No, they don't really love her -- Leah LaBelle voted off 'Idol'

Thursday, March 18, 2004

By MELANIE McFARLAND
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER TELEVISION CRITIC

"Set me free, why don't ya, babe
Get out of my life, why don't ya babe
Cuz you don't really love me, you just keep me hangin' on."

Word to the wise: Next time you're on "American Idol," don't sing a song with lyrics that could subliminally instruct viewers to vote you off.


	LaBelle

Such was the fate of Seattle's Leah LaBelle, who will probably go back to being called Leah Vladowski for the time being. No matter what name the wild-card pick answers to, America set free the 17-year-old Garfield High School junior on last night's results program, which aired on KCPQ/13.

Arguably it was not The Supremes' "You Keep Me Hanging On" that sealed LaBelle's fate, but her Tuesday night performance of it. Speaking from a supportive hometown perspective, to say it was not her best "Idol" moment, or even her second best, is being polite. Judge Simon Cowell summed it up this way: "I'd pack your suitcase."

However, it is interesting that the same soul ditty resulted in the ouster of "American Idol 2" finalist Vanessa Olivarez, at exactly the same stage in the competition. And consider this: Britain's Kim Wilde remade it in the '80s and enjoyed a minor hit in the U.S. Now she's best known as a gardening expert.

"You Keep Me Hanging On" -- could it be cursed?

We digress. Ever since Paula Abdul selected LaBelle as her wild-card pick, the odds have been against her. The online blogs haven't exactly been kind, and Internet wagering sites Intertops.com and BetWWTS.com both listed her as a 30-1 longshot. Former University of Washington football player Matthew Rogers has the second-worst chances, according to Intertops. The current favorites to take the top slot are Fantasia Barrino and LaToya London.

Along with Labelle, Amy Adams and Jennifer Hudson received the lowest number of votes.

LaBelle may not have been America's pick, but we probably haven't seen the last of her. The Total Experience Gospel Choir will no doubt be glad to have her back, and Seattle audiences are bound to hear a few more solos from her before she chases fame again.

"I'm not going to give up. Of course not," she said in a recent interview. "I'm just going to have to take this and go on and just try to do something else, you know? We'll just see where life takes me."

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