Wow. Did you survive that tension on Wednesday's live episode of American Idol when Harry Connick Jr. and contestant Quentin Alexander clashed over some comments that Quentin made post performance about the Idol process of elimination? This is why live TV is so amazing. When things like this happen, the idea of devoting hours upon hours to a Ryan Seacrest-led show suddenly becomes so worth it. By now, the dust has settled and emotions have returned to a normal flatline for Idol fans. Quentin addressed the Idol moment on Twitter, but so far Connick Jr. hasn't responded regarding the moment, which makes me wonder if he will ever address it.
The clash itself seemed to be a combination of bad timing and assumptions. After performing his rendition of Lenny Kravitz's "Are You Gonna Go My Way," Seacrest asked Quentin what was going through his head. It's then when Quentin explained how the situation sucked. "We've got two of the best vocalists, my best friend, sitting over there, this whole thing is wack, but I'm going to shut up right now."
That didn't sit well with Connick Jr. Here's what he said — on air — in response to Quentin's "wack" comment.
Quentin, if it's that wack, then you can always go home, because Idol is paying a lot of money to give you this experience and for you to say that to this hand that is feeding you right now, I think is highly disrespectful.
Quentin explained himself to the judges, saying that the situation that has his two friends being put in the bottom was wack, but Connick Jr. still argued that that's how a competition works. People have to go home.
I get where each party is coming from. Connick Jr. wants to make sure that Quentin is appreciating this opportunity he has on Idol, and Quentin's comments could come off in a way of not being thankful. But I really think that it was obvious Quentin didn't mean any harm by the comments. Quentin had become close with Joey Cook and Rayvon Owen — the bottom two — so knowing that one of them was going to go home, yeah, that situation sucks. Let's not read too much into this, HCJr.
If Quentin was actually making a stab at the show — which I don't know why he would, it is the hand that feeds him, as Connick Jr. said — then I think Connick Jr.'s comments are completely warranted. But because it seemed like Quentin was coming from a place of emotional distress about one of his friends leaving, I don't think Connick Jr.'s comments were needed. If he misunderstood the situation, and realizes his mistake now, then maybe he should say something.
Connick Jr. hasn't said anything about the clash on social media yet, but I certainly think he needs to. Although the deed is done, Connick Jr. put Quentin on blast, LIVE, and that could potentially hurt Quentin's future on the show. While I would hope people wouldn't let the moment affect their voting — again, I don't think Quentin meant anything bad by it — Connick Jr. has a lot of power and a lot of fans. His take on the situation could lead some to flip their loyalties if they were as offended by Quentin's comments as much as Connick Jr. was.
Images: Michael Becker/FOX
