Are we really shocked that Pia went home? I mean, really. Yes, she’s got a great voice and she’s hot. The problem is that she’s a snooze. The judges continue to spew rainbows and sunshine, and it did not serve her well. If Simon were around, he’d have a few comments for her such as “Pageant” and “Gwen didn’t do you any favor with that outfit.”

The ‘American Idol’ results shows are truly odd. I don’t want to watch them at all and fast-forward a lot, but ‘Idol’ is apparently willing to try anything to get us to watch. We had Constantine Maroulis sing “Unchained Melody.” It came off as a bad Bono impression and he was as much a camera whore as ever. We also had a behind the scenes with Gwen Stefani doing styling on Pia, Haley and Lauren. What she did to Pia and Lauren was truly unforgivable, as neither of them had the personality to pull off their outfits nor the backbone to tell Gwen no. Haley was the only one who came out well. And for the finale, Iggy Pop performed “I’m a Wild One.” Iggy Pop on ‘American Idol’ – so completely bizarre. Of course, the show had to bleep him a few times and cut away from some rude gestures. But watching him was a trip and seeing him sing in J.Lo’s face was awesome. It was worth enduring the show for that alone.

For this week, we’re down to eight contestants and it could still go a few different ways. Casey Abrams continues to show that he can sing any song and offer his unique flavor while still not straying too far from the original’s intent. I’ve grown a tad tired of the growl, but other than that he’s one of the few that I really look forward to every Wednesday. I’m not sure if he has enough ‘tween appeal to keep him in forever, but I would like to see him in the Top Three.

Haley Reinhart has shown us that she can hang in there, and continues to be strong. I like that she can really blast out without getting screechy or going off pitch. Jacob Lusk has a lovely, lovely voice, but I’m not sure ‘Idol’ is really the right stage. For both Haley and Jacob, I wonder if they have the fan bases to carry them as far as they deserve.

James Durbin continues to impress me, and I think he has Top Three potential. I just hope they stop backlighting his ears. Remember Diana DeGarmo from Season 3? She was a precocious 16-year-old who made it to #2 but lost out to Fantasia Barrino. She annoyed the crap out of me with her pageant grooming and parroting of songs. Lauren Alaina strikes the same chord, and I’m guessing she’ll get pretty far too.

A very unique one, that Paul Mcdonald is. Depending on how his performances go, he could stay or go. I’ve been trying to pin down for a while now what it is about Paul. I’d previously said Kenny Logins or Jack Tripper. My latest theory is Paul Reubens – an impishly cute, talented, charismatic charm, but also some low level perv. I predict a good mugshot from Paul.

Scotty McCreery – I keep wanting to call him a one-trick pony, but damn that one trick is good. He’s still got a few more weeks in him. And last and least is Stefano Langone. He just needs to go. There’s a boy band waiting for him somewhere. Damn ‘tweens.