American Idol surprises viewers and contestants with a 'game changer'
American Idol recap: On Thursday evening, America's votes were tallied but Ryan surprised contestants by giving them a vote of their own.
Singers and judges Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez and Harry Connick, Jr. pose with host Ryan Seacrest and producer Randy Jackson at the party for the finalists of American Idol XIII in West Hollywood, California in February 2014.
Mario Anzuoni/Reuters
After being treated to another realistic and unscripted round table after-show dinner with the Idols (yes, that was sarcasm) and a performance by resident judge Keith Urban, Ryan was set to rock the world of viewers and contestants alike with what he described as a "game changer." He then announced that Idol was giving contestants the choice of whether to send someone home or forego an elimination this week and face a double elimination next week. The one caveat was that the Idol contestants had to vote anonymously and the vote needed to be unanimous, otherwise the contestant with the fewest votes would depart, after all.
Well, my world wasn't completely rocked but if the contestants opted against an elimination, then my carefully thought out predictions from the previous night would have been moot. That's almost as annoying as watching an episode of American Idol for absolutely no reason.
Thankfully, two of the contestants felt sympathy for me and chose to follow the game plan and send someone home. With that, Ryan perfunctorily announced that Sam Woolf received the lowest number of votes and would be headed home to grandma and grandpa.
On the one hand, it's a sad outcome. Sam had a sweet voice, boyish charm and an endearing insecurity and he'll be missed. On the other hand, that means my predictions were spot on. Every cloud has a silver lining!
What are your thoughts? Will you too, miss Sam or were you tired of watching him grasping awkwardly at a air of confidence that he may never acquire? Sound off in the comments below!