My Idol Standards (Final 5)

A chat by Jeff Walker and Steven Frith

Big news from last night's Idol was Paula's big mistake, but that wasn't the only mistake of the night. My Social Standards discusses if Idol is rigged, if it even matters, and who should go home for good tonight.

Jeff: so the biggest story of last night's Idol was Paula's big mistake - critiquing Jason's 2nd song when only one had been done
Steve: yea, what was that about, I thought the show was live - or was last night not. I actually remember thinking that Seacrest didn't say live at the beginning like normal

S: Paula's gotta be on drugs or something haha
J: i think that's a part of it
S: Also, before we get too far into it - did you notice that a couple of Hef's girlfriends were sitting front row?
J: yeah, two of them were there
S: How did you notice? I thought I would have been one of the only ones to notice haha
J: they panned past them a few times and came back to them after a commercial. they stand out just a bit
J: but even they couldn't get Archie out of his robotic state
S: you put Ricky Martin in the front row and Archie would have been out of his state
J: who knows, maybe
J: so speaking of "out of state" Paula's explanation has been a bit odd too. she says fox basically threw them for a loop and she had seen jason's second song in rehearsal and took notes due to the rushed nature of the show
S: That's probably the best they could come up with. It seemed like there was some kind of inside joke throughout the show though. There was something that we were just missing
J: some people are claiming that the show is now rigged and that she was reading producers' notes
S: I don't think so just because I don't think that Paula could have pulled if off for this long even
J: that is true
J: if producers notes are involved, I still think it isn't a huge deal. the producers always subtly try to draw interest to certain contestants who generate attention or would sell albums
J: and i think as long as the votes themselves aren't tinkered with, editing and production is always going to have some influence
J: it's not as bad as the Hills, but with that much money and the brand image involved you can't be naive to manipulation from producers
S: There have been surprises anyway you look at it though, but yea, if there is fraud with the voting, then there will be an issue. and a lot of ex contestants suing the producers and FOX
J: yeah. i'm sure the producers didn't want Michael Johns to leave so early. if they wanted him to stay, they would've had everyone safe for the week
S: exactly what I was thinking
S: Who got saved last year because of that?
J: not sure, but i don't think it mattered in the long run - i.e. wasn't a top contestant
S: Anyways, about the actual show - thoughts?
J: considering each sang two neil diamond songs whether it was the fast pace of the show or some decent singing, wasn't as bad as i was expecting
S: yea, it wasn't great, but I was expecting worse too since I am not a huge Neil fan (which ironically my mom just bought tickets to his show today)
J: he's definitely a favorite of our parents' generation - mine have seen him several times
S: My dad can't stand him haha
J: i thought david cook and syesha were the most consistent over their two performances. though the second half of david's second song is when he really came alive - despite the title of the first one - i'm alive or something
S: They have been the most consistnet over the past several weeks
J: for sure
J: Archie wasn't bad, but his voice isn't strong enough to sing "America"
J: and as Simon said, genius song choice. with the American flag behind him
S: No, I also didn't really like Sweet Caroline either
S: That's the only Neil song I liked, it was very karaoke
J: yeah, i just don't think it can really be done as a serious singing song
S: I actually would have liked to see Cook take it on
J: yeah, me too
J: Brooke's first song was like the worst karaoke you've ever seen
S: God, Brooke and Castro were bad AGAIN, they have to go - at least one this week.
J: Brooke's facial expressions are so bad
J: yeah. castro would've been bad even if paula didn't criticize the second one before he performed it
S: hahaha yea
S: I'm surprised that they didn't edit that for the west coast showing
J: yeah, though that maybe would have just made the situation worse like they had more to hide
J: so who are your bottom 2 (since I think that's what they're continuing to do from now on) and who is leaving?
S: What I think and what I think it is going to be are different. I think it will be Syesha and Brooke with Brooke going. What i hope it will be is Castro and Brooke with Castro going.
J: I agree with you on both actually. I think Castro's fans will be too ticked at the Paula debacle to let him go and I still wonder how large Syesha's fan base really is, though she seems like the best choice for #3 and maybe even #2 over Archie
S: Couldn't have said it better myself
S: next week's theme - Songs that Shaped/Inspired Rock n' Roll
J: not sure that modernizes things, but could be interesting
S: this whole season (with the exception of Mariah) has been past masters
S: They should have a Boyz II Men theme night - they work with Randy Jackson anyway...
J: yeah, may as well. it'd probably be entertaining. and gwen stefani was on last year, so it doesn't have to be Hall of Fame type musicians
S: Boyz II Men have twice the hits of Stefani!
J: for sure. well, i think that about wraps it up this week, but will be interesting to see how Paula's mistake is addressed tonight and if they even keep everyone safe
S: Do they do that every year?
J: really only if they feel there's been a mistake that may have affected the results. Should actually be a results show that doesn't need to be skipped through on DVR.
S: Until next week...
J: My Social Standards...out