Posted on 4/16/2008 2:33:29 PM

Entertainment Betting - American Idol Odds – 7 Hopeful Idols

By Mike Rose

Shockwaves blasted throughout American Idol last week for entertainment betting enthusiasts when Michael Johns was shockingly voted off the show. With his dismissal, David Archuleta’s odds to win it all increased to –150 and the girls now outnumber the boys by a 4:3 count. Congrats to those that had the intestinal fortitude to snag Johns up at +650 for the nice payday. We were correct with the bottom three, but lost a unit on Carly Smithson as she somehow received more votes than that of Johns.

I have to admit; it was rough sitting through this weeks show considering it was Mariah Carey week. The girl’s uber talented and has serious pipes, but she’s not my cup of tea so I wasn’t really familiar with most of the songs.

It only made perfect sense to have one of the males kick Mariah week off, and David Archuleta seemed to put forth an impressive version of “When You Believe” that had all the judges raving about the performance. David’s offering the largest payout this week at +6500 to go, but don’t count on it. He’ll be one of the remaining three contestants left this season, if not the last.

Next up was Carly Smithson who I believe is singing on borrowed time, but she looked a lot better and her cover of “Without You” was actually pretty good. The judges all wanted her to trust herself since it seemed like she was holding back. Simon didn’t think she pulled it off though she’s fully capable of doing so. Could be another bottom three performance, but it was better than the last couple weeks.

The one thing I took away from Syesha Mercado’s cover of “Vanishing” was that she can flat out howl. She’s attempted to take on the divas in a number of her earlier performances, and tonight was no different. Paula thought her performance was magical, while Randy and Simon weren’t as impressed. Simon also questioned her singing a song not many are familiar with. She could find herself in the bottom three once again this week.

Brooke White next took the stage and put forth what I thought to be her absolute worst performance of the competition. She was singing faster than she could play the piano, and she looked noticeably frustrated with how the entire performance went. Paula mentioned not to let anything speed her up, while Simon compared the performance to ordering a hamburger and getting nothing but the bun. Whatever that means. I personally think Brooke is in big trouble here since this was a complete botch of a performance. At +650 to exit stage left, I have to take a stab.

Kristy Lee Cook has gotten better at this with every passing week. That said, she’s the odds on favorite to get the boot this week at –110. She blew Paula away with her version of “Forever” and Randy really liked the second half of the song. She gave Mariah goose bumps when she performed the song for her, but she failed to give Simon the chills who thought it wasn’t great and whiny at times. Kristy’s the looker of all the girls, but she might find herself back in the bottom three after avoiding it last week.

David Cook’s version of “Always Be My Baby” was pretty sweet in that he made it his own once again. Randy can’t wait to make an album with him, and Paula thinks he’s it. Simon thought it was highly original and very daring. David’s going nowhere this week, and I recommend buying as much Cook as you can to win it all at +225. I could have done without him crying after hearing the judges though. It came of as being extremely cheesy!

Jason Castro ended the show with his own little version of “I Don’t Wanna Cry” that actually sounded pretty good. I’m not a big fan of this guy, but the ladies love him and that should be enough for him to survive yet another round.

The boys were leaps and bounds better than the girls tonight, and I’d be flat out shocked to see any of them in the bottom three this week. Look for Brooke White, Carly Smithson, and either Kristy Lee Cook or Syesha Mercado to be in the bottom three when it’s all said and done. It’s real simple here folks, either the big dog (White) or the favorite (KL Cook) are getting voted off this week. Brooke because her act has been boring forever and this week’s performance was pitiful, or Cook because the odds will have caught up to her after being favored to lose for five straight weeks.

BetUS.com American Idol Odds to win it all:

David Archuleta –150

David Cook +225

Carly Smithson +900

Jason Castro +1000

Brooke White +1200

Syesha Mercado +2000

Kristy Lee Cook +2000

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