So Long Siobahn!

Everything leading up to tonight let viewers know this would be a big night....and that we should expect a surprise. I think this is because overall ratings are down, viewership is down, the Idols Give Back donations were down....they are trying to drum up voters. The whole opening sequence last night summed it up: "A glassblower, a paint salesman, a mom"....etc. Trying to reconnect America to what this show is all about, which is finding a star out of hard working obscurity....maybe we have collectively lost sight of that, and maybe gotten a little jaded in the process. I also think this is also when, historically, we have seen very, very talented people go home.

I AM surprised with tonight's results, but in a way, I am not. Siobahn was fun and quirky and very talented....she was so unexpected, in a way you expect a storefront and inexpensive Chinese takeout to be delicious, and you are surprised when it is. She had a style all her own, and was at one point considered a front runner. I'm not sure exactly how it happened that she fell to this point...but she is indeed talented and I imagine we've not heard the last of her. I thought she had a bigger fan base than she did!

The bigger news was that Casey was served! I was expecting either Mike or Aaron to be sitting next to Siobahn on the Bottom Stools of Dread....I still think Casey will make a better model than a singer anyway :)

BIG, HUGE shout-out to Rascal Flatts. Way to open the show. I really love them, and I have to say, they owe a huge debt to Idol and specifically to Carrie Underwood. Her performance of "God Bless the Broken Road" with Rascal Flatts during her Idol run prompted me (and many others) to look them up. I'm sure they would have gotten "here" without the Idol connection because they are uber talented, but....sure helped them out. And I loved the title track from the latest CD "Unstoppable", pick it up if you haven't yet!! Similarly, I thought Sons of Sylvie and Lady Antebellum were great although if it was supposed to be country night, why in the ever-loving heck was Shakira there?! Looked beautiful but hmmm....connection? maybe I missed it! Readers help me!

Can't believe we've reached the Top 5, and with just one lady remaining when we heard all summer about how this was a lady's year.....will Crystal deliver??