May 7 Standings

1. Ryan – 268 points (279 max) – no change

2. Stephen - 265 points (288 max) – no change

3. Dave L. - 264 points (275 max) – no change

4. Jennie L. - 261 points (284 max) – no change

5. Suzy M. - 255 points (278 max) – up from T-6th

6. Lisa B. - 253 points (287 max) - up from 8th

7. Meredith - 253 points (276 max) - up from 9th

8. Julie H. - 252 points (263 max) - up from 10th

9. Amy Y. - 251 points (281 max) – up from 11th

10. Jan W. - 246 points (280 max) – up from 16th

11. Jane – 246 points (269 max) – down from 5th

12. Jaime - 245 points (268 max) – down from T-6th

T-13. Don - 243 points (277 max) – up from T-19th
T-13. Michelle - 243 points (277 max) - up from T-19th

15. Katie K. - 243 points (266 max) – up from 21st

16. Mike L. - 242 points (265 max) – up from 22nd

17. Liz - 242 points (253 max) – up from 23rd

18. Amy L-P. - 240 points (263 max) – down from 12th

19. Denis - 239 points (262 max) – up from 26th

T-20. Aneesha - 238 points (261 max) – down from T-13th
T-20. Marcia - 238 points (261 max) - up from 27th
T-20. Stephanie - 238 points (261 max) – down from T-13th

23. Julie R. - 238 points (MAXED OUT) – down from 15th

24. Kara - 236 points (259 max) – down from 17th

25. Damian - 235 points (258 max) – down from 18th

26. Cathleen - 233 points (256 max) – up from 32nd

27. Lisa S. - 232 points (MAXED OUT) - down from 24th

28. Alieda - 231 points (254 max) - down from 25th

29. Corona - 228 points (251 max) – down from 28th

30. Karen - 227 points (250 max) – down from 29th

31. Jenny M. - 226 points (249 max) – up from 38th

32. Cindy - 225 points (259 max) – up from 39th

33. Suzanne - 225 points (248 max) – down from 30th

34. Scott - 224 points (247 max) – down from 31st

35. Jean Claude - 224 points (235 max) - up from 44th

T-36. Brian - 222 points (245 max) – down from T-33rd
T-36. Rich – 222 points (245 max) – down from T-33rd
T-36. Will B. - 222 points (245 max) – down from T-33rd

39. Kristin - 222 points (233 max) - down from 36th

40. Matt - 220 points (254 max) – up from 49th

41. Anh - 220 points (243 max) – up from 50th

42. Marybeth & Lucy - 219 points (242 max) – down from 37th

T-43. Brooke - 215 points (238 max) - up from 52nd
T-43. Jan M. - 215 points (238 max) - down from 40th

45. Stacie - 215 points (226 max) - up from 53rd

46. Team 'Tini - 215 points (MAXED OUT) – down from 41st

T-47. Jen S. - 214 points (237 max) – down from T-42nd
T-47. Melissa - 214 points (237 max) – down from T-42nd

49. Matty - 213 points (236 max) - down from 45th

50. Yvonne - 212 points (235 max) – down from 46th

51. Team Ringey - 212 points (MAXED OUT) – down from 47th

52. Jon - 211 points (245 max) – up from 55th

53. Team O'Brien - 211 points (234 max) - down from 48th

54. Mandy - 210 points (233 max) – down from 51st

55. Dina - 205 points (239 max) – up from 59th

56. Paul F. - 203 points (214 max) – down from 54th

57. Kathryn - 200 points (223 max) – down from 56th

58. Michael W. - 199 points (222 max) – down from 57th

59. Andy - 198 points (209 max) – down from 58th

60. Sean - 196 points (219 max) – up from 65th

61. Emily - 195 points (218 max) – down from 60th

62. Missy - 195 points (206 max) – down from 61st

63. Peter - 193 points (204 max) – down from 62nd

64. Katy L. - 191 points (214 max) – up from 67th

65. Cristina - 189 points (223 max) – up from 70th

66. Lance - 189 points (212 max) – down from 63rd

67. Paul P. - 188 points (211 max) - down from 64th

68. Julie W. - 183 points (194 max) – down from 66th

69. Judy - 181 points (204 max) – down from 68th

70. Dave S. - 180 points (191 max) – down from 69th

71. Jill - 179 points (202 max) – no change

72. Will A. – 179 points (MAXED OUT) – no change

73. Mike & Suzy - 177 points (211 max) – up from 75th

74. Kendra - 176 points (187 max) – down from 73rd

75. Julie K. - 171 points (182 max) - down from 74th

76. Chris F. – 167 points (MAXED OUT) – no change

77. Mark - 126 points (MAXED OUT) – no change

78. Neisha - 119 points (MAXED OUT) – down from 76th

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

The staff here at Idol Pool Headquarters would be remiss if we did not begin this week’s post by addressing Paula’s behavior in last week’s show.



