Honestly! Why is everybody so shocked that Pia Toscano was eliminated from “American Idol” during the “Top 9 Results Night”? I wasn’t. Short of sounding a little harsh, I’ve always felt that Pia did not “connect” to the audience. That was why I was so surprised that the judges go overboard when they praised her – week after week. It was beginning to sound rather nauseating. Honestly, no offence to Pia. She is beautiful. She sings well and she’ll probably become a professional singer. But… and it’s a BIG “but”, it would probably not be on a pop stage. She looks and sounds too old-fashioned for that.

She has the elegance and grace of someone who’d look more at ease on an opera stage. It’s a pity that she does not possess a voice to match. But anyhow, I think her singing style should fall under the genre that best suits her. What that is I really can’t tell but she seems to be in the wrong era.

Picture her decades ago – with those looks and voice, she could have been a “movie star”. But on today’s scene, I don’t think so. She’s just not “hip” enough.

Take an earlier season winner Jordin Sparks. I rooted for her then when she sang all those old ballads because I’m just a sucker for tunes from “yesteryears”. The advantage she had was that she “looked” and “acted” young and she could also switch to up tempo tunes in a sec. It was obvious then that Jordin was in her element in both worlds and on top of that, she exudes all the sweetness and natural charm (a highly-rated “likeability” factor) which probably garnered her all those votes which propelled her all the way to the finishing line.

But what was basically most important was that Jordin Sparks had a beautiful voice that was extremely “heartfelt” and she definitely “connected” to her audience. Every single time she appeared, I was completely mesmerised by her singing. And none of the female contestants since then have had that same quality or created such an impact. To be able to reach out to all those who listen, regardless of age or gender is something that not every singer possesses. The Idol “wannabes” ought to remember that.

Back to Pia. Maybe she could

be in a movie with a romantic theme but of course she has to loosen up a little and lose that rigid persona. Throw some emotions around and she’ll have it made. But if she goes the music route, she’ll have to find the music genre that best suits her but then again, whether or not she’ll be successful commercially is another story altogether. She may have the looks and the voice but whether her image is “marketable” is another thing.

Many of her fans were pretty mad about the outcome of this week’s “American Idol” results especially since Pia was never in the Bottom 3 before. I myself did not expect her to be eliminated that soon as there were other contestants who were still not displaying a consistent performance each week. But the problem was that this season had a different batch of contenders this time round – all unique and quirky in their own way, more so in some than in others – unlike previous seasons. Pia had always been the “outsider” from what I’ve seen so that really comes to no surprise that the audience don’t really relate to her. The funny thing though is that in every single week, there’s this false impression given that Pia was actually still high up on the popularity chart.

But to be fair, I think the voting system really sucks! They ought to limit 1 vote to 1 person. That way, we’ll be able to see if the contestants truly deserved the votes unlike the current situation whereby overly-passionate, obsessed fans might have been responsible for the inaccurate results.

Imagine this scenario. If 1 fan votes a hundred times for a contestant, it doesn’t mean he/she is going to purchase 100 of the eventual winner’s cd’s in the real world, right? It’s just a “frenzy” created during the competition, any competition in fact. However, logically-speaking, the same obsessed fan might attend 100 concerts of the eventual winner. So the powers-that-be are probably weighing these 2 scenarios. Which is the best financial route to take when organising such competitions? Decisions, decisions…

Anyway if we think “reality”, the last 3 “American Idol” winners were not commercially successful even though they received the most votes during the competition. So in dollars and cents, it was not a true picture of what the voting American public likes. That’s the “real” reality for you!! Time to change the system. Hello “American Idol” top brass, are you listening??