Phil Stacey and Chris Richardson went down in a blaze of glory on American Idol last night.
The double-elimination episode caused by last's week charity special, which combined last week's results from Tuesday night's votes, saw over 135 million people call in for their favourites.
Unfortunately for Stacey, his stellar performance of Blaze of Glory on this week's Bon Jovi themed show was too little too late. He was likely already on the chopping black for his forgettable rendition of Garth Brooks' The Change last week.
As for Richardson, the Justin Timberlake look-a-like of the bunch, both his performances of Eric Clapton's Change the World and Bon Jovi's Wanted Dead or Alive failed to connect with viewers.
After finding himself in the bottom two with his good buddy Blake Lewis, Richardson seemed content to go home, saying he would lose either way.
"It doesn't matter," he told host Ryan Seacrest, when asked who he thought would be heading home, before Lewis chimed in saying, "We're going on tour together anyway."
The elimination of Stacey and Richardson, ended speculation over who would be this year's Top 4. It also gave the girls in the competition - Melinda Doolittle, Jordan Sparks and LaKisha Jones - the edge over Lewis, the only remaining male.
The rest of last night's show was all about filler (another trip to the farmer's market to talk to fans and past Idol winners pumping the charity) and one great performance by rock gods Bon Jovi. The New Jersey boys, who sang Make a Memory from their new CD, Lost Highway, due out June 19, proved, after nearly 30 years together, they are still major players in the music industry.
As for Robin Thicke, the Grammy Award winning R & B singer and son of Canada's Alan Thicke, the same can not be said. One really has to wonder what, or who, exactly he had to do to score a spot on Idol. Prince, Bono, Gwen Stefani, Bon Jovi and Robin Thicke? Something is definitely rotten in La-La Land.
Another 'what the heck is going on?' moment came after judge Paula Abdul told Simon Cowell she was not his puppet because he was pulling on the back of her shirt. The comment promoted Seacrest to say, "I've seen Simon's puppet and you're much prettier."
Now, while it was not clear exactly who the not-so-witty host was referring to, Cowell assumed it was his girl friend Terri Seymour, taking serious offence to the comment and basically telling the world she is his lap-dog. Ouch!
Next week, the four Idol hopefuls will unleash their inner disco dancers, singing boogy tunes with the help of Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees.