Not only did she look confused and somewhat drugged, but she stirred up all kinds of controversy about whether or not the judges watch contestant performances during rehearsals, and whether or not that even matters. In the end, Paula admitted to watching the rehearsal and that she had been reading from those notes during the show, which was pretty much her only option because the other explanation would have had to be massive amounts of narcotics. Never pretty.

Okay, so we have an explanation – at least for now – for Paula’s bizarre behavior last week. But how do you explain Jason Castro?


In order to help us all out as we try to interpret the behavior of this strange creature, Idol Pool Headquarters has consulted psychiatrist to the stars, Dr. A.J. Whitherstein. Dr. Whitherstein attended medical school at Stanford, is an attending psychiatrist at Mass General Hospital and has published numerous works including “The Stress-Diathesis Model of Cyclical Borderline Features in 12-14 year old Females”. Dr. Whitherstein is not a routine viewer of Idol, so we have shown him a series of videos of Jason Castro and asked him to tell us what his behavior might mean. Here’s a sample of our interview with Dr. Whitherstein:

Idol Pool Headquarters: Hello, Dr. Witherstein! We are so excited to have you as a guest on our blog. We so deeply respect your work and we know you will help us understand Jason better, and perhaps help us to understand why he appeals so much to the audience. We’re sure he’s probably a good person, we’re just baffled by his strange, creepy smile and odd demeanor. Please, tell us what you think.

Dr. Whitherstein: (Vacant look in his eyes.) There’s something wrong with that kid.

IPH: Yes, well, we figured that. Can you elaborate?

Dr. W: Well, geez. I’m kind of at a loss. I mean, he smiles at the strangest times and there’s something in his eyes…some kind of look. I can’t put my finger on it…it’s an odd sort of gaze…

IPH: Yeah, he’s strange for sure. But with all your expertise in this field, you must be able to offer some kind of diagnosis. Some kind of understa-

Dr. W: Crazy!! That’s the look in his eyes…Crazy! That kid is crazy.

Okay, viewers – there you have it, straight from the doctor’s mouth. “That kid is crazy.”

The theme for this week is “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame”, which allegedly means that the contestants must choose a song from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame list of “Top 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll". Now, we can probably imagine that Idol can’t get the rights to all those songs, but even with that in mind, this is a list of a lot of really awesome songs to choose from. The real question for this week is whether or not there is a song in existence that could save Syesha from elimination. What is she good at? Ummm…sexy legs? No, that’s not a type of song. She’s pretty good at Broadway-ish stuff. Maybe she should sing something by Aretha and really do it up. Or perhaps something more up-tempto like this. To be honest, though, she could probably sing the national anthem wearing an American Flag, standing next to a choir of disabled veterans and still get kicked off this week.

Jason Castro should absolutely do "Uncle John’s Band" by The Grateful Dead. For effect, he should also just throw caution to the wind and smoke a bong right on stage – you know, really get into it.

According to Idol Pool sources, this week’s guest performers for the results show will be Bo Bice and Maroon 5, which makes this week officially the closest any of those guys will get to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Congratulations, boys!

Whatever happens this week, you can probably expect a very subdued Paula. And, we at the Idol Pool Headquarters think it’s important to point out that while we tease her, Ryan Seacrest said it best last week when he said “she’s part of our family and we love her”.

