Well, it wasn’t for not trying. If there’s one contestant this year who really developed and emerged over the course of the season it was Haley Reinhart. Look at where she started. A frizzy-haired oversinging novice who only got through because of the softest judging panel since the OJ Jury.

From there she barely snuck through every step of the way and had me flabbergasted that the judges selected her as a Wild Card. I was surprised she even got the chance to sing a second time.

Somehow, she finagled her way into the top 13 only to sit on the bottom of my power rankings just about every s...

It took awhile to do it, but America finally put Stefano out of his misery.

For weeks it seemed like Stefano was just marking time. He hit the bottom three in what seemed like every single results show and carried that weight to each performance. This caused each of his songs to transform into a desperate plea for votes as he overextended himself to no end in an attempt to win people over.

But it never seemed to work. Try as he could, Stefano never quite connected. It could have been an obsession with perfection, it might have been flirty cockiness, it may have been the fact that he simpl...

I’ve been extremely hard on the judges all season (justifiably so, I think) but it’s caused me to overlook the show’s big bright spot: The addition of Jimmy Iovine.

While the judges have sugarcoated everything like a trio of stage parents, Iovine has worked hard to make the contestants better. He’s often harsh, extremely honest and his suggestions are normally spot on. Just look at last week when he warned Casey away from ‘Nature Boy’ and suggest Scotty stick with ‘Everybody’s Talkin’’. Scotty laid an egg with a boring George Strait song and Casey absolutely made a mockery out of all thing...

I’ll say this for America: They continue to get it right.

One week after America took down one of the few with absolutely no chance of winning, they repeat the feat with the ouster of Karen Rodriguez. I was worried about Karen. Worried that she’d found a way to ingratiate herself to voters with her unique way of switching to Spanish (Ya gotta have a gimmick, right, Ethel?) and her middle-of-the-road song choices. I was worried those voters would put her past some of the more deserving contestants like they’ve done with the Kristy Lee Cooks of the past who had a gimmick (super-overt patriot...

And now I’m ready to ease up on this season.

Last night we got one of those vintage ‘Idol’ nights that remind us why this show became so popular in the first place. Solid performances of some of our favorite songs by kids that actually have a ton of talent.

Sure there were a few clunkers, but these were sandwiched in between the kind of transcendent performances that finally give ‘Idol’ fans the ability to scoff at people who scoff at them when they say the watch ‘Idol’. Because those who turn their nose up missed the opportunity to see Pia, Jacob, Stefano and others absolutely slay some ...

This year – it’s really wide open.

As Ryan ran through the contestants last night, and I thought about my power rankings (which are listed below), I quickly realized something – there is absolutely no favorite this year.

You could make a case for up to 8 contestants to win this year, but I don’t think it’s because the talent is incredibly deep – I think it’s because every contestant is flawed in some way. “Idol’s” been boasting its vast talent pool all season, but I think what they’ve actually stumbled upon is a level of parity. There’s no Adam Lambert. No Lee Dewyze. No David Archuleta. ...

After last night, it’s official: I miss Simon.

This week the Idols were tasked with picking their own personal Idols and singing some of their best songs. A nice theme without any restrictions that should have allowed the contestants to pick perfect songs and absolutely sing the hell out of them.

Instead, the night was incredibly uneven. Performances varied from pretty good, to mediocre to just downright desecrations of the songs for which the contestants were supposed to have extreme respect. Nobody really stood out on this easy theme night to the point that I wondered how they even got ...

Last night’s “Idol” was a tale of two shows: One incredibly boring, and one that made for some of the show’s best television so far this season.

The first half can be summed up in 24 words: Casey Abrams, Haley Reinhart, Jacob Lusk, James Durbin, Karen Rodriguez, Lauren Alaina, Paul McDonald, Pia Toscano, Scotty McCreery and Thia Megia made the finals.

Yep, that’s it. All we got for more than an hour was Ryan reading those names (eight of which I got right). And there really wasn’t much drama because anybody who went down didn’t really go down, as we still had the wild card round to get to...

I’m supposed to be objective, but I can’t help it. Every year, I have an ‘Idol’ favorite. I don’t know how it happens, but once I see the contestant, I’m usually all in. Sometimes it’s about their raw talent, other times it’s just a certain aura they project. I never know how it happens, but it always does.

It also seems that every year my favorites suffer worse and worse fates. The first season, my favorite was Kelly Clarkson, and she won the damn thing. Last year, my favorite was Lilly Scott and she didn’t make it to the top 10 despite being the most talented contestant by a long shot. I...