Why is Everyone So Hard on Kimberly Caldwell?

I don’t go much for blondes. Nothing against them, I just don’t go gaga over them like so many of my Southern California brethren. I’m drawn more to dark: eyes, hair, skin. Give me a night with Trenyce or Julia DeMato any day (or both). I mention this just so you won’t think I’m coming to Kimberly Caldwell’s rescue because she’s a cute blonde.

David Bloomberg rightly chastises Randy and especially Paula for criticizing America’s choice for Bottom Three while refusing to name their choices. Let’s put a water pistol to her head and make her talk! A competition in which the judges refuse to criticize anyone might make a good surreal Saturday Night Live skit, but for a nationwide contest, it’s simply ridiculous – unprofessional, and unfair to the contestants who shined. Like Kimberly.

America’s decision to condemn Kimberly Caldwell to the Bottom Three (actually, Bottom Two) is insulting. A cold slap not only to Kimberly, but also to the intelligence of audience members like me trying to take your votes seriously. Come on, America – please. Last year we had the sympathy vote for several contestants. Now the reverse: votes denied to a good singer because we don’t like her as much as less-talented others.

Could part of the problem be that our Tuesday night parade of crooners is becoming a seamless blur? For those of you suffering from Simon-like ambivalence, I offer this simple test: who do you find yourself unable to stop watching? Do you make trips to the fridge while Rickey sings, or just notice yourself politely waiting for Corey to finish squealing so you can get up for a pit stop? When Kimberly takes the stage, I watch. I listen. I don’t want her to stop. And I loooooove the sultry sound of her voice (compare with the teakettle scream of Corey). That’s an idol, and that’s who makes us buy CDs and concert tix.

Why is everyone so hard on Kimberly? Is she being held to a standard the others aren’t? Randy, Paula, and Simon have all given her high marks yet constantly say she hasn’t yet “shined.” I do understand that her performances have been a little too “generic” – which, if you think about it, is really just another way of saying that there’s nothing really to find fault with – just the expectation that she can do much better. That’s hard for me to stomach in a night when Corey, Carmen, and Julia all fell flat with bad song choices. It was embarrassing watching Randy, Paula, and Olivia Newton-John struggling desperately to find something, anything nice to say about these clearly subpar performances. But this week, all four judges (yes, even Simon) gave Kimberly unanimous praise. So let’s take a look at “the other judges” – the viewers who voted for her (or rather, didn’t).

Look, I know singing talent isn’t enough. Add in performance ability, still not enough. Seeing firsthand the repertoire of qualities needed to shine is a large chunk of what makes AI so fascinating – it’s like a peak into a pop idol master class. As Simon loves to remind us whenever Ruben takes the stage, personality is key. And America, it seems, does not like Kimberly’s.

Is this deserved? It seems we started to dislike her when the catfight with Julia DeMato erupted back in Pasadena. We only saw filmed excerpts, a “soda-straw” view of the incident, not unlike watching battle coverage on CNN. Kimberly may indeed be a conniving bitch, but I don’t think we saw enough evidence to conclude that. What I did see was Julia taking no responsibility for her situation, whining and playing the martyr, choosing to wait around all night rather than confronting her mates. Many latched onto Kimberly’s sniffy comment, “Now we’re a threesome,” and were obviously turned off.

To me, Kimberly’s personality doesn’t come off bitchy so much as phoney. I don’t believe her when she says she says Julia sang best. I don’t believe her when she says she doesn’t have a favorite judge. I don’t believe her saying she just came down to audition on a whim, when she holds Julia’s hand, when she cries for Julia. In short, I don’t believe her. We know she’s already been through at least one previous AI-type TV show, and she seems like a woman on a mission: fame or bust. No crime in that, but why pave it over with this Texas-sweetie-next-door image that no one’s really buying? The one time I believe her is when she’s singing. There is a real Kimberly there, maybe even a nice one. But as long as she’s afraid to show it the audience won’t trust her, and will not connect with her performances.

So I ask: with nine weeks to go, will the real Kimberly Caldwell please stand up and sing?

Tab Ross is a writer who can be reached at tabross@memecentral.com.

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