I wish I knew how to quit you, American Idol

Pretty good headline, huh? I like a nice fresh joke in a headline. This one was perfect. In sentiment anyway. As much as I struggled to extricate myself from American Idol, it has again sucked me in. It's just the combination of personalities (good and bad), getting to pick and root for your winner (and losers), and generally being an armchair judge. There's just something satisfying about it. And I give up trying to fight it because it lacks musical integrity or whatever. I enjoy American Idol on a non-ironic and ironic level. If that means I must endure the slings and arrows of that decision, then I will endure.

That said, the season's first voting show, held last night, was pretty dag-gone bad. Self-impressed beat boxer Blake Lewis and sort of Jack Osbourne lookalike Chris Sligh were the standouts to me. Tonight it's the girls' turn. Nevertheless, I can't say I'm that excited. Unlike last year, there is nary a looker in the bunch. Yeah, Antonella's hot, but she doesn't really light the world on fire. Gina Glocksen is cute, too. I like her. But that's about it.

Anyway, the big moment for me last night was Chris Sligh hurting Simon's feelings. And I mean, Chris really got to him. After Simon criticized Chris for sounding like "a student," Chris replied that "this kind of music is popular. Just because I don't sing Il Divo or the Teletubbies doesn't mean I can't sing." At first I thought he just meant he wasn't going to sing something fuzzy or overly accessible, but apparently Simon was involved with those things. Simon immediately shot back "you could certainly pull off the latter," referring to Chris's weight. Very clever, Simon. Not to mention mature. You should have just called him a stupidhead and been done with it. Ryan Seacrest was involved in it, too. It seemed relatively serious for a second there.

Either way, I'm a Simon fan, but it was funny to see him sitting there, repeatedly telling Chris/Ryan "you just made this very uncomfortable," as he literally turned his chair away from the stage and pouted. Simon, you have a phone call backstage. It's the Dish It Out But Can't Take it Department, and they're insisting that they speak with you immediately.

Now bring on the ladies. There's nowere to go but up.

Hyperlinks:
- Fakers Dozen [Entertainment Weekly]
- American Idol: Season 6 Contestants [AmericanIdol.com]
- Am I excited about American Idol? [No One Appreciates Me]
- American Idol finally gets some hotties [No One Appreciates Me]
- Katherine McPhee: Getting warmer... [No One Appreciates Me]
- Simon Cowell's Il Divo group debuts fourth on Billboard's 200 chart [Reality World]
- Simon Cowell biography [BiggestStars.com]

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