The wrong teen got ousted. “Bootsy” got the toss out of the Top 5 and off American Idol.
Immediately, the mind wanders: Did anyone really understand the lyrics to “Fortunate Son,” Skylar’s first tune of the night during the Top 5 performances? Did she? Was there danger in her putting an anti-Vietnam War protest song out there on the Idol stage?
Naw … I don’t give the voting public that much credit. Hear me: I said the voting public. Take that as you may.
No … all the votes went Phillip’s and Hollie’s and Jessica’s ways (much to my chagrin) with Skylar left holding the bag. And that’s a shame, too, because I would rather hear Skylar countrify a tune than watch Jessica bounce awkwardly on stage to “Proud Mary” any day.
Any. Day.
Skylar has nothing to be ashamed of, however. Being let go from the Top 5 is nothing to sniff at. It’s an accomplishment of the highest order. And she can head back to Brandon, Mississippi with her head held high.
Clacked by Michael Noble 
on May 04, 2012 @ 00:22 EST5EDT
Skylar going home isn’t going to hurt her career, and I wonder if the buzz created by her ouster won’t help a little. I will, however, miss her in the performance night finale week.
Looking ahead to the final two – What mix WILL we have on the final performance showdown? Will Phillip, a true musician and artist, really make it all the way to the final two? Will it be the judges’ pick for best female and best male dueling it out on the high notes? Can someone with a reserved seat in the final group each week truly survive to reach the final two?
Apparently it is up to the “voting” public – take that as you may.
I love Jimmy Iovine for almost always saying what I’m thinking. His critique of Jessica’s first performance was spot-on. She has an amazing voice, so why do people have a hard time connecting with her? Why do they find her inauthentic? It’s because she is being packaged like a 30-year-old, sexually mature woman when she’s a baby-faced 16-year-old who looks closer to 13. Talk about a Toddlers & Tiaras vibe. She’s singing songs that she doesn’t have the life experience to relate to, while gyrating her hips in a way that should make adults uncomfortable. And to top it off, some idiotic stylist put her in a crotch-high bandage dress. Even more stupid was JLo trying to justify dressing a young girl like a hoochie mama. Are you trying to screw her up, JLo? The overly mature dress and dancing stole attention away from her voice. For contrast look at the second performance – it showcased her beautiful voice with no distractions (apart from the fog machine).
Occasionally Randy or Steven come up with some useful criticism for the contestants (Steven’s dress-down of Heejun comes to mind), but JLo has been worse than useless – she gives crap advice. Iovine should replace her as a judge. How about a judges panel with Jimmy Iovine (a common sense truth-speaker), Randy (for old times’ sake, yo), Harry Connick (a real musician who can also sing), and I guess they need a female judge… Stevie Nicks?