All that glitters is not Platinum: Two former frontrunners go home on ‘American Idol’ Season 23’s top eight night

As of Sunday, all three Platinum Tickets contestants are officially out of the running.

Last week on American Idol, Platinum Ticket recipient Filo was eliminated, and this Sunday, as the top 10 became the top eight, Season 23’s other two Platinum-Ticketed favorites, Kolbi Jordan and Canaan James Hill, got the boot. One of last year’s Platinum Ticket-holders, Abi Carter (who performed Sunday in honor of the episode’s “Ladies’ Night” theme), may have made it to the winner’s circle… but this year, all of the Platinum contestants are already gone.

There was a time when it seemed like Canaan was on a fast track to follow in Abi’s footsteps. But while I did expect him to last a bit longer than this, I was not surprised by his elimination. Canaan had painted himself into a corner. By being inflexible and doing only gospel songs (even “cheating the system,” as judge Carrie Underwood once semi-jokingly called it, if a night’s theme didn’t offer any obvious gospel options), he was limiting his audience as well as his artistry.