Love or hate "American Idol," you have to admit that it usually runs pretty smoothly. But when producers (or whoever) thought it would be a good idea to force the contestants to sing Michael Jackson songs, they really missed the boat.

I can just imagine how the production meeting went…

PRODUCER: "Congratulations, everyone! You've just experienced the greatest moment of your lives and now get to perform for real in front of millions on live TV, but here's the catch: you have to pick a Michael Jackson song and make it your own."

CONTESTANT 1: "Really? We don't even get a warm-up week to pick a song that suits our capabilities first? And of all people, it has to be Michael Jackson?"

CONTESTANT 2: "He's one of the most iconic pop music artists of all time, and it's impossible to recreate what he does."

PRODUCER: "Don't worry about it, kids. Plenty of people across the country sing MJ all the time. In fact, I went out to a karaoke bar last Saturday and sang the hell out of 'Man in the Mirror,' so it won't be so bad."

ALL CONTESTANTS: [Looking perplexed and scared.]

Back to reality…

Guess what happened Tuesday night? Everyone, with a couple exceptions, was either completely unmemorable or flat-out bad. Surprise, surprise.

I've been racking my brain and can only come up with one reason why they would sabotage the contestants so badly: it was a weeding-out episode. At least that makes sense, especially when you look at who can consider Michael Jackson Week a success: Lil Rounds, Danny Gokey, and Adam Lambert. In other words, the cream rose to the top when faced with adversity. (Not good news for "Banter" favorite, Megan Joy Corkrey.)

The first Top 13 episode should be about showcasing the contestants' abilities while helping the audience identify what kind of artist they'll eventually become. Instead, we have to watch them butcher legendary songs? That doesn't seem to accomplish anything, other than making people look like they're in way over their heads.

Hmm…maybe that's the point.

THE ANOOP FACTOR

Anoop Desai needs to go buy a lottery ticket. After his unbelievably bad performance that has officially tainted "Beat It," Anoop-Dawg staved off elimination somehow.

I don't think anyone is too upset about this yet because two non-factors, Jasmine Murray and Jorge Nuñez, took the fall Wednesday night. But there's bound to be an uproar once Anoop creeps his way into, let's say, the Top 7. Thank goodness "American Idol" added a new twist this season and gave the judges the power to overrule one - and only one - fan vote. My prediction is the judges will end up saving someone like Allison Iraheta or Alexis Grace and give Anoop the boot. Just watch, it'll happen.

Look, Anoop seems like a nice guy and has a good personality, but he's missing one important trait: legitimate singing ability.

Then again, that hasn't stopped Katy Perry and Britney Spears from becoming pop stars. There could be hope for Anoop-Dawg after all.

Give us your thoughts on American Idol so far.


Story by Phil McRae

Starpulse contributing writer