The Ratings Game

Are you kidding me? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Bikini Girl goes on? Are you kidding me? Show of hands if you thought she has a tin, nasally, otherwise non-descript voice, is thoroughly annoying and not even that cute? OK, so it’s unanimous.
So the question is why is she still around? Class – who can spell R-A-T-I-N-G-S? Here is a bigger word for extra credit: M-A-N-I-P-U-L-A-T-I-O-N.
Yes, we are being manipulated. And part of the fun of Idol is to see how the producers plan to manipulate us all in the name of ratings. So let’s evaluate this week. Out of 147 people, they only eliminated 43 according to Brian Mansfield of USA Today. We saw a few good people tonight but, frankly, nobody who blew my ears back. So, there are a lot of possible finalists that we didn’t see tonight (no Lanesha, no Joanna Pacitti) that they are building an audience for. Next, how many of us would like to see Bikini Girl go up in flames? Finally, Norman or Nick or whatever identity he decides to go by – will he actually sing long enough to move on or will he indulgently self-destruct with his shtick? Stayed tuned tomorrow night to find out!!!!

OK, so enough of evaluating the show. Except for the entertainment value of Bikini Girl and Norman/Nick, the judges made pretty safe calls with the harder cuts still ahead of us. Here’s what stood out for me tonight:
Jasmine - young, pretty, perky and can really sing – maybe not quite Paris Bennett from a couple of years ago but that’s who comes to mind
Rose – I still like her cute, playful, flower-child quirkiness and I like her smoky voice but I wonder if she is tough enough to make it
Steven – who sang the Stevie Wonder song and blew Randy away
Jorge – I like his voice and I think he will do well with the female vote
David Osmond – obviously comfortable on the big stage and has a wonderful voice but I wonder whether he will be contemporary enough. Plus, if he goes on, does being an Osmond matter?

Still, it’s early yet. Team night tomorrow is brutal and a lot of good performers go by the wayside. And I still say we haven’t seen much of a lot of potential finalists.

By the way, I bought Melinda Doolittle’s CD today and like what I have heard so far. I plan on reviewing it and have promised to comment on David Cook’s CD, also.