American Idol 6: Why Chris Lost

It always seemed to me that Chris was a mid-pack American Idol contestant. I never really thought he was horrible, but nor did I ever think he was great or consider that he might make it to the finale. So ending up fifth is pretty much right where I figured Chris would be. But why? How does this fit into the grand scheme of things? Why did Chris lose?

Expected or not, we answer these questions by looking back at What ‘American Idol 6’ Contestants Need to Know and using it as a blueprint.

First and foremost, we have the rule that tells Idol contestants to have singing and performing talent. Chris does have some, there’s no doubt about it. I’ve never been a big fan, especially because I felt he too often used a whiny or nasally voice, but sometimes he showed he can indeed sing.

Two weeks ago, Chris earned unanimous praise from the on-site judges, who said he was in it to win it and the competition was really beginning. Most of the “We’ll Be the Judge of That” judges here at Foxes On Idol were generally not as wowed. Nobody hated it, but most thought it was just good, not great.

As for this week, Randy and Paula said generally positive things. Simon did too, but he also was smart enough to recognize that it probably wasn’t enough to keep Chris around. He was right. Only Kathy in the “We’ll Be the Judge of That” panel had much of anything good to say about this one, though. Sandy thought both nasal and screaming returned, while Bruce and Tyler both figured Chris was a goner and this was not going to save him. Lo and behold, they were correct.

Part of the reason for the dislike of this week’s performance was stemmed from his song choice. One portion of this rule specifically says, “if a previous Idol contestant really blew the roof off a song, leave it along.” Chris even acknowledged that Chris Daughtry had, well, really blown the roof off this song last season, but he went ahead and did it anyway. Bad, bad move.

Of more importance was the third rule, which says singers have to be consistent. Chris wasn’t. He would be up one week and down the next – indeed, we saw that in just these two past weeks that were added together. Maybe he was trying different styles, maybe he really did think that “nasally” is a singing style. But whatever the reason, he was far too inconsistent.

The fourth rule tells Idols to be unique. Chris was unique as far as Idol contestants go, but it was pretty obvious that he reminded people of a certain well-known pop star. Heck, Ryan Seacrest even jokingly called him that this week! It’s difficult to say if that impacted on the voters or not.

I’m also not sure if it helped or hurt in terms of the fifth rule, which says to be memorable. Chris did seem like the most likely to be forgotten in this final six – and even before. And when he was remembered, it was too often by people saying things like, “You know, that Justin guy.” It was fairly rare for Chris to be remembered by viewers as, “That guy who blew everybody away.” And that can cause a problem.

Another problem arose in the sixth rule, which reminds contestants that they are a package. It’s not just singing and performing, but personality as well. I have to say that I never really felt I got to know Chris, and I believe others felt the same way. Even looking at Phil, who went home this week as well, I know a heck of a lot more about Phil than Chris, and I didn’t even like Phil!

As far as the seventh rule, which says not to argue with the judges, Chris did himself a disservice a few weeks ago. He claimed that singing nasally was a valid style. I’m not sure where he got this idea or what the heck he might have been actually trying to say, but it came off as argumentative and, to my mind, just plain stupid. I mean really, singing like that on purpose was the goal? More reason not to vote for him if he’s doing it on purpose!

But in the end, I don’t think that really did him in. Rather is was the fact that his fan base was not growing at a fast enough rate, as addressed in the eighth rule. Yes, he did have some early fans, and I suspect many of them were of the “he’s hot so I like him” variety. But to stick around in this competition, singers need to keep on bringing in the fans, especially as other contestants leave and their fans look for new venues. Chris, similar to Phil, was not able to build on his original foundation and bring in scores of new people to vote for him.

That really goes back to the consistency issue. The final four have continued to build their fan bases because they have been repeatedly excellent. No, not every time, but on a consistent basis. We can’t say that about Chris. Rather than improve his singing style, he defended it and argued about it – another item that I’m sure didn’t gain him many fans. Chris needed to put his energy into becoming a more consistent singer instead. But without that ability, he couldn’t get the votes he needed. And thus we have the reason why Chris lost.

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. Thanks to Sandy, Betsy, and Jenn for their thoughts and suggestions!

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