American Idol: After the Save - was it the Right Thing?

American Idol history was made this week with the Judges Save being used on Matt Giraud. Was it the right decision or was it wrong? That's definitely been up for debate quite a bit since it happened. With Giraud in the bottom three, we had Anoop Desai and Lil Rounds, so it was definitely an odd grouping. Desai was sent back to safety, leaving Lil and Matt to stew through Miley Cyrus singing her newest single, "Climb" and the commercial break that went along with the performance.

When asked, American Idol Judge, Simon Cowell made it clear that they would use the save on either Rounds or Giraud, but he also said that it would likely be surprising which one it would be. Now, from the beginning of the competition, Cowell sung the praises of Lil Rounds, but in recent weeks, he's made it clear that she has fallen out of favor, especially when he told 16yr old Allison Iraheta that she was the only hope for the women of Idol this season.

After being revealed as the one with the fewest votes, Matt Giraud had one last chance to sing to stay in the competition. While the judges crowded around Cowell to deliberate, it didn't last nearly as long as it has during previous weeks, leaving Kara and Paula free to dance and enjoy the repeat performance. In my opinion, Matt did far better during Wednesday's performance, but Cowell disagreed. He even told Giraud, while trying to talk over the crowd chanting, "I don't see that you have really any chance of winning the competition,"

The crowd disagreed, as did the judges, vehemently booing Cowell while alternately chanting "Save".I think that he is right because for as much talent as Matt has, he's not a crowd favorite, nor has he defined his style enough for the fans to know what he would do if he were to win the competition the way Iraheta and Adam Lambert have. Cowell did eventually get around to telling Giraud that he was, indeed, saved, but he also made it clear to everyone that it wasn't necessarily a good thing, since the bottom two would both be leaving next and that the theme of the week was going to be Disco.

That's right folks, next week the singers need to be on their game two hundred percent if they want to remain in the competition and the fans need to make sure that they vote for their favorites. Never assume that they are going to be safe and not vote, that's how other fan favorites have been lost early in the competition. Now that the judges save is out of the picture, it's all about the fan votes again, the way it has been in seasons past. But that leads me to wonder about whether the save was used at the right time or not.

I said last night in conversation that I was glad he was saved, that he didn't deserve to leave the competition before Lil Rounds. She has been a disappointment since making it into the Top 13 and should have gone a while ago. What I'm afraid of, however, is that those fans who dislike Simon Cowell will intentionally vote as much as they can for Rounds, to keep her in the competition as long as they can. I'm not sure that the judges save really means anything, especially with two people leaving during the next week. I think the usefulness of the save will be seen if Matt Giraud can pull off a killer performance and not fall into the bottom again, but I'm concerned that no matter what he does, he will be out.

What do you think, Idol fans? Did the judges do the right thing by saving Giraud? Will he survive the double elimination? Will we lose two of the favorites next? I want to hear your take on it.