'American Idol': Tears flow, and Ryan Seacrest almost proves himself

Thursday night's "Idol" results show summoned the greatest flood of indignant emotions -- sorrow, grief and outrage -- vented on television since Election night 2000. Tears flooded the semi-finals stage as four more contestants were mercilessly cut down before their prime.

The judges seemed stunned by the American peoples' decision to end the journeys of Nick Pedro, A.J. Tabaldo, Leslie Hunt and Alaina Alexander. Actually, they weren't stunned by the elimination of that final name; Alexander, who had phoned in her performances and arrogantly snorted at the judges' admonitions over the past few weeks proved the justice of her dismissal by breaking down during her goodbye song -- an unprecedented failure.

There are few spectacles more noble in our national culture than the way each week heartbroken dismissed contestants, moments after getting the bad news, are forced to re-sing the song that ended their careers, and almost to a contestant rise to the challenge and come alive -- showing us one last time why they were raised above the masses to be on the "Idol" stage in the first place. Failing to rise to that challenge, Alexander proved the singing was always secondary to her.

As for the judges' outrage at the dismissals of the others -- as Simon acknowledges, this is not a contest of technical precision. Charisma counts and there is no justice to personal charm. Fairly or not, these four names will be forgotten by "Idol" viewers within a month and that is why they are going home.

The dismissal seemed to inspire a flood of tears from the surviving contestants. The otherwise stalwart Sundance Head and Gina Glocksen, in particular, seemed near hysteria in their grief. Can it be that in these moments, they see their own deaths to come? Do they know that the lonely Goodbye song trail is one that they all (but one) are going to have to walk soon enough? To quote the poet Wordsworth on his own loss of innocence:

"Whither is fled the visionary gleam?

Where is it now, the glory and the dream?"

Soon enough, those bells will toll for thee, Glocksen, and the Reaper will visit your door, Sundance Head. So rejoice in the hours left to you on this mortal plane of singing competition.

Final note: Ryan Seacrest almost justified his existence last night with one offhanded comment. "Idol" alum Kellie Pickler returned to the stage transformed from the innocent country girl "Idol" viewers once knew into a state-of-the-art red carpet glamazon -- an unsettling transformation complete with, it would seem, some very prominent changes to her physique.

When Pickler noted that she'd been doing a lot of shopping and said she'd bought a lot of shoes, Seacrest, without missing a beat, responded, "Is that all you've bought?"

--Richard Rushfield