Finally some contenders?

Before I briefly discuss a night where we might have finally seen some contenders for the title, a few words on the controversy of the week: the uproar over the "meanness" of American Idol this year. The controversy was stirred up by Rosie O'Donnell, who somehow has appointed herself America's Moral Arbiter and got everyone to take her seriously. How did this happen?

Anyway, apparently Rosie, her compatriots at "The View," the New York Times and all the other journalists writing about this alleged "controversy" haven't really watched the Idol auditions before. They're always kind of mean--in fact, other than that one "bush baby" comment, I don't think that Simon has been nearly as rough on people as he has been in past years (Randy has been a little harsher, but it's Randy, so no one really cares that much). The American Idol blogger at USA Today did point out that the judges are letting the bad singers go on for a lot longer than they have in past years, and I think he is correct about that--but that doesn't strike me as mean to anyone but the viewers.

But even if the judges were nastier than the past, it doesn't even matter. This is a completely bogus controversy because everyone that gets ripped on by the judges knows exactly what they might be in for. American Idol isn't a hidden camera show. Nothing is a surprise Everyone who appears on American Idol has seen the show (yeah, probably even that urban Amish guy) and stands in line for two days to get on the show because they want the opportunity to be on TV. And they know that Simon says mean things to bad singers. Oh, and "bush baby" and his friend Jonathan seem like they're having a pretty good time, for all the "humiliation" they allegedly suffered. They were on the Jimmy Kimmel show Friday night, and Kimmel said he was taking them to the Bob Hope golf tournament last weekend to interview celebrities. And a co-worker told me that they were on the Today show Monday morning. Seems like it's working out pretty well for those guys. (Oh, and as for his friend Jonathan, who the media is now reporting as "mildly autistic," are the producers and judges supposed to know this and throw him out? Are they supposed to screen for disabilities? It's all really silly.)

As for tonight's show from Memphis, "Sundance" Head (wow, what an interesting name) was pretty impressive and seems like a contender with his bluesy voice. And I guess we see once again that Simon wasn't a big Taylor fan, considering he said this guy blew Taylor "out of the park." That may be a little premature, but I guess we'll see soon enough.

We also saw Danielle McCulloch, one of the people featured in the commercials--which I supposed is usually a good sign that they'll make it to the final 24, at the least. (Wasn't Carrie Underwood in the commercials, and Kellie Pickler? Then again, so was the guy that sang "Raining, raining, raining" a few years ago, and I'm not even sure he got through the auditions.)

Love the guy that looks like Fidel Castro, just because he looks like Castro. Although now that he's been featured on Idol, I'm sure the Cuban government is planning to kidnap him and use him as a double while Castro is sick.

Finally, Melinda Doolittle was very good, and has to be considered a favorite considering Simon's comments in an Entertainment Weekly article a couple weeks ago. In that article, when asked about favorites, he said there was one contestant with a fantastic voice but not much personality. That's obviously Melinda, and I think we'll be seeing her in the final 24.