MARK KENNEDY: So it seems we’re down to cases with our friend Paul McDonald, the “American Idol” contestant whose mother, Susan, teaches at UTC. McDonald was in the bottom three last week; and his cohorts, Thia Megia and Naima Adedapo, were both jettisoned by “Idol” voters. That could spell trouble for one of our local-interest candidates.
Meanwhile, Lauren Alaina Suddeth, the 16-year-old contestant from Rossville, had a good week on the show. Her rendition of Sir Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind” had an angelic, Sarah McLachlan quality to it that I thought was her best moment on ‘Idol.’
LISA DENTON: Lauren won lots of accolades for that performance, and rightly so. I just wish she seemed happier. I think her nerves are working on her, and each week her tearful reaction is always the producers’ dramatic go-to shot when they start announcing who’s in the bottom three.
As for Paul, I think he was a little surprised to be in that trio last week. Maybe he needs one of those heart-to-heart talks from judge Jennifer Lopez. Her constructive criticism seems to have made a difference with Stefano Langone. How long that improvement lasts remains to be seen.
MARK: The oddsmakers at Bodog.com seem to think that McDonald and Langone are in deep peril of going home this week, with a slight edge to Langone to be the first to leave. Miss Suddeth, meanwhile, seems safely in the middle of the pack for now. She’s been installed as a 9-to-2 shot to win the competition. (For you math-challenged folks, that means she has about a 22 percent chance of winning the whole shebang.) The oddsmakers like Pia Toscano at 2-to-1 to win. She’s got great pipes, but she appears to be glued to the stage. If she ever sings a ballad and break dances at the same time, game over.