And Then There Were Six! Kristy Lee Cook Bites the Dust in American Idol

There are times when the ironies that are a part of our lives come to the fore. Mariah Carey has been the musical mentor for American Idol Top 10 member Kristy Lee Cook, and it was ironical that Cook got voted off the show in the week that required all Idol finalists to sing songs by the pop diva.

Kristy sang her version of Carey’s Forever, and got the fewest votes from fans for her efforts. The 24-year old Selma, Oregon based Cook went off the show in a week that saw 36 million votes being cast, the highest for the season so far.

Simon Cowell is a perceptive individual and his words, “Maybe Kristy, you know, your time’s up this time, sweetheart,” uttered when he heard Ryan Seacrest announce the names of the performers comprising the bottom three – Kristy, Syesha Mercado, and Brook White – proved prophetic.

Earlier during the singing round the previous day, Cowell had not sounded all too pleased with Cook’s performance, saying it seemed a tad ‘whiny’, but also commending her for making a smart choice in terms of song selection. Cowell’s judging companion Randy Jackson too had some negative things to say about her rendition.

Cook can take some consolation from her mentor’s comments, though. Mariah Carey, who came to the show and sang one of her newer songs, Bye Bye, from her latest album EMC2, seemed pleased with Cook’s singing, saying it had ‘given her chills.’ The show also featured a performance by Elliott Yamin.

Coming to the broadcast, the gradual reduction in the number of singer and consequently, the number of performances, meant producers had to think up ways of keeping the audience interest going. This week, they managed to do just that by splitting the performers into two groups, with neither group knowing which one was safe.

To add a twist, the producers also shifted David Cook, one of the performers, from one group to the other before announcing which group was safe. Whatever the producers are doing seems to be working, with viewer numbers hovering in the 30-million plus bracket. Such large viewership has made American Idol the most watched TV show in the United States.

With the elimination of Cook, only six more remain in the reckoning, including David Archuleta, one of the favorites for the top slot, rocker David Cook, another hot act that is sure to give all in the fray a run for their money, Jason Castro, Carly Smithson, Syesha Mercado, and Brook White.

Each week, someone will be eliminated and the last person standing would be the new American Idol in the show’s seventh season. The finale of the show will go on air live in May.