...and we're off!

Idolites -

So much to say. I first want to thank Idolite Robin Wright Costello for the killer photo of she and fellow Idolite Sherri Nichols on the left! That's really Michael Jackson! They met him at the M&M's Store in Las Vegas and he agreed to take the photo...pretty "freakin" cool! If we only could have seen him mentor the contestants.

Let's get the pool business out of the way before I lose you with my idiocy.

We have hit a new record of entries this season with 102! The number could be a little larger as there's a chance I missed some. Nevertheless, here is how the $1,010 in the pot will break down, as we will pay out the top 16 spots:

1st - $300, 2nd - $150, 3rd - $80, 4th - $70, 5th - $55, 6th - $50, 7th - $50, 8th - $40, 9th - $40, 10th - $40, 11th - $25, 12th - $25, 13th - $25, 14th - $20, 15th - $20, 16th - $20

A special shout out to my top pool recruiters, Ed Harowicz and Brad White! Many of you are reading this because of them and I thank them and you.

...and now on to the show

• Michael Jackson songs...yes! Could be great, could be scary. Probably both and it delivered!
• The judges getting announced like the start of the NBA Finals...as Simon will tell Adam Lambert at some point this season, "That was a bit self-indulgent."
• Lamest "word of advice" for the contestants at this stage of the game: Randy "You gotta bring it"
• Best word of advice actually came from Paula...who knew?
• Lil Rounds: Every time I hear her name, I imagine a young, short, fat rapper...makes me chuckle. As the first one out there on a 13 singer night, you better look good and/or sound good. Her outfit...really? When Paula compliments your wardrobe it's the kiss of death. She just didn't connect. She could be in trouble.
• Scott: Two smart moves: piano and a lesser known Jacko song. He looked way more comfortable and didn't have to fight sounding like Michael. He's got the votes to carry him quite a way I think. He even hit a nice falsetto..you go Scott!
• Danny: The pool favorite (or so it seems at first glance) didn't disappoint. He was the only one to dare and do an up-tempo song. He picked one of my favorites too. He's gonna go far, because he knows how to arrange songs differently (along with Adam) and make them his own (ala David Cook).
• Michael: The judges were right on. It was very good. He shows a lot of passion and is a nice guy. I just constantly forget about him once he's done. I think he may get lost. I will have to say I didn't particularly enjoy the song he chose.
• Jasmine: I'm already tiring of how much Kara loves her. because of her marketability. OK Kara, we understand this show is about picking a marketable singer, but do you have to be so obvious about it? Jasmine's family all looks quite pageanty. She just doesn't have the spark that so many other contestants do. Could be gone. I liked her dress, though (OMG, I sound like Paula).
• Kris: Lost himself at least two spots in the competition with the introduction of his wife. Man did she look pissed when Simon said it was too early to bring her out. The Ace Young of Season 8 was OK. He looked kinda dumb and had no use for the guitar. It's all about his looks, the judges have acknowledged it. I'll bet the girls that voted him into the Top 13 felt a bit betrayed when they saw he was married.
• Allison: On Presley's pool, I picked her to win. Turns out so did a lot of folks. I personally think she has the most powerful voice in the competition along with Adam. Her rocker vibe works, but I agree with Randy that she can sing anything. Nice job tonight!
• Anoop: Well, someone had to do it. Somene had to have that one, really embarrassing performance where they picked the worst possible song and danced around like a stiff yuppie. Thanks for taking one for the team, Anoop! All he needed to do was throw in a crotch grab and do the moon walk to make it complete. Even Paula called it karaoke...ouch! I don't think his pleas for votes were making it any better either. His time has come.
• Jorge: I actually agreed with Kara on this one. He seemed less connected. If he's gonna sing a serious song, I want to see the passion. I still love Jorge though. I don't think he's the next American Idol, but if everyone in Puerto Rico makes calls, who knows?
• What the hell is that sparkly shield hanging off Paula's wrist?
• Megan: I really like her, but what the heck was that? Rockin' Robin? Ugh...and the "caw-caw" at the end...was she serious? I just think between her unique voice, the awkward stage movements, the strange wardrobe decisions and full sleeve tattoo (which I actually really like on her) ,she has too much for America to get over. She's in trouble...if not this week, soon.
• Adam: Wow! The Las Vegas betting odds favorite came through big time. A performance like that allows him to take more chances now, because he's earned much cred. The best thing for me was that when I heard he was singing Black or White, I was disappointed. He took a kinda lame song and made it really cool. He'll go really far.
• Did anyone else see the Taco Bell nacho "pregnant guy" commercial? Pretty funny.
• Matt: Tough to follow Adam, but he did well. I have no idea why he is playing the piano. You can't even hear it. Scott has been the only one to play an instrument that "mattered" tonight. The one thing that bothers me about Matt is how he seems to do SO many runs in his songs. It grates on me.
• Alexis: Normally, going last on this show is quite an advantage. Alexis did the most of her opportunity. She sounded and looked great! Where she gets robbed is two-fold. First, she gets practically no judges comments because they ran over way to long (while going on-and-on about Kris' looks). Then they give her a "special" number. Why would you do that? That's SO unfair!! Everyone else (on this show..and EVERY SHOW EVER DONE) has the number of 1-866-IDOLS-and whatever number they sang that night. Alexis gets 36? Because they had a Top 36? Really, Seacrest? I wouldn't be surprised if her votes suffer because of it.
  
• There were a lot of good performances tonight. I was impressed.

BESTS

Look: Adam (he's got the whole package right now)
Honorable Mention: Alexis, Jasmine, Scott

Performance: Adam
Honorable Mention: Danny, Alexis, Allison

WORSTS

Look: Lil (the prom dress top with the high waisted mom-trou...yuck! C'mon Lil, you're hotter than that)
Honorable Mention: Kris, Allison

Performance: Anoop (Ah, dawg!)
Honorable Mention: Jasmine, Megan, Lil

BOTTOM 4(?)

Should Be: Anoop, Jasmine, Megan, Jorge

Will Be: Anoop, Jasmine, Megan, Lil (don't be surprised to see Michael or Jorge here either)

Well, it seems Idol has another trick up their sleeve tomorrow. Hopefully it won't effect how the pool works. Just to be clear, the first one eliminated tomorrow is in 13th place. The second will be in 12th.

Check here tomorrow for comments on the first pool standings. You'll get an e-mail with the spreadsheet by Thursday morning.

Aaron