Well, so much for my predictions. Astro seemed to be nowhere near the bottom of the voting pile while Marcus Canty was picked over LeRoy Bell and Lakoda Rayne automatically went home based on being the lowest vote getters of the night. The only thing more ridiculous than that was the fact that they all came out like they just all fell out of the clown car to the bizarrely stupid circus theme they were doing this week.
I will say one thing; while I didn't particularly strong feelings one way or another about Bruno Mars' performance, Kelly Clarkson once again demonstrated while she is still the gold standard for these competitions. Singing her new single "What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger)" in front of two of the three judges she won the inaugural edition of American Idol back in 2002, Clarkson delivered just another powerful reminder in an already illustrious career, of what the remaining nine contestants are all vying for.
Marcus Canty really has not sang particularly well the past two weeks although he certainly had one of the better performances from last week's mostly lackluster "Rock" week (quotations sarcastically inserted). Still, if the whole point of the save song performance is that it's to sing for that week's survival, then the totality of the contestant's "journey" should not be taken into consideration. Otherwise, it should be (and I mostly agree with that argument myself) and from that standpoint they probably made the right call. Still, it's more likely than not that the judges felt that Marcus Canty is too young and much more marketable than the 60 year-old LeRoy Bell but if it were based on the merits, Bell would have stayed for another week.
All the same, it's pretty clear that Marcus Canty's run is probably nearing its end. With LeRoy Bell, Lakoda Rayne, and Stacy Francis all gone, we're now down to the heart of the competition with the singers with the strongest fan bases left. I did enjoy Lakoda Rayne shutting up the socially awkward Steve Jones when he tactlessly declared that their "dream was over" and Nicole Scherzinger cleverly snatched the microphone out of his hands to declare her love for LeRoy.
I've been disappointed with the lack of respect for Lakoda Rayne from the media and many viewers throughout the competition but there's no question that they could be huge if given the opportunity and platform to be so post-X Factor. Conventional wisdom says that probably won't happen but they could be an early test for the star producing viability of the show. This show has definitely had a different vibe in many ways from the other shows, despite being largely similar, and it might have more marketable artists to unleash to the public once the season is done.
I'll be posting additional blogs on Lakoda Rayne and LeRoy Bell in the coming days so stay tuned. And remember that next week the pressure is on Chris Rene, Marcus Canty, and Astro. In other words, L.A. Reid has his work cut out for him.
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