Reality TV

There's an element of the American Idol watching public that hates Kara DioGuardi. Hated her presence last year when her arrival changed the chemistry of the American Idol judging panel forever. Blamed her for dislodging original judge Paula Abdul and taking away one of Idol's most recognisable assets.

But, as Lilly Scott sang a couple of weeks ago, A Change Is Gonna Come. And with the departure of Simon Cowell, American Idol will shift into a new era altogether - one in which it's not the only singing competition on the block which Americans can audition for. There's going to be Amercian X Factor. So, how does American Idol compete with the undeniably more sensationalist style of competition that Mr Cowell is known for running? Well, they need to pick some winners.

Can't you see the change this year? Last week's Idol shows were awash with contestants playing instruments. There are a couple of contestants who claim never to have seen Idol before (which means they actively avoided it or held it in disdain). The end result has been a couple of clever comments - like when one of the judges claimed that Crystal being in the competition might encourage other seasoned artists to try out next year.

One of the downsides of this internet-enabled age is that anybody can start a petition, regardless of how ill-advised or pointless that petition may be.

Take, for example, the case of Alex Lambert. Alex was one of four finalists eliminated from last week's American Idol. Admittedly, he was one of my favourites, and the guy had a lot of talent. He was definitely the most talented of the four who got eliminated.

Therefore, some crackpot(s) have started a campaign to have Alex returned to the series, despite failing to get enough public support to keep him in. Now, for those of you who don't understand how shows like Idol work, I put the words public support in italics, as a clue. Look, I even did it twice!

The petition (see it here on Change.org) claims:

In three short weeks American Idol has whittled 24 finalists down to a meagre 12. It means we've transitioned from the 'big numbers' stages (30 million applied, only 24 remain!) to the Top 12, the serious contenders. These are the singers that we're hoping will set the charts ablaze in the next year or so.

As promised in my elimination post, here's our run-down of the American Idol 2010 Top 12. They're listed in alphabetical order by surname, but in our opinion, they're not created equal! Here's the verdict on the Top 12:

Here we are again for the last bulk elimination of American Idol 2010. That's right, after tonight we'll be in Final 12 territory and it'll be one elimination per week.

So far, I think America has done a great job of weeding out the weakest contestants. Certainly, all the singers that I personally rate are still in the running. Ryan Seacrest reveals that next week's theme will be Rolling Stones songs, which is awesome and weird at the same time - I don't really know many Stones songs.

The group performance is a servicable Michael Buble song - I Just Haven't Met You Yet - and I have a sneaking suspicion that the finalists might be singing live. Are they? Let me know what you think.

Ryan calls the girls up for the first elimination - Didi Benami and Siobhan Magnus get a straight pass. Then it's between Paige Miles and Katelyn Epperly. Asked about who has the most potential, Simon answers in a round-about way, but says Paige does. His instinct is right - Paige stays and Katelyn is going home. Katelyn gives a half-hearted performance of I Feel The Earth Move, reminding us just why she's going home.

Another bloody action movie trailer beginning, but finally, no lipsynching but I'm not sure Michael Lynche is trying to celebrate with, or strangle Lee Dewyse during Mr Bubble's opus.

Anyways:

Didi's up. Oh please oh please oh please, let me never see that gurning face again...

Sha-hit!

Siobhan. She must be in for sure... word!

Paige and Katelyn. Ooh, Paige, say bye bye. Ah, Seacrest confirms one of them is going, and there's no way it's Katelyn.....

Wait a minute. WAIT A MINUTE! Seriously? I am truly surprised. Paige is talented, but Katelyn always performed much better. I suppose there's no accounting for taste, especially American taste, and I think Paige is as surprised as I am.

Nice goodbye performance Katelyn.

Tim, Todrick, Lee and Casey. One of these four is out? This is a hard one. Ummmm, Todrick is out? Or is it Casey? Damn, this is hard. I know it isn't Lee or Tim, but then, I knew it wasn't Katelyn, either...

Ok, it's not Casey for sure. Todrick then. 

Tim's in. Quelle suprise. MUST be Todrick.

Well, here we go with another evening of American Idol, and this time it's the turn of the guys to impress us with their vocal stylings. Tonight is an evening filled with acoustic guitar performances from the gents, and some very strong performances almost universally across the board! Let's just get started with our first singer:

Lee DeWyze

Walking on stage with a guitar, Lee DeWyze takes on a current single (gasp), FireFlies by Owl City. The way he's singing it, especially with the acoustic accompaniment, it sounds more country than the original. Still, I love the tone of Lee's voice, it's a great version.

Before I go on - Simon was leaning into Kara. Definitely.

Lee DeWyze with Fireflies by Owl City.

Very effeminate song for a tough guy. Despite him making a decent stab at with his own style, I'm not convinced. He's also a little bit pitchy, which is unforgivable at this stage.

Randy always gives feedback the same way "(Insert urban slang expression here) dawg. Hey listen, I wasn't (metaphoric substitute for "impressed"), but here's what I like about you"

Alex Lambert with Trouble by Ray LaMontagne.

Ooh, he better not balls this song up... and he doesn't for the most part, but Ray has such a unique sound, that this ultimately falls flat. Bad final note, too.

Tim Urban with Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley.

Another great song taken to task. Again, not bad, but not convinced. And the girlies clap clap clap... while the judges gush gush gush. Uughh.

Andrew Garcia with Genie in a Bottle by Christina Aguilera.

Thank God it wasn't Dirrty. Come on esse, don't let me down..... Well, sounds good, but how long can the covers of pop divas last?

Casey James with You'll Think of Me by Keith Urban.

Still dredging songs from the all-time Billboard Hot 100, we're back for another battle between the ladies who want to be this year's American Idol. After a fairly weak showing in the first two live shows, will they have finally worked out how to sing a whole song...in tune?

This is the last week where 4 Idol finalists will get booted in one week. After this, we're reduced to the final 12, and one contestant per week. As Simon Cowell says at the head of the show, this is one of the worst weeks to get booted - because you're gonna get forgotten if you go out at this stage.

Katie Stevens

Teen contender Katie Stevens opens the show tonight with Kelly Clarkson's Breakaway. I've been rooting for Katie as one of the younger contestants, but the performance is mired in problems - her tuning issues being among the top of them, but there's also very little excitement surrounding this performance.

I was lucky enough to get to meet gorge Danyl at one of our recent matches, lovely guy, very chatty and friendly! xx

No intro! Like they're actual pros! I can barely contain myself, but this is mainly due to American Idol only being an hour tonight.

Katie Stevens with Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson.

No too bad. Little bit off on some notes, really off on others. Decent big note. Agree with Randy that it's too big for her, and apparently she doesn't know who she is blah blah, but who cares about what song, big, or young or whatever. Bottom line: She didn't sing it well.

Siobhan Magnus with House of the Rising Sun by The Animals.

I'm genuinely interested to see what she does with this, and, well.... she delivers. This girl is honestly a great singer. I thought she might be pushing the kooky shit, but for me, it works. It's like a great diva deigned to sing a bloke's song. She's won me over a little. Her new-found cleavage might have something to do with it, admittedly.

Lacey Brown with The Story by Brandi Carlile.

Brave girl, and she does a great job, but I was waiting for a climactic moment that never came, in a song that should be full of them. Still, those eyes, man.

Katelyn Epperly with I Feel the Earth Move by Carole King.