Tonight on American Idol 2013 the wildcard picks are expected to come in to play during the results show and up the finalists count from ten to either eleven or twelve total singers.
Update: Wildcard details were revealed on tonight’s results show. No one will be added to the Top 10 list, but the 6th placing guy and girl will face off next week for the 11th spot on the summer tour.
Earlier in the preseason we heard from Nigel Lythgoe that he was tired of these inflated finalists groups and we wouldn’t be seeing that repeat this year.
Don’t expect a wild-card pick this time around, Lythgoe says. Once they narrow the field to 10 singers — five women, five men — the show will have its finalists.
“I’ve never liked a Top 11 or a Top 12 or a Top 13,” he says. “It was always created in order to fill the transmission times Fox wanted.
“We’ve never found a way to do it with everything that has been asked of us. This year, we have.”
Sure, that sounds convincing until you hear the very same person hinting that wildcards would be “up to FOX & judges.” Stack on top of that judge Randy Jackson’s comment on Wednesday that there was just too much talent to be contained in just five seats for those ladies. Sure seems like American Idol 2013 is setting itself up for some wildcard action tonight.
If there are wildcards then I wouldn’t be surprised for it to just be available for one singer. That would let production stack the deck even stronger against the guys in their pursuit of a female winner after so many years of boys winning the crown.
So who might earn that wildcard? I’ve predicted the top 5 girls would be Angela Miller, Kree Harrison, Candice Glover, Amber Holcomb, and Janelle Arthur, leaving Aubrey Cleland in the sixth seat. In that case I’d expect Aubrey to earn the second chance at Idol. The other four girls, Adriana, Breanna, Tenna, and Zoanette just don’t seem to be likely options.
Now if there is a second wildcard then we’ll get an extra guy and in that case I’d expect it to be Charlie Askew. Charlie was a quirky, but rising star in the competition even though I didn’t see him getting to the finale. Last night he brought that streak to a close in grand fashion. That’s just the sort of style production loves and will want to have a second chance at airing farther down the road. Sorry, to the other four guys, but you don’t bring the same level of viewer interest that Charlie will generate, so you’re going to miss out.
Then again, production might really stack the deck in the ladies’ favor and give two wildcards to the ladies and none to the guys. Hah! That’d be hilarious and totally plausible. We shall see.
What do you think will happen with tonight’s American Idol 2013 Top 10 reveal? Will production play the wild cards or will we end the night with a Top 10 finalists set? Share your thoughts below.