American Idol

I'll admit it. I love American Idol. I have since the first season. I don't care if it's the cheesiest, most corporate produced sack of fake. They actually get some really talented people and I enjoy watching them develop into stars. So yes, I've been sucked in. Sue me.

So last night, we lose David Hernandez. Coincidentally, this is only one week after we learn of his alleged previous job as a male stripper at a gay club. For the record, I couldn't care less if the next American Idol used to give lap dances to horny gay guys. Seriously, what he did before Idol doesn't matter. If he's talented enough, I'll support him. However, I realize that a good chunk of the AI voting public is not quite as liberal as I am in this area, so I do recognize why David's "scandalous" past could cause a problem for the producers.

The cynic in me thinks there has to be a connection between David's premature ouster and this news. He made it into the top 12, so the producers couldn't say, "Well we didn't get rid of him!" But then he magically is gone the next week. Now I'll admit that his performance of "I Saw Her Standing There" was one of his weakest yet, but he had proven himself with some prior stellar performances. He deserved at least a couple more weeks.

So did the producers have a hand in this? Or did the conservative American voters decide a gay stripper was not the kind of role model our children should have? Were they tired of all the Davids and figured we needed to lose one? I guess we'll never know!

Here's how I think the voting will go down:

11.Syesha Mercado
10.Kristy Lee Cook
9. Ramiele Malubay
8. Chikezie Eze
7. Amanda Overmeyer (she's the bad singer who will stay way longer than she should. Thanks Vote for the Worst!)
6. Brooke White (she is super talented but won't connect with America, so she'll go home sooner than she should.)
5. Michael Johns
4. Jason Castro
3. Carly Smithson
2. David Cook
1. David Archuleta

Here's how I think the voting SHOULD go down:

11.Amanda Overmeyer
10.Kristy Lee Cook
9. Syesha Mercardo
8. Ramiele Malubay
7. Michael Johns (even though he's my crush this season, he's pretty average in this group)
6. Chikezie Eze
5. David Cook
4. Jason Castro
3. Brooke White
2. Carly Smithson
1. David Archuleta

Let's see how many I get right!