American Idol Top 10: Erika Van Pelt and Lana Del Rey underperform

In the past two weeks, American Idol has eliminated two of its weaker contestants, Shannon Magrane last week and Erika Van Pelt last night. While we're sad to see them go (kind of), what we'd really like to see eliminated is the strange choice of music themes from week to...

By Cory Lamz

March 23, 2012

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In the past two weeks, American Idol has eliminated two of its weaker contestants, Shannon Magrane last week and Erika Van Pelt last night. While we're sad to see them go (kind of), what we'd really like to see eliminated is the strange choice of music themes from week to week. A Billy Joel week(really, Idol producers?), and with Diddy as a weekly mentor, no less.

Alas, Van Pelt did the best she could with what she was given. Her performance of "New York State Of Mind" may have fared poorly compared to Phillip Phillips' performance of "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" but at least Deandre Brackensick's "Only The Good Die Young" forced the seemingly untouchable singer into the bottom three, too.

Things were all made a bit more uncomfortable last night when Lana Del Rey performed "Video Games." Actually, she didn't perform it last night. The performance was pre-taped -- which made it all the more awkward. Performance quality and Saturday Night Live past aside, Del Rey was not good. For what is supposed to be a live show, airing a pre-taped performance and billing it as a live one isn't just misleading, it's disingenuous.

If this kind of thing continues on Idol, perhaps it's best to be eliminated anyway. Consider yourselves lucky, Shannon Magrane and Erika Van Pelt.

American Idol returns on Wednesday, when contestants will perform songs by their personal idols. Surely someone will sing Adele.

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