Hey Jas, I got this off of msn.com, did you write it?
"Contestant A" skated through the American Idol semifinals, advancing easily, while "Contestant B" didn't even make the semifinals and was a controversial wild card selection. Contestant A was in the "American Idol" top five last week, while Contestant B was close to elimination in the bottom two. Contestant A was coming off perhaps their strongest performance of the competition, while Contestant B was coming off a several subpar performances including a universally reviled Tuesday night (April 8) cover.
Time to let the conspiracy theorists out of their cages and turn them loose on American Idol. Somehow that underperforming Contestant B is still alive in the competition, while Contestant A is on their way home.
Say a mournful "Hercules!" to the ever-jubilant departing Rickey Smith.
Host Ryan Seacrest opens the Wednesday Night (April 9) show with a gratuitous slam at "Nashville Star" and announces that Tuesday night 's show stirred up the American people to the tune of nearly 21 million votes.
A somnambulistic version of "All Night Long" is the night's only sing-along, featuring two-steps-forward/two-steps-back choreography that might have worked for Paula Abdul and MC Skat Kat back in the day, but which doesn't suit the finalists very well.
After yet another perplexing clip from the "Blandly-Titled Underscripted Kelly and Justin Cash-in Movie," Kelly Clarkson shows up with a bevy of Rhythm Nation-era backup dancers singing the first single from her new album. The track, "Miss Independent" (co-written, naturally, by Christina Aguilera), shows a general apathy for Kelly's strengths as a performer. Her giggling happiness as the audience cheers gives a brief reminder of the strong-voiced girl-next-door who won America's hearts as opposed to the not-ready-to-be-Dirty Kelly now on display.
Since last week's dismissal-free show was more bloated than a twice-drowned muskrat, this week's 30 minutes just races along.
Trenyce, in the bottom two last week, is safe. Kimberley Locke, though, makes a return to the bottom three. Ruben, back to representin' the 205, is safe. Duh. Joshua "The Marine" Gracin is safe. Kimberly Caldwell makes a clean sweep of Kims in the bottom three. Clay is safe. Rickey joins the Kims in the bottom three, meaning that in defiance of any actual merit, Carmen Rasmusen is through for another week.
After a surreal Ford commercial featuring Ruben and Carmen singing "Get Out of My Dreams," FOX sells product. In an obvious hurry, Ryan excuses Kimberley Locke from the final two and, not even bothering to build tension, he announces that Kim Caldwell is also safe, spelling Mr. Smith's return to Texas. Rickey doesn't even have time to sing before the credits role.
Now might not be a bad time to ponder the show's voting criteria. Last week, Josh Gracin butchered "Celebration," but could still celebrate safely, avoiding even the bottom three. This week, Carmen butchered Blondie, but viewers will still be able to call on her next week. Not only did her amateurish exfoliation of Debbie Harry keep her in the game, but it seems to have improved her standing in the two-week cumulated standings.
Rickey Smith was never going to win this competition and Carmen Rasmusen still probably won't. In fact, only Ruben and Clay would seem to have legitimate talent-based locks on the final troika and they'll probably be joined by Josh the Marine for patriotic reasons. Still, after the voting patterns over the past two weeks, it's tough to feel like the weekly performance shows have anything to do with the progression of the show and the winnowing of the finalists.

Sounds like Jas to me
