Giosy vs. America: Round 4

My first words after the end of the show were, in my best southern Gospel-belle accent, "Hallelujah, praise the Lord!" Not only for getting it right on my prediction for the second time (that takes us to 50:50), but also because the contestant I thought was much weaker than the rest was finally eliminated.

The show started with a performance by Kelly Clarkson, the original American Idol, who unfortunately could have looked much better--and by that I mean her hair styling and wardrobe choice.

The Pepsi Choice group number went up next with the set, costumes, and dance style chosen by America. They sang a medley of Pink songs dressed in the spirit of (and surrounded by) the circus. I loved the backup dancers' costumes and makeup and thought that it set out what it was meant to achieve--give the audience a good time and visually wow them. But with all that was going on, not all of the contestants got camera or voice time...and Marcus Canty was quite hunchbacked during his solo.

Steve called up Drew and Lakoda Rayne almost right away and announced that one of the acts was staying and one received the lowest amount of votes. With almost no suspense or shock, Lakoda Rayne was the first act to be sent home on this double elimination night. The bottom two after them would have to duke it out and the mentors would have to choose who to send home.

Next, Bruno Mars performed "It Will Rain" with a stunning visual masterpiece of staging that left me breathless. I especially loved the broken heart neon lights and how they would "beat" with--well, the beat.   Quite a few times lately I have been in admiration of the fantastic stage X Factor has. It is so versatile, effective (when used correctly), and over the top in quality. Only in America!

Now I was only hoping that LeRoy Bell would not suddenly be declared safe, and with Chris Rene quickly given a spot for next week I began to worry about my expectations. In the end, the next bottom two were Marcus Canty and LeRoy Bell. I thought this was going to be an easy battle but in the end it was quite the opposite.

Marcus Canty sang for his life first with one of my favourite songs, Christina Aguilera's "You Lost Me". I thought he did a wonderful job and had the passion and stage presence that LeRoy has so clearly lacked all of these weeks. Then, LeRoy Bell sang "Don't Let Me Down" by The Beatles. And I have to admit, it was his best performance to date. He was finally coming a bit out of his shell/toque/beanie (what would he call his hat?). His voice was Michael Bolton-esque and he actually moved around the stage and emoted. But I still thought it was a shoe-in...

These mentors, though, did not. They were split down the middle with L.A. and Simon vouching for Marcus while Nicole and Paula wanted to save LeRoy. WTML?! Was I missing something? They all pretty much said that LeRoy gave a better performance tonight, but I was wondering why they didn't take into account Marcus' consistency and greater talent, versatility, and appeal. This tie put them in a deadlock which resulted in sending home the act with the second lowest amount of votes (after Lakoda Rayne)...which was....(amongst my yells of "I am going to be so angry if LeRoy Bell is safe!")...LeRoy Bell.

Hence my temporary moment of religiosity.

LeRoy was very grateful and appreciative of his time on the show, and I do feel for him having had a second chance at his dream at the age of 60, but with his departure comes a whole new level of competition because now everything is on a more even playing field. And with another double elimination round next week, I don't know if I can handle seeing one/two of my favourites go. But it certainly will make things a whole different kind of interesting!

PS. It has been a very good TV day. I finally got to catch Jeopardy! this week and I must say I did better than I have in a long time. One of the questions I got was Lipizzaner thanks to my recent side-trip to Slovenia (from Croatia, not Vancouver...unfortunately I have yet to apparate).