American Idol 7 - Carly Goes Home

This was a bigger shock to me than Michael Johns' early exit. The fact that Carly Smithson was in the bottom two (rather than three, since there were only six contestants) with Syesha Mercado after they both gave stellar performances last night was unbelievable, but to wind up there over stoner Jason Castro and woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown Brooke White makes me wonder if American Idol is rigged.

Simon called his praise of Carly "the kiss of death" and he was right. She was much better than Syesha and in another hemisphere compared to the double train wrecks of Brooke and Jason. America got it wrong in a big, big way. There were 38 million votes and the tween girls who think Janice Muppet Jason is sooooooo dreamy must have been up speed dialing all night while he was hitting the bong. "Duuuude...duuuuuuude...I just sang a song by a cat." Ugh! Carly was never going to win, but I expected her to be in the Top 4. I'm still guessing the two Davids -- Cook and Archuleta -- will be the Top 2.

Before Carly was cut, there was 58 minutes of filler, including the obligatory group sing. Andrew Lloyd Webber played piano while the Top 6 sang All I Ask of You. It was pleasant, probably the best group song of the season. Another 10 minutes was wasted with clips of Clay Gayken performing in Spamalot and Tamayra Gray in Rent. The only bright spot was Leona Lewis singing her hit song, Bleeding Love. She won the X-Factor show in the UK and was coached by Simon. This girl is the real deal. Even the over-the-top pyrotechnics couldn't diminish her big voice and the pop perfection of Bleeding Love. There was also a taped message from Dubya and Mrs. Dubya thanking everyone who donated money during Idol Gives Back. Hey, it's Fox, the state run television network, so no surprise seeing the lame duck squawking and looking like a moron as usual.

Next week the Top 5 will be mentored by Neil Diamond. I still wish Amanda Overmyer was around to sing Love On the Rocks.