American Idol Tonight

Stephanie got voted off. I thought she was great. Not great last night, but all the times before. And about perfect looking. She wasn't shown in the auditions or performing at Hollywood week, that I remember seeing, yet ended up in the top 24, then the top 11. I was real impressed with her, so I'm sad to see her go.

It's even sadder considering some of the crumb bums who are left.

The episode last night was mostly boring. I wasn't into it at all. I'm not big on Shirley Bassey songs. When you say "British Invasion" you're not talking about singers who did James Bond theme songs, except Paul McCartney much later. "British Invasion" doesn't mean "Tell Him," which was by an American group. Just because it was covered by someone from England, no, no good. Then we had LaKisha doing some big cabaret thing, Stephanie something like that, Jordin doing one of the world's most awful songs, "I Who Have Nothing." Yikkus.

It was pretty obvious whose songs were considered edgy enough to sound contemporary today, the Zombies, Kinks, Stones. Not Hermans Hermits even though Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone was on the show. Sanjaya considered doing "I'm Into Something Good," and if Sanjaya avoids your song, you know it's passe. So he goes with "You Really Got Me." He had a lot of great moves all over the place and really put a lot into it. But still, we know he's no good, so it wasn't a joy to behold. And seeing the little girl cry got to be too much. Someone did "Time of the Season" (Blake), and "She's Not There" (Chris S.) And Gina, was it? did "Paint It Black." She's not convincing as a rocker girl.

OK, all that, that brings us to tonight. Peter Noone did his song, "There's A Kind of Hush." I actually like Hermans Hermits records, but passe is a word that definitely comes to mind. It really seemed odd and like from another galaxy. Lulu did "To Sir With Love," which is a pretty good song, and she belted it out. It was nice to see them on the stage for another moment in the limelight, but, in Peter Noone's case especially, I don't know that it'll win him many new fans. Which probably isn't the point. He was the cutest guy in the '60s. Even though Peter Frampton was the "Face of 1968," I don't think many people remember that, Peter Noone was the face of the rest of the decade. Cute, like Paul McCartney but more so. (Oh, I forgot Davy Jones.) Now that he's old, like all of us, he reminded me of the Crocodile Hunter. Super cute people never look that great when they age. There are probably exceptions, so don't hold me to that.

Getting to the final two was a quick process. Three up, safe. Three more, safe. Three more, safe, too. That leaves Chris Richardson and Stephanie. A bunch of other things to get to, then at the end, Stephanie out. Sad. They didn't have her sing at the end.

Chris Sligh - There was an article, I think at the Washington Post today, about someone at his old college, Bob Jones University, worrying that he, as a Christian singer, is doing secular music. That's worth looking for.