It was no great shock to see Judy & Glenn get the boot last night, but it was a big shock that the couple standing beside them was Richard & Wendy, rather than — as everyone expected — Katie & Dave. While I don’t think Richard & Wendy were the best performers this week, I think I’ll have to vote for them, as I don’t want to see them exit before the Newcastle-loving duo.
There’s no denying that Katie’s vocal performance this week was a big improvement on her earlier, dire efforts, but there’s still far too much daylight between her and everybody else, especially with Judy out the door. Sarah also remains hugely enthusiastic, but I suspect there’s only so long that her dodgy notes will be propped up by Guy’s popularity.
Most improved vocally was Kate Richie, undoubtedly helped by the fact that country put Troy right in the middle of his comfort zone. Interestingly, while all the judges praised her demeanour, I thought she had much more of a stunned mullet thing going on than in previous weeks. Michael Bevan also looked a little wooden, though he continues to sing in an acceptable fashion.
Amanda Pellman obviously decided to live up to her pre-show publicity as “super bitch”, awarding a couple of fours and offering brief, nasty comments. This would be more useful if she actually followed them up with some constructive criticism, rather than just trying to make jokes (which James Valentine is better at anyway).
Part of the problem, of course, is that the show still can’t quite settle on a rhythm for offering up judges. Dancing With The Stars always alternated between pairs of judges, while Australian Idol consistently proffers comments from everyone. It Takes Two alternates between both models, which doesn’t seem fair on the contestants. More importantly, it doesn’t make for particularly good viewing.
Random notes: