Pia's Golden Ticket

Thursday's American Idol results show contained a huge shocker that took everybody by surprise. Yes, Iggy Pop, godfather of punk rock, appeared for the first time in his trademark shirtlessness as he performed "Real Wild Child" and appeared to skeeve out center-seat Idol judge Jennifer Lopez, along with dozens of message board commenters who apparently need a musical education. Many of them called out Iggy's age, likening him to, for example, a withered paper bag. The joke is on them, however, as Iggy looked incredible for 63 and moved all over the stage. As The Los Angeles Times pointed out, Iggy was disturbing to the Idol universe and its populace; yep, he's still doing exactly what punk rock has done since its inception -- disrupting the squares and bringing the cool kids -- like Haley Reinhart who danced along when Iggy invaded the contestants' space -- to their feet.

But wait, Iggy wasn't even the new on Friday morning. His appearance was overshadowed by the surprise ouster of Howard Beach native Pia Toscano, commonly thought to have the best voice this season, capable of hitting triumphant high notes and holding them, even if taking criticism for doing too many ballads and being, well, a little bor-ing.

Getting cut at #9 is the big shock. #5, maybe, #3, okay, #2, sure. Vegas oddsmakers had her at #1, so this loss of America's vote seemed to shake the show to it's very foundations. Blame was rapidly laid at the judges for not being critical enough all around; at the voting system which seemed to favor WGWG - white guys with guitars -- ever since unlimited texting was implemented allowing teen girls with unlimited text plans to vote hundreds of times each for the cutest, not necessarily the most talented and never again to crown a woman; at general complacency that Pia would, of course, be safe.

While Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe revealed on Friday that Pia was never a vote-getting frontrunner, one might argue that the one aspect of her Wednesday night performance that did her in might have been the outfit by guest designer Gwen Stefani that did her, let us say, no favors:



Compare to her sizzling black shoulderless outfit on Thursday night:



Need I say more?

But while early elimination might have hurt an contestant in seasons past, the smart money is on Pia being in better shape now than she might have been going all the way to the finals. The outpouring of sympathy began immediately with the judges, Ms. Lopez in angry tears, and continued with tweets from celebrities including Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson, as well as ex-Idol contestants. She went on to do lots of TV appearances Friday morning climaxing with a show-long stint with the Ricky Minor band (Minor left his Musical Director role on Idol at the end of last season) on The Tonight Show. Her version of "River Deep, Mountain High" even seems superior to the one she performed on Wednesday night.

And rumor has it that in-show Idol record producer Jimmy Iovine is signing her immediately to his Interscope Records, calling all around town for songwriters to deliver candidates for her first single and/or album, and that for the first time in the show's history there may be a contestant single released before the winner's gets out. Which seems like a very, very smart move compared to the usual wait until the contestants cool off in the public eye.

All in all, another twist in this first American Idol 2.0 season, another seismic change. While it is easy to see Pia coming out stronger, one wonders if the show will feel that much poorer for losing its strongest voice over the final seven episodes. That's over a month and a half without those golden high notes, without the classic glamor Pia brought to the show. Maybe the judges will get meaner, maybe the final two women, Haley and Lauren, will make it to the finals.

Maybe none of it really matters at all.

Two Candidates

Here's the best comment I've read on Obama's Berlin speech, from The New York Times website:

Those who castigate Obama for being long on vision and short on policy forget the fact that no politician who lays out policy during the campaign actually remembers it after taking office (”Read my lips”).

What the candidate has said in this speech is very clear: We saved your Berliner behinds in 1948 when you were still stuffing your Nazi overcoats into the attic and now it’s time for you to help save the world from terrorism, even if you’re used to letting us do it.

But what’s important to me is that this argument is couched in terms of a vision of the future that considers our obligations to our children and the sorry planet we’re bequeathing them.

— Posted by magisterludi

That's what I think people have yet to catch onto about Obama due to his youth and optimism -- he's tough, and he wants tough things. He just knows how to frame the arguments from the start.

On the other hand, here's Nicole Belle at Crooks and Liars on his opponent:

Like every speech of McCain’s lately, his confusing verb tenses claim that we have won and will win, have succeeded and will succeed and yet he’s still able to predict “defeat” from Barack Obama’s position, despite all this winning and success. It’s a stunning psychic ability for McSame as he then says that the troops will come home during “the next president’s first term.” Isn’t that what Obama promised as well? McSame actually told Wolf Blitzer that he thought Obama’s 16 months was a pretty good timetable. Confused yet? As Logan points out, McCain says that when he brings the troops home, they’re staying home. What does he plan on doing in Afghanistan? Those permanent bases in Iraq? Is this yet another flip-flop?

Here's the Blitzer interview moment:



One wonders if, behind the scenes, McCain has been losing his famous temper. One wonders if, by the time business opens on Monday, Obama will be hitting the headlines with more well-planned campaigning, continuing the foreign policy narrative of the past two weeks but somehow bringing it home, tying it to the economy, again turning the story.

I do think he and his campaign are that good, but we'll see shortly, next hurdle.

I wonder about luck as well.

And never bet against it.