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Clay Aiken

I'm trying to imagine how Tuesday night's show will go down with the participants singing Dolly Parton songs. I wonder who will sing "Islands in the Stream"? Or "9 to 5." Who will shake things up? Will Kristy Lee come out on top this week because this is more her genre? How will Michael Johns or David Cook pull off a Dolly song? Who will sing "Coat of Many Colors"? I have a lot of questions. I can't wait to see how it all pans out. For the record, I'm a big fan of Dolly Parton.

Note: The Clark Brothers will perform Wednesday night on "Idol." The Clark bros. are from Franklin County. Here's a story we did on them when they won "The Next Great American Band."

Here's the column I wrote for the newspaper. I like to post it here because it wraps up my thoughts on the show (and I don't have to write it twice!).

A quick shout-out to commenter Tanja. Thanks for showing the THicks (I dare not write his name!) fans another side.

"Being nasty, calling names, and throwing out bizarre accusations doesn't do much to help Taylor Hicks's career."

And just a note to upset readers: I never said I didn't like him.

Tonight was Chikezie's night to go. I like Chikezie, but I didn't think he'd make it to the end. I don't think he even thought he'd make it to the end. He was always awaiting the bad news.

Well, take it easy, Chikezie. We'll see more of you, I hope.

Apparently I struck a nerve with my remark about Taylor Hicks in an earlier entry. So, here's some clarification.

I found the information about Taylor being dropped from his label at gotriad.com. Here's the article.

As for whether his shows sold out, I have no idea. I don't remember hearing that before; in fact I'm pretty sure I heard the opposite.

As for a comment made about Taylor and the record label "mutually" ending their relationship, maybe so. But isn't that generally what the dumpees say?

Have y'all noticed that the judges have been very contradictory this season?

Example: Telling Brooke that she should've used the band during her performance of Pat Benatar's "Love is a Battlefield" a few weeks ago. And then telling her last night that she shouldn't have used the band for "Every Breath You Take."

Example: Telling Chikezie last night that he's not original. What? Are you serious? For the past two weeks he infused bluegrass into his Beatles performances. How is that not original?

Example: Telling Michael Johns he needs to show them something a little different. But, when David Cook shows them his usual self, they praise him. On this particular matter, my thought is that Daughtry's fame surprised them. And they know David Cook will be the next Daughtry. So they want to make sure they sign David Cook since they missed the boat on Chris Daughtry, who placed fourth on "Idol" in 2006. He lost out to Taylor Hicks of all people. Yeah, I know, Taylor who?

This one might be short, so feel free to add your feedback. I'll probably leave out some stuff.

First off, WHAT was Paula wearing? Were her Dominatrix gloves for after the show?

Anyway, my favorite of the night, surprisingly, was Michael Johns. He was in his element singing Queen's "We Will Rock You." And honestly, he was the first performer I remember from last night. The five before him were snooze-worthy. And I'm talking about people I really like, too, like Brooke White and Jason Castro.

(Keep reading on the next page.)

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Tonight, the top 10 performers will sing songs from the year they were born. My guess is most of them were born in the mid-80s to early 90s. I'm actually excited to tune in now.

Let's take a look:

Michael Johns: 1979
David Cook: 1983
Brooke White: 1984
Kristy Lee Cook: 1984
Carly Smithson: 1984
Chikezie: 1986
Syesha Mercado: 1987
Jason Castro: 1988
Ramiele Malubay: 1988
David A.: 1991 (ouch!)

A lot of '84s! Maybe some Madonna?

Just in case you're interested, here's my weekly "Idol" column as it appeared in the paper today. I tried not to overlap what I write on the blog with what I write in the column. At the end of the day, it's still "Idol" overkill, wouldn't you say? Thanks for reading...

The Mentors have been announced.

Let's run through them, briefly. Dolly Parton, Mariah Carey, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Neil Diamond. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't this mean the contestants will have to sing songs associated with the mentors? If so, the future doesn't look so bright.

Imagine David Cook singing a song from a Broadway musical. Or Carly singing Dolly Parton's "9 to 5." Or KLC singing a Neil Diamond tune with a country twist. The one fit might be Ramiele and Mariah Carey, and that's solely based on their similar fashion choices, definitely not vocal talent.