Little David, for his part, shook things up with a pair of up-tempo numbers, ''Sweet Caroline'' and ''America.'' The former found the Diamond-dubbed ''prodigy'' inserting so many runs into the karaoke staple that it was almost unrecognizable, prompting Simon's succinct but accurate critique of ''amateurish.'' His second performance was far more successful, despite the fact that it couldn't have been more American-cheesy if it had been wrapped in cellophane stamped with the word Kraft. As Simon noted (while not uttering a word about the actual vocal), it was a smart choice of song to send Little David's fans into a speed-dialing frenzy. And while the kid continues to hit almost every one of his notes (except for that voice crack, complete with sheepish smile, at the end of the verse), I'd be lying if I said I wasn't troubled by the disappearance of the contestant who nearly moved me to tears 10 weeks ago with his rendition of ''Imagine.'' Every time Archie takes the stage, I feel like I'm watching a deleted scene from Steven Spielberg's A.I.: Artificial Intelligence; the power and precision are there, but the heart and soul got lost somewhere on the Build a Better Idol assembly line.
Then again, maybe the season 7 script is supposed to end with David Cook dodging buckets of confetti. Paula said she felt like she was already looking at the American Idol when the rocker dude finished turning the obscure (and kinda dull) Diamond track ''All I Really Need Is You'' into something that might work as an album track (or maybe even a fourth or fifth single) off the guy's inevitable debut disc. Oddly, though, of Rocker David's two song choices tonight, I actually preferred the growling, inspirational ''I'm Alive.'' And while the presumed front-runner wobbled through the verse, which dipped a little too low for comfort, there's no denying he looks and acts the part up there on the big stage (even as his hair seemed to take a step backward toward early-season weirdness).
Of course, if Rocker David snags the whole enchilada, he's going to need every bit of that vocal power, musical ingenuity, and rock-star swagger. This season's champ, after all, will have to overcome not only the inevitably jank victory song but quite possibly the cloud of winning a less-than-evenhanded competition. Indeed, Lythgoe & Co. can click their ruby heels as many times as they want, but after tonight, I'm not sure anybody gets a free flight back home.
What did you think of Paula's blunder this week: simple accident or something more troubling? Did you have a tough time concentrating on the performances once Paulagate occurred, and did the incident affect how you voted? Which contestant do you think will (and should) go home on Wednesday? And what can/should Idol's production team do to restore its reputation after tonight? (To revisit simpler times, check out our Idolatry interviews with Carly Smithson, the first of which appears below.)
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