American Idol 2010

If I may, for a moment, digress from the seriousness of politics and the fun of baseball for a post here, today I entered a contest among nine of my other friends to attempt to predict the winner of this season's American Idol contest. Every year, I promise myself I won't get sucked into watching it, and every year I fail miserably. This year, I figured why not make it interesting if nothing else. Ten dollar buy-in, winner take all... $100.

Problem is, this year's group of contestants is really nothing special. Sure, there've been flashes of stardom, but no one candidate is really poised to be "that one" - like Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, Kelly Clarkson, Jordin Sparks, or (as much as I hate to admit it) Adam Lambert.

That said, these were my picks for our little contest:
Winner: Michael Lynche
Runner-up: Lee DeWyze
Top Male: Michael Lynche
Top Female: Crystal Bowersox
Final Four: Lynche, DeWyze, Bowersox, and Aaron Kelly

Statistically speaking, I was in a severe minority with my picks. The votes among our group of ten (with one not yet picked because of extenuating circumstances):
Winner: Crystal Bowersox (4), Siobhan Magnus (3), Michael Lynche (2)
Runner Up: Siobhan (4), Crystal (2), Aaron Kelly (2), Lee DeWyze (1)
Top Male: Aaron (4), Michael (2), Lee (2), Andrew Garcia (1)
Top Female: Crystal (5), Siobhan (4)
Top 4: Crystal (9), Siobhan (8), Aaron (5), Lee (5), Michael (5), Tim Urban (1), Andrew (1), Katie Stevens (1), Casey James (1), Didi Benami (0)

After watching tonight's performances though, I feel pretty confident in my picks. Aaron Kelly was good enough to stick around. Michael Lynche was again impressive, though not his best performance. Lee DeWyze hit one out of the park, and Crystal Bowersox looked less-than-confident on stage without her guitar-crutch, but the judges loved her performance, so she'll stick around.

Before you ask, yes, I do like some reality shows. It's a sad existance, I know, but it's like the cliche of watching a car wreck: you can't look away when you start watching. The Amazing Race, American Idol, Survivor, and (for God only knows what reason) Solitary are shows that, if they're on, I'll watch.

Thanks for the digression. Now, please continue with YOUR regularly scheduled programming.