Narrowing It Down to 20
Only one surprise tonight, and not one that boiled my blood much. In general, a pretty ho-hum episode for having lost a good slice of the finalists, but the four who left were really pretty expendable; no tears shed here.
The group performance was sort of cheerful but also unremarkable, although
Michael for one looked uncannily natural in the '60s boy-band getup.
Garrett was the first to go - no surprise there, but it was such a fast execution, it didn't seem very kind. Though it's really far crueler when Ryan draws it out endlessly, as he did later in the evening. When they zoomed in on him, Danny looked like a deer caught in headlights after Garrett's "had a bad day" moment was announced.
As for the girls,
Amy was the first to go, thank goodness. I'm sorry, but I literally
had to fast-forward through her "Where the Boys Are," it hurt my aesthetic sensibilities that much.
Paula tried to keep things positive with the advice, "You've got to go paint that door and that knob and go for it." That just made me groan, but whatever, at least she tried to send the girl out on a positive note.
When Ryan did his "... after the break" setup with the next set of girls on the block,
Amanda and
Joanne, it wasn't even fair - I mean, it would have been
shocking if Amanda had been sent home already. There was no question which of those two would be going home. But Joanne was so gracious about her departure, it just reconfirmed that she's a real class act.
I wasn't expecting
Colton to be leaving, but I can't say I'm really disappointed. We never got to know him well enough to feel particularly invested in his fate, and I'm still miffed that he took future-politician Kyle Ensley's spot in the top 24.
Simon suggested that Colton get a good job and just sing on the side. I actually thought that out of the four who went home tonight, he has the most real vocal chops; he just didn't show himself off well the other night.
Since Ryan called Colton with
Chikezie, I'll admit I was relieved that Chikezie will get another chance to prove himself. I'm hoping that his next song choice is better and that he tones down the back-talk with the judges; I know there's talent and charm lurking under that winning smile.
The other "highlight" of the night was the video of Paula's comeback single, "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow," off of
Randy's new album. I had heard this dismal ditty in the buildup to the Super Bowl, and I can't say I liked it any more tonight. I'm actually not sure which is more boring, the song or the video. But I am pretty sure I recognize some of Paula's outfits from her "Straight Up" days.
What do you think? Were you sad to see any of these four go? And what did you think of Paula's single?
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Simon Says... the Most Quotable Things! blog.
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