BWW Recaps: IDOL Says Goodbye to Early Favorite with Pictures

For the first time that I can remember, AMERICAN IDOL's Elimination Show was a jam-packed 30 minutes this week. The shortened episode was necessitated by the series premiere of Christopher Meloni's new sitcom, SURVIVING JACK.

This change is something that I am sure most IDOL fans will appreciate. For 12 seasons, we have been sitting through an entire hour of Ryan Seacrest's stalling for about 45 seconds of actual results. With shows like DANCING WITH THE STARS and So You Think You Can Dance losing their results shows, this compact approach is a much appreciated compromise (Hopefully this will be successful, and FOX will give Uncle Nigel Lythgoe 30 minutes for a proper SYTYCD elimination episode).

The uber-cool Janelle Monáe performed her single "What Is Love" from the animated movie RIO 2 on the show tonight. Her performance was complete with Brazilian flags, Carnival costumes, and dancers dressed like French mimes. While she got a bit winded halfway through, I applaud her for singing live after the "I Luh Ya Papi" fiasco last week.

Now onto the results: Whether because of the abbreviated timeslot, or just to spice it up a little, Ryan revealed the contestants moving on via the big board tonight.

Safe (in order of announcement)
Jena Irene
Malaya Watson
Alex Preston
Jessica Meuse
Caleb Johnson
Dexter Roberts

Bottom Three
(Exactly as I predicted, BTW!)
CJ Harris
Majesty Rose
Sam Woolf

Eliminated
Majesty Rose

I've been saying for weeks that if she was the bottom vote giver, Majesty would earn the save. However, after being in the Bottom Three for three straight weeks and a 100% sharp final performance, it was clear that the judges couldn't use their only save of the season on her.

That being said, how she approached her save song and elimination really showed what a genuinely likeable person she is. A month ago, I thought that she was a frontrunner in the competition, but after the disaster that was her "Let It Go," it was all downhill from there. Perhaps we need to add Idina Menzel to the Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, and Kelly Clarkson list of singers never to cover.

So, did the right contestant go home tonight? Who is your frontrunner at this point in the competition? Let me know in the comments below, or tweet me @BWWMatt.