I think that we can all agree that the poorly choreographed and scandalously performed “Reelin’ in the Years” (which is a freakin’ awesome song) shouldn’t have happened. Group vocals almost never work out well on this show. Sining together, they were simply awful; David Cook and Syesha were credible in their solo bits, Archuleta was mildly humorous, and Dreads just gets worse with every episode that goes by, doesn’t he?

And what happened with the way they just chopped the song off at the end? At least the guitar solo was nice.

Personal Stuff Aside: So, apparently, I’m going to be going on vacation at the end of October. When I return, I’ll have about twenty four hours before I’m on a flight to a trade show in Kolkatta. Or Calcutta, if you’re old like me and set in your ways.

Can I tell you how excited I am? I need to buy a new digital camera to take with me and I’m hoping to get advice from the crowd. My current camera takes reasonable pictures but it’s slow between shots, eats batteries at a rate that would probably cause Gore to have a heart attack. The new camera can’t be too expensive or too big, but I would like it to take good pictures. Megapixels don’t matter as much as image quality, reasonable low light performance, and speed.

Suggestions?

Personally, I suggest never ever buying an album from David Archuleta, because I’m fairly certain that the sound of his voice drains brain cells from your noggin’. Sad to say the li’l feller will be tormenting us again with his youthful imitation of sincerity. Which is only good because that means Jason Castro is still on the chopping block.

Link Love from While I Ignore the American Idol Filler Material Aside: A list of hilarious bests. My last AI post makes the cut--which, although I’m betting there’s someone else out there more deserving, I’m not the type to turn down a link when it’s offered. Especially if it comes with a shot of something tasty.

Good Lord, I could use a shot.

Every once in a while, Randy is nearly as stupid as Paula. Which is something I don’t say often enough.

Possibly Embarassing Admission Aside: I’m looking forward to You Don’t Mess with the Zohan. I’d like to apologize to all of my fans, my fellow bloggers, my family, and the whole blogging community for my lapse in judgement. I think that I really learned something from this admission and I plan to get help. This is really the moment where I realize that I need to grow up and take my responsibilities as a blogger seriously.

Burger King ads suck.

So do the Ford commercials with which American Idol is contractually obligated to brutalize their contestants. And I’m a Ford guy.

I must say that David Archuleta looked sort of natural wearing the sparkly tights, though, didn’t he? He looked extra happy in the sparkly tights in fact.

Dude, Seriously? David Archuleta just got asked out on a date by some caller in Pittsburgh. I’m pretty sure that Paula is fighting off Hulk-sized jealousy. Don’t make Paula angry. You wouldn’t like her when she’s angry.

The Q&A from around the country is always sort of funny, but not always intentionally. People love Simon, don’t they?

Useless Aside: I still like Bo Bice, so it was fun to see him on the show tonight. Which reminds me of one of my personal favorite blog post titles of all time: Bo Bice and His Big Bag of Cocaine. That still cracks me up. Can I get a witness.

So, jeez, who’s going home already?

Big reveal in the extended entry.

It was almost sad to see Castro go--he showed a surprising level of self-awareness in some of his on-camera time tonight that made disliking him a big tougher. But it was undoubtedly the right choice.

I have to imagine that, barring a meltdown by one of the others, Syesha will be going home next week.