Scottie's body of work likely complete on Idol

Admit it, you’ve asked the question. I know I have. And judging by the message boards, tens of millions of Americans have wondered the same thing. Tonight on American Idol, Simon Cowell gave a voice to us all when he said what we’re all thinking:

How has Scott Savol lasted this long in the competition?

Call it the blessing of low expectations. When we first met Scott in the Cleveland auditions, no one imagined a voice like his would emerge from a 250-pound sedative. Once he reached Hollywood, everyone expected him to slip up. He didn’t, which landed him in America’s lap. And each step of the way since, the millions of voters who have chosen someone else have been baffled by Scott’s evasion of elimination.

If callers voted for who they wanted to boot off, Scott would have been sent packing ages ago. But that’s not the way it works. A series of solid early performances helped bolster a fan base that no doubt is rooting for the underdog, no matter how odious and unappealing he may be.

But Scott’s in a catch-22. The longer he stays alive, the more the expectations rise and the less of an underdog he is. All of a sudden, he finds himself being judged solely on how his performances match up with the shrinking pool of contestants, all of whom are eminently more likeable than the big boy from Ohio.

Scott’s exit has been in the cards for weeks. But with this week’s theme being ’70s dance hits (c’mon, Scott Savol and disco?), is it possible he could surprise us once more?

Much was made of CONSTANTINE MAROULIS’s decision to quit his band to pursue stardom via American Idol. We even got to be there with him when he broke the news to his bandmates (and what a dramatic moment that was – as dramatic as a blatantly staged performance can be, anyway). While his continued run on the show has immensely heightened the profile of Pray for the Soul of Betty, the remaining band members had to gag as they watched their former ringleader sing the Bee Gees’ “Nights on Broadway.”

But those hard rockers might have been the only ones (other than Simon) who didn’t enjoy a very solid effort by Constantine. A week ago, Paula proclaimed him as the one to beat (making him at least the fourth clearly identified favorite during the last two months). While I thought that was premature, it is clear now that Constantine can win the competition. He has picked up steam with each passing week.

And confidence. He appears completely comfortable on stage, much more so than earlier in the competition. And his vocal performances are catching up with his charisma, which kept him alive through some of his weaker efforts. He is one of only two contestants who has yet to make an appearance in the bottom three, and he’ll easily avoid that mess again this week.

CARRIE UNDERWOOD is the only other contestant who has escaped the wrath of the voters, though she herself wondered aloud if her luck would turn with this week’s theme. True, she may not know much about ’70s dance music, but she’s certainly become a master at the adorable intro clip. She rightfully took some flak from Simon about her outfit – what she wore on the dance floor during that intro would have been far more appealing.

She sang “MacArthur Park” by Donna Summer. I’d love to get ahold of the list of available songs, because it would seem as though there would be any number of other Donna Summer songs that would have been a better choice. But it did once again allow her to showcase her chops, which is the trump card she holds over most of her competitors. It actually wasn’t her strongest vocal performance, especially at the beginning, though she was enthralling at the end – belting out the penultimate note for more than 10 seconds, with an eight-second encore.

But for as big a voice as Carrie trots out, she brings so little energy to her performances. She just isn’t a whole lot of fun on stage, once you look past the eye candy bit. Tonight, she was flat and dull, and based on the gusto of the other Idols, it may lead to her first trip to the bottom three. That’s the worst that could happen, though, as she may have the largest fan base out there, which will certainly quell any fears of elimination.

SCOTT SAVOL followed his mama’s advice by picking Carl Carlton’s “Everlasting Love.” For the second straight week, Scottie flashed a few glimpses of personality – predicting during the show’s opening that “Nobody’s going to be able to keep up with me,” and exhorting the crowd to get into his performance.

He added some gruffness to his voice in spots, which I liked, but it seemed like he was holding back through most of the song. It wasn’t until near the end that he really allowed himself to get into his own act, and only then did his talent finally shine through. But he needed to summon up a great performance from start to finish, and this wasn’t that. It was completely non-descript to begin with, and it only built itself up as far as good – not great.

Scott’s a clear candidate to wind up back in the bottom three for the third straight week, though for his critics, the third time might finally be the charm.

ANTHONY FEDOROV promised to shake his boo-tay during “Don’t Take Away the Music” by Tavares. He didn’t deliver on that promise (thank goodness), but he did ramp up his effort once again and provided enough of a reason to keep him around for another week.

The lone remaining teenager in the competition certainly has a wonderful voice, but he has yet to learn how to completely harness it. That has been evident in some of his previous dreadful showings. But he was in control tonight, and save for one or two high notes that he didn’t quite hit, he sounded quite good.

He also avoided the trap that several of the men (himself included) have fallen into this season – trying to cover up an uneasy act with a few big notes at the end. Anthony spread his big notes around all over the song, and it was his best performance in weeks. Due to the talent that he’s up against, though, it still probably won’t be enough to save him from another trip to the bottom three.

VONZELL SOLOMON cheated a bit with her selection of “I’m Every Woman” by Chaka Kahn. Vonzell was born in 1984, long after Chaka’s song came out. However, she was no doubt amongst the many young girls who fell in love with the cover that Whitney Houston recorded for They Bodyguard soundtrack.

Vonzell, who has already done Whitney and done it well, wasn’t as impressive tonight. She was still electric, and was still one of the night’s best. But there were some problems. When she sang soft and low, it wasn’t wow-worthy. She struggled with some transitions. And her backup singers were mic’ed up way too much, as it was sometimes hard to hear Vonzell over them.

But you heard her when she screamed, and when she unleashes the power in her voice, she’s a star. She’ll comfortably move on to the next week, and may even be in the process of supplanting Carrie as the girl to beat.

ANWAR ROBINSON turned back the clock to “September” by Earth Wind & Fire. He has apparently taken some of Simon’s criticisms to heart, as he was careful not to neglect the beginning part of his song tonight. He started off well, and once again stayed true to form by stretching his vocal chords spectacularly at the finish. (However, the leadup to his ending blitz was a bit rough; lucky for him, that’s real easy for voters to forget).

Anwar does not have the stage presence of either of the other shaggy men, but he clearly had fun in front of the audience tonight. That can only help.

He’ll go on for another week, but he may have to sweat out another bottom-three ordeal first. He outsang Carrie tonight, but the country girl’s anthology of past performances might nudge her ahead of Anwar, which could drop him into the dreaded trio.

BO BICE went with “Vehicle” by The Ides of March. In his intro clip, he admitted to being a horrendous dancer, someone who would rather stay off the dance floor himself and instead play music to make others move around. Yet the song he picked wasn’t really the type to draw a crowd under the disco ball.

Didn’t matter – Bo had his best showing in several weeks. Trapped by some unfriendly themes and some questionable song choices, he finally was able to return to that rough, husky rock sound that is his specialty. Simon called it the “only authentically good performance” of the night. It may not have been the most dazzling overall, but as Randy alluded to, Bo definitely offered up the best pure audio effort.

His bottom-three scare from last week won’t be repeated; Bo will easily sail through to next week.

So should Constantine and Vonzell. Carrie and Anwar will as well, though one of the two of them will likely have to wait an extra few minutes tomorrow night to find out. Once again, the two most anxious Idols figure to be Scott and Anthony.

By the end of the results show, Simon won’t have to be confused anymore. Scott’s loyal legion of fans may be disappointed, but the rest of the show’s viewers will finally get what they’ve wanted for weeks.