An
Idol-loving friend just texted me "OK, I know it was his time, but I can't figure out why I'm so bummed!" I wrote back, "Because he seems fun and is cute in an atypical way."
In case the big photo didn't give it away, it's not hard to figure out that I'm talking about Jason Castro, the only person on the show since Carly who seemed capable of actually having a good time and laughing at himself. Jason definitely wasn't the strongest singer of the group, but he wasn't that much worse by any large margin—it just seemed clear that he wasn't necessarily into all the work it takes to become an Idol: both Davids and Syesha have had plenty of experience performing publicly already but Castro was more of an amateur, which is probably what was so refreshing about him. He summed it up well himself that his inexperience was showing. I'm curious to see what happens with Jason after the show—I can more imagine him opening a sandwich shop and playing music there more than I can picture him putting out an album.
Anyway, maybe it's my new TV but I thought it was a somewhat less tedious results show than usual. Of course it was still 45 minutes longer than it needed to be, but that will never change. Here are some other things that happened:
-Finally, on "Reeling in the Years," the singers sounded decent on their group number. Too bad they had that talent-show level choreography.
-I really hate David Cook's cowboy boots. Might I suggest a less pointy Frye, David? And maybe a less complicated hairstyle to go with them.
-The commercial this week was a bullfighting number set to "Ring of Fire." Much was made of the guys' tight pants, which I think is hilarious because almost every guy on the show was wearing snug trousers, including Ryan, Adam Levine and Bo Bice. I guess being really famous means you don't have to apologize for showing off your testicles. Anyway, even if it was silly, the commercial actually looked good, (once again, it might have been the new TV).
-All singers really need to work on being clever and charming on the spot. During the call-in portion of the show, David Cook refused to be a good sport and agree to go on a date with a caller. David, you idiot: if she's fat, you'll just look like a nicer guy. Then, when asked about their biggest challenges on the show, Syesha mentioned stage fright (bullshit), David Archuleta said "I don't know" and Jason said "being brain dead" which was kind of amusing but not really a good answer.
-Maroon 5 performed what sounded like a Justin Timberlake castoff. I'm not sure what it is chicks see in Adam Levine—he sort of looks like a line drawing to me, albeit one that's distantly related to Will Arnett. And then he and Ryan greeted each other with that "we're not REALLY white" hand-clasp-quick-half-hug.
-Bo Bice performed, which made me compare him briefly to David Cook, as both are/were 'rockers' who made it far into the competition. For some reason I feel like Bo is a little more sincere with the genre he sings and the way he delivers it. Maybe it's just that his hair is so much more natural.
So Jason seemed completely fine with and not surprised by his elimination—I like that he enjoyed someone else's joke that he shot Mr. Tambourine Man. I was curious about what was going on with his final performance though—he's said before that he never wanted to sing the exit song, but he seemed a little extra out of it tonight, even fiddling with his dreadlocks. And then, mysteriously (or maybe it was just because of time), it got cut off early. I like to think because he said "Fuck you American Idol!" at the end.
I am really not feeling this top three, personally. I suppose by default I'll go with Archuleta, because he annoys me the least (I know this is not an opinion shared by all). Grade: B
Stray observations:
—Is it me or does it seem like the two Davids don't care for each other in the least?
—The Taylor Hicks stamp was unveiled. What has that guy been up to?
—Ryan needs to quit indulging these singers when they become "emotional," or at the very least ask them only ONCE why they became that way.