Michael Johns? What? American Idol delivered its first shocker of the season tonight when the Aussie powerhouse singer, one of this year’s most experienced contestants, left the show after receiving the fewest viewer votes.

Hey, it’s guest blogger Randy Salas here to fill you in on tonight’s American Idol results show. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that Michael’s rendition of Aerosmith’s “Dream On” wasn’t one of the best performances Tuesday night, but it most definitely wasn’t one of the worst. He didn’t deserve to be in the Bottom 3, let alone get the boot. Blame viewer apathy, I guess. As talented as he is, though, I don’t think it was always reflected in his performances and song choices.

On the other hand, Syesha Mercado and Carly Smithson did belong in the Bottom 3. I was sure it was going to be Syesha, whom I’ve grown weary of. (The whole “I’m too sick too talk but I can still belt out a merry tune” shtick put me off of her for good during the Hollywood auditions — plus the constant mugging.)

So what’s next for Michael Johns? He once had a major-label recording contract but was dropped before he ever released an album. Will he go on to have a successful recording career, like another suprisingly early exit, Chris Daughtry? Or will he just fade away, like a different early-goer, Constantine Maroulis? I’m curious to see what you think.

Oh, and one final thought: I thought it was seriously cruel of host Ryan Seacrest to bring up last year’s safe week for Idol Gives Back, implying that Michael might not be going anywhere, and then confirming that he would be getting the boot anyway. That was horrible timing and shameful.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 10th, 2008 at 8:36 pm and is filed under American Idol. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.