American Idol - goodbye to Mandisa

American Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe said who was leaving last night was a "shocker," and that it made him sick to his stomach. I on the other had saw Mandisa's departure as a forgone conclusion, though I did have a brief moment of worry that it might be Elliott.

Backlash against Mandisa had been building since her preachy performance during the 21st Century theme week. I do think this song was a huge misstep for her. It seemed like something you would see on evangelical TV. I think it was too much for a lot of people. She did survive that week, though, without being in the bottom 3.

However country week did not do her any favors. She didn't do a very good performance, and people forgot about her.

For the first time this seaon the top 3, middle 3 and bottom 3 were made apparent to the viewers, as the contestants were lined up on stage according to what group they were in. I'm not sure if they called them out in actual order, but it did kind of seem that way.


The top 3:

Taylor Hicks
Kellie Pickler
Chris Daughtry

Middle 3:

Bucky Covington
Katharine McPhee
Ace Young

Bottom 3:

Paris Bennett
Elliott Yamin
Mandisa

I'm pretty sad to see Elliott with the second lowest number of votes. Elliott is a great singer, and seems very humble. I guess he just doesn't have the kind of personality that draws the audience in.

Out of the 8 contestants left only 3 have never been in the bottom spot - Taylor, Kellie and Chris, who, by no coincidence, have been picked by Simon to be the final 3 of the whole show. However, the fact that this weeks bottom 3 had never been there before proves how quickly the tide can change. Those 3 have a lot of work ahead of them if they want to stay at the top of the vote totals.

Here is how I personally rank the top 8.

Taylor Hicks
Elliott Yamin
Bucky Covington
Chris Daughtry
Kellie Pickler
Paris Bennett
Ace Young
Katharine McPhee