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Belinda Carlisle and  partner Jonathan Roberts took the stage for the last time Tuesday night on Dancing With the Stars. (picture courtesy of ABC-TV/Kelsey McNeal)

In a surprising elimination on Tuesday evening’s Dancing With the Stars, Belinda Carlisle ended up being the competition’s first cast-off.

The Go-Go’s lead singer probably isn’t thinking that the Exit Door is a Place on Earth, especially with lowest-scoring Steve Wozniak still in the running. Under new rules for season eight of the ABC dancing competition, previous judges’ scores for the bottom two couples- in this case, Carlisle and Jonathan Roberts and Wozniak and Karina Smirnoff- were discarded, and the two celebrity contestants engaged in a dance-off.

Both couples chose the routine from the prior night- Wozniak and Smirnoff ended up with the same score of 17 for their Quickstep, while Carlisle and Roberts actually scored one point lower with their Salsa than they did the prior night.

For Carlisle to get the boot- with a four-point advantage over Wozniak in judges’ scores- meant that viewers opted for the bumbling, but likable, Wozniak. Last week, Wozniak took to the dance floor wearing a pink boa and struggled to keep up with Smirnoff, leading judge Bruno Tolioni to comment that, “It was like a Teletubby going mad in a gay pride parade.” Could he have said it any better?

Perhaps Wozniak will be this season’s answer to Cloris Leachman, but she set such a high bar for entertainment value, that Wozniak will have difficulty competing. Nonetheless, he survives to dance another week, and possibly come up with something more outlandish for his next turn on the floor.

Jackassstar Steve-O oddly enough escaped placement in the bottom two, despite having a combined score that was four points lower than Carlisle. Steve-O’s back injury may have persuaded viewers to keep him in the running; plus, partner Lacey Schwimmer’s quasi-emotional appearance, standing there all alone while her partner lay in a hospital bed, probably didn’t hurt.

Airing a the same time as Dancing’s elimination was American Idol’s country night. Suffice to say, some contestants I had not been that enthused about- Kris Allen, Megan Joy and Matt Giraud, most notably- impressed me, making this season too tough to call at this point (though some media outlets, like Entertainment Weekly, made predictions for the FOX singing contest even before the first eliminations).

However, Adam Lambert did not live up to the high expectations he has set for himself- what was the guy thinking, exactly, massacring Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” as he did? Not only was his interpretation not country, but it was just… bizarre- he even left Kara Dioguardi dazed and confused (though she actually said she liked it). Now, if Lambert ends up in the Bottom Two, it will be because he earned it, not because of leaked so-what pictures of him making out with another guy and dressing in drag. If for some reason, though, he did end up with the lowest number of votes this week, is there any doubt the judges would save him from elimination?

On the flip side, Anoop Desai (aka Anoop Dawg) did a complete turnaround, winning raves from the judges with his rendition of the Willie Nelson classic “Always on My Mind.” He’s not a favorite of mine, but his performance unquestionably was a 100 percent improvement over his “Bad” (pun intended) shtick from last week’s competition.

If viewers still have a bad taste in their mouth from Desai’s previous performance, they possibly may not forgive him, even though he upped his game this week. But, would the judges use their one and only “save” and keep him around another week? I’d think so- even Simon Cowell said he went from a “zero to hero” this week. In fact, I believe that the judges would save just about anyone who would end up at the bottom this week- with the possible exception of Michael Sarver.  He’s a nice guy, not a bad singer, but kinda forgettable and safe- at least when compared to the rest of the Idol pack.

Favorite Lil Rounds didn’t wow the judges as she usually does. Noticeably  not as comfy and cozy in the country genre as R&B, she performed Martina McBride’s “Independence Day” just fine, albeit missing some of the fire she’s previously showcased. As with Lambert, say Rounds ended up at the bottom this week- ain’t no way the judges would let her go.

So many deserving Idol hopefuls, so few slots…

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