Shock, Shock, Shock

Stomp, Stomp, Stomp

I knew when they went to commercial what was about to happen, but I still leapt off the couch when Ryan turned to Constantine and sent him home. I'm not sure where this ranks among the all-time Idol upsets, but for the second time in three weeks we've heard someone give their final performance after being voted off and been able to tell immediately how much better he or she is than several of the remaining contestants. Constantine was not on top of his game Tuesday, and he was never one of my favorites. But he's shown growth over the course of the competition, and he can sing and put on a show. Someone else, who made the top three last night, has shown none of those qualities but persists nonetheless. Do people actually want to buy a Scott Savol record, or do they just want to see "the heart and soul of America" win the competition? There's just no way around this: SCOTT CANNOT SING.

As for questions about whether the show is fixed, Constantine's band did get a record deal this week, so it wouldn't be the craziest thing in the world if they accidentally left his phone off the hook during voting. People will certainly tune in next week to find out what miscarriage of justice will happen next!