Posted on 4/30/2008 5:03:42 PM

Entertainment Betting - American Idol – 5 Hopeful Idols

By Mike Rose

Unfortunately, American Idol turned into an online betting popularity contest last week instead of a singing competition. What I believed to be two of the best performances on Andrew Lloyd Weber night ended up being bottom two worthy, while the pair I had selected to be in the bottom two never even broke a sweat. That’s just not right, and Carly Smithson by no means deserved to get booted after her performance of “Jesus Christ Superstar”. Syesha Mercado’s performance was one of the best of the night, yet, the voting public didn’t think much of it and she avoided elimination after Ryan Seacrest stated she was safe. Brooke White was once again lucky to survive after her snafu at the beginning of her performance, and Jason Castro seemingly got by on his goofy looks as well. This week each contestant was asked to perform a pair of Neil Diamond tunes.

The funky looking Jason Castro kicked things off with a less than impressive version of “Forever in Blue Jeans”. This type of song is where this ked excels; yet I came away unimpressed with it. He just doesn’t have the vocal range for his version of the song to make an impact on you. Randy thought it was just ok, while Paula loved his low register; meaning he couldn’t get high enough to pull of the song. Simon thought it was forgettable, and I agree there. His second tune was a very boring rendition of “September Mourn”. Randy thought it was just another ok whatever performance, while Paula thought it was safe. Simon didn’t like it at all, and state “The Jason that’s taken the stage the last two weeks is not the one we put into the competition…. sorry!!” Castro’s odds have plummeted significantly throughout the last three weeks, and I believe he’s been performing on borrowed time. Of the five remaining contestants, he offers the least of what the producers of this show are looking for. They want someone with a big voice that can sell a ton of records. Castro’s “whatever” approach to the competition will finally catch up to him tonight, and we will cash our +210 tickets in the process.

Syesha Mercado put forth one great and one just good performance, but the favorite to leave at –110 should survive another week. This girl is drop dead gorgeous, and her actress/singer talent that’s come about the last couple weeks might just allow her to be the last female standing in this competition.

Brooke White was awful with her first performance, but simply perfect in her second. This girl has got tons of talent, but she really needs to stick with the slower piano ballads then try to fool us by rocking out. She only offers up a +120return to get booted off tonight, but I expect her to stick.

There’s no real point in dissecting both of the David’s performances. These two are the front-runners with Cook a +100 choice to win it all and Archuleta the –140 favorite. The next three eliminations will get rid of Mercado, White, and Castro so the David’s can square off against one another like the odds have suggested.

In closing, both the David’s will be safe this week and it will be Mercado, Castro, or White that goes. I believe Castro goes tonight simply because he’s sucked the last three weeks, and has brought absolutely nothing new to the table whereas Mercado and White have put forth some decent performances. On a side note, Paula Abdul really needs to stop getting so lit before the live shows. What she did last night by thinking someone sang twice was inexcusable, and it wouldn’t be shocking if she was let go next season to bring in a fresh/sober perspective.

BetUS.com American Idol Odds to win it all:

David Archuleta -140

David Cook +100

Jason Castro +2000

Brooke White +2500

Syesha Mercado +2500

For Other American Idol Betting Articles Click Here!

Additional sports and entertainment odds can be found in the BetUS.com Sportsbook, in Futures/props, under Entertainment Props.