Idol Gossip: Semi-Finals Week 1

So, I heard on the Today show this morning that nude photos of American Idol contestant Antonella Barba have surfaced somewhere here in cyberspaceland. According to the report, Fox network execs have not commented on this and won't say if it will affect her future on the show.

Well, I don't really think she has too much of a future on the show. Nude pics on the 'net won't hurt her chances of being the next American Idol, but her utter lack of singing ability just might. There's really very little chance that she'll survive into the final 12.

Actually, I'm surprised that she squeaked past this week after her attrocious performance on Wednesday night. However, I am glad that she wasn't voted off, because I really hate the song she did, "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing," not to mention her embarassingly awful rendition of it, and I'm glad that I didn't have to suffer through an encore.

I was prepared for Chris Sligh to go home Thursday, too, simply because I've picked him to win the whole shooting match and I'm never right about these things.

Now, just because I picked Sligh to win doesn't mean that he's my favorite singer or that I think he's the best or that he deserves to win. It actually reflects the fact that I think he looks like the least likely candidate for Idolhood at this point and therefore might just surprise us all and take the prize.

Now, if you asked me who I think truly deserves to go all the way, based on this week's performances, I'd have to agree with Simon that the others should start packing for home because Lakisha Jones has "thrown down the gauntlet."

This woman is the real surprise of the competition. This season we have people like background singers Brandon Rogers and Melinda Doolittle who have been making their living in the music industry, but a true amateur, a single mother who works in a band and only sings in public at church on Sundays, has come from nowhere and blown everyone out of the water. Of course, giving talented amateurs a chance to shine is part of what Idol is all about.

My sister thinks that Jones has been jinxed, however, and after Simon's high praise she doesn't have a chance to win. She says that Cowell said something similar to Mandisa last season and she suffered an unexpected early exit.

Well, I think that if Jones doesn't win, it will be not because of the Curse of Cowell but because the people voting don't know a good singer when they hear it and will instead vote for some cute, funny goofy guy with weird hair just like they did last year, which is precisely why I've tagged Chris Sligh as the probable champ.