Seriously, wtf happened? I'm of two minds on this seriously surprising elimination. First, what they want us to believe: Colton bobbled this week. He sang two bad-fit songs (well, I thought "September" was a better fit than the judges) and didn't sing them all that well and so people didn't feel compelled to vote for him, figured him safe anyway so why not throw this week's support behind someone else, and enough people did that that Colty boy ended up a bottom when he'd never bottomed before. We've seen this happen in the past, with Chris Daughtry of course and others before and since him. This old show does still pack a few surprises, the unexpected still occasionally occurs. Colton perhaps flew too close to the sun. Maybe there was hubris not just on his part, but on the fans' as well. Maybe everyone just got too comfortable and Colton paid the ultimate price for it. Maybe that's what happened.
Or, maybe that's bullsh-t. Maybe this show is pulling some super strings. Let's say they want a girl to win, they want Jessica Sanchez to be their prize princess. What do they do to ensure that? They scare everyone into voting for her and then, whammy, when everyone's still reeling from that they eliminate the guy favorite. Maybe this is partly me just covering my own ass because I had him going all the way in my bracket, but part of me just does not believe that Elise, after one boring and one unpleasant performance on Wednesday night, got more votes than Colton Dixon did. I'm sorry, I just do not believe that. I smell conspiracy, I sense deceit. Maybe they made some deal with him, said hey champ we gotta get rid of you but here's this this and this in return. Maybe that's what happened to our buddy boy. I can almost picture the meeting, a dark office somewhere, a few murmured words, a shaking of hands, a pat on the back, some suit saying "This'll all work out, you'll see. It's the best thing, it's the best thing for everyone." I believe that such sinister deals go down in H-town all the time. It's showbiz, after all. America's most evil profession.
Though, a few things poke holes in this theory. Mainly, why, if they were going to do it, would they do it now? Why not just have him go all the way to the top 2 and then have the girl of their choice win? If Colton was as popular as he seemed to be, wouldn't his continued presence on the show mean slightly sturdier ratings? And TV people love them some ratings! Knocking him off in seventh place doesn't really do anyone any good. I suppose they might have simply wanted a few more weeks to really bolster the girls' singing profiles, and Colton was a distraction from that, but I don't know. If there's some grand plot being orchestrated here, whoever is doing the orchestrating isn't that good at it. But still, I think it could be a conspiracy. It could be an elaborate ruse.