AI OD: A farewell to Asia'h Epperson - VIDEOS

This is the most disappointing elimination yet for me. I really thought Asia'h had the chops to make it all the way to the end, or at least near enough to it. Of course, the passion and emotion of her initial audition was impossible to recapture considering her father had just died then. In my opinion, though, it was her increasingly horrid wardrobe selections that sealed her doom.

The skirt hiked up to her breasts during Top 20 week didn't do anything to flatter her, but it was easily trumped by the horrific pants she wore the very next week. In AOL's interview with Asia'h Epperson she was consistently confident that not only was she good enough to make the Top 12, but feels she would have done well with The Beatles as well. In her opinion, it was the fact that she went first that doomed her.



While I wasn't pleased by this elimination of Asia'h, I understand it. Her outfit here was still a little odd, but far better than she wore the night before. In her swan song performance, though, she definitely proved why vocally she deserves to still be around.:


In looking back at video footage of Hollywood week and other appearances, Asia'h came across as a young, sexy woman who dressed to match. But in those latter two weeks, I have to say that if your outfit is horrifically distracting, it can hurt your appeal and make people forget how good you may have been vocally. American Idol is as much about the image you put forth as it is your singing chops. Asia'h had the latter in spades, but faltered a bit toward her end in both vocal passion and wardrobe selection.

Top 16 Week was the end of the line for Asia'h. I actually thought her vocals were good on this, but the song choice not so much. "Somebody Who Loves Me" wasn't even a great song when Whitney did it as it's not a singer's song. It's a dance track. As such, there wasn't much Asia'h could do to make it memorably and the background singers drowned her out through half of it. Add to that a pair of pants that just fit and looked terrible and you've got a performance that isn't memorable and a look that is for all the wrong reasons.:


She didn't do much better the week before with "All by Myself." She changed up her look dramatically by straightening her hair, but in her attempts to be serious and passionate, she just came across as kind of listless. It was a very dull performance with some odd vocal intonations throughout. Missing was the fun and spunky Asia'h, which is probably why she tried to up the tempo the following week.:


Her Top 24 Week performance was full of spunk and energy. Her outfit was cute and yet it still lacked that something magical. It was one of those performances that was okay but you know the person can do way better. And she can. Unfortunately, she just kind of spiraled downward from here. Still, there were nice moments in all three of her last performances, it just never completely came together in that magical way as her initial audition and Hollywood rounds did.:


What the hell happened to this girl? She had sass and spunk and just owned that audition 100%. Between this and our first look at her she seriously looked like one of the top contenders this season. I wish I knew what happened between Hollywood and the Top 24, but she never was able to recapture these early glories.:


Say what you will about whether or not she should have auditioned after hearing that her father had passed away suddenly, but considering she's said that he shared in this dream of hers, I thought it was a wonderful tribute. And her audition just blew the doors off the place. It was one of the most heartfelt and moving vocal performances I may have ever heard. Even playing it back again now it touched me.:


Expanding on her comments that performance order led to Asiah's elimination over at Reality TV World, she said ""I feel that -- because I had such an upbeat song -- that it wasn't proper for me to be the very first person. I had to look at it as if I was in the audience, and I just sat down. If I would want someone right up in my face, right there in the beginning saying I want to dance with somebody. I'd be, 'Whoa, hold on, I just got here. Let me get warmed up first!'" She even called her mom as soon as she got notice that she would be first and told her she figured that would be her last time on the stage.

Need more American Idol? Get an inside look at Season 7's contestants and think back to these scathing (and hilarious) Simon Cowell quotes. Also: Don't forget to choose your favorite Idol!

In fact, throughout the interview, she never really takes any personal responsibility for her own ouster saying at every turn that she was definitely good enough to keep going on in the competition and that it was merely a fluke of her performing first that sent her home. I don't know if this is the arrogance of youth, or just confidence in her own abilities, but I can see such comments ruffling feathers in the industry.

There's such a thing as personal accountability. Give the public some credit. I don't think she could confidently say that if any of the other seven girls had gone first, then that girl would be the one eliminated. There is more to it than that. As for what she's going to do next, the eliminated Idol hopeful is open to acting and modeling, but always to come first will be music. She's shown amazing passion and performance, albeit inconsistently. She's young and beautiful so options will be there, but she needs to move fast as America is fickle and when you don't make the Top 12, people forget quickly. Still, I agree that Asia'h should have been in there, so maybe that will help her remain memorable for an extra fifteen minutes.

IDOL SEASON 7 FAREWELLS
#15 - Luke Menard
#16 - Kady Malloy
#17 - Robbie Carrico
#18 - Alaina Whitaker
#19 - Alexandrea Lushington
#20 - Jason Yeager
#21 - Colton Berry
#22 - Joanne Borgella
#23 - Amy Davis
#24 - Garrett Haley