Motown Week had its fair share of ups and downs for the eight remaining American Idol contestants. While the five remaining girls were praised for their powerhouse performances, it was the three guys who buckled under the pressure — and the judges criticism. And after the votes were tallied, it was clear that America agreed. Burnell Taylor, Lazaro Arbos, and Devin Valez all found themselves in the bottom three.
After all was said and done, it was 18-year-old Velez who had to sing for the judges' save. In a smart move, he chose to sing a favorite of judge Mariah Carey, "Somos Novios." The transition from English to Spanish mesmerized the judges in an earlier performance, but it wasn't enough to earn him the save, and Velez was eliminated from the competition.
In an interview after the show, Velez told reporters that his elimination didn't come as a surprise.
"I kind of knew it was going to happen," he said. "Even yesterday, I felt really good about my performance but it's just, in the end there can be only one winner. And everyone has to go home, it's just a certain time. Obviously, today was my time. I think I know who didn't want to put me through [judge Randy Jackson revealed that the decision not to save him 'wasn't unanimous']."
While the young singer didn't name the judge he suspected, it's more than obvious that he was referring to one Nicki Minaj, especially since Carey had tears in her eyes as Velez serenaded the arena.
"She has a lot of girl power. And a lot of girl thoughts — maybe she just wants a girl to win. Just the fact that the girls have been so consistent with their songs and having such higher votes. I mean, the girls are amazing this year and I have nothing bad to say about any of the contestants."
As for Carey's display of emotion, Velez said: "I love Mariah more if that means anything. That's the first time I ever saw Mariah Carey cry."
He also admitted that he had three of the four judges come up to him afterwards.
"I had Keith [Urban] come up first and he gave me this big hug and he was just like, 'Dude, you were great, it was an honor having you on the show.' And coming from Keith, that was awesome. And then I had Randy and Mariah come up, and Randy was just like, 'Dude, I want to keep in contact with you because you are an amazing artist and we would love to work with people like you.' Hearing that from people like Randy, who's been in the business for ages, that's awesome! And then, well Mariah, she was emotional but she said the same exact thing. She said, 'I would love to sometime down your road, do something with you.' And that coming from Mariah -- and she doesn't say that to everyone I will tell you that right now. The hug was so sincere and her tears were not of joy but I got to wipe a few. So I'm not washing this finger and I love Mariah she's such a sweetheart!"
Next week, the Top 7 – Lazaro Arbos, Janelle Arthur, Candice Glover, Kree Harrison, Amber Holcomb, Angie Miller and Burnell Taylor – return to perform for America’s votes on the Classic Rock, No Ballads-themed performance show.
No comments:
Post a Comment