Four singers go home on ‘American Idol’

(Warning: Don't want to know who was eliminated on the Feb. 22 "American Idol" episode? Then stop reading now.)

There’s no doubt that the first week of semifinal shows is the dullest stretch of the “American Idol” season. Thirty-six minutes of vocals are spread over two nights and four hours, which is enough to make even the most devoted “Idol” fan zone out. If it wasn’t for the pretend fights between Simon and Ryan, there would be little reason to watch at all.

The structure makes it incumbent on the semifinalists to stand out from the pack. And it’s just that much worse if the show’s producers have stacked the odds against them by making them afterthoughts in the audition rounds.

That was the story behind the four singers eliminated on Thursday, particularly the two men. Amy Krebs and Nicole Tranquillo simply had the bad luck of being boring on a night where a lot of the other women sang well. But Paul Kim and Rudy Cardenas were just two of the many men who didn’t sing up to their potential.

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Cardenas led off the semifinals by singing first Tuesday night while Kim sang fourth, and an early performance time is never an advantage. All else being equal, neither did well enough that they have much cause to complain about the results of the voting. But neither was among the worst two singers of the night either.

The problem for both Kim and Cardenas was that their competitors in the race for the bottom were given ample time to build a bit of a fanbase. At this stage that’s often enough to grant hopefuls a second chance even after struggling on opening night.

Recognition pays off
Ryan Seacrest opened the evening by saying that nearly 32 million people voted in this opening round. That sounds like a lot, but divided among 24 contestants it means that smaller voting blocs can carry bigger weight than they do later in the season.

Kim, the first semifinalist eliminated, was placed on stage in the same group as Sundance Head. Even on a night where blandness reigned, Head stood out on Tuesday as the worst of the bunch. He’s putting himself under so much pressure to do well that he’s gone from refreshing bluesy singer to mediocre balladeer.

In fact, after Head's performance of their hit “Nights in White Satin,” the Moody Blues might be tempted to take out a restraining order to keep Head from covering “Tuesday Afternoon” or “The Voice” next week.

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But Head had a small advantage; he was featured not only in his original audition, but also several times in Hollywood and on the selection show as well.

Sure, he was struggling most of the time, but he also made it apparent that he didn’t know what he would do with himself if he got voted off. The pity vote apparently outweighed the anti-shoe vote, and the barefoot and despondent Kim was sent home instead.

Cardenas’ elimination was even more glaring. He was paired onstage with Sanjaya Malakar, and Ryan announced that one was going home, but the other had finished in the top four among the men.

Neither sang great on Tuesday, but Malakar not only got the sympathetic portrayal in earlier episodes, the odds were further stacked in his favor when he was chosen as the lone teenager among the 12 men. It’s tough to see a scenario where he makes it through March. But then again, teenage Kevin Covais made the final 12 last season, and Malakar may well get equally as far this year.

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