Pia Toscano Eliminated from American Idol

From left: Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson

Frank Micelotta/FOX

Ryan Seacrest suggested at the outset that Thursday's hour would be "a very? shocking results night."

Well, a viewer might have thought: Of course he's? not going to stand there and tell an audience of millions to sit back and? relax.??

But he was right.

The loser was Pia Toscano, the beautiful power-balladeer? who would have seemed destined for at least the top four. And she was joined ?in the bottom two with another strong performer, Jacob Lusk.

(Stefano ?Langone landed with them in the bottom three ? no surprise at all, probably ?not even to him.)??

Miffed Judges

Pia took it all in with a lot of calm dignity, although you wouldn't have ?blamed her for collapsing the way Casey Abrams did not long ago. The judges,? though, were clearly miserable with the outcome ? indignant, actually.??

"I have no idea what just happened here," said Jennifer Lopez, who had started to? cry. ??

"You�re one of the best singers," said Randy Jackson. "This makes me mad."

"A mistake is one thing," said Steven Tyler in one of his strange bursts of ?eloquence, "but a lack of passion is unforgiveable."

He meant the voting? audience, not Pia.?? Ryan, sharing the sentiment that something had gone wrong here and probably ?also realizing that this made for smashing television, asked her to sing an? encore.

She made it through "Stand by Me," then broke into loud sobs as? Jacob embraced her.? ?

So, one is left to ask, what was that about? For the first time this week,? she'd made a change from her usual repertoire when she sang Tina Turner's? "River Deep, Mountain High."

Jilted for Paul McDonald

I often found Pia a little stately, like a? cruise liner forging ahead through choppy seas, but this time she had much? more drive ? the judges were pleased, and she seemed pleased too.

Yet viewers? jilted her while keeping on the nice but not very dynamic Paul McDonald.?? Randy and Ryan both said the result might have been inadvertent, due to ?at-home viewers being complacent about Pia's rank and neglecting to vote for ?her.

I would also ask whether the judges share in the blame. By being so ?lavish in their praise for all the contestants, they aren't nudging voters ?or shaping the contestants into camps of hot versus not.?? Because, after all, Jacob didn't deserve to be down there in the bottom two,? either. (Jennifer looked especially stern when that was announced.)

Again,? what did the poor guy do wrong? Technically, nothing. "Man in the Mirror" was ?one of his strongest, least mannered performances. Should he have been more? mannered???

Before singing, he'd made an odd, sour comment suggesting that people who? didn't vote for him should be the ones examining their reflections. Maybe? that struck a note of hubris or defiance with voters.??

Also during the hour: The legendary Iggy Pop sang "Real Wild Child." His leaps and hops seemed forced, and perhaps he should wear a shirt or a? tank top, but an aging punk rocker probably doesn�t worry too much about his? dignity. He was terrific.?

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