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Carry on, carry on
Like most fans (I suspect), I’m disappointed that Josiah Leming didn’t make the top 24 of this season’s American Idol. Disappointed, but not surprised after the disastrous final audition we saw last night. If he’d sung half as well as he did every other time he performed, he would have been a shoo-in. Even if he’d sung with the band instead of arrogantly dismissing them, he might have still made it. But I think the turning point was after that audition, when he told Simon he’d taken a “huge risk.” If you want to get credit for taking a risk, you can’t call attention to it.

Josiah was one of the most appealing performers this season, but there were so many guys who were better than most of last year’s male finalists that it would have been a disservice to any of those who made it if the judges had left them out. I actually feel the same as Simon about Kyle Ensley, that he is unique and should have been put through (but not at the expense of Colton Berry, or David Archuleta, or David Hernandez, whose version of “Love the One You’re With” was a big highlight of Hollywood Week for me).

A few slightly weaker performers made it through among the girls, like Kristy Lee Cook, who tanked every audition except the two times she sang “Amazing Grace.” But I was happy to learn that Joanne Borgella, the plus-size model, had made it. Of course, I had to get that information on line, because the program ran longer than its scheduled hour, and my DVR was already recording something else by the time longwinded Paula finally sputtered out the news. If they’re going to drag these shows out after the full hour, FOX should really let the satellite and cable companies know ahead of time, so I don’t have to get pissed off and write them a nasty letter.

I don’t know who the favorite would be, as we get to the part of the season when the viewers get to vote. It will be interesting to see how the rockers, Amanda Overmyer and Robbie Carrico, are received by the public. She’s very memorable, while he’s kind of forgettable. I wonder how America will take to Aussie-born Michael Johns and Carly Smithson from Ireland, both of whom were impressive in all their auditions. And I’m kind of eager to see the few finalists who were never featured in any of the audition rounds. As far as I know, the only time we’ve seen Luke Menard and Garrett Haley were when they were told they were in the top 24. That often bodes bad news in the first couple of rounds of voting.

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