American Idol: 12 finalists but only three are for real
03/08/07 10:55 PM
By ED BARK
The timing is perfect for a Dreamgirls-esque final three on American Idol.
So that's the prediction, now that the field is down to 12 finalists after Thursday's vote-offs of Jared Cotter, Antonella Barba, Sabrina Sloan and Sundance Head.
Melinda Doolittle is unclebarky.com's pick to be the show's sixth grand champ. But she'll have her big-time pipes and extreme likability tested by Idol's two other divas of note, Lakisha Jones and Stephanie Edwards. None of the other three women singers is in their league. And the half-dozen remaining guys just might drop like flies now that the genders are no longer segregated.
Idol's judges seemed most aghast at the cutting off of Head, the Porter, TX belter who was paired up with wispy Sanjaya Malaka in the show's closing minutes.
"I'm speechless," said Paula Abdul, who should remain so.
"Simon, what happened?" host Ryan Seacrest then asked Cowell.
"The volume was turned down?" he replied.
Head clearly is the much superior singer. But he's also way too much like last season's champ, Taylor Hicks. He wasn't going to last much longer anyway, and neither will Malaka unless there really is a nationwide conspiracy this time to embarrass Idol by anointing the worst singer possible.
Every Final 12 has a running joke, though, so it's more likely that Malaka will serve his comic relief purpose and then be sacked before Idol and the voters get down to the serious business of awarding "the biggest prize in the music industry," as Seacrest humbly put it.
Will any of the guys get anywhere near it? Not in this view, although many observers have either Blake Lewis or Chris Richardson on their radar screens. I'll go against that grain and predict that the last guy standing will be longshot Brandon Rogers, the former University of North Texas student who's yet to pick just the right song for him. Rogers is building slowly, but build he will. And there's nothing not to like about him. He's clearly no poser.
Now let's hear what all of you think. So far I'm resting on the laurels of picking Hicks in the early going last year. But that could all quickly collapse in a heap, dawgs.
***The most powerful show on television also announced a two-night Idol Gives Back event scheduled for April 24-25. The admirable goal is to help impoverished children and young people in America and Africa.
On the first night, the show's remaining six singers will perform "Life Anthems" about compassion and hope. For every viewer vote cast, Idol sponsors Coca-Cola and AT&T, plus other corporate partners, will donate an as yet unspecified amount to charity.
The April 25 results show, running for two hours, will feature appearances and/or performances by Gwen Stefani, Josh Groban, Pink, Annie Lennox, Michael Buble, Il Divo and even Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen). Other celebrities are still being assembled for what amounts to a telethon in which viewers can donate money via toll-free lines and the Internet.
Idol also issued a statement from U2 lead singer Bono, co-founder of the One Campaign to Make Poverty History.
"We'll see worlds collide when Africa appears on America's most-watched TV show," he said. "This is a big deal, a little bit of pop history. I wouldn't underestimate the reach of this show or the impact its audience can have."
He's got that right, so let's not be the least bit cynical about this. Idol and its more than 30 million viewers per show will have a great opportunity to help people in extreme need. Applause, applause. Period.
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