Idol’s Comeback Kid
ran out of chances

< Prev | 1 | 2

Interactive

Simon says
Sometimes the best part of “American Idol” is the latest sly comment from acerbic judge Simon Cowell. Here are some of our favorites from this season.

‘American Idol’ video

Ellen DeGeneres named new ‘Idol’ judge
Sept. 10: Comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres is joining “American Idol” as the show’s fourth judge, taking Paula Abdul’s place. TODAY’s Natalie Morales reports.

What kind of ‘Idol’ judge will Ellen be?

Why Paula Abdul left ‘Idol’

Paula Abdul not returning to ‘Idol’

Adam Lambert says he’s gay

Kris, Adam reflect on ‘Idol’

Adam Lambert: ‘There’s not a conspiracy’

Some contestants clearly need this competition more than others, and Savol needs it worse than anyone. Not particularly charismatic and not looking like anything resembling a pop star, Savol more than any other finalist must rely completely on his voice to sell himself to the public. A performance Tuesday night that didn’t impress two of the three judges — only pleasing Paula Abdul, who likes everything — combined with the revelation of his 2001 arrest on domestic violence charges, seemed to add up to a nightmare scenario for the pride of Shaker Heights, Ohio.

It seemed like he might avoid the bottom three altogether for a moment, given Solomon and Smith’s quick spots in the troubled trio.

But that tricky Ryan Seacrest had other plans, so down Savol went.

Story continues below ↓

advertisement | your ad here

Bo Bice, Constantine Maroulis, Anwar Robinson, Carrie Underwood … heck, even Anthony Fedorov and Nadia Turner got to move on without even breaking a sweat. For Fedorov and Turner, no strangers to the bottom three, it was a welcome relief on a night that they presumably thought might be their last on the show.

Not all the judges were happy to see the results. After seeing Solomon and Smith among the unpopular three, Randy Jackson ventured “I gotta think America might be a little confused right now.”

But really, America wasn’t confused at all. It just doesn’t like Nikko Smith as much as the judges do. That was made clear when he got voted off for the first time in March, and on Wednesday he simply ran out of chances.

< Prev | 1 | 2