Don’t feel bad for Idol’s four ousted singers

The “American Idol” voters have spoken, and the message has been heard loud and clear. When in doubt, the victory goes to the contestant who needs the stage the most.

That’s evident from the list of this week’s eliminated quartet. Apart from Kinnik Sky, who had been skating on thin ice in all three semifinal heats and didn’t sing very well on Tuesday, the other three eliminated have one thing in common: All have a lot of time to make it in the music business.

Will Makar, the lowest vote-getter among the men, is 17. So is Gedeon McKinney, who joined Makar on the outside looking in. And not only is Ayla Brown also just 17, she has a free ride on a basketball scholarship to Boston College and a father who may be running for lieutenant governor of Massachusetts this fall.

None of the three came out with the I’ll-be-doomed-to-a-life-of-flipping-burgers-if-I-don’t-win attitude that has helped some of their rivals plow through the competition, and none was quite good enough to stand out without it. It’s that little extra edge that may have made the difference between the eliminated and the finalists.

Bucky, Melissa need this more
Compare Brown and McKinney to the other two contestants who stood on stage as the fatal hour neared, heads bowed, wondering if they’d be kicked off the show.

Bucky Covington came to Hollywood straight from painting cars in North Carolina. He’s 28 years old, and won’t get many more chances like this. He looks and sounds like a guy who will need his supporters to burn up the phone lines every single week to stay in the competition, and apparently they did so this time.

Melissa McGhee is only 21, but sings each week with an expression that makes it clear she would run over the other contestants with a tractor if that’s what it took. She’s been vocal about not getting airtime in the audition shows, because she understands how that helps build a fan base.

That tenacity may have been the critical edge that bought each at least one extra week. They gave the audience the feeling that if they were sent packing so early, their lives really would be negatively affected.

That’s not to say that the three teens were thrilled about being sent home. Brown started crying on stage, and McKinney looked like he was about to join her.

But the judges were supportive of their musical careers. Paula Abdul told Brown, “You’re a winner, Ayla. You’re a winner in whatever you do.” That didn’t stop her from tearing up, but then again, Brown’s a competitive athlete and knows that the final measure of winning and losing is usually the scoreboard.

McKinney didn’t lose his grin even when he was getting the bad news. That could be because he was in shock, but it’s also clear that though he’s very young, he’s as confident in his future as the Brittenum twins are in theirs. (The previously-arrested twins were in the audience, though the producers smartly didn’t let either get near a microphone on live television. Who needs the FCC aggravation?)

1. More Entertainment stories
   1. Freddie Mercury resurrected for stage show
      

      Queen will bring back the band's late frontman Freddie Mercury through optical illusion for Monday's tenth anniversary per...

   2. 'Avengers' joke cruel to adoption community?
   3. Whitney Houston's family gets reality show
   4. Will Stern drive fans away from 'Got Talent'?
   5. Friend: Robin Gibb has 50-50 chance to recover

Tough road
McKinney is a textbook example of a contestant who would have stood a much better chance had the producers chosen to tell more of his backstory. He was supposed to audition in Memphis in September, but the auditions were canceled because of Hurricane Katrina. The teenager then went to Chicago, after raising the money by holding a concert at the Yo! Memphis Academy of Visual and Performing Arts and getting a donation from a local police association.

He earned his ticket to Hollywood, but in December, before the semifinals, his father died. McKinney chose to stay in the competition anyway, and sang well each week. Perhaps had he gotten the airtime that Chris Daughtry and Taylor Hicks received before the semifinals started, that would have given him a fan base that would have carried him to the finals.

The lowest vote-getters were more accepting of their fate. Sky looked like she knew it was coming, and went out with grace and a strong final performance. Had she sang as well on Tuesday night as she did Thursday, she might have survived the vote.

Makar was similarly stoic, probably because he had a few seconds warning that the news was coming. When Ryan Seacrest revealed the low-vote getter among the men, he first told Kevin Covais, McKinney, Covington and Elliott Yamin that they were safe. Then it was Makar’s turn, and he was shaking his head even before Ryan Seacrest gave him the bad news. He’s only a teenager, but he can do math as well as the next guy, and sitting next to Taylor Hicks, Ace Young, and Chris Daughtry, he knew that he had to be the low man on the totem pole.

At every stage of the competition, Makar has looked like he’s half-surprised to still be there. He was the final male selected to be in the semifinals, and the final male who was told he wasn’t in the bottom three last week. He’s walked the high-wire long enough that he was prepared for bad news.

The format was the “Idol” version of musical chairs. One side of the stage held the 16 remaining semifinalists, while the other had 12 empty seats. The goal was to be one of those sitting at the end of the night, since getting to take a load off meant the contestant was one of the finalists.

But before anyone could sit down in the good chairs, the lowest vote-getter of each gender had to go home. That sent Sky and Makar packing before anyone was told they were definitely a finalist, because this show just wouldn’t be “American Idol” if it didn’t take every opportunity to put its contestants through the wringer.

The second woman was a tougher call. Ryan called them out one by one, and while vote totals weren’t announced, he may well have been naming them in order. Paris Bennett, Katharine McPhee, Kellie Pickler and Mandisa all got the good news first. The most notable of that scenario was Ryan trying to do a Southern accent for Pickler: “Ah know you ain’t never been in the top 12 before!” It sounded as ridiculous as it looks.

Lisa Tucker got passed along as well, which left McGhee and Brown as the final two vying for one spot. Ryan asked Randy Jackson who he thought would advance to the finals; he said Brown. Judging from McGhee’s expression, that’s what she thought as well.

The guys had a similar progression. Hicks, Young and Daughtry all were told they were safe, and ran across the stage to safety. The only difference was that while the women had a harder time rushing in their heels, the men raced to the seats like they were trying out for the Olympics.

Next came Covais, who was in the bottom three last week. Ryan told him that he was safe, and the 16-year-old looked as if he was in shock before he headed to the other side of the stage. Everyone mobbed him with relief; he’s clearly a likeable guy who just happens not to sing well enough to really be a contender.

That left Yamin, Covington and McKinney left on the couches. When Seacrest turned to Yamin next, he seemed to relax a bit, figuring he was safe. He was right, and strolled to safety, thus leaving the McKinney-Covington duo to sweat it out.

Covington got the good news. Even better news is that from here on out, only one contestant goes home each week. In simple terms, the first goal for everyone now is not to come in last.

Craig Berman is a writer in Washington, D.C.