May 14, 2012 
Last week, the little engine that could, Hollie Cavanagh, was eliminated from American Idol Season 11.
We all knew it was coming but all her fans were hoping beyond hope that the inevitable elimination wouldn’t come to pass.
But, we know how this show works. It is pre-determined from the get-go, despite what the producers and judges want you to believe.
And, as time moved forward, we could plainly see the direction the show was taking.
Last season, I said from Day One that the Top 2 would be Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina, contrary to what many said would never happen. But it was very evident from the early stages of this competition; a heavy amount of video footage was allotted to both Lauren and Scotty.
This season, the producers were tricky. Hardly any air time was allotted to the the front-runners, making us believe that there were no clear favorites going into this competition.
However, once the live shows began, the pimping began unlike anything I have ever seen on this show.
However, our little Hollie was upsetting the apple cart with her fighting instinct and drive to perfection. Given her past emotional history with Idol, the producers probably figured that she would pose little threat to the chosen ones this season.
But, she proved them wrong and managed to come out fighting every week until she was finally eliminated at the Top 4 level.
Recently, Hollie appeared on the Tonight Show With Jay Leno. I watch Jay on a regular basis and he was clearly enamored with this young lady. She performed extremely well and, when stripped of all the pressures she was accustomed to during American Idol, was a joy to behold.
What a vocal gift this young singer has and all wrapped up in that sweet, lovable face! She is definitely an MCL keeper. I intend to watch her closely and root for her career to keep soaring until the cows come home!
Congratulations Hollie and best of luck on the tour and beyond!
Masterclass Lady On MySpace.Com
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MasterClassLady.Com 
Thank you for honoring Hollie. I agree with your comments, and appreciated the weekly support she received from viewers such as myself, in spite of the lack of interest in her from the judges. I have watched American Idol for years but am just so tired of the judging, this show has little to do with talent.
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That’s a beautiful tribute to Hollie, MCL. Thank you SO much!!! She is truly a sweetheart and one of my favorite Idol contestants ever!
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Thank you Louise! A family member who never watches Idol saw her on the Jay Leno show and was very impressed. He didn’t “get” her elimination. No one does! Haha!
MaryLee – it is my pleasure to support Hollie. She is a role model in so many ways for young artists. Super talented, very humble and loaded with an unassuming, genuine personality.
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Thank You MCL, That was a great way to see her off of American Idol. Best wishes to her!
Did you hear the interview of JLo on The Johnjay & Rich morning show? She was given 5 seconds to come up with a name of a top 12 contestant she would sign if she owned a record label. Go ahead listen to the first name she came up with. It wasn’t even a contestant that is remaining on the show right now. I don’t know exactly what that means but I thought it was interesting. Go ahead and listen for yourself. I think it is very telling when this is the most memorable contestant from the season.
http://johnjayandrich.1047kissfm.com/pages/main/
I might be a JLo fan now…LOL
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Taymaro – can’t find the link but is it DeAndre? I know she loves him and now I love her!!
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Yes it’s DeAndre! Great guess MCL. LOL Yeah out of all the contestants and even the ones who are still there. She also mentions Jeremy second but it’s DeAndre that is the first to pop into her head.
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Great news! Great, great news. Will have to blog about this and get a direct audio link. Thanks so much!! Weeeee!
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I think this is the direct audio link MCL
[audio src="http://media.ccomrcdn.com/media/station_content/163/JENNIFER_LOPEZ_5-11-12_1336757084_26844.mp3" /]
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Oh thank you Taymaro. Perfect!!!!
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There’s one other thing she talks about in that interview. Now tell me what does “per say” mean in the context of this interview? He either knows or he doesn’t, so why add “per say”?
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correction “per se” is the correct spelling….oh well who goes around writing that term all the time…LOL
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Hollie made a guest appearance on Live with Kelly yesterday so I recorded it and watched it last night. She did a terrific job!
