American Idol

I hate to admit it but I have become a fan of American Idol. This is the first year that I have actually followed the show from tryouts until now. I used to make fun of my friends who had to rush home to watch it but I have become one of those people. So far this is how I rank all the contestants: Katherine, Elliot, Mandisa, Chris, Paris, Taylor, Lisa, Bucky, Ace and Kelly.

Tonight's show was just okay with the best performances from Mandisa, Elliot, Paris and Katherine. But by and large I thought the performances were below average and that the contestants looked tired. I think part of the problem was that they had to sing something from this decade and unfortunately they didn't have much good to choose from. Today's music industry is more about marketing and performance than about the actual integrity of the music. And that showed today as each contestant tried to put their own spin on songs that were written for very specific artists. Compared to last week, it was obvious that Barry Manilow's efforts really helped the contestants and they could have used his help again this week.

Another revealing part of tonight's show was how critical the judges were of Mandisa. It was obvious that they have no interest in Christian music. In fact Simon admitted that he just doesn't get it and he is right. If someone isn't a person of faith then Mandisa's song might not come across well. But to those of us who are Christians, the song was really powerful. I guess the judges contempt for Christian music is similar to my disdain for country music.

Anyways, I think that Lisa is going home tomorrow night. I hope I am wrong and that Kelly is voted off. But apparently she has a lot of fans that must be as dumb as she is to keep voting for her. I also wouldn't mind saying goodbye to Ace who is only in the contest because of his good looks. It certainly isn't for his singing ability.