This afternoon, I did a strange thing. I retweeted Ryan Seacrest.
But how could I not?
Something happens tonight on Idol that I've never seen happen in all the years… #IdolTwist
– Ryan Seacrest (@RyanSeacrest) May 1, 2014
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I mean… Isn't your interest piqued? Mine sure is.
The problem: What could he possibly be referring to that he could already know about? He could know that tonight's result is shocking, but he couldn't know how anybody might react. So could he just be referring to, I dunno, a particularly brazen Ford commercial? Or somebody random dueling with Keith Urban?
Yup. After Ryan Seacrest's tweet, Thursday's (May 1) “American Idol” results show is sure to be disappointing.
Way to raise expectations, Ryan!
Full live-blog after the break…
9:00 p.m. ET. Carrying over the momentum from his tweet, Ryan Seacrest repeats that something unprecedented is coming and warns us that there is a “shocking twist.”
9:01 p.m. It's going to be a “gamechanger,” Seacrest promises. The Finalists will have to make “a difficult decision.”
9:02 p.m. The Jennifer Lopez Fashion Show is in full effect tonight in a short white number.
9:02 p.m. “Really far,” Harry Connick Jr says, asked how far the Top 5 have come this season. Harry thinks America doesn't know how hard they've worked. They've become “these amazing young professionals,” Harry raves.
9:03 p.m. “This is always interesting,” J-Lo says before we go to last night's post-show dinner. Jena takes her mom to task for how she chose to spell her name, but Jena's mom blames her father. Alex Preston got a selfie with Ariana Grande, but not with Zooey Deschanel. “I think it's gonna come down to just a few votes,” Jena predicts.
9:08 p.m. Ford Commercial! They're having a party. Zzzz. I'm watching the Bruins.
9:09 p.m. J-Lo and Harry are up in the rafters, which means that Keith Urban is about to perform his new single “Good Thing.” It's a decent song and Keith performs it well. Not much to say here. I'm ready to get to something unprecedented, please.
9:18 p.m. That was an ominous Black Screen of Death.
9:18 p.m. Keith Urban made it back to the panel fast. “I just kept thinking, 'He's so cute,'” J-Lo coos. Harry agrees.
9:20 p.m. What did Randy Jackson think about last night's show? “Jena had an amazing night last night. She killed it,” Randy says constructively. He was proud of Alex. He didn't think Jessica had the best of nights, performance-wise, but he likes her voice. Randy thought Sam had an “interesting” night. “He tore the roof off the whole thing,” Randy says of Caleb. Well, I'm glad we got all of those insights from Randy.
9:20 p.m. A proposal! “Tonight, the power is in your hands,” Ryan says. Two choices: They can either send somebody home tonight or send nobody home. If they take the latter choice, they'll face double-elimination next week. They each get a ballot, but it has to be unanimous.
9:22 p.m. They're debating as we go to commercial, but I can't imagine they're going to vote to send anybody home. And that means that Sam and Jessica can go home together next week. I'm fine with that, I suppose.
9:25 p.m. Jeff Probst goes to tally the results: Yes. Yes. [“Yes” votes apparently mean “Keep the group together.” I don't know why that is. Shouldn't “Yes” be “Somebody goes home” and “No” be “Nobody goes home”? Oh, who cares.] Yes. NO. HOLY COW! Somebody voted against saving the Top 5. Wow. And the last vote? It's irrelevant, but it's also “NO.” Somebody is going home.
9:26 p.m. “I'm surprised. Oh! They didn't ask me,” J-Lo says. I'm right there with you.
9:27 p.m. Without any Bottom Two, SAM WOOLF is going home. Now all I want to know is who voted “No.” Because those people are the true heroes.
9:28 p.m. That result is both predictable and acceptable. Fifth is good for Sam Woolf, just as fourth will be good for Jessica next week.
Are you shocked by the result? Are you shocked by the way the Top 5 voted?