'American Idol' results: Paul McDonald is eliminated

"American Idol" voters eliminated another contestant on Thursday night, tapping Paul McDonald to take his bright white smile, his flowery suits, his distinctive voice and fascinatingly jerky dance moves and go home.  

Maybe he should have slid onstage in his tighty-whiteys – a la Tom Cruise – after all on Wednesday night, when he sang Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock and Roll."

Oh well. Paul, honestly, didn't seem too wrecked up about the news. The flash of teeth wavered for only a moment, and then was restored. In fact, Stefano Langone, who stood side by side with Paul in the bottom three (which, by the way, I miraculously guessed correctly), looked far more upset about the news that Paul would go home than Paul did.

Stefano, a fixture in the bottom three, seems to have the eliminated-contestant-support thing down to a science: the stunned look, the long hug, the whispered words of encouragement. I might have to start calling him Mr. End of the Road.

Or maybe Paul really deserves that title, seeing as he is (finally, finally) the first guy to be sent home since the top 13 took shape. Ryan Seacrest reminded us of this very fact before sending Haley Reinhart to safety.

(Also noted: Casey Abrams looked pretty darn happy to see Haley head back to the couches. Kelly Clarkson might want to give up that Casey crush.)

"We're bummed about this, man. You're the life of the party," Ryan said, perhaps trying to stir up a little of that Pia Toscano-departure-esque sadness. Or perhaps he was truly sorry to see Paul go. Who knows? But he continued, "You've had such an amazing impact on our show. You really have."

Has he?

Ultimately, the nonchalance Paul displayed at having been voted off, while impressive, may have been the very thing that did him in: He never really seemed to muster a lot of heat out there, though "Maggie May," which Jennifer Lopez asked to hear one last time, was definitely an "Idol" highlight for him.  It was nice to hear him sing it again and remind us why he lasted as long as he did.

"It's OK. It's OK," Paul reassured, adding that it had been "a good time." He sounded for all the world as if he were thanking his hosts at the end of a backyard barbecue.

So I guess, you know, thanks for coming, Paul. We had fun, too.

How about you? Are you sorry to see Paul go? And more important, do you think we'll ever get to see Casey play "Seth Rogan's younger, bass-playing brother," as Rob Reiner suggested? Why couldn't that happen?

Full Show Tracker coverage of "American Idol"

-- Amy Reiter

Photo: AMERICAN IDOL: The Final 8: Clockwise from Left: Jacob Lusk, Haley Reinhart, Paul McDonald, Srefano Langone, Casey Abrams, Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina and James Durbin. Credit: Michael Becker / FOX.

Comments

[Gregb511]

American Idol is total schlock nowadays. This year's contestants represent a diverse mix of musical styles and each has a degree of talent. The producers of the show have no taste and provide ridiculously contrived moments. The vote is not open so you have no way of knowing who really lost except from what the producers tell us. One thing did become abundently clear during the results show. Scotty who is no doubt garnering a landslide vote every week and Lauren Alaina who dueted with Scotty are simply made for a duo career together. Their voices compliment each other. Country duos are very popular. If smart they will forget solo careers and pursue careers together

[PGV]

So sad to the see the Life of the party on Idol go. Paul was so humble, genuine, unique and Infectious. He's been dealing with throat issues since making the show (nodes that may require surgery) and never Once whined or used it as an excuse. He's a class act and understood the show must go on.

Paul already has a CD out with his group The Grand Magnolias. You can listen to it on their Facebook site. It's was #16 heatseekers on iTunes until they pulled it during the show. It's now back and currently ranked #24 on Top Album Downloads. It's real artistry!

Paul was a breath of fresh air on Idol who, until this season, was shoving the same ole same ole, run-of-the-mill singers on us. He had no expectations coming into Idol and appreciated the exposure the show provided him.

Bottom line, he was a Class Act until the end. We need more of that in this age of the spoiled and entitled.

[OliveJane]

Wow it was sad for me, and I'm sure for tons of other fans, to see P McD leave the show. He was a true artist and a great performer and brought a new fresh sound to American Idol.

To anyone that was a fan (or even wasn't, for that matter), you should seriously check out The Grand Magnolias. I wasn't even that big of a fan of Paul until I discovered this band. They are really good and it showcases Paul's lyrical and musical talents.
This indie, artsy band deserves all the popularity and fans it can get.

I guess I'll be rooting for James now!

[Kayla]

@Shane: Durbin is a freakin' beast. Don't hate.

[Gravy Queens]

If anyone's interested, I recently found a free automatic American Idol voting system on some site... I tried it out, and I was able to get 30 votes in 5 minutes. It was insane!

If you guys want to check it out, here's the link:

http://autoamericanidolvoting.blogspot.com/

[Run Red Lights]

paul deserved to stay =/

[Danny]

I do and I don't know how Jacob is still there, if you saw Randy's reaction you know something strange is going on. the show is becoming a popularity show and not a talent show, if the vote Scotty off I'm done with Idol.