Analysis: Judges make a bad decision

Well, at least one good thing can be said of tonight's results: the save is no more.

The rest of tonight's outcome was poorly concocted. It was a big mistake and will most likely cost a more deserving contestant his or her life in the competition next Wednesday. This is not to say that Matt is not a good guy, as he has a unique voice and has a great personality. But there are so many reasons he should not have been saved tonight, and a few of them are as follows.

First of all, Matt was a wild card contestant, meaning he was technically already "voted out" once. It was only after the judges gave him a second chance that he made it back into the competition. Secondly, Matt did not do extremely well last night, and received two lukewarm critiques from Randy and Kara. Thirdly, Matt sounded even worse tonight in his "singing for his life" opportunity, once again cracking on his falsetto near the end. Simon even made note of this in addition to saying that he thinks Matt has no shot at winning the competition prior to revealing the judges' decision.

For that comment alone, this save is pathetic. It is obvious that the judges are just trying to stir things up to increase the drama factor and it can be seen as nothing but a buzz builder and lame attempt to increase the show's sagging ratings this season. Simon knows this very well of course, but he apparently does not care anymore. He did not stand up for himself, unless of course it was three against one. That would make sense, but he never said he disagreed with the decision, so who really knows. After the show, however, Simon talked with Extra correspondent and former girlfriend Terri Seymour, saying he doesn't know why he saved Matt, but he did not get "caught up in the moment." Great rationale, Simon.

It was pretty apparent that the judges would exercise the save once Paula and Kara were shown swaying together during Matt's performance, as they appeared too jubilant to be sending him home. But now it's important to put tonight in the past and focus our attention on next week's possibilities.

First thing's first: Anoop is a total goner regardless of how he does. Secondly, disco week has not been traditionally kind to Idol finalists, and it would suggest that a front runner could very well be going next week thanks to the double elimination. The finalist that seems to be the most vulnerable in this situation is Allison, as she was not in the Bottom 3 this week so her fans are probably complacent right now, whereas Lil's fans once again got another kick in the pants, which could ensure her safety. Matt will most definitely not be going home next week because his fans realize they got a once in a lifetime opportunity with tonight's save, and they will be sure not to waste it.

The two obvious front runners that will not be going anywhere are Adam and Danny, though it would not be a shock to see one of them in the Bottom 3. Kris is the other vulnerable finalist next week, especially since he doesn't seem like much of a disco kind of guy. But we'll wait and see.

As for the rest of the show, Jennifer Hudson proved that she really is a great artist and although she showed signs of nervousness, she pulled it off in the end. The audience did not seem too into it but "If This Isn't Love" is one of those songs that's hard to really get into at a live performance.

A "singer" that could take a pointer or two from Jennifer was the night's other guest performer, Miley Cyrus. She looks more grown up than she has in the past, but her vocals are still very weak and do not justify her fame. It is a shame because her new single, "The Climb," is a solid song in its own right, it just belongs to the wrong owner. Hopefully Idol cancels Katy Perry's guest performance slot for Top 3 night before she can continue the streak of bad guest performances.

There was really nothing else interesting about tonight's results episode, as the Ford music video was boring and so were Ryan's questions to the finalists. One other thing of note was the montage of the Top 7 finalists attending the premiere of Zac Efron's new movie 17 Again, which received a huge amount of promotion from its four-minute commercial of sorts in front of 20-plus million. Oh, and by the way, the movie opens on Friday if you somehow missed that important tidbit.

On the results front, I would have been correct in both my original predictions and pre-show predictions with Matt receiving the fewest votes, but of course the judges had to go and screw that up. Maybe that's the real reason I'm upset? Regardless, this is really disappointing. Hopefully next week makes up for this horrible turn of events.