Idol Gossip: The Top 12 Is Set

With American Idol's Top 12 in place, as of yet I do not have to revise my initial prediction of the eventual winner. Chris Sligh remains in the running with a good shot at being the next Idol. Of course, there are 10 other hopefuls who also have a good chance of taking the prize.

Sanjaya Malakar, on the other hand, should never have made it past Wednesday of Hollywood Week and won't be there for big charity bash that Ryan Seacrest announced on Thursday's results show. That Sundance Head failed to garner enough support from the American public to continue on to the finals may be the biggest injustice perpetrated on Idol so far this season, and perhaps ever. This what happens when you give people free will and let them vote on stuff: G.W. Bush gets a second term and Sundance gets the boot. Even though this week's performance was his best of the live shows so far, and I'll admit that's not really saying much, Simon was probably at least half right when he made that crack about Sanjawa's hair keeping him in. The kid's got a nice smile as well.

Antonella Barba's eviction, on the other hand, was both expected and about two weeks overdue. Now that she's off the show, she is free to pursue her true destiny of posing for Playboy (or maybe Penthouse) and dieing of a drug overdose before the age of thirty. I did read in yesterday's Columbus Dispatch that Barba has recieved endorsement offers from the producers of Girls Gone Wild and a web site that rents "adult" DVDs, based, I should assume, on the fact that topless pics of her have surfaced on-line and Johnny DiLorretto hinted in his Fox28 Newscenter Idol wrap-up that more are coming. (Too Much Information Department: To be perfectly honest, if I were to seek out topless photos of any of this year's top 12 women, it would be Gina Glockson.)

As for the "big announcement" on Thursday that Idol will be doing a week of "special" shows to benefit charity and that Coke, AT&T and other Idol advertisers will donate cash to various causes for every vote cast: I am unimpressed. In my opinion, if these soulless megacorporations that rake in obscene profits off the sweat of the working poor in America and all over the world really cared about helping the very people they're screwing over with their rampant greed then they would just give a portions of their hideoulsy bloated profits to charity without all the hoopla and without having to tie it into a PR campaign or an effort to increase their sales and pull in even more profit. In fact, if Coke and AT&T and Fox and Idol's producers were to just give money without trying to cash in on it to increase their ratings or sales, that would actually bring them a lot more positive PR then a stunt like this.

By the way, when, after Sabrina got the boot, Ryan said in a stage whisper, "No doubt one of the most intense episodes we've ever had; live here as we formulate the top twelve," didn't he sound exactly like a commentator at a golf match?