Hey, I'm starting to like this no-surprises thing.
For the second straight week, "American Idol" voters have followed my instructions. Last week, they dumped Lacey Brown; tonight, it was Paige Miles. Their only error was putting Katie Stevens alongside Tim Urban in the bottom three; I'm quite sure I specified that Andrew Garcia should be there.
Anyway, here are a few of my comments; please add yours:
1) Remember how this was supposed to be the year of the women? Now they've been the first two ousted from the top 12. The problem came before that, when two of the best women -- Lilly Brown and Katelyn Epperly -- were ousted. That's when I started hating surprises.
2) And think about all the great black women who have been on the show, starting withg Tamyra Gray, LaToya London and Fantasia. One year, black women -- Jordin Sparks, Melinda Doolittle, LaKisha Jones -- filled three of the top four spots; this year, there are none in the top 10.
3) Paige had a strong enough voice to finish much higher, but she dawdled it away on so-so songs. The hard-rocker she delivered tonight was a sign that she could have done much better.
4) If I ruled the world (really not such an awful idea), contestants would be banned from saying "well, I had fun out there." That's no explanation for a bad song choice, but people keep using it. After the game-deflating interception, I didn't hear Peyton Manning say, "well, I had fun throwing it."
5) For a while, I thought the Ford commercial -- the one in which Andrew is left behind -- was telling us something. He really should have been left behind tonight.
6) Somehow, Siobhan Magnus managed to have even worse hair than on Tuesday. Please ask her to go back to the original one, then never, ever go anywhere near the show's hair-styling department.
7) No, I can't explain why Katie was in the bottom three. She's one of the two youngest contestants, which usually helps. She has a good voice, a pleasant personality and an angelic face. I didn't expect her to be down there.
8) Sure, it's easy enough to be bitter about anyone who is young and cute and rich. Still, I thought Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato did a great job on their duet; Miley Cyrus is a terrific performer, but there were times tonight when her song demanded too much of her.
9) Next week is "soul R&B" week, Ryan Seacrest told us. That is, I assume, as opposed to "soul opera" or "soul polka."
10) Usher -- a teen-ager before Miley (this week's mentor) was born -- will be the mentor. The lesser singers will scramble around, trying to decide which judge to please. And the great singers? This week, Simon Cowell and Kara DioGuardi gave conflicting advice to Crystal Bowersox. When Seacrest asked her whom she would listen to, she replied succinctly: "Me." When you know what you're doing, that's the perfect choice.