AMERICAN IDOL Recap: How Shocked Were You?

I always get a little nervous when American Idol starts advertising a "shocking" result, and after C.J.'s horrendous performance last night, anyone going home other than him would be a shock. So, I braced myself for the worst tonight.

If NBC ever announces a "shocking" elimination on THE VOICE, chances are pretty good that I won't be nearly as nervous, but I will explain that in a blog post tomorrow morning entitled "VOICE vs. IDOL: Who Wins This Battle Round?" Check back to BroadwayWorld TV Friday morning for that (please)!

The IDOL Powers That Be also announced Thursday night that the Top-5 Week theme will be the Viewer's Choice gimmick that Ryan Seacrest teased a few weeks back. Apparently, much like the competitor's choice last week, each finalist will be given a shortlist of viewer suggested songs and can pick which one they would like to perform. Presumably, the producers have already gone through and handpicked the ones they approve of beforehand. There was no elaboration as to whether both of their songs next week would be viewer's choice or not, but I am guessing that their second song will not be. Maybe they will even be given a theme-free selection next week.

Now onto the results...

Safe (in order of announcement)
Sam Woolf
Caleb Johnson
Jena Irene
Alex Preston

Bottom-Two
C.J. Harris
Jessica Meuse

Eliminated
C.J. Harris

So, apparently IDOL's definition of shocking is "the thing people have been predicting for weeks." As C.J. gave his mostly in-tune farewell performance, JLo cried from the desk and he was joined by the remaining contestants in a group-hug that interrupted the final chorus. No matter what you think of his vocal talent (and I've been as critical as anyone), he genuinely seems like a good guy, and everyone involved with IDOL seems to like him. So, I hope that he is able to succeed in the music business, one way or another. There, now I don't feel as guilty about being as hard on him last night.

As the credits ran, Seacrest announced that Jason Mraz would be mentoring the Top-5 next week. That seems really odd, considering that just yesterday Ryan was inviting him to the show. Also, is it fair that a guy who has gone to coffee with Alex is allowed to mentor this late in the game?

So, were you shocked by the results tonight? Were you even "shocked"? What about Mr. A-Z being next week's mentor? Let me know what you thought in the comments below or hit me up on Twitter @BWWMatt. Remember to stick with BroadwayWorld TV for all of your American Idol info, including my "VOICE vs. IDOL" blog tomorrow morning.