American Idol Review: Not a Shocker that Danny Gokey Moves On

On Tuesday, February 17th, American Idol began its live competition and we now know after Wednesday's elimination who the first three members of the top 12 are going to be. Did America make the right choices with their votes or did they make the same mistakes that they have made in the past? As a long-time fan of American Idol, I can get quite opinionated about whether I feel the votes wen the right way or the wrong way and come up with many reasons for my view. I digress, however, since this isn't about my opinion.

The elimination show has always been the most annoying part of American Idol and Wednesday's elimination was no exception. I have to give credit, however, because they got straight to the results right off and started handing out the good and bad news. In the first segment of the hour long show, they talked to the judges, who stood behind their initial reactions after watching the show back at home. They also gave the news to the first four contestants. One, Alexis Grace, was put through to the top 12 and the other three were sent back to their seats.

One thing that they did differently this season was that the contestants moving on got to sing again. Alexis got to repeat her performance before taking her stool and waiting for the announcement of the other two that would be joining her. When they came back from the break, they went through another four contestants, three of whom did not make it through and one, Michael Sarver, was put through to the top 12. After he got his chance to sing again, they discussed the new Disney attraction and went off for a break. When they came back from a break to Ryan inviting the next two contestants to center stage, but not naming them.

At first, I couldn't figure out who the two were, then it dawned on me, they were not contestants from the current season. That's right, they brought Carly Smithson and Michael Johns on to sing a song for the audience. I find all of this to be a waste of time, frankly. I think they need to just get on with it. They don't need an entire hour to tell twelve people their fates. The anticipation is not worth the wait.

When they finally got around to the final four contestants, it was revealed that the final member of the top 12 group for the week was going to be Danny Gokey. This wasn't a shock, really, since he has one of the most compelling personal stories of any of the contestants. When he initially went to audition, he had just lost his wife four weeks prior, and of course, Fox and Idol has really milked the story for all they can. That's not to say that Gokey isn't a good singer. He is, a very good vocalist and could probably end up winning the whole thing if Fox and Idol stops pushing his personal story on everyone.

Overall, the first week of top 12 selection went well. We all knew that all the favorites couldn't make it through with only three seats being available, but it isn't the end of the road for those who have not made it. There is one more chance for four of the contestants to snatch a spot in the wild card round out after the viewers have voted in their favorite nine.

Tune in next Wednesday and Thursday to see the next group of twelve singing for their place in the top 12.

Sources:
American Idol - http://www.americanidol.com
Reality TV World - http://www.realitytvworld.com