Norman Gentle? Really?

All I could think of while watching Tuesday night's American Idol is what a bad job of storytelling they've done this year. Now former producer Nigel Lythgoe once said that he considered American Idol three different shows -- the auditions, Hollywood Week and the rest -- and thus didn't feel any need to follow the stories he'd set up in the auditions into Hollywood Week. Apparently, his successors agree and have taken it even more to an extreme, because it's amazing how many stories, good stories, were set up in the first three weeks and then basically abandoned until tonight. Like the homeless girl. And even thought we got closure on Leneshe Young Tuesday night, it wasn't quite satisfying--since we saw her sing pretty well, especially compared to all those people that forgot words or (like Kai) couldn't even hit a note. The judges said they were considering the whole week, not just the final sing, so it's hard to figure out why certain decisions were made considering so many people who were shown tonight hadn't appeared on our screens singing since mid-January. And of course, there were certain people we still weren't told about--I think Amy Winehouse Jr. made it, and I didn't catch any mention of tattoed arm girl.

We do know way too much about Tatiana and Norman Gentle, and I can't believe either of those people are going to make the final 36. Can't believe and hope they won't. Tatiana is just annoying and not as good as she thinks she is--but Norman Gentle just isn't a good singer. He's making fun of the show. Why would they let him be part of it? Norman Gentle in the top 36 would be a sign that the show isn't taking itself seriously, so why should we take it seriously?

Anyway, I'm rambling, so I'll just say that the most amused I was tonight was seeing everyone party at the end of the show like they'd made the finals, when a couple dozen of that is going to get cut tonight, before they ever get to sing again. They do know that, right? But at least they had fun.