American Idol 6: Was Chris Sligh’s Exit the “Shocking Result”?

It seems like just last week I was wondering if the dismissal of Stephanie was the “shocking result” that happens every season. Oh, wait, it was just last week! But in that article, I noted, “we still have plenty of time for a truly shocking vote this season!” Who knew we would be asking the same question again so soon? Who knew it would be Chris Sligh? Certainly not me.

But let’s take a look at the situation and determine if this is the shocking result of the season. As noted last week, at the beginning of this season, I predicted there would be a “shocking” result on American Idol in which a more talented and popular contestant would be sent home before a less talented competitor. I’ve made the same prediction for several years now, and it’s an easy one to make. But then each time it comes up, I have to write another column explaining why a certain result isn’t really that big a surprise, even when it’s the “shocker.” First, however, we need to determine if this is indeed the “shocker.”

Last week, we took a look at Google News and found a bunch of articles talking about Stephanie’s cut with “surprise” in the title. Oddly, the same thing didn’t happen this week. Maybe they’re finally learning something. Naw, that can’t be it.

But there are other factors that are in play that weren’t for Stephanie. One factor is website traffic. The more controversial a vote result, the higher traffic spikes. Last week, it barely rated notice when Stephanie was booted. This week, traffic definitely shot up in response to Chris’ elimination.

Another factor is the size of my e-mail inbox. When Stephanie was voted out, I received zero e-mails complaining about it, calling it a conspiracy, etc. Well, okay, I got one, but it was a while later. So far, I have gotten quite a few e-mails on the Chris Sligh situation, showing much more of a fan interest. A far-too-large percentage of these people whipped out the old “conspiracy” charges, and a few websites have even joined in the nonsense. Please. But I’m not writing this article to comment on the ridiculousness of such charges, rather to use them as an indicator of the “shockingness” of Chris’ elimination.

But a key point with e-mails is, as I said last week, “The really shocking votes cause those of us writing about Idol to receive oodles of e-mails, overflowing our inboxes, starting mere seconds after the results are read.” While we have gotten e-mails, it has not been a case of overflowing mail boxes.

Also on the flip side of the e-mail issue, a number of the messages I received were from fans of Chris who said they supported him but understood why he was sent packing. A few samples:

• “I am not actually that surprised as Chris Sligh’s exit. … At first I was, but the more I thought about it, the less surprised I was. … I started thinking about Chris over the weeks and he really started to fade over time. … Even his non-singing personality was becoming a bore.”
• “Many people on the [message] boards were tired of Chris’ excuses. … After each critique he had an excuse. It seemed to be turning people off.”
• “I think there was a very simple reason [for his loss]. Chris got worse and worse as the weeks progressed. … Chris fans found other contestants to vote for once the men and women were merged into the Top 12, and he gave them no reason to come back to him. I wasn’t at all surprised to see him go.”

Yes, some e-mails came in from people saying they were surprised, but they were in the minority. Most fans seemed to understand that in many ways, it was time for Chris to go.

Chris had proven himself to be a better singer than several of the contestants still in the competition, such as Phil, Haley, and of course Sanjaya. So from that standpoint, his loss before them weighs positively on the “surprising” side. But Haley, for example, has been getting better (and hotter) while Chris has been getting worse. No matter what he might have proved previously, he needed to keep it going… and didn’t.

I also agree with the e-mailer who noted that Chris’ personality had been getting more and more blah. As noted last week, and indeed every week in my “Why [somebody] Lost” columns, American Idol is more than just a singing competition. Personality counts. Sanjaya, whatever we might think of him, has certainly been showing personality. Haley has been showing personality (and skin) also. Chris seemed to have let his personality get hidden instead of coming out more.

Ironically, last week I pointed out that Stephanie did not have a base of fanatics like the “Fro Patro” of Chris Sligh. I guess Chris Sligh’s fanatics weren’t as fanatic as I thought either! Or, rather, they were not as numerous as I believed, likely due to the reasons cited above.

Getting back to the question of surprise, it’s hard to suggest that something is a surprise when it’s actually predicted. The We’ll Be the Judge of That! crew actually predicted, overall, that Chris would be in the bottom three. Sandy Lamparello said he would go home! So she certainly was not shocked!

It seems the scales are tilting significantly away from “shocker.” Indeed, the conclusion must be that as much as some of us liked Chris, his elimination was not to the same level as those of past “big surprises.” If it had happened a few weeks ago, yes, it would have been shocking. But after several weeks of declining performances and disappearing personality, it now seems almost inevitable. This was not the shocker.

Surprise or not, if you want to hear more of Chris, you can buy his band’s CD from Amazon:

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other recent 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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