Gina made the cut!

By Mike Mitchell Staff Writer

This was the first time that Gina Glocksen had appeared to be rattled by the pressure.

When her name was called Wednesday night, she frowned and stood tall—barely able to hold a smile. She stood along with Sanjaya Malakar and Haley Scarlato—two names that were supposed to be associated with mediocrity in this season’s “American Idol.”

It appeared certain that one of the three was going home after the votes were tallied. Instead, show host Ryan Seacrest instructed all of them to take a seat; they were safe from elimination.

Stephanie Edwards was going home.

The announcement was particularly surprising since many show critics and bloggers picked Malakar, Scarlato and Glocksen to be potential cast-offs after this week’s performances. Edwards was also a likely cast-off.

Glocksen turned an underwhelming version of the Rolling Stones’ hit “Paint It, Black” that had “Idol” Judge Simon Cowell shrieking.

"It was so off melody - it was horrible," said Judge Simon Cowell, in his vintage harsh analysis. "That was style over content. If you want to do better in this competition, you're going to have to sing better."

It was the first time that the Naperville resident’s immediate future on the show was in doubt. To this point, many critics and analysts have considered her to be a top-six favorite.

However, she’ll need a better performance next week to fall back in favor with “Idol” judges to retain that kind of status. Up until this week, she had sustained a near perfect rating from her critics; however, this week’s episode showed a more vulnerable Glocksen.

Nevertheless, the 22-year-old now joins the final 10 and will be a part of the “American Idol” Summer Tour, which visits more than 40 cities throughout the country. The tour will aid Glocksen’s national exposure. Many former “Idol” finalists, like Glocksen, have benefited from the same kind of publicity.

Glocksen, who was donning a pair of pink tights and a fresh bob haircut, was shocked when the announcement were made that she was staying for another week. Even more shocking was that Scarlato and Malakar were there to stay.

Scarlato, who pranced around in a sexy outfit Tuesday, appeared to be a long-shot to make the finals, let alone survive for two more rounds. Malakar has been a running-joke among the media and has already garnered a fan-base.

The 17-year-old is still the X-factor in the competition. When it seemed certain that the less-talented performers were going home, Malakar stayed.

Glocksen will perform again at 7 p.m., Tuesday on Fox.

March 22, 2007 Naperville Sun