Another Mini Shocker

Two weeks ago we saw Sabrina Sloan and Sunhead Head just miss the top 12 and many idol fans cried foul. Two weeks later Chris Richardson lands in the bottom two and Stephanie Edwards gets sent packing. Chris R. has been a favorite from day one and very little can be said about Stephanie's vocals. So what the hell happened?

The problem with this season is that there are too many good vocalists, and unfortunately they're just all too similar. For the most during each season of America Idol it's not about who's going to win, it's about who's going to lose each week. No one was surprised when Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard went to the final two together. No one was surprised when Fantasia took home the trophy. And no one was surprised when Carrie Underwood stole the show. Each year it's been easy to pick the winner. This year it just isn't so. Can anyone really say that Lakisha Jones will undoubtedly beat Melinda Doolittle, or that Blake Lewis will go further than Chris Richardson? Nope, I don't think so. And that's a problem. While Melinda and Lakisha are spectacular vocalists and fabulous performers, what really separates them? Besides a few pounds and slight variations in their personality they're essentially the same. And the same goes for Blake and Chris. Besides a different haircut can anyone point to a major difference. These contestants are splitting votes like crazy. And that's why Chris R. landed up in the bottom 2. He's not competing against the top 11, he's competing against Blake.

The same also goes for Stephanie who was competing with Jordin Sparks, Melinda and Lakisha. And I wouldn't be surprised if those three diva's end up in the bottom 3 together at some point. Their styles are just too similar, so fans are voting on personality alone, and even then there's not much difference.

Contestants like Haley Scarnato, Gina Glocksen and Sanjaya Malakar will most certainly benefit, in fact, they already have. Just look around, they're still in the competition.

Am I sad to see Stephanie go? Not really. She's forgettable. There are a lot of things that could be said about Sanjaya, but forgettable is not one of them.