The American Idol Results Show

It was no coincidence that Hulk Hogan showed up on the American Idol results show last night because that results show was about as level as pro-wrestling.

Maybe Casey Abrams really was in the bottom three and maybe Casey Abrams really was the lowest vote-getter, but no way do I believe that whole dramatic scene at the end with Randy calling him off after he started ‘singing for his life’ was legitimate. Casey’s reaction to the save was genuine, in fact I’m surprised the guy didn’t die on the spot, but I think the judges knew “after the nationwide vote” that they’d be using their one save.

Seeing Casey in the bottom three and facing eviction, and then dealing with his eviction, made me realize why I hate American Idol and why the show is such a waste of time. No, it’s not that the show is more or less a weekly three-hour commercial, it’s that the show takes an obviously talented musician like Casey, a confident kid who isn’t just another pretty cookie cutter clone on the assembly line of pop stardom, and they turn him into some singing drone who thinks he needs a goofy gimmick (the pro-wrestling connection again) to get over with the public. I’m probably in the minority when I say this, and I hope for Casey’s sake that I’m wrong, but getting saved last night was maybe the worst thing that could have happened to him.

And now, after the nationwide vote, from 1969, it’s The Worst That Could Happen.