posted April 1, 2009 at 17:39 EST in Other Free Picks
American Idol Betting – Eight Idols Out
by Mike Rose
I don’t know about you, but I didn’t get as much of a rush watching last week’s elimination show without any $$$ on the line. Sure, we still have money invested in the overall winner of American Idol 9 at BetUS Sportsbook, but it just wasn’t the same without a couple units down on weekly elimination wagers. Come on guys, get those weekly elimination odds back on the board so we can try and increase our rolls for the Final 4 and beginning of the 2009 MLB betting season!
Rant aside; I nailed two of the contestants in the bottom three for the second week in a row as both Michael Sarver and Scott Macintyre found themselves there. However, the voters shocked us all with the installment of Matt Giraud. That outcome marks the second week in a row that the voting public sent someone to the bottom three I by no means thought was going; the previous week saw Allison Iraheta go. As expected though, Macintyre was sent back to the contestant pool immediately leaving Sarver and Giraud up on stage to sweat it out. I pegged Sarver to go and that’s exactly what happened. That makes us 2 for 2 on elimination shows this season, and I’ll try to make it three in a row tonight…
Anoop Desai kicked ITunes Performances Week off with his rendition of Usher’s “Caught Up”. I honestly have no idea what Anoop-dog was thinking here. It wasn’t as bad as his “Beat It” cover, but he just doesn’t possess the pipes or stage presence to pull this song off. After improving his stock the last couple weeks, Anoop faltered here and will more than likely find himself in the bottom three.
It’s very obvious that Megan Joy has fans out there, or else she wouldn’t have made it this far. I cringe every time I listen to her perform on stage. That said; her vocal range is so strange that I can’t tell if she’s atrocious or a true genius. I just don’t get it. She’s my enigma this season, and I have no idea where she’ll be after tonight’s elimination show.
The judges absolutely loved Danny Gokey’s cover of Rascal Flatts “What Hurts the Most”. Now, I’m a big fan of this kid and love the fact that his odds to win it all got better after last week’s show, but I disagree with the judges here. It looked to me as if he couldn’t keep up with the song, and it was the first time I saw a song get the best of him. Simon highly disagreed saying, “This was your best performance so far” and then he started clapping. Crazy! I didn’t hear or see it as his best performance, and I wouldn’t be listening to him if this is the type of artist he plans on being after the show. Still, DG advances with ease.
When the contestants came out at the beginning of the show, the first thing out of my significant other’s mouth was, “What the heck is Allison wearing?” I thought she did a whale of a job making No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak” her own, but that didn’t even seem to cross most of the judges’ minds when they berated her for what she was wearing. Sure, she looked like she was wearing a sleeping bag, but that shouldn’t take away from the fact that she nailed the song. Allison is by far the strongest of the females remaining, and should move on without a hitch.
After finding himself in the bottom three last week, Scott Macintyre chose to “Strip it down” this week by covering Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are”. He didn’t knock the performance out of the park, but Simon thought it was his best performance by a country mile. After closing a +2500 choice to win it all before last week’s show, Scott is now the competition long shot at +8000 after last week’s bottom three appearance. Scotty redeemed himself this week, and should make it to the next round but his weeks are numbered down the road.
Matt Giraud took a chance with his version of The Fray’s “You Found Me”. I thought it was just ok, but I’m not a huge fan of the overplayed song. He’s kind of gotten away from what I liked about him the last couple weeks, and he almost looked as if he was going to cry when the judges disliked the performance. Matt could be buckling under the pressure as it was only two weeks ago that Simon said he’s not getting enough respect in this competition and that he should be a frontrunner. Unfortunately, Matt might find himself back in the bottom three tonight, and I’m not sure he’ll survive this time around. That said; Kara loves him and would no doubt look to utilize the “judge’s save” if he was voted off after stating he doesn’t deserve to go home last night.
Next up was Lil Rounds who shockingly chose to cover a Celine Dion song. Of the thousands of songs available to choose from, this was your choice? Lil, put down the peace pipe and get your head in the game! The song just wasn’t her, and I seriously have no idea why she’s making these dreadful song choices every week. Her odds to win it all almost doubled this week (+650 to +1200), and there’s no way she’ll win this competition if she continues to refuse to sing to her strengths. Lil’s headed for the bottom three tonight, but will most likely escape.
The final two contestants of the night, Adam Lambert and Kris Allen, were by far the best of the crop. I’d give top honors to Allen with his “artistic” version of “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers with Lambert right behind with a funky rearrangement of Wild Cherry’s “Play That funky Music”. These two are advancing with ease. Allen’s odds to win it all will be slashed in half (currently +1600) and Lambert will become an even bigger favorite.
In last week’s article, I stated that a male was winning this competition and that you should buy up the male to win it prop at -400 before it surpassed the -500 level. Well, BetUS came and smacked a -700 line on the guys to win it all this week, so all the value’s been sucked out of that wager.
As for who’s going home tonight, it’s really tough. The clear cut contenders are certainly separated from the pretenders. Anoop, Megan Joy, Giraud, Macintyre, and Lil Rounds could all go. I don’t think we get a shocker in the bottom three this week, so I’m going to go with the chalk and look for Anoop, Megan, and Giraud.
Shockingly, Megan Joy will escape and look to make some of us cringe yet again next week. Meanwhile, Giraud will find himself in the bottom two, and once again, escape. Anoop will then be asked to sing Usher’s song again which will have me tuning into Lost immediately! If it’s Giraud, don’t be shocked if the judges use their save since they’ve spoke very highly of him up until last night….
My bottom three: Anoop Desai, Megan Joy Corkrey, Matt Giraud
Check back next week as we continue to pad our bankroll for the remainder of March Madness betting and the beginning of the 2009 MLB betting season at BetUS Sportsbook.
