American Idol 4: Why Nikko Lost

Nikko’s loss was a complete surprise to me – I thought he was a lock in the Final 12 and believed that Constantine should have been waving goodbye. But the fact that somebody went home before they should have was not a surprise – after all, I was the one who wrote about “shocking” results we would see over the course of the season. This one just came a little sooner than expected.

Still, just because it was a surprise doesn’t mean it’s without cause. Looking back at What ‘American Idol 4’ Contestants Need to Know, as usual, will help us sort through everything and find out why Nikko lost.

The first rule, as always, is to have some singing and performing talent. Nikko definitely had this, though he was not the best of the guys. Indeed, the men this time around are a very talent-packed group. It doesn’t take much to be just slightly below all the rest. Nikko was not at the bottom of the pack, but nor was he at the top.

In his final performance, Randy thought Nikko was “ambitious,” but hit a “couple of pitch spots.” Simon agreed that “the vocal in parts was shaky,” though he and Randy both agreed that the last note was a good ending.

As for others, Sting7, in his recap, pretty much agreed with Simon, both about the small rough spots and the last note being great. The We’ll Be the Judge of That! crew was split, with Bruce, Brian, and I feeling it was an okay vocal showing but a good stage performance; Betsy feeling he knocked it out of the park; and Gil taking the opposite side, feeling it was an “imitation.”

So, in general, it seems most people felt it was a good performance, but not a great performance. This came up with Amanda as well – though I personally felt her performance was far more average – and the same issue arises here. We have to remember that if everybody believes you sang second best, but they all vote for somebody else as first, you end up losing. I believe that may have played a role here.

The second rule deals with song choice. Twice in a row, Nikko tackled “signature songs” – first Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” and then Ray Charles’ “Georgia On My Mind.” Both were ambitious, but both also invited comparisons to the original singer. Also, while Simon and some others indicated that the latter was a good choice because of the Ray Charles mania, it might also be considered to be a bad choice for the same reason – if the original version of the song is too fresh in people’s minds, they can’t help but compare Nikko’s version. And while Nikko was good, he is not Ray Charles.

Third is to be consistent. I think Nikko was among the most consistent of the guys, in that he never had a “bad” week. But he didn’t have any hugely outstanding weeks either. I would say he was consistently above average, but he did not make it to the point of, as the rule says, being “excellent every time.”

Nikko definitely had his own style and look, which made him unique among both current and former contestants. He had his hat thing going on, and he used it as a good prop during his performances, making himself seem all that much more comfortable on the stage.

However, some viewers also found themselves comparing him to Anwar, believing they had similar styles. I didn’t see it, myself, but if Nikko was fighting Anwar for votes, there was little chance of Nikko winning the battle.

Fifth is to be memorable. Nikko had a good backstory – but he never used it. Indeed, he even changed his stage name between the original auditions and the semi-finals to further distance himself from his famous father, Ozzie Smith. It seems likely he did this to avoid riding on his father’s name, but at the same time it meant one of the most interesting backstories in the entire competition was hidden from some viewers who would have found it interesting.