Idol Chatter

In one of her (Look, I got it right this time. Sorry for the error last time) greatly appreciated flurry of comments on last week's posts, the fellow blogger who goes by the cyber-handle Two Minute Trek, in responding to my over the top rant of last Thursday concerning Mandisa's ouster from American Idol, asked, "Now what's your theory on why Bucky is still in the game?" and I had planned to address that very question today. I briefly considered finding something else to write about, as Bucky is no longer "in the game" as of last night, but I've already worked out what I have to say, and, besides, I've just put in a long day at work and I am quite tired and by lower back is killing me so I don't feel like taking any time to check other blogs or the Columbus Dispatch hunting around for a topic. Anyway, all I have to do to make the topic still relevant is to reword the query from "Why is Bucky still in the game?" to "How the bloody hell did he make it as far as he did?" And why is Taylor Hicks still there? What about Kevin? How'd that little popsqueak sneak into the Top 12 and get as far as he did? Are you sensing that, as far as I'm concerned, all of these questions have the same answer?

TMT was quite right in stating that Bucky was "just not professional material at all" and, for that matter, neither was Kevin, though, being only 16, he might be one day. As far as Taylor, I'd be more than happy to have him sing at my wedding (if he lives that long...or if I do), but he really doesn't have what it takes to hang at the top levels. But they, all three of them, are cute. They're cute and funny and lovable, and that, far more than their singing ability, is most likely what kept Kev and the Buckster in it as long as they were and might just (I'm going out on a limb here--you may remember that my previous prediction concerning the make-up of the final two was rendered moot, so I guess I need to make a new one) propel Taylor Hicks to a spot beside Chris Daughtry on Finale Night. Idol is, after all, not purely a singing competition, despite Simon's insistence on repeating that point. If he and the other judges were left to determine who advances, it would be, but the decision is left in the hands of the audience, most of whom are not music industry professionals, so the factors I mentioned above will, indeed, come into play.

That said, I will allow that both Bucky and Taylor gave their best performance in several weeks on Tuesday night, though, as far as Taylor's stage moves, I have to agree with Simon, who found them ridiculous and asked if Taylor was drunk.