Well, since the show kicked off in Philadelphia...

You know I really have mixed feelings about the show. I was totally annoyed that the Star Wars geek was pretty much right about her criticisms, but didn't register that in a way that mattered. I also kept thinking that many of these people are mentally ill and the show was very cynically taking advantage of them, especially that woman from Allentown. Sure, no one is there who wasn't aware they might be on TV, but how responsible is it to broadcast the misadventures of those clearly less able to cope with reality?

This is a show that seems to delight in taking advantage of the desperate, the lonely, and the deranged, at least during the auditions. I don't mind the fairly bland (and extraordinarily narrow) music competition--but some of the mean-spiritedness of the way the less talented people are dismissed is troubling.

Of course, they are showing up for a singing competition. I don't so much mind them showing people who can't sing who don't seem to know that. That's a hoot and people should know what they're in for. In many cases, the cold slap of reality may set some of these people back on the tracks so they can get on with their lives. I am deeply disturbed when they bulldoze vulnerable people and serve up the ground meat for mass consumption.

The guy in the Leia outfit was pretty freaky. In that example, it's appropriate to ridicule the wantonly ridiculous. I'm watching the Dallas auditions now (in the background while working on some other stuff).

Eeewww! The key/heart thing! How subtle!
Eeewww! The bag of fingernails!

Last night's show was better than the premiere, although I'm not sure why. I don't mind FOX showing a few, even several losers who think they can actually sing, but when they start letting through men in their late 30s, it's a waste of time. ESPECIALLY when one of the too-old contestants exhibits stalking behavior that's supposed to be "funny."

I liked the country girl from the premiere -- the one who raises horses -- and thought the Paul Robeson-gone-bad guy was hilariously terrible, although I DID think he might not be all there, mentally. Last night there was another Christian gal (apparently) who was quite good, and that woman who opened the show who had overcome a meth addiction. I hate myself for getting choked up when people like that get through to the next round, but watching her loved ones burst out with joy upon seeing her holding the "golden ticket" really got to me. Good for her!

I missed about 20 minutes of last night's broadcast. Don't remember anything about a bag of fingernails.

Consider yourself lucky.

Oh, no! They're trashing Lennon/McCartney! Is nothing safe? I think I'm gonna barf.

And last night it was The Beatles, presumably opening up the selections to Harrison/Starr compositions.

I grew up listening to the Beatles in grade school. Constantly. I moved on to the Kinks and Rolling Stones in junior high, then moved away from "classic rock" just as the format caught on as an FM format. It's been an unusual couple of weeks watching "AI," primarily because a couple of the selected songs were unfamiliar to me. Had I known these long ago and forgotten them?

Don't know, but I feel like I at least have a working knowledge of -- a familiarity with -- the Beatles, even if I'm far from an expert. These singers, however, unashamedly admit that they know little, if anything, about some of the greatest music ever recorded.

People have made fun of AI for years, and I've stood up for the show, and often for certain contestants, who can go from fan favorites to castoffs in a week's time. But this, I have to admit, has been a low point for the show. I don't expect 18-year-olds to know much about the Beatles, but I expect aspiring stars to know something about the band and its music. When Kristy Lee Cook says she chose a song because she liked the title, but had never heard the music -- that's just irritating.

I've enjoyed watching the broadcasts -- I didn't sit there, seething, throughout the two shows -- but last night's was kind of painful. Lots of misfires and underwhelming performances. I try to keep my expectations low each week. The contestants didn't come anywhere near meeting them this time.

I hope this episode is online somewhere. I clicked on the show details last night through Time/Warner cable, and their write-up for the show was exactly the same as last weeks write up... so, of course, I thought it was a repeat...

I don't know how to use YouTube, although I'm sure a simple search of "American Idol" would turn up the performances. I've heard that the performances are widely available the day after the broadcast, although I'm not sure any of that is legal.

You didn't miss much.

Interesting article about VoteForTheWorst.com. (NY Times)

Most of the performances last night were bad. Really bad. The one I liked best, actually, was Sayesha's version of "Fever." It's rare for me to be so out of line with the judges' reactions. I thought "Fever" was one of those breakout moments for an "Idol" performer, but you know you're out of whack when you enjoy a performance that even Paula Abdul criticizes!

David Cook is not wearing well with me, but he'll be fine.

David A. singing a pop hit (I was unfamiliar with the song) gave Simon one of his best lines of the season with that Chihuahua comparison.

It would be fun to see Sayesha knock out one of the Davids and make the finals, but that ain't gonna happen.

Huh. David Cook. He was a much more charismatic singer than David Archuleta, but I watched last night, and David A. blew Cook away. If the vote was based on just last night, it would've had to be David A., right? I guess the voters went with the guy who made the better impression over the course of the season.

I was kind of hoping that David Cook would come in second, in order to be uninhibited by the shaky choices of Clive Davis and all the people recording his album now. It seems to me to be far more lucrative to come in second and do your own thing, than to get caught in the AI machine. Cook is such a dynamic performer and vocalist, I think in the long run he'll probably do better on his own, making his own choices.

FWIW, I don't think coming in second would have hurt David Cook at all, but I'm not sure if it would have really helped him either. Every single finalist in the competition is bound by the same contracts and restrictions as the winner with regards to obligations to Clive, the producers, etc. The only difference is that the producers are only obligated to make an album with the winner. But if they choose to, they can require any of the finalists to make an album with them, the same way they can with the winner.

Now, if being the winner brings more attention from the producers, and leads to more distracting involvement than would otherwise have been had, then it could end up being detrimental. But had David A. won, there's no way they would have let David C. ride off into his own sunset and do his own thing.

It was a HUGE surprise, and I think Simon was being manipulative. I believe he very intentionally was hard on Cook for the purpose of creating sympathy votes for him. ("Oh no! Cook's in trouble--hand me the phone!") He's been known to do that in the past, but I'm not sure he's done it in the finale before.

I do agree that it might be better to coming in 2nd or 3rd rather than winning the competition, especially for musicians like Cook (and Daughtry [sp] from last year).