AI Season 9 Second Elimination Night: No Surprises

After only a slightly more interesting night of live American Idol performances from the women of Season 9, we are back to elimination night. There were no real surprises with this week's eliminations, all four former AI Season 9 contestants earned their tickets home. The most surprising part of the night was Ryan Seacrest telling Tim Urban that he was safe for another week, barely five minutes into the show.

The first five to step up were Tim Urban, Todrick Hall, Michael Lynche, Casey James and John Park. It was between Todrick Hall and John Park for the bottom two spots. I think America got it right, but Todrick better step up his game next week. He has not even showed any of his famed dance moves, just give me something to root for. John Park has had a school choir sound since the beginning of the competition. Sadly, as happens with so many Idol eliminations, John Park sang so much better on his sign off. No fancy vocal rolls, just singing... it would have put him much higher on my list if he had sang like that Tuesday night.

The next group of AI contestants to be told they were safe from elimination tonight were Lee Dewyze, Aaron Kelly and Alex Lambert. I was so happy for Alex Lambert, he looked genuinely happy to get to stay. It came down to Jermaine Sellers and Andrew Garcia, it was pretty obvious. Though Ryan Seacrest did everything he could to draw out the suspense, I think Idol producers would sooner fudge the vote tally than keep Jermaine Sellers over Andrew Garcia. Jermaine Sellers leaves American Idol Season 9 to be the diva he was meant to be... somewhere else.

Danny Gokey made his reappearance on the American Idol stage, with the release of his new song "My Best Days Are Ahead of Me". The performance was vocally sound, but I still think Danny Gokey has little or no stage presence. Like a great karaoke singer, there are thousands of him all over America. After his song he gave a frenetic interview with Ryan Seacrest, babbling on about Randy Travis' involvement in his move toward country music. Danny Gokey seemed a little goofier than usual, and of course he brought out his dead wife. Seriously Danny, stop.

As the first group of ladies was made to stand for Ryan and their fates, it was obvious it would come down to Didi Benami and Michelle Delamor. One by one Lilly Scott, Paige Miles and Katie Stevens were all told to take safety in the couch. With both remaining ladies having terrible song choices two weeks in a row, it was a coin flip as to which would leave tonight. Didi Benami has the better (in a different sounding way) voice, and she was saved tonight. Michelle Delamor has a good voice, but not much different from the thousands trying out for American Idol. I thought she did the right thing last night in changing the Creed song to a new style, her vocals were just off and it was boring.

The final group of the night was another coin toss. Katelyn Epperly, Crystal Bowersox and Siobhan Magnus were all sent to safety early. Left standing for elimination were Lacey Brown and Haeley Vaughn. Somewhere inside my head was screaming, "Please let them both go home!" Not to be, Lacey Brown was sent back to the couch of safety leaving Haeley Vaughn without a smile, finally. What was to follow is what can only be described as the worst sing off in American Idol history. If there were any question about Haeley Vaughn being eliminated prior to her final performance, she left no doubt it was the right decision by the time the credits rolled.

Next week will be the last of the large quantity eliminations on American Idol Season 9, as the field of contestants is whittled down to the top 12. Watch the top eight ladies sing on Tuesday night, followed by the top eight guys on Wednesday. Live eliminations will again be on Thursday. For full recaps and judges comments go to American Idol Dreams.