After weeks of being annoyed by questionable golden ticket winners, now American Idol critics are concerned about someone who lost. When Jessika Baier auditioned in Puerto Rico, Simon Cowell gave the veteran singing contest competitor one of his harshest verdicts yet, refusing to let her sing a second song or even hear constructive criticism from the other judges (“just go ‘yes’ or ‘no’!”).
That was absolutely awful, I mean, not only that, I just can’t believe that you won all these shows. This is ridiculous…I will never ask you to sing anything. The singing, the jumping up and down, none of its working…Jessika, I can swim, but I’m not going to win ten Olympic medals at the Olympic games!
While her take on Celine Dion‘s “I Surrender” was flawed, Simon’s offense at her very presence was pretty striking in contrast to his treatment of “Bikini Girl” Katrina Darrell. Why was he so pissed off? Paula Abdul suggested Baier “take the constructive criticism” (Simon: “she won’t“), so did the editors only make it look like Simon refused to let them speak? If Baier plays up the sympathy, missing out on Idol may have been the best thing to happen to her career.
Check out a video of Baier singing “I Surrender” in full at another talent competition after the jump.
Should she have been given a second chance or was Simon telling her what she’s been needing to hear?
