Millions and millions of votes have been counted, or so they say. Conspiracy theories run rampant every year about this time. The only obvious conspiracy is the judges, mostly Simon and Clive, deciding ahead of time who they were not supporting as American Idol and what they said to that effect. Last night, everyone in the audience and the contestants got to see an advance opening of Star Wars and that might have been the best thing to come out of this competition. Tonight determines the two finalists.
We are going on the home tours with the final three. Vonzell goes home to Fort Myers, Florida, which is a nice semi-tropical city on the southwest side of Florida. Vonzell gets the key to the city. I hope it’s not a consolation prize. Private jet is the only way to fly if you’re an Idol. Everyone is going to sing again during the show tonight to avoid the tearful ending with the sad attempt at singing. Vonzell is very relaxed tonight and makes “Chain of Fools” sound sexier and more powerful than last night. It’s always easier after the anxiety of competition is over.
“One Way or Another” is the most recent and maybe weakest of all the Ford commercials. Bo goes home to Alabama and is first greeted by two members of Lynnard Skynnard. He gets the key to the city of Helena, Alabama, which is not such a good deal as the key to Fort Myers, Florida if you ask me. Maybe that’s what made Bo cry. Bo actually gets to sing “Sweet Home Alabama” with the two guys from Skynnard playing backup. Back in LA tonight, Bo is going to sing “Within a Dream” again all alone on stage without the band. Girls get ready. The lighting is more dramatic than last night but it didn‘t seem as powerful without the element of surprise it had last night. Still, the audience is screaming. Someone fan the fans.
Thirdly, we go with Carrie to Tulsa, Oklahoma. (the closest city to where she lives), then on to Chicotah, her actual hometown. Carrie had never been on a plane before Idol, but she likes the private jet. Carrie warms up the small town crowd with the national anthem. Carrie gets tons of awards. Those southern politicians love their proclamations. Carrie gets to have dinner with the family like both the other contestants before heading back to LA. Carrie is singing, “Crying” again tonight. Please emote, please emote, please emote. Oh, well. She gets all the notes right. She has no idea what emotional pain is about though. She smiles before she even ends the song. Smiling through the tears would work, but no, she’s finished. She’s happy as a lark. Crying. Who needs it?
The person leaving tonight is Vonzell. Bo and Carrie will be in the finale as predicted. The only time I voted this year was for Vonzell last night, but I guess it wasn’t enough. Through her tears, Vonzell says she loves us and then sings us off with the help of her two friends. It’s one last group number, “United We Stand”. Who thought this up? It’s anticlimactic and is going over the alloted time for this show. We end up with Vonzell wailing the chorus to the judges. No big surprises tonight, and everything went fairly smoothly. Baby V was a class act every step of the way. One more week and we’re out for summer vacation. At least from American Idol.