It was a pretty mundane night on Idol, except for the judging. The singing was pretty blah, but the judging was spectacular. This was the first week of double songs, so it was jam-packed with 5 singers singing 10 songs in an hour. First, the judging issue:

After the singers sang their first songs, they stood in a row for a quick rundown of their performances. Randy made it really quick with 2-5 words per singer, and then the fun started with Paula.

She started with Jason Castro and said, “Your first song… blah blah, but your second song left me feeling empty.” The guys leaned in toward her and informed her that he’d only sung one song. She had this “deer in the headlights look” and started stammering that she thought he’d already done two songs. Them she made a lame excuse that she was looking at David Cook’s feedback and thought they were both for Jason.

It didn’t fly with me. Here’s what I think happened: Paula was smashed. A producer who sat in on the dress rehearsals gave her what to say so she could read them and make sense of things with the busy timetable. She got caught with her dress up or some clothing metaphor for a washed out pop singer.

On with my reviews, speed-style, just like the judges:

Jason Castro: Sucked. Doesn’t seem to care. Go home. 7.4

David Cook: Fabulous as usual. I didn’t like the songs, so I won’t be to iTunes, but he was great. 9.8

Brooke White: The first song was sooooo karioke, I can’t describe it. I really liked the second song. My average: 8.8

David Archuleta: Well, he is a prodigy. Neil Diamond said so himself. 9.8

Syesha Mercado: First song was so-so. I really liked her showmanship for the second. 9.5

Bottom Three: Jason Castro, Brooke White, Syesha Mercado

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