WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Megan totally SUCKED in her performance and they STILL put her through to the Top 13?  WHAT!?

If you were going for a well rounded group – why not put through Jesse – who actually have some talent?!  Or perhaps even Ricky Braddy – who out sung both girls who made it through by leaps and bounds.

I guess Simon said it best “We have to cast the show – so it’s not just about the best singing voice.  We have to base it on personality as well.”

There you have it – straight from Cowell’s mouth.  American Idol is no longer just about being a good singer.  Write down this moment in history – as we look back and ask why AI isn’t focused on finding America’s Best Talent.  It’s now a personality competition.

I keep hearing about a “Twist” to the AI season this year {http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/03/whats-tonights-big-idol-twist.html} – and that all of the contestants will be living in the same house. Could the reason why they’ve cast personality rather than talent this year be because we’ll get to see some REALITY aspect to the show? Sort of the same way RockStar Supernova and INXS was filmed. Let’s hope it doesn’t detract from the actual competition.

ETA this morning:
What I find so unusual about last night – when Megan was singing Paula and Simon were whispering to one another.  I think at that point they had already picked who would make it through – and this sing off was just a formality.  Paula and Simon were whispering because Megan was THAT bad.  Come on .. she was just utterly HORRID as Simon would say.  Were Paula and Simon whispering to determine exactly what they might say about her performance?

To me the judges bold faced lied to America about why these kids were chosen during their critiques.  The only honesty we saw was when Simon said at the end of the performances that they were casting for personality.

Biggest Loser Producers were caught in a lie this past week – and were forced by the fans to make an apology.  I knew about the lie and told a someone close to the show about it in January – so I’m surprised it didn’t reach the Execs before the lie made it on air.  The fans were outraged – and NBC was left scrambling to deal with it.

I have always felt that AI was more scripted that real – that certain contetants were groomed to win the show.  That others were dropped early for the “shock” factor.  But I always respected what Simon had to say.  This Season I don’t think I’ll be able to believe one word – as he’ll be too busy making sure the chosen contestants will stay on the show for the drama of it all.