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American Idol 4: Why Sarah Lostby David Bloomberg -- 02/25/2005
View Printable version of this article Sarah had the most previous airtime of any of the four people sent packing in the first semi-final week. Indeed, she had more airtime than some of the others who stuck around. So what caused Sarah to garner only the second-lowest number of votes? Why did Sarah lose? Of course, we will attempt to answer these questions the same way we have done for the past two years and will continue to do as long as American Idol is around, by looking back at What ‘American Idol 4’ Contestants Need to Know to see where Sarah went wrong and what she did right. 
The first rule is to have some singing and performing talent. She sang “Get Ready” as her first performance in front of an audience, and the judges were not wowed. Randy was probably the happiest, saying he enjoyed it “a little bit.” Paula “didn’t get to hear more than one octave.” Simon noted that the contestants only get one chance to make a first impression, and this was a “clumsy, forgettable performance.” RealityNewsOnline and Foxes On Idol judges generally held to the same feeling. Sting7 said in his recap, that “hearing her was a bit forgettable.” The We’ll Be the Judge of That! crew said similar things, with Gil quoting Simon about her being forgettable and Betsy saying Sarah didn’t knock her socks off. In her performance, Sarah earned my ire when she began her song with a “C’mon” to tell the audience to stand up and clap – longtime readers know that I believe if you have to tell the audience that, you’re already in trouble. Beyond that, I felt that her voice seemed lost in the song and I kept waiting to hear some power that just never came. In other words, she did not hit a homerun with that performance. Paula criticized Sarah for her song choice. As we’ve already seen, Paula said Sarah did not sing in more than one octave, and she hit the nail on the head. The song simply did not allow Sarah to show that her voice had any range at all. It was nice to pick an upbeat song and she was lively, but she also needed to be able to showcase her voice. It didn’t happen. The third rule tells contestants that they need to be consistent and treat every performance as if it’s their last. Sarah didn’t do that. She seemed nervous and didn’t let her voice soar (though, as already mentioned, part of that was the song choice). Now was the time to let viewers know why they should have voted for her – but she didn’t give them any good reason. Fourth is to be unique. We got a preview of just how “unique” Sarah would be when Sting7 called her a “forgettable Denim Skirt Girl” in an earlier article. Why? Because she was just one of those people who blended into the background and you forgot about. Apparently, that’s exactly what happened, at least as far as voters were concerned. Simply looking at the photos of the 12 final women tends to show the same thing. Nadia stands out. Mikalah stands out. Aloha stands out. Sarah? Not really. There’s nothing wrong with her, mind you, it’s just that there’s nothing unique about her either. Which leads directly to the question of whether she was memorable. My answer? Nope. We saw Sarah's original audition and maybe a little of her trio in Hollywood, but I had to ask around to be reminded of it! Meanwhile, you can bet that I remember when the likes of Nadia, Carrie, and Mikalah were on. We didn’t see as much of Sarah as we saw of others, but we saw more of her than some who are still around – so we can’t blame her loss on this one issue. Sarah didn’t have to worry about the sixth rule, “No karaoke.” Nor did she argue with the judges, which removes the seventh from concern. 
But the eighth goes to the entire package that is Sarah, and that means personality. Honestly, I have no idea what Sarah’s personality is like. If she is a package, we’ve only seen the plain brown wrapping with maybe a nice pink bow on it. I have no idea what’s inside. Viewers want the package opened up before they decide if they’re keeping it. Sarah’s relative lack of early screen time made it difficult for her to create a fan following. However, as we’ve already discussed, some of those who made it past the first vote were onscreen about the same or even less time. The past is past, and the future belongs to those who make the most of the present (wow, that sounds deep, doesn’t it?). Sarah did not. Sarah did not have the exposure that some of the contestants have, but that is a small part of the story. When she had her big chance, she failed to hit the homerun. Sarah picked a bad song and then performed it in a way that lost her vocals. She might have had talent, but now the country will never know – at least not through American Idol. That is why Sarah lost. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other “Lost” articles from the first episode: David Bloomberg is the Editor of Foxes On Idol, and can be reached at RNO@pobox.com. Be sure to sign up for the RealityNewsOnline/FoxesOnIdol e-mail update so you can stay informed about new articles on both sites! For all of our articles, check out our sections on American Idol, American Juniors, Nashville Star, and Canadian Idol. Also make sure to check out RealityNewsOnline for recaps and articles covering other reality TV shows. For even more news about reality TV, be sure to check SirLinksALot: American Idol and Reality TV Fever! View Printable version of this article
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