Assumed Front-runners on American Idol Cannot Ever Rest

American Idol contestant Casey James received his "wake up" moment on this week's elimination night. (04/21/2010) He was nearly eliminated due to his performance of the previous night. It wasn't a bad performance by any means, but it appeared as if he didn't take his opportunity as seriously as he should have. He gave his "usual solid performance" and the crowd loved it. He is a solid singer and guitar player, with all the necessary appearance ingredients to become a recording star.

In these final stages of the show, each contestant has to look at each week as their possible last, and be inspired to perform as they never have before in their life! This is what Michael Lynche did on the night when he was told he was leaving. He looked at that moment as his opportunity to show everyone how good he really was, rather than accepting defeat. It was one of Michael's best performances, which awed the judges and convinced them to use the "one time" save vote.

The remaining contestants especially need to choose each song wisely and not only shock and awe the audience, but will show how much they want to win. The numbers of viewing potential callers are now increasing and they are also narrowing their choices. In earlier weeks, callers begin to pick out their three or four favorites and actually start to call in and vote, because they want to make sure they remain in the contest. In the last couple of weeks, callers begin focusing in on their most favorite artist, and in these last remaining shows, the one who "wows" the audience by performing even better than expected, will get most of the votes. This is just as true for the heavily favored Crystal Bowersox. No one is safe at this stage, as it isn't about accumulated points or professional judges scores. It all comes down to how many people tuned in to watch and then actually picked up their phones to call or text in their votes.

Casey James almost blew his chance by playing just as good as he has before, but not blowing away the audience. It's these close calls that become a slap in the face for anyone who thinks that they are more popular or a better performer. Sometimes this is exactly what is needed to bring out the absolute best in the performances yet to be seen.

Source: http://www.americanidol.com/videos/season_9/recaps/top_9_elimination_week_2/