American Idol Betting – And then there were three
by Mike Rose
American Idol Betting – A Tough Decision after All…
I was sickened after last week’s American Idol entertainment betting elimination show when Allison Iraheta was shown the door over both Kris Allen and Danny Gokey. Neither of those guys “wowed” me last week, while Allison looked to be enjoying every second of her final performances on the show. That said; Tuesday night’s battle between the final three made picking a winner of this competition a bit tougher. Adam Lambert opened up as a -350 favorite at BetUS Sportsbook to win the whole thing this week, but after weeks of proclaiming this event not even being a contest, I’m not so sure anymore.
The media has had a lot to do with it. Painting obscure pictures of the multi-talented Lambert, but one also has to think that his act might not cater to the rest of the voting public. With all but three contestants remaining, where are the votes from the castoffs going now? I imagine Matt Giraud voters jumped on the Kris Allen bandwagon once he was voted off evidenced by the fact that Kris was the first contestant directed to the safe zone in last week’s elimination show. The look on his face after finding out his immortality for the week was priceless; if he moves on to the final after tonight’s show, a thank you card must be sent immediately from him to Giroud if he hadn’t sent one already.
With Iraheta being of the rocker category, you’d think a majority of her votes would go to competition favorite Adam Lambert; but I’m not so sure this time around. While Adam certainly held his own performing both U2’s “One” and Aerosmith’s “Crazy”, I’m not sure the performances made the impact a couple of his previous ones did. I back that statement up with what my girl said during “Crying”. She didn’t like it at all, and she’s a sucker for Steven Tyler’s version. It must not have worked if Lambert couldn’t get her riled up with his version of the song. I say this because I have to hear that song blasted every time it comes on the radio. Now don’t get me wrong, I think Lambert’s still a shoe-in for the Finals. It would be an ultimate letdown if he wasn’t. I want to see more of him before I never pay attention to him again, and I think a majority of the voting public does as well.
Now, for the other slot...Danny Gokey is yet to find himself in the bottom three this entire season. The judges and American Idol fans have soft spots in their hearts for him after recently losing his wife. I believe the widow has coasted through this competition because of it. Must I remind you of the ear-piercing screech he let out at the end of “Dream On” last week?! I loved Gokey way back in the beginning of Season 8 when he was trying to land a spot in the Final 12. I haven’t been much of a fan since. Both of his performances were par for the course last night. I didn’t like his first, and I though he ruined Joe Cocker’s “You are So Beautiful” by turning it into another Gokey ballad. The originality was lacking, and I think he’s going to be very disappointed after tonight.
As for Kris Allen, the kid stepped up. I stated back in “Music of the Movies Week” that Allen catapulted himself into the dark horse role of the competition when he showed his artistry on an obscure song sung by Once. He took a major chance covering OneRepublic’s “Apologize” and succeeded, and then he blew me away covering “Heartless” which had most recently been done by Kanye West. We got to see Kris for what he truly is. Not over the top and effortlessly talented. No shrieking, no terrible dancing…Just Kris. He went off the board as a +700 underdog to win it all, and I foresee that number at least being cut in half once he makes it to next week’s season finale.
We did lose our selection last week for the first time in five weeks, but I believe we bounce back in a big way by choosing against one of the top two. Danny Gokey has tons of fans out there and it will be tough for Allen to pull off the feat, but I truly think he deserves to go after last night’s show. Gokey’s act has run stale, and has been that way for a majority of the last month. He’s been untouchable until now, but tonight, his cloak of invincibility wears off preventing him from what I thought was the undisputed Finals match-up between Lambert and Gokey way back in the round of 13.
The Finale of the show deserves to have the two contestants that brought it each and every week. I can say both Lambert and Allen have for the most part, but Gokey has just coasted. If and when Lambert battles Allen in the American Idol Season 8 finale, he better look to tone it down a bit. He came off as way to shrieky last night and hard to listen to at times.
Eliminated: Danny Gokey
Be sure to check back next week for my take on the AI Season 8 finale as we look to pad our bankrolls at BetUS Sportsbook for the NHL Conference Championships….
