Another Idol Shocker: So Long, Stephanie
Sometimes, being bad can be a good thing.
Thirty million possibly tone-deaf American Idol voters threw the music industry another curveball Wednesday night, booting early favorite Stephanie Edwards from the competition and narrowing the already narrow field down to 10.
Of course, it's not as if Edwards, 19, was season six's top contender—on Tuesday, Simon Cowell said that her take on Dusty Springfield's "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" was lacking the edginess and youthful energy of her previous performances.
Even Paula Abdul told Edwards she should try to have more fun onstage. Or, in Randy Jackson speak, "That wasn't my favorite performance of yours…"
But there were just so many other contestants to choose from.
For instance, fans have done way too much to appease votefortheworst.com, keeping novelty act Sanjaya Malakar out of the bottom two completely, even after his screaming/growling rendition of the Kinks' "You Really Got Me" really got us taking a bathroom break.
Others who seemed way more on the verge of an Idol breakdown than Edwards included Gina Glocksen, who seemingly painted herself into the bottom two with the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black," and Phil Stacey, whose version of "Tobacco Road," rerecorded by the Brit-pop band the Nashville Teens in 1964, wasn't exactly smokin'.
Instead, Chris Richardson, who did a nice job on Gerry & the Pacemakers' "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" and earned "best performance so far" honors from Cowell, joined Edwards in the hot seat.
Meanwhile, Melinda Doolittle, LaKisha Jones, Blake Lewis and Jordin Sparks sailed through, and Haley Scarnato appears to have redeemed herself for the time being, turning in a "best to date" performance of "Tell Him," done Billie Davis-style, and avoiding the firing squad.
Wednesday's elimination show also featured performances from former Herman's Hermits frontman Peter Noone and "To Sir with Love" singer Lulu, both of whom also helped prep the contestants for Tuesday's British Pop Invasion night.
The top 10 finalists—Doolittle, Jones, Lewis, Sparks, Malakar, Glocksen, Scarnato, Richardson, Stacey and Chris Sligh—go through this all over again next week. Tuesday's show will feature pop tunes and Hollaback Girl Gwen Stefani taking a turn as Idol coach. The No Doubt chanteuse will then team up with Akon Wednesday to perform "The Sweet Escape."
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