Idol' Cuts Back: Tim Urban Goes Home on 'IGB' Night
Posted Wed Apr 21, 2010 7:43pm PDT by Lyndsey Parker in Reality Rocks
When "American Idol" held its first "Idol Gives Back" charity special in Season 6, Ryan Seacrest pulled one of his famous fakeouts, making it seem like Jordin Sparks was about to get cut--and then revealed that in the night's charitable spirit, no one would go home. But "Idol" didn't give back quite as much the next season, when during "IGB" week Ryan staged a much crueler fakeout--duping Michael Johns into thinking he'd also be spared, before announcing that no, Michael's time really was up.
So this Wednesday, when "Idol Gives Back" returned from a one-year hiatus, it was unclear whether anyone would really get cut, or if in fact all the remaining contestants would be charitably given the equivalent of seven Judges' Saves. It turned out "Idol" went ahead with its regularly scheduled results show, and at the end of the well-intentioned but overlong and indulgent "IGB" broadcast, Ryan announced that Tim Urban was going home.
In some ways, Tim's cut was a shock, considering his continued improvement week to week and his diehard fanbase. But hey, at least this moment on the show was interesting, especially he was also in the bottom two with America's sweetheart, Aaron Kelly, and America's heartthrob, Casey James. The elimination announcement was in fact probably the most interesting moment of the incredibly boring "Idol Gives Back" special, which otherwise just made me want to ask "Idol" to give me back those two hours of my life. But more on that later...
Despite Tim's many ups and down on this show, I'd come to really like him--his upbeat "Teflon Tim" attitude, his persistent laugh, his underdog story, his impeccable hair, even his kneeslide. I was starting to root for him, maybe even starting to think he had a chance of making it all the way to the top five. I guess I was wrong. Instead, due to the broadcast running over, Tim didn't even get to sing one last time on Wednesday's show.
I think "American Idol" will be a little less fun without the artist occasionally known as Turban (I would have loved to see him do "Man, I Feel Like A Woman" on Shania Twain Night next week), so overall, this was a bummer end to a bummer evening.
Look, I know "Idol Gives Back" is an honorable and noble tradition, and it benefits some very worthy charities: the Children's Health Fund, Feeding America, Malaria No More, Save The Children, and the United Nations Foundation (please click links to donate). So I do feel a little guilty panning such a well-intentioned production. And yes, "Idol Gives Back" 2010 had its good moments, like a cheeky Russell Brand/Jonah Hill phone-bank skit claiming "all the Twilights" and other celebrities were backstage taking calls; amusing George Lopez and Wanda Sykes standup routines skewering the show; fiery performances by Elton John, Annie Lennox, Joss Stone with Jeff Beck, and Mary J. Blige doing "Stairway To Heaven" with Travis Barker on drums, Orianthi and Steve Vai on guitar, and "Idol's" own Randy Jackson on bass. (It was the veteran artists who saved the show, since performances by the likes of Black Eyed Peas were total hot messes.) But there were a lot of long and draggy vignettes, not nearly enough musical numbers, and quite a few disconcerting moments--like a random appearance by Octomom, a woman who hasn't exactly done much to alleviate the planet's overpopulation program, or by skinny Victoria Beckham, looking like a Third World famine victim herself as she ironically rambled about the dangers of malnutrition.
Awkward. Maybe this show would have been better if, as Ryan Seacrest oddly joked last week, Brian Dunkleman really had co-hosted.
Parker out.
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