By Darren Johnson
Campus News
Gee, I never thought this TV show Vegas bookmaking gig would actually take off. I’m now into Week Three of making the odds for “American Idol.” So far, my skills have proven quite valuable, as I kicked butt with predicting “Prince Week” and “Disney Week.”
Next week, they will have “AI” alum Carrie Underwood leading the show, so I am taking that into consideration for making the odds for the 5/13 Sunday at 8 p.m EST/5 p.m. PST show.
Last night, “Prince Week” proved tough for some contestants. Catie Turner had an off night, forgetting lyrics to “Manic Monday.” Who knew that was even a Prince song? As I had predicted, she wasn’t a solid bet and was voted off the show along with Jurnee.
On “Live With Kelly and Ryan” this morning (How does Ryan Seacrest do all these coast-to-coast jobs? Holy cow!), Seacrest said that only a handful of votes separated the winners from the losers, so Turner forgetting some lyrics to that poor-choice-of-a-song surely did her in. Jurnee was a bit boring.
Here is the press release on Underwood’s appearance next week, and another that says that the current judges will be back next year (they are doing a great job, so deserve it — congrats)! I can’t figure out if the show will release one or two contestants next week. But that doesn’t matter, as far as my Vegas odds go — these betting numbers are to determine who will win it all!
Here are the odds for this coming week:
Maddie Poppe (100k Instagram followers, an increase of 41k over the past two weeks), 2:1. I’m putting her back into the No. 1 spot to win it all. Her style is compatible with Underwood’s, her rendition of “Nothing Compares 2 U” was excellent and that she can play guitar, ukulele and piano shows she’s the real deal musically. She has also shown solid social media growth, indicating voter interest.
Caleb Lee Hutchinson (126k, 41k increase), 7:2. I’m moving this guy to No. 2 in the odds. Sorry Cade Foehner fans. He was solid last night, and has had decent social media growth. I still think he’s a bit one-dimensional, but a likeable personality goes a long way.
Gabby Barrett (203k, 56k increase), 4:1. I’ve listed this 18-year-old as having the most potential in this bunch, and her social media numbers prove the interest is there. She can steal the top spot from Poppe with a powerful showing this week.
Cade Foehner (152k, 52k increase), 8:1. You’d figure Prince — who actually could play electric guitar and rock — would be the perfect person for Foehner to pay homage to. But the guy appeared just to be a rock-and-roll pretender last night. Booo! You suck!
Michael J. Woodard (73k, 31k increase), 20:1. I wonder if this guy is benefiting from the goof vote — similar to how, in 2007, popular SiriusXM radio personality Howard Stern of “The Howard Stern Show” helped influence the vote by encouraging his listeners to vote for off-key Sanjaya as a gag. Or Russian bots? His rendition of the “Titanic” song “My Heart Will Go On” was laugh-out-loud cringe-worthy.
Well, that’s that for now. These are for “entertainment purposes only” — don’t call your bookie! Let me know what you think in the comments below.
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