Carly Smithson and Syesha Mercado await their fate on "American Idol."

Fox

I was skeptical when I first took on this assignment — to watch and blog about “American Idol.” I watched the first couple of seasons and tired of it by season three. So the thought of gluing myself to the TV twice — sometimes three times — a week didn’t seem too appealing. Week after week of Ryan’s cheesy comments and Paula’s droning babble can turn even Brooke White into a cynic.

But lately I’ve really become invested in what happens. I don’t know if this season is different — as the judges claim — or if it’s just me getting a little soft, but I really do care about who wins. And maybe it’s because I’ll feel totally suckered if I spent all this time watching and a talentless hack wins just because he’s got pretty eyes. Or just because the tweenage girls voted for him. They’ll forget about him as soon as the show is over.

When Carly Smithson got voted off Wednesday night, my heart sank a little. And not because I was sooooo into Carly. But because Carly is a talented singer. Much more so than Jason Castro, who sailed right on through to the coveted blue couches. It was in that moment that the show became a joke to me. Carly should’ve been in the top three. Even if she wasn’t one of your favorites, you still know it’s true.

This might sound a tad contradictory, but I’m glad Brooke White was given another chance after her lyrical mishap on Tuesday night. She forgot the words in the first few notes of “You Must Love Me,” and asked the band to start over, a move Paula called an industry no-no. I think if Brooke had been booted for that it would’ve been unfair. Simply because the same thing happened when Boy Wonder David Archuleta sang the Beatles’ “We Can Work It Out” and blah-blah’d his way through some of the lyrics.

I don’t think Brooke will hang on too much longer; neither will Syesha Mercado or Jason Castro.

Now that Carly is gone, I have to find someone else to root for. It’ll likely be David Cook. But, again, I fear my disappointment when David Archuleta sweeps it.

Someone commented on the blog that there’s been no real shock this season; that even Michael Johns’ abrupt departure was less a shock than a “surprise.” I don’t disagree with that.

They showed a clip of Tamyra Gray on Wednesday night, who is currently cast as Mimi in Broadway’s “Rent.” If you watched season one, you remember Tamyra. Most people thought she had it in the bag, over Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini. When Tamyra was blindsided and suddenly voted off, it was the shock felt ’round the world. A big ol’ slap in the face to fans everywhere.

Maybe this season’s big wallop will come if David Cook beats out David Archuleta. Only time will tell.

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