Lazaro Arbos isn’t getting much love from the American Idol judges.
The last man standing in contention to win the reality contest show, Arbos turned in a performance on Wednesday that had the judges slamming him, even an uncharacteristic criticism from Randy Jackson.
After Lazaro Arbos performed the song “(The Long to Be) Close to You,” Randy tore into him. Though Jackson gave a nod to Arbos’ inspiring story, he implied that it’s the end of the line for the singer.
Jackson said: “You know that I love you, the person. … Your story inspires us all. But all I can say is, ‘No, no, no NO. That was horrible.’”
This kind of critique normally draws boos from the American Idol audience, but not this time. Instead there was no protest from the crowd and agreement from the other judges. Mariah Carey and Keith Urban both took Jackson’s route, acknowledging Lazaro Arbos as a person but saying his vocals were way off the mark.
Nicki Minaj said she couldn’t even bring herself to comment.
This brings fans back to a then-controversial remark Minaj made earlier in the show, saying there was no chance one of the male contestants would win.
Speaking to reporters, Nicki Minaj was asked if she thought one of the male contestants could win American Idol .
Her answer was direct: “NO!” After a silent moment, she added: “No. Absolutely not. Not a chance.”
Though the statement attracted some criticism for her at the time, it now seems prophetic as Arbos seems to be headed home very soon.
Lazaros’ second performance on Wednesday only solidified that. His cover of the Robbie Williams’ son “Angels” was only slightly better.
Both Randy and Keith Urban pulled back on their criticism of Lazaro Arbos after the second song, but made sure to mention that he stood no chance against the strong slate of female singers that remain.
