American Idol delivered one hell of a blow April 5. In fact, I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that it actually happened: despite Hollie Cavanagh’s disaster of a performance, the swiftly rising DeAndre Brackensick was stripped of his Idol dreams. I may or may not have run outside and screamed “DeAndre!” like a horrible desecration of the classic A Streetcar Named Desire scene on my New York City block last night, because more than anything, this shocking elimination is just a crying shame. But, as upsetting as DeAndre winding up in eighth place might be (at least for some of us), it could actually be for the best.
Looking back at
Idol’s past eight place finalists, most have slipped back into relative obscurity, but a few notable people have come out of that spot. Paul McDonald was Season 10’s fifth elimination, but he’s managed to keep us mildly chattering about his life and potential projects. It might help that he married
Twilight star Nikki Reed and then recorded a schmaltzy duet about how much they love each other, but he’s still on our radar. Of course, light years beyond McDonald is Oscar-winner and Jenny Craig spokeswoman
Jennifer Hudson. She was ejected from the series long before she deserved to be, and yet she went on to take our breath away in
Dreamgirls, play best friend/assistant to the one and only Carrie Bradshaw, and then there was her tribute to Whitney Houston at the 2012 Grammys. To say the very least, our girl’s doing alright.
So while 17-year-old DeAndre probably isn’t going to be cast in a Sex and The City movie or get married to any teen movie sensations in the near future, he’s not necessarily S.O.L. The benefit of having his remarkable voice and immense talent (and then there’s his youth), is that those who recognize it are beyond riled at this moment. If there wasn’t so much great television on Thursday nights, I’d bet Randy Jackson’s bowtie collection there would have been DeAndre riots in the streets post-elimination. Okay, maybe just a mild riot consisting of me and two friends in my living room, but still, folks were upset.
And DeAndre, while immensely talented, was certainly not poised to win this competition. He’s up against unstoppable forces like mini-powerhouse Jessica Sanchez, the continual religious experience that is Joshua Ledet, and the down-home bluesy charm of the swoon-worthy Phillip Phillips. There’s no room for DeAndre in the competition, and while he deserved to stay on a little longer, it would only delay the inevitable. His early elimination could actually be the best thing that ever happened to him because it heightens his fans’ interest; they were hopeful before, but now they’re downright angry. And an angry fan is an
invested fan. Something tells me, with or without the
Idol seal of approval, young DeAndre will be just fine.
Were you surprised by DeAndre’s elimination? How was Hollie not eliminated? Who should have gone home?
Follow Kelsea on Twitter @KelseaStahler.
More:
American Idol Eliminations: Hollie Scrapes By In a Surprise Elimination
American Idol Recap: ’80s Night is Time to Trim the Fat
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Idol Top Nine: The Problem With DeAndre
