Wow. Where to begin?
I suppose I should start with the final result itself because it was shocking enough that former frontrunner Stacy Francis could fall off so quickly from the potential winner's circle circuit and that she could be in such danger must be considered startling. Still, on the other hand, it really wasn't. The victim of a viciously personal smear campaign by idiotic douchebag bloggers like Perez Hilton, she had lost a lot of her mojo as well as a ton of her support and momentum. She became the surprise controversy magnet of the season while the other Bottom Two contestant from this week became the more unsurprisingly villain of the season because of his obnoxiously bratty behavior.
Stacy Francis has been criticized for having a professional past, which has never been a secret and has never been against the rules (and Simon knew about it and he never pulled the trigger on her ouster over it so it definitely should have been okay), and for holding onto some notes too long, and for crying too much. It finally caught up with her. In what was probably that rare instance in which somebody kind of deserved to go home but really should have been saved, Stacy did the adult thing and accepted responsibility for her performance and had the presence of mind, despite candidly declaring she was heartbroken to be leaving the show, to thank Simon Cowell and company for the opportunity.
As a singer mother, and as a young woman of 42 years of age but literally old enough to be Astro's mother (of which she already is one), the Astronomical Kid was hopefully taking notes and pointers from his elder X Factor peer for lessons of humility, grace, dignity, and class. Astro comes out for his save performance, asks if he should even be performing to both his mentor L.A. Reid and to the audience and then goes on to give a perfectly able but lackluster performance.
Astro's critics pointed out, and I concur in this assessment, that he showed his true colors and that his Kanye West impression had worn thin rather quickly with the judges. The problem is, after all the chewing out that L.A. Reid and Simon did with him, they both still ultimately let him off the hook. I thought for a second that Simon might do it because he'd have the stones to do it and his track record would have backed it up.
Still, despite being called a quitter by his own mentor, and despite the fact that it was more than warranted, the judges ultimately chickened out and saved the person that they all seem pretty sure is destined for greatness and for good reason. At the end of the day, Astro was saved but unwarrantedly as far as I'm concerned. There's no denying that he'd been the more consistent performer of bottom two but Simon weaseled out of his usual humbling disposition and chose to look at who could realistically reach the winner's circle between the two of them.
Stacy has not been without very glaring insecurities, and perhaps it's a byproduct of her tortured past, but at the end of the day her vulnerabilities were her strength in the face of adversity and in her final moments on the show as a contestant. Her vulnerability was her grace and she chose dignity and class over pouty ego-bruised declarations of victimhood by the much younger Brian Bradley. I don't buy the idea that Astro's tears saved him from Simon Cowell's wrath. Simon's history, although he did stray from it significantly to begin with in saving Astro, dictates that he is generally unswayed by tears and emotion if it's been preceded by bratty cockiness and arrogance.
And that's exactly the problem with the young Mr. Bradley. It's pretty clear that he's always gotten away with bratty behavior because he's never really been called out for it. Yes, Simon has alluded to it, but it's always been quantified by his gushing for his potential and the high ceiling stardom possibilities he possesses. And this is very indicative of the American psyche these days with its youth. It's all about stoking and feeding the youth's ego. The problem I'm having with Astro is reconciling his seemingly very earthy parents with Astro's darker side. Yet, I remain drawn to him too because he is a very inventive artist and it's nearly impossible to disregard his talent and superstardom potential. However, at the end of the day, humility is most effective when it's quick and swift and without mercy.
Still, after this week, is Astro even salvageable as a contestant? And wouldn't Stacy Francis have been a wiser bet to have rebounded and to move back up in the running? It was certainly a curious move on Simon's part in several ways but he ultimately chose at least another week of drama and if this show wants to start taking itself seriously as a star producer, it has got some serious growing up to do as well.
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