Fans send easygoing Chikezie home, while a new rumor forces Carly Smithson to set the record straight and make an embarrassing admission.
After Wednesday's episode of American Idol, I don't know which is the bigger story: Chikezie Eze's elimination, or Carly Smithson's pregnancy scandal.
In the interest of getting you to read my entire blog, I'll start with Chikezie. After this week's less than stellar performance, Chikezie earned the fewest votes and a trip home. Fortunately, he only has to go to Inglewood.
Let's face it. His singing the last few weeks has been a little like the stock market. Up one week, and down the next. Unfortunately, viewers seem to have treated him the same way investors dealt with Bear Stearns.
It's kind of too bad. Chikezie struck me as one of the friendliest of the group. Laid back. You might even say, "Eze" going. Not that the rest of the Idol-ites aren't friendly. They all seem nice. But you get the feeling that some of them are more worried about winning than making friends. Which is, I guess, how it should be, since it is a competition.
I had Chikezie in my bottom three this week, and I don't think he would have lasted very much longer. But I don't feel he deserved to go home just yet. Jason Castro was definitely the worst of the lot as far as performances went Tuesday night. And looking at track records, Ramiele Malubay has been consistently poorer week after week.
But, of course, that's not how it works. Someone had to go, and Chikezie's number was up. As Clint Eastwood famously said in Unforgiven, "Deserve's got nothin' to do with it."
Okay, now the second big story to come out of Wednesday's show. Carly Smithson is NOT pregnant. That's right, the Irish lass who many think could win the whole competition is NOT going to have a baby. At least not in the next nine months.
As a journalist I'm aware that, generally speaking, it isn't news when something is NOT going to happen. Unless you're reporting that the sun is NOT going to come up tomorrow. That WOULD be news. But otherwise, when something is NOT going to happen, that pretty much means it is NOT news.
In this case, however, it seems to be news that Carly doesn't have a bun in the oven. The Internet is abuzz with rumors that she had a "bulge" Tuesday night, and it was apparently reported on at least one TV news program that Carly is expecting. So she felt inclined to set the record straight and tell America that she is NOT knocked up.
As a journalist I'm aware that, generally speaking, when someone denies something, they are probably lying and whatever it is that they're denying is more than likely true. So forgive me Carly if I don't believe you quite yet.
Let's also remember that Carly doesn't have the best track record when it comes to honesty. It took festering Internet rumors to finally get Carly and American Idol producers to admit that she had a professional record deal years ago, something many people think should have disqualified her from the competition.
Frankly, I didn't think that was much of a scandal. And I don't think a Carly Smithson pregnancy would be either. After all, she's an adult, she's married, and if she became pregnant now, it almost certainly wouldn't interfere with the competition. So who cares?
But the whole thing did force Carly to make an embarrassing confession. Explaining why she seemed distracted Tuesday night, Carly said it was because she was wearing lots of Spanx, some new-fangled, fancy-dancy brand of so-called "body-shaping" clothing like tights and hose. (I guess they don't like to call them "girdles" anymore.)
Carly may not be pregnant, but she apparently has negative body image issues. Listen, Carly, if you think you're fat (and you're not!), forget the Spanx. Just ask Chikezie for his diet secrets. He's been shedding pounds like crazy since the competition began.
But you better ask him fast before he heads back to Inglewood.
Nine little Idols left and counting. See you next week.
This article written by Ethan Morris, at film.com
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