However, I’m not sure it was so much a surprise as it ought to be. The Sesame Street Effect was out in full force. The choice was clear between Aaron and Andrew to boot, so their fans both voted like mad. Poor Mike got caught in the crossfire, and was particularly vulnerable because his performance was very much an acquired taste. As usual, “shockers” on Idol aren’t.
As for the save… I didn’t find the decision to save Big Mike all that shocking, to be honest. Based on his total work to date, there were clearly worse contestants still in the competition. Essentially, the question raised if the save was not used would be – Big Mike is out, but the likes of Tim, Andrew, and Aaron are still in? If one of those three produced a Sanjaya-like fiasco later down the road, the question would definitely be asked – and no one would like the answers. Best to get it out of the way as soon as possible, and because Big Mike had done This Woman’s Work so well he was credible enough to be saved.
This Is Not A Drill: The real shocker of the week came well before the performances began. Adam Lambert was announced to be next week’s mentor; more recent rumors have the theme being Elvis Presley songs.
At the very least, it’s going to be an… interesting night. Adam was a uniquely polarizing figure as a contestant, and just the announcement itself was enough to start countless Internet battles. In truth, it’ll probably be something like Miley night – Adam will offer woefully generic advice, and neither will he be able to stop contestants if they really decide to do something stupid.
The most interesting case, however, is likely to happen with Siobhan. She’s a screamer; no one doubts Adam’s one as well. This will either turn out very well, or very poorly. I have no idea which way it will go. In a perverse way, that’s true for the entire night.
Now, about the flame war currently engulfing the Idol forums after the announcement… the doubters are (mostly) right. This is another attempt by 19E to pimp Adam. Truth be told, he’s not the international superstar his fans portray him as, but nor is he the flop his worst critics say he is. I’d say he’s what we saw in the season: someone who’s able to gather a reasonably-sized fanbase, but has difficulty crossing over to mainstream audiences. It’s not the best position to be in, but it could be worse as well.
As for his qualifications, yes, he may be unqualified, but honestly – most of the Idol mentors have been that way as well. If he’s going to offer useful advice, it might be more about the overall Idol experience, but unless he spends a lot of time with the contestants (doubtful, as his “mentoring” will be in Vegas and not Los Angeles) I doubt there’s much to learn. It’s a ratings stunt and pimping opportunity. Frankly, it’s the sort of behavior I expect from 19E.
I love Adam BUT….rumor has it that he will be singing “What do You Want from Me” yet again?? Jesus…is that the only song on his CD? Sing something else dude,’cause that song is getting REAL tired!
I think the real risk to the save when it’s used to save a candidate that clearly won’t win is that a better candidate who comes in next to last the next week may be at risk of going. Last year I dialed about 50 times for Allison after the judges’ save to try to avoid her being collateral damage. I had never voted for an idol contestant before.
It would be better not to have the judges save and to simply let the chips fall where they may. Of course, it would help if Fox limited votes to avoid having a small motivated segment of the population hijack the voting.
It seems like the judges don’t really control the save anyway. It looks like it gets when the audience pressure is too high for judges to resist granting it not when it might be needed to save a contestant who has a realistic chance of winning.
If the save were used to save a possible winner, it would have to be good until the final 3 or 4 as most of the really shocking eliminations occurred at that level. However, even if the judges could hold off that long, America would probably not tolerate a reversal of their decision at that level particularly if the judges saved a mediocre candidate.