‘American Idol’: The first dominos fall

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There is little to renew one’s faith in the wisdom of the American people like the semi-finals of ”Idol.” In politics we’ll seemingly grant any nincompoop in a cheap suit an all-expenses paid ticket to Washington to fiddle with the gears of power for a decade or so. But when it comes to deciding which contestants are fit to advance to the final 12, the our nation speaks with a collective voice to rival King Solomon in its wizened sagacity. Only the best will emerge from the semi-final round, on that we can stand proud.

In this first half of the competition, there is bitter work to be done. At first blush, it is instantly clear that most of these people have no business competing with a straight face for the “Idol” crown. And so for the next three weeks, four at a time, it is our job to toss out that other half of the room. And what is inspiring is how right we get it. (Actually the electorate did put its foot in it this week. Nicole Tranquillo was a superstar and her loss is a travesty.)

One of “Idol”’s great ironies is the goodbye song tradition. After being voted off, the vanquished get to sing one last time, the last time in their lives anyone but their friends and family will ever hear them sing. But they are required to croon the last song they sung, which is to say they are forced to re-sing the song that got them thrown off the show in the first place.

One of last night’s unfortunates, Amy Krebs, actually demurred when shoved forward for her goodbye song asking, “Can I pick another song?” Remarkably, Ryan Seacrest, seeming to acknowledge the tradition’s awkwardness, made a half-hearted feint toward pretending she had a choice, turning back and mumbling to the band, “You want to do the same one from this week. Right- okay…”

During each goodbye song the camera pans over the rows of survivors whose faces are wet with tears. Even hardened rocker-chick Gina Glocksen’s make-up streaked.

The unanswerable question, however, is how many of those tears are for their fallen comrade and how many are giddy relief at having dodged the bullet?

--Richard Rushfield