And Then There Were 9 (or Who Cares?)

I watched the show last night for the first time ever without any fear or trepidation only because after Tuesday night's show I really didn't care who stayed and who went home.

My feeling was that any of them could have left last night and it wouldn't have made a big difference to the competition at all. And, I think if you had polled the ten of them (and they had been honest) each one of them would have had some doubt whether they would be continuing on the show. It was obvious, with the reactions of the bottom three that none of them were surprised at being there. I think (and desperately hope) that each of them knows next Tuesday's show has to be something much different than last Tuesday's.

I mean, let's face it. . . if the competition continues to sound like it did this past week it might turn out to be Idol's last year.

So, next week is country --- which was never in my listening library until just a few years ago. (It helps to see Tim McGraw live, especially when he's prancing, oh, 20 feet away from you on the stage.) I've already faced the fact that Bucky will survive another week. He should be thanking a higher power for cutting him a break --- or perhaps it was simply a brilliant programming plan. You know, like when they pick the cast of Real World and always choose some really unstable, volatile personality to throw in the mix? The Idol staff knows that people like me will continue to watch, no matter how weak the singing might be, to feel vindicated when their least favorite (Bucky) is finally told that he's finished.