American Idol 5: Why Gedeon Lost

Gedeon came into the semi-finals as an underdog, with his attitude being the main focus of what we knew about him. But after three performances, it seemed that his talent was finally overcoming that hurdle. Things are not always as they seem, though, and suddenly Gedeon found himself heading home before the final 12. What happened? Why did Gedeon lose?

I’ll admit it, I thought Gedeon was safe. I didn’t like him coming into the semi-finals, but he grew on me. Apparently, he didn’t grow on enough other people! I asked myself after the results show, “Self, why did Gedeon lose?” My answer? “Let’s go through What ‘American Idol 5’ Contestants Need to Know to find out.” Since I never argue with myself, that’s just what we’re going to do.

I’ll try not to talk to myself through the rest of this article, but let’s get to the first rule – having some singing and performing talent. Frankly, I think Gedeon has a decent amount of talent. In fact, I think he has more singing ability than several of the other guys who stuck around (*cough*Kevin*cough*).

I was not the only one. Randy dug Gedeon’s “old soul.” Paula liked his throwback style. Simon wasn’t loving it, calling the performance “cabaret” (though I must admit I really didn’t understand that particular description in this case), but saying he liked Gedeon.

As for other viewers, recapper Donna said he sang “effortlessly” and was impressed by the tone and range of his voice. The Foxes On Idol We’ll Be the Judge of That! panel had similar thoughts. Sandy thought he sang well and was “easy to listen to.” Tyler “thought the vocals kicked seventeen different flavors of butt.” Paris thought it was “a great performance.” Bruce was impressed that Gedeon had improved each week. And you already know I thought he did well.

What about Gedeon’s song choice, an issue for the second rule? Some people thought Gedeon should have chosen something more upbeat. Maybe, but hindsight is 20/20. I think his performance was just as solid as it would have been with a different song, and most people seemed to enjoy this one.

Gedeon was also consistent, in accordance with the third rule. In fact, as “We’ll Be the Judge” Bruce noted, he got better every week: “Gedeon has chosen each successive song well and it’s allowed him to progress and improve.” No problems there.

And Gedeon was unique as well, following the fourth rule. Paula even noted as much in her comments on Wednesday following Gedeon’s performance. Gedeon was probably the most soulful of the guys, singing songs that others would not have been able to do nearly as well.

But Gedeon was also unique for another couple reasons, some of which were not necessarily so positive. First, there was the smile. Many people have commented on it over the past few weeks, but it really was somewhat freakish. I think I finally figured out who it reminded me of – Eddie Murphy doing “Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood” on Saturday Night Live a number of years back. (If you need reminding, check out this clip at Ifilms. It’s kind of spooky.) Of course, Murphy was playing it for laughs. Gedeon, not so much.

Another reason Gedeon was unique, and which also might have rubbed people the wrong way, was his overall personality. Once the semi-finals started, he was past the early cockiness we saw. But it was replaced by saying, “God bless you,” every time somebody would say something to him. I’ve heard from a number of people that it was just enough already with that! Lots of contestants are religious in one way or another, as are many viewers, but Gedeon just went over the top.

Still, all of these things made him memorable. Nobody forgot about Gedeon, for good or for ill. What we have to remember is that on Idol, people vote for their favorite. I don’t think Gedeon was the least favorite for most people, but the quirks about him could easily have downgraded him from being their most favorite. So even as memorable as he has been, that didn’t equate to votes.

Considering that Gedeon responded with the aforementioned “God bless you” whenever he got comments from the judges, he obviously didn’t argue with them. But even that could be taken by some as sarcasm when said in response to criticism. I really don’t think it was an issue, though.

The seventh rule pulls much of what we’ve discussed together: You are a package. Gedeon had many unique features that we’ve discussed, and some of them played against each other. For example: good soulful voice vs. weird creepy smile. But there were other things too. In some of the video segments and other interactions, he did not express himself very well. For example, when Simon asked him what his painting was supposed to represent, Gedeon answered a different question entirely. The guy is only 17 and probably nervous, so I understand it, but it still might have turned off potential voters – or at least not turned them “on” enough to make them want to call for him.

The eighth rule tells contestants to create a fan base. Others have succeeded. I thought Kevin would be going home, but there are whispers now that, as I predicted a while back, some of Clay Nation has adopted Kevin – and they would be a force to be reckoned with if that’s true.

Gedeon, however, did the opposite. In his early airtime, he came off as cocky and egotistical – not the way to get fans to your side early. Yes, he won people over through his performances, but as the numbers shrunk, he faced stiffer competition. He did not have the solid fan base to pull him through, even when he sang well.

That, I think, is the key. The whole reason for writing these columns is because the truth of the matter is that singing well is simply not enough. This morning I received an e-mail from a shocked fan who had the revelation that perhaps Idol is at least as much a popularity contest as a singing competition. I’m afraid this is not news.

Is Gedeon a better singer than some of those remaining on Idol? I would have to answer that with an unqualified “yes!” But he had too many quirks, as Simon said in Wednesday’s show, “You are quite odd.” The fixed smile, the overall air, the personality – they all added up and subtracted from his ability to get votes. That is why Gedeon lost.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other recent American Idol articles on Foxes On Idol and RealityNewsOnline:

David Bloomberg is the Editor of Foxes On Idol, and can be reached at RNO@pobox.com.

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