American Idol:The Top 6 Results Show

Bottom Two:
Syesha Mercado ("One Rock 'n' Roll Too Many")
Carly Smithson ("Jesus Christ Superstar")

Eliminated:
Carly Smithson








Watch video of Carly Smithson being eliminated:


Before the opening number, in which the Top 6 do a rather tepid ren-
dition (though the girls were better than the boys) of "All I Ask of You" from "Phantom of the Opera" (now we know why they wouldn't let Carly do the song) accompanied by Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber on the piano, host extraodinaire Ryan Seacrest tells us than more than 38 million votes were received (all wrong, appararently). He then introduces Randy Jackson by gripping his shoulders, Paula Abdul with a kiss on the cheek and Simon Cowell, also with a kiss, perhaps trying to reignite the are they/aren't they gay controversy we've heard so little of this season.

Watch video of Top 6 singing "All I Ask of You" with Andrew Lloyd Webber:


It's time to pimp the Idols Live '08 tour for the first time this season. This year, it launches in Jordin Sparks' hometown, Glendale, Ariz., on July 1st, then travels to 48 other cities. Considering last year's poor box-office receipts, perhaps the Idol folks feel more comfortable launching the tour in a rock-solid Idol town where they can almost certainly be sure of a soldout venue. We are also advised that voting for the songwriting contest ends tonight -- as if our votes mean anything, everyone knows the producers will pick the songwriter they want to work with -- before we go into the recap of Tuesday's show.

Watch recap of Tuesday night's show:


Ryan reintroduces Webber, and they chat about singing for TV vs. the stage. Ryan also asks Webber about Brooke White restarting her song, saying it was the first time it ever happened on "Idol." Er, except that it was the second time Brooke, alone, did it this season. Perhaps Ryan has short-term memory loss, but someone should replay him the video of White's "Every Breath I Take" performance. Webber defends her actions (at this point we're smelling a rat and beginning to assume she's safe), saying that even the best people lose their way, and that Brooke's a talented girl. He also said it was really a shame because in the dress rehearsal White was flawless. Moving on to Jason Castro, Webber said he probably wouldn't take his advice no matter what he said. (Do we smell the scent of a second setup here?). Perhaps because we're not going to suffer through the lame viewer Q&A tonight, Ryan finally asked Webber if he wrote a love song for Paula and Simon, what would he call it? Webber offers "Time to Say Goodbye" or "How Can I Miss You If You Won't Go Away?" Simon prefers the former title. The Ford commercial features David Archuleta as a cartoonist drawing the Top 6 as punk characters to Soft Cell's "Tainted Love." Somewhere, Danny Noriega is no doubt laughing with a finger "L" against his forehead and mouthing, "LOSERS." Maybe he'll make a video of it.

Watch Ford video "Tainted Love":


We next have to endure The President and Mrs. Bush thanking the producers for raising $65 million through "Idol Gives Back." Of course, this is played pretty low key as the show was a half-hour longer than last year's production, yet netted $11 million LESS (the ratings were also down in the millions compared to last year) and after the producers said they were aiming for $100 million, or $24 million MORE than last year's $76 million total. With those disappointing numbers don't be surprised if "Idol Gives Back" disappears next year (after all, the show is also about raising money for the producers) or is relegated to solely a Web drive.

On to the results. Ryan calls the Davids -- Archuleta and Cook, who resembled Wally and the Beaver as they entered the stage -- out first. Did anyone think they weren't safe? C'mon. Seacrest asks David Cook why he decided not to rearrange "Music of the Night," and David tells him that he keeps hearing words like predictable, and thought the most unpredictable thing would be to do the song as it was written. Ryan sends them to the couch and tells they'll be working with Neil Diamond next week.

It's now time for the "Where Are They Now" former "Idol" contestant segment, focusing on Broadway. Ryan mentions Diana DeGarmo, Fantasia and LaKisha (who was also in the audience), but the video features Tamyra Gray in "Rent" and Clay Aiken in "Spamalot." Gray looks better than in her "Idol" years, but Clay is becoming decidely middle-aged looking, especially in that Mr. Rogers outfit.

Watch "where are they now" video of Tamyra Gray and Clay Aiken:


Putting off the results even longer, Simon Cowell gets to pimp his "discovery" Leona Lewis, guaranteeing that her CD and single hold steady on the Billboard charts and make him even more $$$. Is it us, or is "Bleeding Love" the most boring No. 1 song EVAH? We needed a transfusion by the time it ended. Is this the reason Clive Davis got booted from Sony/BMG again, since he co-manages Lewis with Cowell?

Watch video of Simon Cowell discovery Leona Lewis singing "Bleeding Love":


Finally, we're back to the only thing anyone watching cared about -- the results. Ryan calls out Syesha Mercado and Brooke White, and goes into how well Syesha performed, while Brooke, well, screwed up, making us all think Mercado is safe and White is stool-bound. Surprise (was it really? we've come to know the games the producers play), Brooke is safe and Syesha is in the Bottom 2. Boo! Hiss! Next we play the same game with Carly Smithson and Jason Castro. Ryan talks about how Simon loved Carly's performance, while Randy called Jason's a train-wreck and Simon said he looked like a kid being forced by his parents to perform a song he didn't like at a wedding. Who's safe? Why, Jason, of course. Ryan tells us that Carly and Syesha will perform encores of their numbers, after which one will be sent home. On the couch, Brooke seems weepy and upset about being saved once again while someone more worthy is in danger, while Jason, with a dopey smile on his face (when isn't there?) looks as if he's thinking "Whoa, man, that was close, where's the weed?" When Ryan asks the judges if America got it right, Simon says that after watching the show back he thinks Brooke survived because she made herself human (no, actually, Simon you saved her when you said that you, too, would have stopped and restarted the song), while Jason wasn't good but he was charming.

Watch video of Carly Smithson reprising "Jesus Christ Superstar" and Syesha Mercado reprising "One Rock 'n' Roll Too Many":


After Carly and Syesha sing, Ryan asks Randy about the voting this week. Randy says it was a bit of a popularity contest, while Paula tells the women she has never seen more relaxation and joy at this stage. Carly answers that she and Syesha are roommates. Well, not anymore. Ryan tells Carly she is going home, and, to be honest, she looks happy about it. Ryan wants to give Simon and Carly one last time to talk things out, and Simon apologizes to Smithson for complimenting her the night before, calling it the kiss of death. He tells her to leave with her head held high. Carly says she's not upset about going home and that she has had the best time. We believe her.

Next week, Neil Diamond mentors the Top 5.






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