April 30 Standings

1. Ryan – 248 points (279 max) – no change

2. Stephen - 245 points (288 max) – no change

3. Dave L. - 244 points (275 max) – up from 5th

4. Jennie L. - 241 points (284 max) – down from 3rd

5. Jane – 236 points (279 max) – down from 4th

T-6. Jaime - 235 points (278 max) – up from T-15th
T-6. Suzy M. - 235 points (278 max) – up from T-15th

8. Lisa B. - 233 points (287 max) - up from 19th

9. Meredith - 233 points (276 max) - down from 6th

10. Julie H. - 232 points (263 max) - down from 7th

11. Amy Y. - 231 points (281 max) – down from 8th

12. Amy L-P. - 230 points (263 max) – down from 10th

T-13. Aneesha - 228 points (261 max) – down from 12th
T-13. Stephanie - 228 points (261 max) – down from 11th

15. Julie R. - 228 points (238 max) – down from 13th

16. Jan W. - 226 points (280 max) – down from 14th

17. Kara - 226 points (259 max) – no change

18. Damian - 225 points (258 max) – no change

T-19. Don - 223 points (277 max) – up from 20th
T-19. Michelle - 223 points (277 max) - up from 31st

21. Katie K. - 223 points (266 max) – up from 33rd

22. Mike L. - 222 points (265 max) – down from 21st

23. Liz - 222 points (253 max) – up from 35th

24. Lisa S. - 222 points (232 max) - down from 9th

25. Alieda - 221 points (254 max) - down from T-22nd

26. Denis - 219 points (262 max) – down from 25th

27. Marcia - 218 points (261 max) - down from 26th

28. Corona - 218 points (251 max) – down from 27th

29. Karen - 217 points (250 max) – down from 28th

30. Suzanne - 215 points (248 max) – down from 29th

31. Scott - 214 points (268 max) – down from 30th

32. Cathleen - 213 points (256 max) – up from 34th

T-33. Brian - 212 points (245 max) – down from T-22nd
T-33. Rich – 212 points (245 max) – up from T-37th
T-33. Will B. - 212 points (245 max) – up from T-37th

36. Kristin - 212 points (233 max) - down from 24th

37. Marybeth & Lucy - 209 points (242 max) – up from 41st

38. Jenny M. - 206 points (249 max) – up from 53rd

39. Cindy - 205 points (259 max) – up from 43rd

40. Jan M. - 205 points (238 max) - down from 32nd

41. Team 'Tini - 205 points (215 max) – up from 44th

T-42. Jen S. - 204 points (237 max) – down from 36th
T-42. Melissa - 204 points (237 max) – up from 46th

44. Jean Claude - 204 points (235 max) - up from 45th

45. Matty - 203 points (236 max) - up from 47th

46. Yvonne - 202 points (235 max) – down from 39th

47. Team Ringey - 202 points (212 max) – up from 48th

48. Team O'Brien - 201 points (234 max) - down from 40th

49. Matt - 200 points (254 max) – no change

50. Anh - 200 points (243 max) – no change

51. Mandy - 200 points (233 max) – down from 42nd

52. Brooke - 199 points (238 max) - up from 54th

53. Stacie - 199 points (226 max) - up from 55th

54. Paul F. - 193 points (214 max) – up from 58th

55. Jon - 191 points (245 max) – up from 60th

56. Kathryn - 190 points (223 max) – down from 51st

57. Michael W. - 189 points (232 max) – up from 61st

58. Andy - 188 points (209 max) – down from 52nd

59. Dina - 185 points (239 max) – up from 62nd

60. Emily - 185 points (218 max) – down from 56th

61. Missy - 185 points (206 max) – down from 57th

62. Peter - 183 points (204 max) – down from 59th

63. Lance - 179 points (233 max) – up from 64th

64. Paul P. - 178 points (232 max) - up from 66th

65. Sean - 176 points (219 max) – up from 69th

66. Julie W. - 173 points (204 max) – up from 71st

67. Katy L. - 171 points (214 max) – up from 72nd

68. Judy - 171 points (204 max) – down from 63rd

69. Dave S. - 170 points (191 max) – down from 65th

70. Cristina - 169 points (223 max) – up from 74th

71. Jill - 169 points (202 max) – down from 67th

72. Will A. – 169 points (179 max) – down from 68th

73. Kendra - 166 points (187 max) – down from 70th

74. Julie K. - 161 points (182 max) - down from 73rd

75. Mike & Suzy - 157 points (211 max) – up from 76th

76. Chris F. – 157 points (167 max) – down from 75th

77. Mark - 126 points (MAXED OUT) – no change

78. Neisha - 119 points (MAXED OUT) – down from 76th

April 29 Viewer's Guide - Neil Diamond!

