Andy DehnartAfter almost 32 million votes were cast, according to Ryan Seacrest, American Idol 6 eliminated its first four semi-finalists.
Barefoot Paul Kim and boring Rudy Cardenas went home first. Both were paired on-stage with other contestants who got a lot more air time during the audition rounds, Sundance Head and Sanjaya Malakar, so the elimination of the former two men instead of the latter two was not a surprise.
As to the women, Amy Krebs, who Simon said had “the personality of a candle,” and Nicole Tranquillo, whose signing Paula called “out of this world.” The women’s elimination, during which Seacrest sent women one at a time to safety, “nearly proved disastrous, as a couple looked like they were fighting the urge not to be sick onstage,” MSNBC’s Craig Berman writes.
American Idol 3 winner Fantasia Barrino appeared to fill time and announce that she will join the Broadway cast of “The Color Purple starting on April 10.
Two more weeks of semi-final competition remain, at which time Idol will move its giant ass off of Thursdays and go back to its regular Tuesdays and Wednesdays schedule.