May 7, 2008 9:18 PM

The sheriff shoots back

After mangling Bob Marley's I Shot the Sheriff during a performance Tuesday night, 20-year-old Jason Castro found himself taking a critical bullet Wednesday when 51 million American Idol votes left him on the losing end.
Or maybe it was the ghost of Bob Marley exacting a little revenge. (No word on whether Bob Dylan was in the parking lot with a baseball bat. How dare the kid forget the words to Mr. Tambourine Man.)
Castro has had a love affair with viewers and judges for much of the show, although he seemed to run out of gas Tuesday. When he heard his name announced Wednesday, he almost seemed relieved to be out of the musical rat race. (He'll still be on tour with the gang this summer.)
His depature leaves only three contenders for the top spot, which will be announced on May 21.
Host Ryan Seacrest announced that the remaining three singers -- David Archuleta, David Cook and Syesha Mercado -- all finished within 1 million votes of each other.
Perhaps ironically,Wednesday show lacked the suspense of recent weeks, when Michael Johns and Brooke White have been kicked to the curb in dramatic fashion. You could see Castro's exit coming a mile away.
The show featured a video of the Idol finalists traveling to Las Vegas for a performance of Cirque Du Soleil's Beatles musical Love.
It also featured performances by season 4 runner-up Bo Bice and by Maroon 5, who sang their latest single If I Never See Your Face Again.
And, of course, there were the viewer questions. It was a nice addition this year, but do they have to take insipid inquiries every week? ("Has Simon Cowell done any acting? He should consider being the next James Bond!" More like Ernst Blofeld.)
Next week we'll have footage of the remaining singers returning to their home towns. Last year's homecoming segment was tremendously emotional.
By the way, a Fox promo tells us that past Idol finalist (and Boulder native) Ace Young gets beheaded on Monday night's episode of Bones.

Posted by Mike Pearson at 9:18 PM | Comments (1)