Dear Debbie,

Thanks for your response to my on-line pics. I'll be sure to send along more revealing shots once I've determined that we are indeed a good match. I'm really into dancing, stiff cocktails, and…

Wait. I think I just screwed up. I would like to begin my post over again.




I'm so excited about Neil Diamond week that I'm having a hard time keeping my blue jeans on, but before I get to this upcoming week's show, I'd like to comment on the mess that was last week's episode.

First off, the decision to have Syesha and Carly sing their songs again was the perfect way to tell America that they are a bunch of morons. No one could have watched the elimination show and thought that the two of them were the two worst performers of the week. And all the while, Brooke sat there on the safety couch smiling her half-winsome/ half-demonic smile as her eyes glittered with unshed tears. I wonder if she was thinking what I was thinking at that moment – 'I'm the luckiest Farrah Fawcett in the world. And America hasn't figured out yet that I only have five notes in my range. But if I can only put a catch in my voice when I go for the "high" notes, they'll never know.'

It was also fun to watch Jason Castro try and talk again. I've stopped trying to determine whether he is a) stoned all the time or b) really, really dumb. I think there is a little, no a lot, from column A and column B that makes him really fun to watch when he isn't singing. Too bad there is nothing fun about watching him singing. Did anyone else see him yawn his way through a segment before cutting to commercial? Fantastic. Get him some cheez-it and another bong-hit! Apparently, he was sick last week… at least that's what his dreadhead fan-club has stated. Don't worry, you can send him a get-well card here.


I have to admit that we here at American Idol Headquarters are mourning the loss of Carly Smithson. Sure, she isn't really "American", but man, she has pipes! Maybe she shouldn't have blasphemed her way through her 1:30 chance to shine. She rocked the song so hard that I didn't think the voters would notice that one of the lines she repeated was "Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, who are you? What have you sacrificed?" And then I remember that the Mormons keeping Brooke and David A alive with their votes probably wouldn't appreciate the song choice.

I'm also glad that Syesha survived another week. Not to be too crass, but as my co-worker put it so nicely, "she has a body to beat the band!" I don't even know what that line means, but I think I agree. Va-va-voom.

We all know that the finals are going to come down to the Davids. I was bored out of my skull during David Cook's rendition of "Music of the Night" and although I found my Christian Rock sensibilities appreciating the subtle groove of "Think of Me" by David Archuleta, it didn't knock my socks off as much as I would have hoped for Broadway week. Still, even when they aren't at their best, David A and David C deserve to make it through all the way.



As we turn our sights to this week's show, I hope I'm not alone in my excitement. I mean, Neil Diamond? This is the artist that spawned such fandom that even Oscar-nominated super-comedies pay tribute to Lord Diamond's musical prowess.


Having Andrew Lloyd Weber and Neil Diamond back-to-back is like seeing evolution happen. You take one of the world's ugliest humans and make him only slightly better looking, and you have the last two mentors on American Idol.




Even if they don't rely on Neil's most famous songs like "Soggy Pretzels", "Porcupine Pie", and "Crunchy Granola Suite", I think we're all in for a delight. Oh Carly, how we'll miss the opportunity to have heard you rock the immigrant anthem, "America". You could have taken those key changes to a whole new level and powered through the money notes. We certainly know that Brooke can't do it and I honestly can't remember what Syesha sounds like.

In my heart of hearts, I would love to see a "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" duet with Brooke and Jason Castro. And then I would love to see them throw darts at each other's glassy eyes. Maybe one of Jason's dreads can come off in his hand and he can throw it at Brooke. Maybe Brooke could take off her feathered wig and throw it at Jason. Regardless, I wish they could vote two people off in the same week. But even Brooke and Jason couldn't be worse than this.

Neil Diamond, before he was a megastar of his own, wrote songs for the Monkees. David Archuleta singing "Daydream Believer" would be a perfect choice for the masses, although I'd rather see him shock his grandma fan-base by singing "Forever in Blue Jeans."

David Cook should absolutely sing, "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon". With his smoldering gazes at the camera and his sultry baritone, he will make the ladies swoon. And it is so apropos for the gaggle of screaming mimis in the front of the auditorium. And kind of dirty…

And Syesha? I don't care what you sing, just make sure that you wear this dress again.