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MCL,
My computer crashed because of a virus and it destroyed the hard drive. So I had to go through last week’s painful elimination of Hollie without support from this great community. Now I am back and it’s a joy to see you celebrate Hollie’s journey in this blog. I was so proud of how she kept on fighting!
Last week I was beside myself with frustration and disgust. But I don’t want to waste my precious energy on the past. The fix was in and there was nothing Hollie could do but go out there and give it her best. I knew exactly how it would go down even before the show started. That’s how bad this show has become. I hope that Hollie will feel the love from her fans and hat it will sustain her.
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Sorry everyone! I lost all my settings and passwords when my computer crashed, so I have to figure it all out.
It’s Mindy. I am nativenewyorker7. I am trying to get this right. Bear with me.
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Okay, I am now on using my facebook login.
MCL,
Thanks for your pledge to continue to support Hollie. She didn’t get the respect and dignity that she deserved, but she persevered in the face of adverstiy and that’s all I can ask.
I hope that good things are in store for her.
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Yay Mindy!! You’re back!! But I’m sorry that your computer crashed. What a pain! I thought you were so disgusted with the show that you decided to take a break from all things Idol. Can’t say that I would blame you.
Yes, Hollie and DeAndre will always have my love and support. However, I do love Jessica as well and she is still there, thank heavens.
The way Hollie was treated was brutal beyond words. I will never understand it. Never!! They destroyed her confidence and sabotaged her with crappy songs for the Top 4 show. Unforgivable!
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MCL,
I was checking out Hollie’s media rounds on MJ’s blog yesterday. Apparently, she wanted to sing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” but was ultimately pressured to sing “I Can’t Make You Love Me”. I never understood that Bonnie Raitt song choice and did not believe that Hollie would have chosen it. When you don’t have your computer and are cut off, it’s hard to go through it alone.
I was convinced that they would set it up to sabotage Hollie any way they could. There was nothing she could do with the Bonnie Raitt song and they pulled out all the stops with Joshua and Jessica for their second performances. It all felt incredibly scripted. The judges were always going to trash whatever Hollie sang for her second performance. It was preordained. I despise it.
I know that you were sick not too long ago and along with my computer crashing, I came down with a nasty viral infection that caused my asthma to flare up. So I was pretty sick last week. But watching the show made me even sicker. I really cannot say in polite language what I think about how it all played out.
I read that Jennifer’s contract is up and hopefully she won’t be back. They need to get rid of Steven and even Randy. But the problem is having a top music exec like Jimmy so involved in micro managing the show. I think it takes away a lot of the excitement and enjoyment. He may be a big man in the music business, but I don’t have any respect for him after the way he treated Deandre and Hollie.
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Mindy – standing O for those words of wisdom. So in agreement with you. They lure these kids in, they work their butts off and then become discarded like yesterday’s news because they don’t coincide with Jimmy’s or whoever’s vision of what a star should be.
I do think, however, that the judges are pawns in this sick game, however. They have little or no say In the process – I truly believe that.
It is going to be a bit of a rough road for both Holly and DeAndre because they were never given a chance to truly shine. But their fans have their backs and hopefully that will count in the long run.
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Hope you are feeling better now, Mindy. Sounds like you’ve had quite a week. Take care and rest and try not to let this show upset you.
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MCL,
I need to be reminded to put it all in perspective. It’s not life and death! I did prepare myself for Hollie leaving, but it’s bad when you know in advance exactly how it will play out and it unfolds exactly as you expected. That is how scripted and programmed the show has become.
You are right in saying that the judges are pawns. Yes, they say what they are told to say every week by Jimmy and TPTB. Jennifer is good at reading from her cheat sheet. They stand up for those excessive standing “O”‘s just like they are told. I guess that new judges won’t make much of a difference.
Your last paragraph is what concerns me. There was a good deal of misperception directed at Deandre and Hollie in the finals. Sometimes those comments stick. Jimmy did his best to bring them down.
I have no idea what their respective paths would be to real success and fulfullment. I just hope that there is a place for them in the music business.
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