Pop Stand

Tonight the American Idol finalists went from 20 to 16, with a couple of surprises, and a couple big announcements.

Both Anne and I were right on with our prediction of Jason Yeager being eliminated, but it really was a no-brainer to predict. He had very little, if any, face time during auditions and Hollywood week. And when it came to performances, last week during the '60s and this week for the '70s, the trio of judges hammered him each time. He could do nothing right, and with limited exposure, how could America not follow the judges' lead and vote him off?

Neither Anne, nor I saw Robbie Carrico as potentially being the second guy to be eliminated, but he was having a pretty difficult time with the judges as well, particularly Simon, in proving he was an authentic "rocker." The defection this week of Randy and Paula to the "not authentic" camp may have been his undoing. But what do you think? Was it a mistake?

As for the women, Anne nailed it with Alaina Whitaker going home. She was shaky this week with her rendition of Olivia Newton John's "Hopelessly Devoted To You," and while America votes, the judges obviously have a bit of influence. She suffered the same fate as the men in getting nitpicked by the judges.  It  had to be hard for a 16-year-old girl to be eliminated, but that is part of the show. Good for her, though, for getting composed enough to sing her way out.

The biggest surprise for me was to see Alexandrea Lushington as one of the performers cut this week. I had picked her as a possible longshot to make it to the Top 5. I felt she had incredible talent for a 17-year-old. Her poise and vocals were well beyond her years, like David Archuleta. So gifted and so effortless. But maybe the song choice was the problem. Did America get that one right? I say no.

Anne and I both whiffed on rocker nurse Amanda Overmyer, who lives for another week. And Anne misses on Danny Noriega too. Both are the VoteForTheWorst backed picks. Perhaps they'll slip through ala Sanjaya for few more weeks with that voting bloc behind them.

I missed on Kady Malloy, but she was in the Bottom 3 overall.

As for the big announcements...

On Tuesday, March 11th when the field is down to the Top 12 finalists and the show returns to single elimination, viewers will notice some changes.

First, a new sequence of graphics will open the show, and performers will be singing on a whole new set. Also, Season Two winner Ruben Studdard has recorded a special exit song to be played each week as contestants are eliminated.

Second, Ryan Seacrest announced that Sony Music will release a portion of the Lennon/McCartney songbook (previously owned by Michael Jackson up to 1995, I believe) for the Top 12 to perform.

The other big announcement is that Idol Gives Back will return on Wednesday, April 9th. Ryan slipped that among those scheduled to appear are actors/performers Brad Pitt, Reese Witherspoon, Carrie Underwood, Daughtry, Miley Cyrus, Snoop Dogg and Mariah Carey.